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Beneath The Ashes

By blossomspecs

309K 9.7K 898

Ivy Bright has always believed that a smile can fix anything - even when life keeps proving her wrong. Stuck... More

Intro
Unusual Day
The Talk
New Path
Unspoken Words
Interesting Chat
First Day
Shopping Spree
A Gift Beyond Words
Cracking the quite one
Post Lunch
Sketching memories
Tree Climber
New Face
Little Sleepy
Opening Doors
A Glimpse into Their World
Our Bussiness
Silence
Library Talks
The Discussion
Let The Fear Sink In
Swimmimg Lesson
First Everything
Mean Girls.
Deal Gone South
Blood?
A Stranger
Felipe
Charecters
Introduction
Xavier
Day Out
Ice cream At End
Back To Home
Unspoken Things
Mr. Greyson
The Storm Brewing
Waiting For You
seeing him again..
He Is Back
Confession
Cupcake For Everyone
Dressup
Lunch With Brothers
Trouble finds path
Blurred Truth
Blurred Truth -2
Mending The Cracks
Love Or Pride
Authors note
Bruises and Bandages
Poor Guy
The Talk
Paint-Stains and Park Dates
Shot and grazed
Blood for Blood
Soup And White Lies
The Line Between Us
A Day Borrowed from Peace
The Return
When the Heart Worries
No Mercy Left
Not An Update
Whispers in Empty Halls
Fire in the Blood
Nightmare and comfort
A Distraction
No Favors
Training And Strategies
What the Shadows Don't Show
Search And Locate
GALA
Eyes Everywhere
Extending Peace
Aching Feets
馃 Please Read 馃
Caramel Custard
In the Arms That Stayed
Flexing Some Moves
The Fire She Became
The Devil at the Door
Beneath the ashes
Bonus 1. Brothers
Bonus 2. Xavier

Checkmate

755 39 3
By blossomspecs

Ivy's POV

"Th fuck you talking about !!?" Massimo called out.

My knees felt like they'd crumble under me the moment Dimitri called out. There was a long beat of silence as I braced for what was coming.

Then—

Camila stepped through the hallway.

My mother.
This was it. The moment all the fear, the pain, the secrets came crashing in.

"I knew you were a lying bitch. You monster!"

My voice cut through the warehouse, sharp as shattered glass.

"Never fucking believed you anyway!"

My brothers gasped. Zayn's eyes widened. Felipe stayed close beside me, ready.

Massimo's voice cracked, confused and protective:

"Ivy—what's happening? What are you talking about?"

Dimitri let his twist of a smile bloom into full darkness.

"Oh, Ivy didn't mention? Her mother visited her at the gala."

He raised an eyebrow, smug. Then turned to Camila—like she was part of his chessboard.

"All thanks to my timely appearance, Camila slipped in quietly."

He paused to let that sink into the silence, then continued.

"We thought we could sway her stance. She nearly did. But alas—the girl has stronger roots."

"What the fuck do you want now?!" Massimo thundered.

Dimitri's tone dropped.

"Can't you see? It was never about De Luca at all." He looked me dead in the eye. "It was always about me."

Electric rage pulsed through me, my heart in my throat.

"Who do you think supported De Luca? Provided him men, weapons, intel..." He gestured to the ruined body at De Luca's feet.

"He was just a pawn. A stepping stone. My revenge long overdue."

My chest tightened.

He lifted a finger, putting on a show.

"Let me tell you a story," he said, voice low and smooth—poison pouring out. "The story you'd love to hear."

He let the suspense hang.

"America. This empire. It's always been my ambition. It was already mine before Massimo took control. You Vitalos stood in my way"

Dimitri's voice slithered into the room, arrogant and poisonous, his words coiling around my spine.

"But God heard me," he said, stepping closer into the broken light that filtered through the warehouse's busted ceiling. "And one day...Camila walked into my life."

I stared at the woman standing beside him—my mother—and for the first time, I didn't feel pain. I felt rage. Pure and trembling. She didn't even flinch. Her lips were pursed, unreadable.

"It was six...maybe seven years ago," Dimitri went on, his voice slipping into a mockery of nostalgia. "When little Ivy had just turned fourteen. Still bright-eyed. Still soft."

My stomach turned.

