Page 61 of Power
I nod. “And we’re about to speed that up.”
The real opportunity comes wrapped in betrayal. Enzo’s right-hand man, Sergio, has been looking for a way out since he helped with Vittoria. Enzo has made his life a living hell. Not quite letting him go and not quite killing him either.
Power is a fickle thing in our world, and no one holds it without someone else waiting to take it. And Sergio? He’s been waiting a long time.
“You want out,” I tell him, sitting across from him in the back room of a high-end bar, low jazz humming through the speakers. “I’ll give you more than that. I’ll give you up.”
His brow furrows. “What does that mean?”
“You help me tear Enzo apart, and I don’t just let you walk, I hand you what’s left of his empire.”
Sergio exhales slowly, eyes darting away as he runs through the possibilities. He’s already made up his mind. He just needs to believe it was his decision.
“I need assurances,” he finally says.
“I need loyalty,” I counter. “But since neither of us is stupid enough to trust the other, we’ll settle for mutual destruction. You play me, you die. I play you, I die. No tricks, no backdoors. We take Enzo down, together.”
A slow nod. “Deal.”
From there, it’s a controlled demolition. Sergio feeds me every weakness in Enzo’s organization, and I exploit them with surgical precision. One by one, Enzo’s assets disappear—men, money, leverage. His businesses dry up, his partners start looking elsewhere, and soon, he’s losing everything he thought was untouchable.
But rats smell fire before the house burns down. Enzo gets wind of Sergio’s betrayal before we can make the final move. And unlike me, he doesn’t offer deals. He sends a message in blood,attacking Sergio’s entire family. His men track down and kill them all—including his brother, who was serving time in prison. Then, Enzo leaves Sergio’s disfigured body in the middle of the street.
It’s reckless. Public. And it does exactly what I need it to do.
The underworld is watching, and Enzo’s just proved that he’s weak enough to be threatened. There’s no greater sin in our world.
Now, the sharks are circling.
And I’m the one leading the pack.
Chapter 18
Vittoria
I’m done. Done with the messages he keeps sending to my phone, the threats, and the reminders that Enzo still thinks he owns me. He’s relentless, like a wound that won’t scab over, constantly picking at the edges of my sanity.
The words change, but the meaning stays the same—sleep with one eye open, he says. I will kill your lover and make you watch. Other times, it's more detailed. He spells out exactly how he'll do it, how long it'll take, how I'll scream for mercy that won't come. You were nothing before me, and you’ll be nothing after. Run all you want, but you’ll never be free. Sometimes, it’s almost casual—an image of a knife, a noose, a grave. No words, just implication. The kind of thing that would terrify me if I hadn’t already lived in fear for too long.
But I’m not scared anymore. I’m exhausted. And that’s worse.
Dario’s made it clear that whatever happened between us is dead now, stomped out under the weight of everything I’ve done. Maybe he’s right. Maybe we don’t deserve to have a happy ever after. But if I can’t fix things with him, at least I can put an end to this on my own. I owe him that much.
Leaving the estate isn’t difficult. Rafa watches me with something like suspicion as I walk past, but he doesn’t stop me. He’s loyal to Dario, but he’s not my jailor. If I wanted to run, I would have done it already. Instead, I take a car and drive straight to the place I never wanted to see again—Enzo’s house. My former house. Because if I do manage to get out of this alive somehow, I’ll never return here.
The gate looms ahead with the guards standing like statues, only moving when I step out of the car. Recognition glints in their eyes, followed by something colder. Disdain? Pity? I don’t care. They pat me down, take my phone, and lead me inside.
Enzo doesn’t look surprised to see me. He leans back in his chair, arms draped over the sides like a king on his throne. He takes his time, scanning me from head to toe before he smirks. “Took you long enough.”
I keep my voice composed. “We need to talk.”
His smile sharpens. “Talk? Or beg?”
I don’t move, don’t let him see how much that word makes my skin crawl. “Neither. I want a divorce.”
That wipes the smirk off his face. His jaw twitches. “You’re funny, you know that?”
“I’m not joking. I want out, Enzo. And I want you to leave me the hell alone.”
