Raven's POV – The Knife's Edge
Raven hadn't been this close to breaking in a long time.
She sat at the hotel room's small desk, staring at her phone, willing it to ring.
Waiting for a sign that Luna was safe.
Aurelio had left an hour ago. He hadn't told her where he was going, but she knew. The warehouse. The meeting. The man who had taken their daughter wasn't just some random enemy—he was personal.
And that terrified her.
Because when things got personal, Aurelio became reckless.
The last time he had let vengeance guide him, people had died.
People she loved.
She pressed her palms to her temples, trying to drown out the memories clawing their way back.
She wasn't that girl anymore.
The girl who had let herself believe in love. The girl who had let Aurelio's touch set fire to her skin, who had let herself hope that he might choose her instead of the life he had been born into.
That girl had died the night she left.
And yet, here she was. Drowning in him all over again.
A sharp knock at the door made her flinch.
She shot up, crossing the room in three quick strides. When she peered through the peephole, her breath caught.
Isabella.
Raven yanked the door open, but before she could speak, Isabella pushed inside, her expression tight with barely restrained panic.
"We have a problem," she said.
Raven's stomach knotted. "Luna—"
"Not just Luna." Isabella's dark eyes burned. "Aurelio is walking into a trap."
Aurelio's POV – The Devil's Move
Aurelio knew something was off the moment he stepped inside the warehouse.
The silence was too heavy. The air too still.
He wasn't alone.
His instincts screamed at him to turn back, but then—
"Hello, old friend."
The voice echoed through the empty space, smooth and sharp, cutting through the dark.
A figure stepped out of the shadows, and for the first time in a long time, Aurelio felt something close to shock.
Enzo Ricci.
A man who should have been dead.
A man Aurelio had personally buried six years ago.
A man who now stood before him, very much alive.
Enzo smirked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Aurelio's jaw tightened. "You should be one."
Enzo chuckled, taking a slow step forward. "I almost was. Thanks to you."
Aurelio's hand twitched toward his gun. "Where is my daughter?"
"Safe. For now." Enzo's smirk didn't falter. "But you know how quickly that can change."
Aurelio clenched his fists. "What do you want?"
Enzo tilted his head. "I want you to pay for what you did to me. But more than that, I want you to feel it. I want you to suffer the way I did."
"If you hurt my daughter—"
"Relax." Enzo's voice was almost amused. "Luna is worth more to me alive. She's leverage. Insurance. But you?"
His smile vanished.
"You're a dead man walking."
Aurelio's muscles coiled. He was seconds away from launching at Enzo when—
The first gunshot rang out.
Then another.
Aurelio barely had time to move before the warehouse erupted into chaos.
Luna's POV – Secrets in the Dark
Luna sat on the cold concrete floor, staring at the man in the suit.
She had learned a long time ago that fear didn't help.
Crying didn't help.
So she didn't do either.
Instead, she watched. She listened.
She waited.
The man—Enzo, they had called him—paced the room, muttering under his breath. He hadn't spoken to her since he locked the door, but she had heard things.
Things that didn't make sense.
Things that made her stomach twist.
Her mother wasn't innocent.
Her father wasn't just a businessman.
And the man keeping her here wasn't just after revenge.
He wanted power.
He wanted Aurelio's empire.
And he was willing to use her to get it.
Luna lifted her chin. "You won't win."
Enzo stopped pacing, arching a brow. "Is that so?"
"My dad is going to find me."*
Enzo chuckled. "Oh, I hope he does. Because when he does?" His smile turned cold. "He's going to wish he hadn't."
Luna swallowed hard.
For the first time, doubt crept in.
What if her dad didn't win?
What if this man wasn't afraid of him?
What if…
What if he was right?
Raven's POV – The Betrayal
"It's a setup."
Isabella's words rang in Raven's ears as they sped through the dark streets.
"He thinks he's walking into a negotiation, but they're going to kill him."
Raven's hands trembled on the wheel. "Who tipped you off?"
Isabella hesitated. "Does it matter?"
"It does if I don't trust them."*
Isabella exhaled. "It was Matteo."
Raven's heart slammed against her ribs. "Matteo?"
Aurelio's second-in-command. His most trusted man.
The man who had been feeding them information for years.
The man who had just betrayed him.
"Why would he—"
"I don't know."* Isabella's voice was tight. "But if we don't get there in time, Aurelio won't make it out alive."
Raven gritted her teeth and slammed her foot on the gas.
She might hate Aurelio.
She might blame him for everything that had gone wrong in her life.
But if he died tonight?
She wouldn't just be losing him.
Luna would be losing her father.
And that was something she would not let happen.
Aurelio's POV – Trapped
Aurelio dodged behind a crate as another bullet ricocheted off the metal beam beside him.
It was an ambush.
And Matteo—his most trusted man—had sold him out.
His mind screamed at him to focus, but all he could think about was Luna.
He had to get to her.
Even if it meant burning this entire city to the ground.
Enzo's laughter echoed through the chaos. "Not so untouchable now, are you?"
