Page 41 of Bound to the Enforcer

I watch as his expression darkens. He swings his legs over the side of the bed, his back to me, the muscles in his shoulders taut.

"Are you sure?" he mutters sharply. A pause. "When?"

I sit up straighter, pulling the sheets around me, my stomach tightening. Alessio listens for a beat longer before he mutters a quick, "We'll be ready," and ends the call.

"What is it?" I ask despite the unease building in my chest.

Alessio turns to face me, his expression hard again. The man from last night—the one who let down his guard—is gone."Domenico's reached out to the families. A meeting has been set for next week."

I grit my teeth, the anger flaring hot in my chest. "He's rallying support."

"Exactly," Alessio replies, slipping his gun into the holster at his side. "If he gets even half of the families behind him, it'll be nearly impossible to stop him. They'll vote to back him, and when they do…"

He doesn't need to finish. I know what happens then. Domenico won't just win power—he'll make sure I don't survive to challenge him.

I swing my legs off the bed, grabbing my clothes and standing to get dressed. "We can't let that happen."

"We won't," Alessio says, his tone final.

I pull on my jeans and turn to face him. "What's the plan?"

"We are going to that meeting, and we will make sure we present our own evidence for them to evaluate. Once they know what he has been up to, they will see that he doesn't deserve their support."

"And if they don't believe me?"

"They will. The evidence will be damning," he says darkly.

I nod, the fire burning in my chest now stronger than ever. This isn't just about survival anymore. It's about taking back what's mine.

Domenico thinks he can erase me. That I'll roll over and disappear.

He's wrong.

Chapter Twelve

Sophia

The hum of the engine fills the car, low and steady, but it does nothing to settle the chaos in my mind. I sit rigid in the passenger seat, staring out the window as the city blurs by. Alessio drives in silence, his focus locked on the road, but I know he feels it too—the weight of what's coming.

I grip the edge of my seat, my knuckles turning pale as images of Domenico flash through my mind. Every betrayal, every lie, and worst of all—her. My sister. The sister I thought was taken from us too soon, her death just another cruel twist of fate.

But it wasn't fate. It was Domenico.

"You're quiet," Alessio says, breaking through my thoughts.

I don't look at him. "Don't pretend you don't know why."

He exhales slowly, his hands firm on the wheel. "You're angry."

"Of course, I'm angry," I snap, finally turning to face him. "Domenicostoleher, Alessio. He turned my sister into a pawn, and I didn't even know. I sat at family dinners with him. Ismiled. I trusted him. And the entire time…" I trail off, trembling with barely contained fury.

Alessio doesn't respond right away. Instead, he glances at me, his dark eyes holding something steady—something that keeps me from unraveling completely.

"We're going to stop him, Sophia. You'll have your chance to make this right."

I shake my head, the anger inside me twisting into something almost unbearable. "It'll never be right. Not after what he did to her." I pause. "But I'll make him pay for it."

Alessio doesn't argue. He knows better. Instead, he pulls the car into a narrow alley, parking in the shadow of an old brick building. The safe house Matteo arranged for this meeting isn't as inconspicuous as the last. It's a renovated industrial loft, tucked into the edge of a forgotten neighborhood, the windows darkened from the outside.

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