The Moretti Heiress

Nico joined the rest of the storm squad like a goddamn hurricane.

Last to arrive. But the one with the deadliest fire burning inside.

Because the Cobras hadn't just kidnapped Serena.

They'd murdered Matteo—his closest friend, his brother in everything but blood.

Now? It was war.

The Morettis were strapped and ready. Guns. Vests. Knives. Rage. The Martinez men weren't any softer. This wasn't a rescue mission. This was vengeance wearing black.

Alessandro stood at the head of the briefing table, a general before the slaughter.

"We hit them hard. We take her back. We bury anyone who gets in our way."

Simple.

Deadly.

Kayden passed around a marked-up map of the warehouse. "Three guards at the front. Two in the towers. More inside. But they're cocky. That'll be their fucking downfall."

"We go in silent," Luca said, locking in a magazine. "But if it gets loud—"

"It gets loud," Dante grinned, locking and loading like a man begging for chaos.

"Matteo's blood won't dry in vain," Nico said, voice like ice. "I'll find the ones responsible."

"You and me both," Kayden replied without hesitation.

The Morettis turned to him—still riding the line between trusting him and wanting to throw him out a window—but for now?

For Serena?

They'd work with the fucking devil.

Meanwhile... at the Warehouse of Pure Bullshit

"Boss, I swear I'm gonna cry if she opens her mouth again," one Cobra groaned, holding a bag of frozen peas to his swollen knuckles. He had punched the wall in frustration.

"She called me a weak-ass amateur," another snapped. "Said my slap had no commitment. What does that even mean?!"

"I said, 'You'll regret this,' and she deadass corrected my delivery," a third grunted from the floor. "Like she's grading a fucking school play."

"I've tortured people for ten years, man," the first one wailed. "TEN. And she's giving me notes. Like I'm auditioning for a villain role in her play."

"Boss, is she... reverse-torturing us? Because it's fucking working,"

The Cobra leader had been silently smoking in the back. He finally stood, crushed the cigarette under his boot, and growled:

"Move."

The guards scrambled like children caught sneaking candy.

Inside, Serena sat tied to a chair. Bruised, bloodied, bound—but grinning like she had the upper hand.

The boss stepped in. Cold. Calculating. Dangerous.

"Oh look," Serena muttered, eyes half-lidded. "The main character finally decided to show up."

"You think you're clever," he said, circling her like a wolf.

"I don't think. I know."

He crouched in front of her, his tone shifting to venom. "You've got a sharp tongue. But tell me, where was all this attitude... seven years ago?"

Her smirk flickered. Just a second. But he saw it.

He leaned in, whispering. "Didn't you get seven stitches to the head as a kid? Covered it with your hair so no one would see the scar?"

Her jaw clenched.

"You were ten. Daniel Carter came home drunk. Fought with Olivia. You ran out to stop it—"

Snap—he clicked his fingers. "Glass table. Right to the head."

She was silent.

"You flinch when someone yells. You hate loud sounds. Wanna know why?"

He barely got another word in before—

"You talk too fucking much," Serena spat, eyes like wildfire.

He blinked.

"Oh, is this your big plan? Trigger my trauma? Scare me with shit I already survived?" she snapped. "Sorry. That ship sailed. And crashed. And burned."

SMACK.

His slap snapped her head sideways. Blood bloomed at the corner of her mouth.

She turned back.

And smiled.

"See? Better. Posture's stronger. Power's improved."

He grabbed her hair, yanked her forward.

And she laughed.

"You think a few bruises will make me beg?" she hissed. "You think I'll cry? Break? Please. You're not the first asshole to try."

"You think your little Moretti boys are coming for you?" he sneered. "They'll be too late."

She leaned in.

"Then pray they are. Because if they're not?"

Blood dripped down her chin.

And she smiled like the devil himself.

"They'll bring hell with them."

Outside the Warehouse 

The Morettis and the Martinez men were shadows in the dark—black-clad, earpieces in, adrenaline pumping.

Nico rolled his neck. "We move on Kayden's signal."

Kayden raised his hand. "In three... two..."

BOOM.

A distant explosion rocked the east side of the compound.

"...one."

"GO!"

They stormed the warehouse like a tidal wave of destruction.

Glass shattered. Screams cut through the night. Gunshots lit up the shadows.

Nico found the bastard who had shot Matteo that day.

He didn't just kill him.

He made him suffer.

Dante and Adrian cleared out the security rooms, bodies falling like dominoes. Luca torched the Cobra's inventory—making sure nothing of value survived.

And Kayden?

He was cutting through the hallways like a man possessed.

Straight to her.

To Serena.

A/N:

LITERALLY. WHO. GAVE. HER. THAT. LEVEL. OF. FEROCITY???

Serena's out here surviving and giving her captors tips on their form. Like—ma'am, this is a torture scene not a TED talk.

And the Morettis?? They said family is family, blood or not, and came in like a SWAT team on steroids. And Kayden??? Soft boy turned storm??? We LOVE a man on a mission.

What do you think Kayden's gonna do when he sees her like that?
Will Serena be too far gone emotionally... or will his face be the thing that finally breaks her?

Drop your chaos, your crack theories, your "I want that man DEAD" vibes—my inbox is OPEN and I'm screaming with you.

Let's go!!