Bound by Shadows

Alessandro De Luca~

Power wasn't about strength. It wasn't about money.

It was about information.

The right information, in the right hands, could destroy empires before a single bullet was fired. And Dante Ricci—arrogant, reckless, blinded by love—had no idea just how deep my reach went.

I sat in my office, the glow of the laptop screen casting sharp shadows across my desk. Marco stood at my side, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he worked through the hospital's firewalls.

"Almost there," he muttered.

I took a slow sip of my whiskey, eyes locked on the screen. Where had she gone that day?

Valentina thought she was clever, sneaking out behind my back, but I had eyes everywhere.

The traffic footage had already shown me her route. She hadn't gone shopping. She hadn't met with Dante's men. She had gone to a clinic.

And that—that had piqued my interest.

Why would my daughter, a woman with everything at her disposal, risk sneaking away to a place like that?

I intended to find out.

Marco let out a small triumphant noise. "Got it."

Lines of patient records flooded the screen. A fortress of encrypted data meant to protect the most personal of secrets. But no system was unbreakable—not with the right resources.

He typed in her name.

Valentina Ricci...

The screen loaded, pulling up her medical file.

My eyes scanned the page. Blood tests. Ultrasounds. A recent visit—just hours before she was taken.

And then—

Everything stopped.

My breath. My pulse. The world.

Pregnancy Confirmation: Eight weeks.
Twin gestations detected.
Father: Dante Ricci.

Silence filled the room.

Cold. Deadly. Suffocating.

I stared at the screen, my vision tunneling, my grip tightening on the crystal glass until it shattered in my hand.

The shards sliced into my palm, but I barely felt the pain.

Valentina was pregnant.

With Ricci's heirs.

My heartbeat was a slow, methodical drum, each beat fueling the pure, murderous rage crawling up my spine.

I forced myself to inhale, then exhale. Slowly. Deeply. Controlling the storm within me.

Marco shifted beside me. "Boss?"

I didn't answer immediately. I simply stared at the screen, at the undeniable truth flashing back at me.

My daughter carried the blood of my enemy.

Not just one, but two.

Twins.

A legacy that was meant to be mine—stolen by that bastard Ricci.

My mistake had been underestimating their connection. I had assumed Dante had claimed Valentina out of power, out of ownership.

But this?

This was worse.

He had made her his in every way that mattered.

And now, she carried the next generation of his empire inside her.

Unless I stopped it.

My breathing evened. My mind sharpened. The first wave of rage passed, leaving something colder, more calculated in its wake.

This changed everything.

I turned to Marco, my voice calm. Deadly. "No one else sees this file. Erase our tracks. Make sure Ricci never finds out."

He nodded, immediately setting to work.

I stood, stepping over the shattered remains of my glass. The pain in my palm was a dull reminder of what needed to be done.

I had planned to use Valentina as leverage. To draw Dante in, break him, kill him.

But now?

Now, I had something far more valuable.

I didn't just have his wife.

I had his blood.

And Dante Ricci would burn the world to get them back.

Which meant, when I destroyed him—

I'd make sure he suffered first.

To Be Continued...