Lisa's POV
The air felt… off.
Colder.
Heavier.
I noticed it the second I opened my eyes that morning.
Noha wasn't beside me.
Not unusual—he often left early for meetings—but today, something felt wrong. The kind of wrong that prickles your skin before your brain even understands why.
I got out of bed and stepped onto the cold marble floor. Outside the bedroom, the hallway was silent. Too silent. No housekeepers, no distant voices. Just silence.
I made my way down the stairs, calling out softly.
"Matteo?"
No answer.
I walked toward the kitchen, feeling more nervous with each step.
I never made it there.
A strong hand suddenly grabbed my arm.
I gasped, trying to scream, but another hand covered my mouth.
And before I could even think—everything went black.
Noha's POV
I should've never left her alone.
Even now—standing in the middle of a heated negotiation with a rival gang—I couldn't focus.
My phone had been vibrating nonstop.
I finally checked it.
Unknown number:
"We have your girl. You know what we want. Trade her life… or she dies."
My blood turned to ice.
I read it again.
Then again.
No. No.
This wasn't real.
Not Lisa.
Not her.
I barely registered Matteo shouting my name, but when I looked up, he saw it on my face.
"What happened?" he asked.
I handed him the phone.
His face drained of color.
"Get the car," I growled.
The demon they feared… was now awake.
Lisa's POV
I woke up tied to a chair.
My arms ached. My head throbbed. My mouth was dry.
The room smelled like rust and gasoline.
It was dimly lit. One flickering bulb swung from the ceiling. Shadows moved in the corners, voices whispered. I could hear a generator humming outside.
A warehouse, maybe.
I blinked rapidly, trying to focus. Fear settled deep in my chest.
Then… a figure stepped forward.
My heart dropped.
It was her.
The woman from the mansion.
The one who said I didn't belong.
She smirked.
"Surprised, sweetheart?"
I couldn't speak.
She crouched in front of me, dragging her nails slowly across my cheek.
"You thought you could take him from us. That he'd stay soft. Stay weak. But now… we'll see how far he's willing to go for you."
Tears burned in my eyes.
I wasn't scared of pain.
I was scared for him.
What this would do to Noha.
She leaned close. "You're just like the last one. She thought love was enough too."
I froze.
She was talking about his ex.
The girl who died.
She stood up and walked away. "Let's see if Noha chooses peace… or revenge."
Noha's POV
I didn't drive.
I flew.
The car barely stayed on the road as I broke every law getting to the location Matteo traced from the message.
A warehouse on the outskirts of the city.
My chest burned.
I'd lost once.
I would not lose again.
I arrived in silence.
But inside me?
A storm was building.
Matteo and six others came with me—silent, armed, and ready.
"She's inside," he whispered.
I nodded.
Then kicked open the door.
Bullets flew instantly.
I didn't care.
I shot. I moved. I fought.
And then—through the chaos—I saw her.
Lisa.
Tied to a chair.
Blood on her lip. Eyes wide. Terrified.
I ran to her, shooting the last guard near her feet, and dropped to my knees.
"Lisa!" I said, voice raw.
She looked at me like I was her only air.
"I knew you'd come," she whispered.
And just like that… I broke.
Lisa's POV
He untied me with shaking hands.
His face was cut. Bloody. But those eyes… they burned.
"I'm here. You're safe now," he kept saying.
But I wasn't focused on me.
I cupped his face. "Noha… she said something. About your ex. She said… she died for loving you."
His jaw locked.
I felt the storm behind his silence.
He looked down. "She was innocent too. Just like you. I was careless. And they used her against me. She died… because I thought I was untouchable."
Tears filled my eyes.
"She said I'd be next."
He looked at me then.
And I saw it.
The pure, consuming fear.
"I can't lose you too, Lisa," he whispered. "I'd burn this whole world down if I had to."
I rested my forehead on his.
"Then fight for me. Don't lose yourself to this world. Don't become them. You're more than a mafia boss."
He didn't answer with words.
He kissed me.
Not like before.
Not soft or desperate.
But alive.
And I knew…
He'd kill for me.
But more importantly?
He'd live for me.
Later that night
The house was a mess of worry.
Matteo had the traitors arrested. The woman was gone—escaped before Noha could finish it.
But the war had begun.
They knew Noha had a weakness now.
Me.
But I also knew something too.
I wasn't just his weakness.
I was his reason.