Aurelio didn't answer.
He was already moving.
Already planning.
And when the time came, he would show Enzo exactly why making an enemy of him was the last mistake he would ever make.
Raven's POV – The Knife's Edge
The air inside the hotel room felt suffocating.
Raven clenched her fists, staring at the clock.
2:47 AM.
She hadn't slept. Couldn't.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Luna. Saw the fear in her daughter's eyes as she was taken.
She should have fought harder. Should have done something.
The old pain, the one she had buried long ago, clawed its way to the surface. The helplessness. The guilt.
The last time she had felt this way, she had been nineteen. Alone. Pregnant.
And making the hardest choice of her life.
Aurelio didn't even know.
Didn't know what it had cost her.
Didn't know that the woman she had become—the cold, ruthless version of herself—was his doing.
A knock on the door shattered her thoughts.
She reached for the gun beneath the table before moving to check the peephole.
Isabella.
Raven yanked the door open. "What—"
"We have a problem," Isabella said, shoving past her.
Raven's stomach twisted. "Luna—"
"Not just Luna." Isabella's expression was tight. "Aurelio is walking into a trap."*
Raven's pulse spiked. "What?"
"It's a setup, Raven." Isabella's voice wavered. "He thinks he's going to a negotiation, but they're going to kill him."*
Raven's blood ran cold.
Not again.
Not this time.
"Who set him up?" she demanded.
Isabella hesitated. "Matteo."*
Raven felt the air leave her lungs. "Matteo?"
Aurelio's right-hand man. The one person he had trusted without question.
"No." She shook her head. "Matteo wouldn't—"
"He did."* Isabella's jaw was tight. "And if we don't stop this, Aurelio won't make it out alive."*
Raven grabbed her coat, slipping her gun into the waistband of her jeans.
"Then we better get moving."*
Aurelio's POV – The Devil's Move
The second he stepped into the warehouse, he knew.
The shadows felt wrong.
The air was too still.
He wasn't alone.
"Hello, old friend."
Aurelio turned toward the voice, his body coiling.
Enzo Ricci stepped into the dim light, smirking.
Aurelio's breath stilled. "You should be dead."*
Enzo chuckled. "Funny, I thought the same about you."*
Aurelio's fingers twitched toward his gun. "Where is my daughter?"
"Safe. For now." Enzo's voice was calm, but his eyes gleamed with something sinister. "But you? You're a dead man walking."*
Before Aurelio could move, the first gunshot shattered the silence.
Then another.
The warehouse exploded into chaos.
Aurelio dove behind a stack of crates, his mind racing.
It was an ambush.
And Matteo—his most trusted man—had sold him out.
A bullet whizzed past his shoulder, embedding itself in the metal beam behind him.
He had to get out.
But the second he moved, fire seared through his side.
Pain shot through him as he stumbled back, pressing a hand to his ribs.
Blood.
His own.
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay upright.
He wasn't dying here.
Not tonight.
Not when his daughter needed him.
Luna's POV – Secrets in the Dark
Luna sat curled up in the corner of the dark room, staring at the man watching her.
He wasn't like the others.
He didn't yell. Didn't threaten her.
He just…watched.
Like he was waiting.
For what, she didn't know.
"You're different than I expected," he finally said.
Luna narrowed her eyes. "What did you expect?"
"A scared little girl."*
Luna lifted her chin. "I'm not scared."*
The man smirked. "Lying is a bad habit."*
Luna clenched her fists, but she didn't look away.
She had learned a long time ago that fear didn't help.
Crying didn't help.
So she didn't do either.
Instead, she listened.
"Your father isn't who you think he is," the man said after a long silence.
Luna's stomach tightened. "You're lying."*
"Am I?" He tilted his head. "What do you really know about him?"
Luna wanted to tell him he was wrong. That her dad was a good man.
But for the first time, doubt crept in.
Because the truth was—
She didn't know.
Raven's POV – The Betrayal
The car sped through the streets, the city lights blurring past.
Raven's hands tightened on the wheel. "How sure are you?"
"Matteo was the one who tipped off Enzo," Isabella said. "He's been playing both sides for months."*
Raven cursed. "Does Aurelio know?"
"Not yet. And if we don't get there in time, he never will."*
Raven pressed harder on the gas.
She might hate Aurelio.
She might blame him for everything that had gone wrong in her life.
But if he died tonight?
She wouldn't just be losing him.
Luna would be losing her father.
And that was something she would not let happen.
Aurelio's POV – Trapped
His vision blurred.
Blood soaked his shirt, but he didn't stop moving.
Couldn't stop.
Enzo's men had him surrounded, but he had one advantage.
They wanted him alive.
Big mistake.
He ducked behind a pillar, gritting his teeth against the pain.
He needed an exit.
Now.
"You can't run forever, Aurelio!" Enzo's voice rang out.
Aurelio exhaled slowly.
He wasn't running.
He was waiting.
Because he knew—
If he was still breathing, that meant one thing.
Raven was coming for him.
And when she did?
Hell was coming with her.