2025-03-31 01:54:11After Alejandro left, there was tension lingering in the balcony.
There was no going back to pretending as Elena stood frozen and her pulse hammering in her ears. Dino stared at his hands, fingers curled into a fist, as if he could still feel the weight of that moment. The same hands that gripped Alejandro a while ago. He exhaled finally. “We aren't doing anything reckless tonight.” Elena flinched. “You think I don’t know that?” “I think you’re angry. And anger makes people careless.” As his dark eyes met hers. Elena let out a bitter laugh. “Maybe I want to be careless.” Dino, lowering his voice, stepped closer. “No. I Want to be free. And those aren’t the same thing.” Elena caught her breath. She should have argued. But he was right. Her fury at Alejandro, at Sanchez, at her father—the thoughts burned in her chest like a wildfire. But wildfires aren't planned. They just destroy, with no strategies. Dino wasn’t going to let her self-destruct as he saw it in her. He glanced back toward the door. “Go back inside.” Elena blinked. “What?” “Go back inside,” he repeated, with a firmer tone. “. If Alejandro suspects anything, act like nothing happened, and he’ll keep you even closer.” She hated this. Hated smiling at monsters who already decided her fate, hated walking into that gilded prison. But she nodded. Dino was right. She had to play the role they expected. Just a little longer. Elena turns, straightens her shoulders, and goes back in through the doors. --- Dino, still outside a moment longer, braced his hands against the railing. He needed to think. Elena was smart but also desperate. And desperate people are prone to making mistakes. Dino had survived Sanchez’s world by hiding in plain sight over the years. He had mastered how to play their game, reading their movements before they even made them. He was an actor, and he had played his role well. He wasn't just a soldier in this empire. Everything has shifted tonight. Alejandro saw the cracks in his mask for the first time. And that was dangerous. Dino, thinking ahead, forced a hand down on his head. They had to be patient. Calculated. If they had to get Elena out—and if they must do this. Alejandro would be watching her now. Sanchez would be watching him. Dino would have to pretend also that nothing had changed. --- There was still music and conversation in the grand hall, as if nothing had happened. Elena's heart was pounding beneath her ribs as she walked back into the gathering. She found Capello first. Her father's shoulders slumped beneath the weight of his choices, looking exhausted. Bearing the choices that had destroyed her life. But when he looked at her, he felt something else. Guilt. “Elena,” he murmured. “Did you know?” She stopped in front of him. Capello swallows hard. “Know what?” She gave him a sharp look. “That Dino wasn't Sanchez’s son.” Capello stiffened. He pulled her toward the edge of the room, hurriedly glancing around. “You mustn’t speak of that,” he whispered. Elena clenched her jaw. “So you did.” Capello with a slow, heavy breath. “I suspected.” The confession stung. “You watched them treat him like a dog, and you said nothing?” She hissed. “You watched him spend his whole life serving them.” Capello spoke with trembling hands. “There is nothing I could have done?” Elena stared at him. Her father had spent his life bowing to men like Sanchez. Tonight. She assured herself she would never be like him. “You ought to have fought for him,” she said quietly. “But you didn’t.” Capello’s face crumpled. A hand wrapped around Elena’s wrist before he could say a word. Alejandro. His breath laced with whiskey as he leaned closer. “Dance with me.” Elena bluntly responds, “No.” Alejandro tightened his grip. “It wasn’t a request.” Remembering Dino’s warning. She forced a smile as her stomach churned. Play the role. She allowed herself to be pulled to the dance floor as she exhaled. It was elegant and suffocating as the music swelled around them. Holding her in place, Alejandro's hand pressed tightly against her waist. “You’re upset.” Elena stared over his shoulder. “I wonder why.” “Because of Dino, I assume.” Alejandro chuckled. Her blood ran cold. “What?” “You think I didn’t notice? You two have always had... something.” He snuggled with a smirk on his face. Elena’s pulse pounded in her throat. Alejandro leaned closer. “Princesa. At the end of the day, you’re mine, so it doesn't matter.” Elena dug her nails into his shoulder. Even if I have anything to say about it. Her gaze met Dino’s across the room. Always watching. He was standing near the bar, watching. And in a blink of a moment, Elena knew— They had to act soon. Because Alejandro wouldn't just cage her if they don't. He would destroy her. But Dino wasn’t going to let that happen. Her anger was still burning when she spoke. “Why didn't you fight for him?” she said quietly. “Because you could have.” Deep lines of regret etched into Capello’s tired features as his face crumbled. He couldn't say anything for a long moment. He murmured with a bare whisper, “I couldn’t even fight for my own family.” Elena stiffened. Capello's gaze drifted past her, lost in the past. His voice faltered. “Your mother would have never let this happen.” Her mother. Elena's throat tightened. Their home was haunted by a ghost long before she was gone. Capello continued, his voice thick. ”She fought for you, for us.” He ran his trembling hands as he ran them down his face. “But in the end, she couldn’t fight fate.” Elena’s pulse pounded in her ears. “It wasn't just an accident, was it?” Capello looked at her then. There was heaviness and suffocation in the air between them. Alejandro’s hand was already clamped around her wrist as his lips parted before he could speak. Elena couldn't register her father’s flinch before she was pulled onto the dance floor. Though Alejandro has her in that forced waltz, with his grip possessive and suffocating, her mind was still back there. With the man who had lost everything. And her mother, whose absence appeared as not just an accident.