"Camila," he said, turning toward her with fondness that made me want to rip through my own skin, "was just a charming woman with a tragic story. A story she let me mold." His eyes flicked back to me. "I promised her money, love, Sex And on my word, she went to Marcus Vitalo's doorstep."

I felt disgusted knowing the women who birthed me went soo low. I clenched my jaw. Massimo's arm around me tightened.

"We needed information," Dimitri continued, conversational as if we were seated at a dinner table. "Marcus had built fortresses on his sons money. His home. But every fortress has a door—it just takes the right knock. Camila became that knock."

Declan cursed under his breath. Zayn's fists were clenched at his sides.

"She did well. For years, she gathered what crumbs she could. Because Marcus wasn't interested much in you guys. She never got too close—& Marcus was careful. Ivy was practically of no use. But then...then came Massimo's little act of charity."

His lip curled.

"He took Ivy in."

I felt Massimo's stand close behind me.

"And suddenly," Dimitri laughed softly, "the door was wide open. Ivy—the new sister. The innocent. The wildcard. And I knew then..." His voice turned razor-sharp. "She would be my key. My pressure point. My ace."

My throat burned. I wanted to scream. I wanted to break every word he ever spoke.

"Deluca?" He scoffed. "That coward had history with the Vitalos. I knew it. And I used it. Fed him scraps of power, gave him men, deals, silence. Let him run wild—just enough to keep you busy."

He stepped forward, voice thick with pride.

"Whatever you think he did..." Dimitri shrugged, "Was me. Every move. Every attack. Every shipment. My plan. My hands."

Massimo's hand slipped from my shoulder. I saw him clench it at his side, eyes burning.

"But Deluca..." Dimitri sighed like someone recounting a flawed apprentice. "He got too ambitious. Tried to drag Marcus into this. That cost him. You found the island co-ordinates, didn't you?"

Declan's eyes widened. "The fucking island we searched ?"

"Yes,thankfully our base was completely underground" Dimitri said simply, smiling again. "When I saw your men on that terrain, I thought you'd finally figured me out. So I crashed your gala—to test the waters."

He turned to Camila.
"And I sent her in to...retrieve Ivy, just in case things turned south."

I felt a flare of disgust so deep it made my limbs shake.

"But when I talked to you, Massimo..." Dimitri's eyes narrowed. "You had no idea. I made up my story as I already had some investments with the client to make it believable incase you search"

A beat of silence.

"That's when I realized..." He chuckled. "This game? It's getting boring."

He tilted his head at me, mocking sadness.

"Ivy wouldn't let Camila near her. No matter what face she wore. You're colder than I gave you credit for, princess."

I didn't respond. I wouldn't give him my voice.

"I was not going to wait longer," Dimitri said, taking a breath. "Because Deluca's mistake—dragging Marcus in—would've costed me years of planning. I couldn't risk it."

He stepped forward again, swaggering.

"So I sent someone you could catch. Who'd lead you straight here."

Massimo muttered, "The intruder..."

"Exactly." Dimitri snapped his fingers. "And once you thought it was over, once you let your guard down—" He spread his arms wide, "That's when I'd arrive. When I'd take what's mine."

He locked eyes with me again.

"Though I didn't expect you to be here, Ivy."

A smirk cut across his face.

"But... I suppose tonight is full of surprises. Maybe If you come with us and you will be spared"
_____________

Chaos cracked like lightning.

Guns lifted all at once—my brothers, Xavier, Felipe—every hand trained toward Dimitri and the shadows behind him. Their faces were carved from stone, jaws locked, eyes burning like wildfire. I didn't even register whose voice yelled first, because it was everyone.

A cacophony of rage.

"You're fucking dead, Dimitri!"
"Move and we'll blow your head off!"
"Step away from her—NOW!"

But then, Dimitri lifted one finger, calmly, slowly And the words he uttered next made the ground beneath my feet feel hollow.

"There's a sniper pointed at Ivy."

The world stopped spinning.
And then I saw it—a flicker. A dot. A glowing green laser, right over my heart, trembling slightly as it danced across the fabric of my shirt.

I blinked, slowly. One second. Two.

Zayn stepped forward out of instinct, a small movement—barely a shift. But it was enough.

"Don't," Dimitri snapped. His voice sliced through the air. "One more movement toward her, and she dies."

Zayn froze, but his jaw clenched in refusal. His eyes flicked to me, torn between action and obedience.

