life flipped upside down after the kidnapping. Emily's mom, Lori Monteya, was the one pulling the strings. She wanted to get rid of Emily, her illegitimate daughter, 'cause her husband, Victor Monteya, gave her no other choice. I wasn’t even supposed to be part of it, but, like they say, I was just collateral damage. My dad found out the truth and banned me from seeing Emily. I didn’t get it, so I lost it.

One night, some guys broke into our house, killed my whole family, and shot me. But somehow, I made it out alive. They set it up so perfectly that everyone thought my dad just snapped from the bankruptcy and killed everyone. It was all bullshit, but nobody questioned it. They dumped me at an orphanage, and while the bullet didn’t kill me, it left a scar on my heart—bigger than any physical wound.

That’s when Enzo Delvecchio, the biggest mob boss in town, took me in. He brought me into his empire—started as a money-laundering front but turned into a legit business with hotel chains, restaurants, and clubs. When Enzo died, he left everything to me, and I took the Delvecchio name to the top. In the mafia world, they knew me as La Morte Rossa. The Delvecchio name means power, fear, and cash, and we were respected not only in Italy but in the States too.

My main goal? Getting revenge on the Monteya family. Not just for what they did to me, but for what they’ve been doing to Emily. It killed me to stay away from her. The necklace she gave me, with the star charm, never left my neck. I watched her from the shadows, sending her flowers and letters. It kept her on edge. That night after her piano recital, I saw the fear and confusion in her eyes. I couldn’t help myself. Watching that asshole try to hit her at that party nearly drove me crazy. I stopped him, but God, the urge to grab her, kiss her, take her right there was almost too much to handle.

And then the kidnapping happened. That’s when I really lost it. Now, she’s standing in front of me, asking me a question she already knows the answer to deep down.