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There was a distant hum of music fading from the ballroom, drowning beneath the pounding of Elena’s heart. Alejandro’s grip on her wrist was possessive with a silent declaration of control. Guests whispered around them, their glances shifting between the two. Some watched with amusement and discomfort.But none of them would dare intervene.“I see you were distracted,” Alejandro said, tilting his head as he murmured. His voice was soft and teasing, but Elena knew better. There was calculation with no warmth in his words. “Thinking about him?”Elena kept her expression blank as her stomach twisted. She didn't want him to see the effect he had on her.“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, with an even tone.Alejandro's thumb brushing over her palm with a smirk on his face. The touch was a mockery of affection but gentle. “I felt your hesitation and your mind somewhere else as I held you.” He whispered.She forced herself to meet his gaze as she tightened her chest. “You’re drunk.”He smiled.
Burn Loot Chapter 8
The ballroom felt like a prison for Elena despite the glittering chandelier. Every clink of a champagne glass, every polite smile, just tightened the invisible chains she felt placed on her by Alejandro. She had tried to escape his grip, as his fingers rested boldly and possessively on the small of her back, knowing fully he would never let her go easily.With a silky and firm voice. “You’re tense. Elena. Relax.” Alejandro spoke.She forced a smile. The feel of his palm against her spine made her skin crawl. She wanted to shove him away and scream that she would never be his. But with his men blended in the crowd, she was surrounded as they were watching her every move.Her eyes darted across the room, searching for an exit. She needs to leave now, because this might be her only chance.At that moment, her gaze met Capello’s, her father. He stood by the bar, watching her with guilt in his eyes and a drink in his hand. He knows. Something twisted inside her.He knows what Aleja
Burn Loot Chapter 9
Wealth and power radiated in every corner of Sanchez’s grand hall, but to Elena, it felt like a gilded prison.Alejandro hosts another extravagant party, a well calculated display of his control over her fate. Her father,Capello,lingered near the bar, silent reminder of his betrayal looms as he avoids her gaze.Alejandro was already behind Elena who tried to disappear into the crowd. “Enjoying the night?”His voice, smooth yet laced with menace, sent a chill through her. She turned away, but his grip tightened around her wrist. “Don’t walk away from me.”“I don’t belong to you.” She yanked free, her pulse pounding.His eyes darkened. “You will. Accept it, or I’ll make you.”Before she could react, she spotted Dino.Dino’s Silent FuryDino stood at the edge of the room, his presence commanding even in the shadows. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes burned with quiet rage as he locked onto Alejandro.Alejandro hesitated, loosening his grip. Even he feared Dino.Dino’s voice w
Burn Loot Chapter 10
Dino led Elena through a maze of dimly lit backstreets, his movements swift and sure. He had spent years navigating the city’s underbelly, and now, that knowledge was keeping them alive. The night air was thick with tension, every sound amplified as if the city itself was holding its breath.After what felt like an eternity, they reached a rundown garage on the outskirts of town. The metal shutters were rusted, the paint peeling from years of neglect. To anyone else, it looked abandoned—but for Dino, it was a safehouse he had set up months ago, anticipating a day like this.Once inside, Elena collapsed onto an old, threadbare couch. Her body trembled, her breaths shallow. Dino knelt in front of her, scanning her face.“Did he hurt you?”She shook her head, but tears burned her eyes. “He almost caught me.”Dino exhaled slowly, his hands clenching into fists. The thought of Alejandro touching her, caging her like a possession, made his blood boil.“He won’t get another chance,” he promi
Burn Loot Chapter 11