"You're fucking sick—" Xavier muttered, his voice like gravel.

Dimitri raised his voice. "Massimo. You want her to live?"
He smirked. "Hand over your mafia. Give me what should've been mine all along."

My teeth gritted so hard I felt pain crack through my skull. I didn't even think. The fire inside me moved before my brain caught up.

I roared "In your fucking dreams, you power-hungry moron."

Crack.

A shot rang through the air.

My arm snapped backward as something grazed it, searing across my skin. I hissed through my teeth and stumbled back.

"IVY NOO!!"
Massimo roared. Xavier's face contorted into pure fury. Every gun cocked at once again.

"STOP!" Dimitri bellowed. "Nobody moves. That was just a warning."

Blood was dripping from my upper arm. Not deep. A graze. But enough to ignite the storm around me.

Xavier's entire body was shaking. His eyes—completely black. Hands twitching at his side.

He was looking at Massimo as if waiting for a signal. Massimo subtle nodded.

Strange.

Camila stepped forward, a cruel calm painted on her face.

"Daughter," she said with soft cruelty. "We meet again."
She looked at me as if she cared. As if she had any right to use that word.

"If you dont want to end up in bloodshed," she added sweetly, "come with us. Come back to your stepfather."

Dimitri chimed in, "You can still escape this. You can join us, Ivy. You're strong. Smart. We could rule together."

I stared at them both. Then spoke slowly, venomously.

"I would rather die than ever stand beside monsters like you."

Massimo turned to me then. Calm. Controlled. But in his eyes—there was something else. Something I didn't understand yet.

He was smiling.

I frowned. Why the hell is he smiling?

Massimo turned to Dimitri. His voice low and razor-sharp.

"You should be the one thinking about running."

Dimitri blinked.

"You really thought I ruled you out?" Massimo asked, stepping forward.

The dot on my chest vanished. Dimitri's brows knit together in confusion.

Massimo clicked his tongue and gave a half-shrug. "Why so confused, Dimitri?"
"You dug your own grave."

Dimitri flinched, just slightly.

"I knew something was off," Massimo continued, walking now—slow, commanding, circling him like a lion stalking prey. "When our team came back from that island."

"What?" Dimitri said, his façade beginning to crack.

"The tech we used," Massimo said, voice sharp, "picked up frequencies—odd signals bouncing across the area. Random keys and letters encrypted, scattered through the air. Something wasn't clean."

I watched Dimitri falter, just a step. He knew what was coming.

"No movement. No guards. No presence. It didn't make sense," Massimo continued. "But when we decoded those frequencies... seventy-five percent of them traced back to Russia."

My eyes widened. Felipe's lips parted.

"But we couldn't move. Not yet. We didn't have proof."

Massimo's voice dipped lower, dark and lethal.

"Then you showed up at the gala."

The room exhaled a storm of tension.

"That was your first mistake."

Massimo glanced at Camila, then back at Dimitri.

"She was your wildcard. But Ivy..." He glanced at me. "My Ivy—she's not weak. She would never trust the woman who ruined her childhood."

My heart skipped.

"The moment you walked out of that gala, Dimitri..." Massimo said, voice like thunder breaking across calm waters, "I began my own game."

He tilted his head.

"You were involved. I knew it. I just needed your location. I just needed you to fuck it up somehow and I knew you would."

Dimitri took a sharp breath, jaw twitching.

"You slipped. You sent an intruder who gave us the location of Deluca."

Massimo chuckled darkly.
"While De'luca was stupid but not this much.
No one—no one—would ever let a mere sniper know the coordinates to their base."

I felt my stomach twist.

"You sacrificed him. You thought we'd clean up Deluca and you'd slide in when we were celebrating."

He stepped closer.

"But here you are," Massimo said. "Waltzing into a room full of killers who've been hunting you for weeks."

Dimitri's smile was gone.

"This was never your trap," Massimo said, eyes narrowed. "It was mine."

Massimo's smile stretched slow, lethal—a devil cloaked in composure, his voice smoother than poison as it rolled from his lips.

"You know, Dimitri... I had to act like you'd won. You played your part well, I'll give you that," he said, tilting his head, eyes glinting with unholy amusement. "But you were just too drunk on the illusion of power to notice what was really happening."

My heart pounded in a confused rhythm—his calm unnerved me even more than Dimitri's chaos.

