Elena couldn’t sleep.
The house was too quiet.
After everything that had happened, silence no longer felt peaceful.
It felt like a warning.
She stood by the bedroom window, staring into the darkness beyond the mansion grounds.
Her mind kept returning to the photograph.
The mysterious woman.
The betrayal.
And Damien’s reaction when he saw her face.
He had tried to hide it, but Elena had seen something in his eyes.
Fear.
A soft knock came from behind her.
Elena turned.
Damien stood in the doorway.
His shirt sleeves were rolled up, and his expression was as cold as ever.
“You’re still awake.”
“So are you.”
He stepped inside and closed the door.
“You should be sleeping.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
Elena folded her arms.
“Because I’m beginning to realize that I know nothing about the man I’m married to.”
Damien stared at her.
“You know enough.”
“No, I don’t.”
She took a step toward him.
“Who was that woman?”
Damien’s jaw tightened.
“I told you.
Someone from my past.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It is the only answer you need tonight.”
Elena laughed bitterly.
“Easy for you to say.”
She turned away.
“You dragged me into this marriage.
You brought me into your world.
Now people are watching me, threatening me, and apparently someone wants me dead.”
Damien’s expression changed.
“Who told you someone wants you dead?”
Elena looked back at him.
“The photograph.”
Silence.
Damien walked toward her.
“Elena, listen carefully.”
She remained still.
“From this moment forward, you don’t go anywhere alone.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“I am not your prisoner.”
“No.”
His eyes locked onto hers.
“You’re my wife.”
The words caught her off guard.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Elena whispered, “Is that supposed to make me feel safer?”
“It should.”
“Why?”
“Because anyone who comes after you will have to come through me first.”
Her heart skipped.
She hated how easily his words affected her.
Before she could respond, a loud crash came from downstairs.
Both of them froze.
Damien immediately reached for his gun.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Elena.”
“I said no.”
“This time, you listen to me.”
He walked out.
Elena waited for a few seconds before following.
As she reached the staircase, she heard voices downstairs.
Damien’s voice.
Then Luca’s.
“Boss, we found something.”
Elena descended the stairs.
Luca turned toward her.
His face was unusually serious.
“What happened?” she asked.
Luca looked at Damien.
Damien nodded.
Luca placed a folded piece of paper on the table.
“We found this outside the eastern gate.”
Damien opened it.
His eyes immediately hardened.
Elena moved closer.
“What is it?”
Damien didn’t answer.
She looked down at the paper.
There were several names written on it.
She recognized some of them.
Members of Damien’s organization.
Then her eyes stopped.
Her own name was written at the bottom.
ELENA ROSSI.
Her breathing stopped.
“Why is my name on that list?”
Damien’s face became unreadable.
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
His eyes lifted toward hers.
“I don’t lie about things like this.”
“Then someone is watching me.”
“Yes.”
Elena stared at the list.
“Who?”
Damien folded the paper.
“That’s what we’re going to find out.”
Suddenly, Luca’s phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
“Boss…”
“What?”
“We found one of our men.”
Damien’s eyes narrowed.
“Where?”
“At the east gate.”
“Alive?”
Luca hesitated.
“No.”
Elena covered her mouth.
Damien’s expression turned cold.
“Lock down the entire property.”
Luca nodded and walked away.
Elena looked at Damien.
“Who could hate you this much?”
Damien looked toward the dark windows.
“Someone who knows me very well.”
“And the woman in the photograph?”
He turned toward her.
“She knows me better than anyone.”
Elena’s stomach tightened.
“Who is she?”
Damien didn’t answer immediately.
Then he finally spoke.
“Her name is Isabella.”
“Isabella?”
“Yes.”
“Was she your lover?”
Damien’s expression hardened.
“No.”
“Then who was she?”
He stepped closer.
“She was my family’s greatest secret.”
Elena stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Before Damien could answer, the lights suddenly went out.
The mansion fell into complete darkness.
Elena gasped.
A second later, a gunshot shattered the silence.
BANG!
Damien grabbed Elena and pulled her against him.
“Stay behind me.”
Another shot rang out.
Glass shattered somewhere upstairs.
Luca shouted from the hallway.
“Boss!”
Damien pushed Elena behind the wall.
“Luca, secure the exits!”
“Already on it!”
Damien looked at Elena.
“Don’t move.”
Then he disappeared into the darkness.
Elena’s heart pounded.
She heard footsteps.
Then another gunshot.
And suddenly, everything went silent.
A few seconds later, Damien returned.
His face was darker than before.
He held a small black envelope in his hand.
“What is that?” Elena whispered.
Damien looked at her.
“It was left in my room.”
He opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
Elena took it.
Her blood ran cold.
It was a picture of her standing outside the mansion earlier that day.
Someone had been watching her.
On the back of the photograph were six words.
YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER BECOME HIS WIFE.
Elena slowly looked up.
Damien’s eyes were fixed on the photograph.
Then another message appeared on his phone.
One sentence.
THE GAME HAS BEGUN.
Damien clenched his fist.
Elena looked at him.
“What are we going to do?”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“We’re going to find Isabella.”
“And if she finds us first?”
Damien stepped closer and took Elena’s hand.
“Then she will discover one thing.”
“What?”
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“She made the mistake of threatening my wife.”
Outside the mansion, hidden beyond the gates, a woman watched the lights return.
She smiled.
“Good, Damien.”
She slowly lowered the binoculars.
“Now come find me.”
And for the first time, the Mafia King’s enemy wasn’t hiding from him.
She was waiting.