Dino tightened his fists, his breath steady as he crouched behind an overturned car. The night air smelled of gasoline and sweat.They had been cornered by Alejandro's men in an abandoned warehouse near the port. Five men armed to the teeth. They weren’t leaving anything to chance this time.“Elena, stay low,” Dino whispered.Her pulse pounding in her ears. Elena nodded. The warehouse had become a battlefield.A shot rang out, sparking off the metal near Dino’s head.He moved.He rolled forward in a blur, grabbed a rusted metal pipe, and struck one of the gunmen across the jaw. The man crumpled before he could even react.The others turned.Another shot. Dino twisted.He didn’t stop despite feeling a burning pain across his upper arm as a bullet grazed him. He lunged at the next man, slamming his knee into his gut, then cracking his elbow against his skull.Two down. Three to go.Dino ducked as a thug charged, swinging a crowbar, grabbed the man’s wrist, and yanked. The crowbar clatte
Burn Loot Chapter 12
There was an echo of gunshots through the burning warehouse.Dino’s heart slammed against his ribs.Elena gasped, clutching her side. But no blood.Instead, one of Alejandro’s men had a bullet hole bloomed in his chest, staggered, eyes wide in shock. Then he collapsed.Dino’s gaze snapped to the entrance.A dark silhouette stood there. Sergio.Gun still raised, smoke curling from the barrel.“Elena, run!” Dino shouted.Alejandro snarled, firing twice.Dino lunged, shoving Elena out of the way. He felt the heat of the bullets whip past his ear. Too close.No time to think.The building groaned, about to collapse. As the fire roared louder, licking the ceiling.Alejandro was still blocking the exit; a second was all Dino needed. The timely distraction of Sergio had bought them that.---Dino didn’t hesitate.He launched forward, tackling Alejandro to the ground. Fists flying.Alejandro grunted, twisting beneath him, trying to bring the gun up.Dino slammed his elbow down hard.Alejandro
Burn Loot Chapter 13
Across the dimly lit room, Capello’s expression remained unreadable; he wasn't hurt because he was putting on a bulletproof earlier, but Elena—her face was a storm of emotions.She clenched her fists. “He’s toying with us.”Dino nodded. “But he slipped up. He wants me to stop digging, which means there’s more to uncover.”Capello exhaled heavily and sat down, rubbing a hand down his face. “You’re walking into dangerous waters, Dino.”Dino stepped forward, his voice firm. “I need the truth. No more half-answers.”Capello locked eyes with him. “The truth is, your mother knew too much. She wasn’t just paying Sanchez to keep you alive—she had something on him. Something big enough that he needed her gone.”Elena sucked in a breath. “And you knew?”Capello hesitated before nodding. “I suspected. But by the time I started asking questions, she was already dead.”Dino’s fists clenched. His mother hadn’t just been murdered. She had been silenced.Sergio walked in just then, holding another fo
Burn Loot Chapter 14
Dino sat in the dimly lit safehouse, his fingers tapping against the armrest of his chair. The name Enzo Moretti echoed in his mind. A ghost from the past—one he had never heard of, yet somehow tied to his mother’s fate.Elena paced in front of him, arms crossed. “I ran the name through our databases. No public records, no social security number. It’s like he never existed.”Sergio leaned against the wall, arms folded. “Which means he’s either dead… or very good at hiding.”Dino exhaled sharply. “Then we make him come to us.”Elena frowned. “How?”Dino’s eyes darkened. “By rattling Sanchez’s cage.”A Baited TrapHours later, Dino and Sergio sat inside an unmarked black SUV parked across from one of Sanchez’s lesser-known clubs—a hub for his illegal migration business.Sergio adjusted his earpiece. “Are you sure about this?”Dino’s gaze remained fixed on the club entrance. “We go in, make some noise, and force Sanchez to react. If Moretti is connected, he’ll show up.”Sergio grinned. “
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Chapter 40