"You see," he continued, hands sliding into his pockets, "no one knew. Just me, Xavier, and a handful of my men. We had to play this chessboard in silence."

Dimitri's expression twitched, confusion creeping through the cracks of arrogance.

Massimo's voice dropped lower, a razor in velvet. "You were so obsessed with your victory, so consumed by the idea that you outsmarted us... that you never even noticed Camila isn't by your side anymore."

My head snapped toward her last known position—gone.

"And," Massimo added smoothly, with a look of wicked satisfaction, "there's a seething man named Xavier right now, with a gun trained on your thick skull."

Dimitri stiffened. His neck twisted, frantic, searching—

And there he was.

Xavier.
Stone-faced, unmoving, gun leveled at the side of Dimitri's head.

Camila, meanwhile, was unconscious being dragged out by two of our guards.

"You hear that silence?" Massimo asked, smiling again, "That's the sound of your men being slaughtered one by one while you played God. Your snipers? Dead. Our remaining men? Already inside."

Dimitri's face drained of color.

"And your estate?" Massimo leaned in, voice low and dripping satisfaction. "It's burning into flames."

I blinked. What?

"The moment you walked into this warehouse, Marco executed exactly what he was briefed to do."

Massimo straightened, eyes blazing now—pure alpha, pure king.

"So yes, Dimitri... I'm extremely happy with the outcome."

He smirked.
"Checkmate."

The silence around us stretched thin, taut.

I stood frozen. Every nerve ending was firing, but I couldn't move. Couldn't speak. My mind was still catching up.

Xavier, locked and loaded, eyes colder than frostbite.
Massimo, unbothered, a storm wrapped in calm.
My brothers, all looking at each other in shared disbelief.

And Dimitri? He snapped.

He began blabbering, stammering words like spit. "This isn't over! You think this is the end? I'll kill every last one of you—I'll—"

BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.

Xavier.
He emptied his entire clip into both of Dimitri's legs. Blood soaked the floor as Dimitri screamed, writhing.

Xavier spat at his feet. "Now learn to fucking crawl, you rat. You'll wish we killed you fast."

Massimo, unfazed, turned to Marco.
"Take him to the cell. Make sure he stays alive. For now."

Marco nodded and barked orders as Dimitri was hauled away screaming threats, nothing but a crawling shadow of the devil he thought he was.

The second he was out of sight, all my brothers turned to Massimo at once.

"You didn't tell us anything?"
"Are you insane?"
"Mass, you let us walk into that blind?"
"What the actual fuck?"

Massimo just exhaled, his eyes falling to me.

He rushed over and looked at my arm—blood-stained, trembling. His jaw locked.

"Ivy, I—I didn't know Dimitri had a sniper on you." His voice dropped. "If I did—fuck—I would've stopped this sooner."

I stared at him, blinking, words stuck in my throat.

He placed a hand on my cheek. "Hey. Snap out of it, baby girl. Talk to me."

I blinked again. My voice barely returned, raw and rasped.

"...That was so fucking badass."

Massimo blinked.

I leaned on him, drained. "My brother just gave the wildest goddamn plot twist I've ever seen. Who even does that?"

He smiled faintly. Xavier scoffed. Felipe laughed outright. Even Jaxon muttered something about movies not being this dramatic.

I sagged against Massimo, my vision starting to tilt.

"Hey. Stay with me," he said, alarm creeping in his voice.

"I'm okay," I mumbled. "It's just... the blood. Or maybe the adrenaline. Or maybe the fact I got shot. Or maybe..."

My voice faded.
Darkness crept in.
I dropped.

"IVY!"
"Shit!"

Hands caught me.

"Fuck—move" Declan's voice cut through. "Fast. We need to get her out—now!"

I tried to open my eyes a bit.

Massimo's voice—broken, panicked.
"Get the SUV near the front. Now!"

Xavier didn't wait. He ran. Jumped into the driver seat.
Massimo held me close "Hang on, Ivy. Keep your eyes open. You hear me?"

The engine roared to life.
Xavier drove like a madman.
Massimo's voice—repeating my name like a prayer.

I wanted to tell him that Its nothing serious, It wasnt much of a blood but my eyes felt heavy.

Felipe shouted directions into a phone.
Declan held pressure on my arm.
Zayn was yelling in the back.

And I let myself float.

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