Dino moved through the darkness like a phantom.Alejandro’s compound was a fortress—a sprawling estate lined with motion sensors, armed guards, and surveillance cameras. Breaking in undetected was impossible. But slipping in like a ghost? That was a different game.Dino had studied the blueprints. A hidden maintenance tunnel ran beneath the estate, leading to an old service entrance. It had been abandoned for years.Alejandro thought it was forgotten.He was wrong.Dino crouched behind a cluster of trees, his earpiece crackling with Tomas’s voice.“You’re clear to move. The guards just changed shifts.”Dino didn’t hesitate. Silent. Precise. Deadly.He sprinted across the open ground, reaching a rusted metal hatch embedded in the earth. With a practiced motion, he yanked it open and dropped down into darkness.The tunnel smelled of damp earth and decay. A perfect place for ghosts.And tonight, Dino was one.---Elena’s DesperationElena sat on the cold floor of her room, staring at the
Chapter 39
Dino’s hands were still clenched into fists.The night air was thick with tension, the scent of gunpowder lingering in the alley. Sergio’s betrayal burned deep, but there was no time to process it. Elena was still trapped, and Alejandro was still pulling the strings.Dino reached for his phone, dialing the only person he trusted right now.Tomas.The call connected instantly.“Talk to me.”Dino’s voice was sharp. “Sergio’s flipped. He led me into an ambush.”A pause. Then Tomas exhaled. “Damn. You good?”Dino wiped the blood from his lip. “I’m breathing. But Alejandro has Elena, and now I know one thing for sure.”“What?”Dino’s jaw tightened. “He’s expecting me.”There was a silence before Tomas spoke again, his tone edged with caution. “Then we make him think he’s right.”Dino’s eyes darkened. “I want every resource tracking Alejandro’s movements. I don’t care what it takes.”Tomas hesitated. “Dino, this isn’t just about Elena anymore. If Alejandro has Sergio, who else has he turned
Chapter 38
The gunshot echoed through the night.Dino didn’t flinch. Years of training had sharpened his reflexes, his instincts honed to react before thinking. He dropped low, rolling behind a parked SUV as the bullet smashed into a side mirror, shattering it into glittering shards.He could hear footsteps advancing—confident, measured. His attacker wasn’t afraid.“Come out, Dino.” The voice was smooth, taunting. “Hiding won’t change the inevitable.”Dino’s mind raced. Who was this? He had recognized the face in that fleeting moment, but it didn’t make sense. The betrayal was too close, too personal.Peering from behind the SUV, he caught a glimpse of the figure—a familiar silhouette in the moonlight.Sergio.Dino’s breath tightened. His most trusted man.His closest ally.Betrayal had never burned this deep.“Why?” Dino’s voice was steady, but inside, his blood boiled.Sergio exhaled a humorless chuckle. “Because I was never really yours to begin with.”Dino shifted slightly, his fingers curli
Chapter 37
Dino sat across from Sanchez in the dimly lit study, the air between them charged with unspoken threats. A chessboard sat between them, though neither had touched the pieces.Sanchez studied him with the sharp eyes of a predator. “You understand what’s at stake, don’t you?”Dino didn’t blink. “I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”A slow, approving smile spread across Sanchez’s face. “Good. Then you won’t hesitate when I give you your first task.”Dino’s fingers flexed beneath the table. He had expected this. Now came the real test.Sanchez leaned forward, his voice dropping. “There’s a man in Naples causing problems for me. I want you to get rid of him.”Dino kept his face neutral. “You have plenty of men for that. Why me?”Sanchez chuckled. “Because I want to see if you have the stomach for real power.”A direct hit.Sanchez was testing his willingness to kill in cold blood.Dino’s mind raced. If he refused too quickly, Sanchez would suspect him. If he accepted too easily, he might be forc
Chapter 36
The silence hung like smoke—thick, cloying, poisonous.Sanchez’s offer still echoed in the air, and everyone was waiting for Dino to flinch. To hesitate. To betray that flicker of doubt.He didn’t.His hand moved with purpose, and as he clasped Sanchez’s, time seemed to freeze. The gesture was simple, but the implications rippled like a shockwave.This was no alliance.This was a war declaration—signed in the presence of devils.Their handshake was short. Measured. Calculated.Cold.It wasn’t just Dino accepting a test. It was Sanchez daring him to fail.“You’ll be tested,” Sanchez said, his voice low and smooth. “Every moment. Every room you walk into. Every word you speak.”“I wouldn’t expect less,” Dino replied. The faintest smirk pulled at his lips, but his eyes were ice.Sanchez studied him for a moment longer. The silence was broken only by the soft drip of Alejandro’s blood onto the marble floor.Alejandro’s breath came in ragged bursts; fury coiled beneath his skin like a ratt
Chapter 35
The handshake was a declaration.Dino watched as Capello sealed his deal with Sanchez, his fingers gripping Elena’s wrist like she was nothing more than a bargaining chip.For a split second, the world around Dino faded.He had come here to end this.But Capello had changed the rules.Elena’s eyes met Dino’s, wide with confusion, then betrayal. He was here. Why wasn’t he stopping this?Because if he moved too soon, everyone would die.Dino clenched his jaw. Not yet.Not until he knew exactly what game was being played.---A Son BetrayedAlejandro was still on the ground, panting, clutching his bleeding shoulder.His father—**his own flesh and blood—**had turned on him.The warehouse lights flickered as Sanchez’s men repositioned, their guns lowering now that the hierarchy was restored.Sanchez turned away from Alejandro as if he were nothing more than an afterthought.“You’ve served your purpose,” he murmured.Alejandro’s breathing shook.“Screw you,” he spat, voice hoarse. “I bled f
chapter 34
The night air was thick with tension.Dino crouched behind an abandoned car, his heartbeat steady despite the chaos unfolding before him. His earpiece crackled to life.“We have a problem.”Vincent’s voice was sharp and controlled.Dino had already seen it. Capello had arrived.Not as a hostage. Not as a victim.But as a player. Armed, standing tall, his men flanking him.Dino exhaled slowly.This wasn’t part of the plan.Capello wasn’t a fighter—he was a businessman. Yet here he was, stepping onto a battlefield like a man with nothing left to lose.Dino’s eyes flicked to the warehouse where Sanchez and Alejandro were locked in their silent power struggle.And inside? Elena.Still in danger.Dino couldn’t afford distractions.But Capello’s presence changed everything.---Inside the WarehouseAlejandro’s fingers curled into a fist, his wounded arm throbbing.“You’re making a mistake,” he hissed.Sanchez chuckled, his eyes gleaming. “Am I? Or are you finally realizing you were never me
Chapter 33
The warehouse was silent—except for the faint hum of electricity in the flickering overhead lights.Alejandro stood frozen, his usual smirk wiped clean from his face.Across from him, the one man he never expected to see again stepped forward.Sanchez.His father.A man everyone believed was either dead or permanently exiled from the criminal world.Alejandro’s grip tightened around his gun. His fingers twitched, but he didn’t raise it yet.“You should be rotting in some gutter,” Alejandro spat, his voice sharp.Sanchez chuckled, slow and deliberate, stepping further into the room. His men fanned out behind him, weapons raised, taking control of the space.“I taught you better than this, Alejandro,” Sanchez mused. His deep, gravelly voice sent a shiver down Elena’s spine. “You’re slipping.”Elena watched every movement between the two men, her mind racing.This was new. Unexpected.Alejandro had always been ruthless. But Sanchez? He was the monster who created him.Alejandro took a sl
Chapter 32
The air inside the dimly lit warehouse was thick with tension. The scent of gasoline and burnt wood still clung to Alejandro’s clothes from the docks.He sat on the edge of his desk, slowly rolling a cigar between his fingers, his face unreadable. He wasn’t just angry. He was calculating.Elena knelt on the floor, wrists tied behind her back, her breathing slow but steady. She refused to show weakness.Alejandro took a slow drag of his cigar, exhaling smoke as he studied her.“You know, querida,” he murmured, “Dino thinks he’s winning.”Elena didn’t answer.Alejandro chuckled, pushing off the desk. He crouched in front of her, gripping her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him.“He’s wrong.”Then he gestured toward the shadows near the doorway.Footsteps echoed.Elena’s stomach twisted as a figure stepped forward.A man—tall, lean, wearing a dark suit—his face eerily familiar.Her breath caught.Capello.Her father.Elena’s world tilted.She shook her head, refusing to believe it.