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I fell in love with a murderer. And not just that. He was the most notorious crime lord in the whole country - a kidnapper, robber, con artist. Donovan Valerio Barone was that, and more. He smiled when he caused me pain, but killed whoever looked at me twice. I was his captive, but in many ways than one, I was enslaved by my desires, and by the circumstances that surrounded our meeting. Everyone in the city knew The Baron was as handsome as he was vicious and ruthless. No one crossed him and lived to tell of it. No one but me. And in return, he owned me, body and soul. I had thought my life would be like a puppet's, but when Donovan smiled, in his eyes was the promise to burn the world down for me, and hold me in his arms while doing it.
Chapter 1 1
DAMIEN'S POV, AGE 19.
"What a mess," I mutter as I stare down at the blood on my knuckles.
It isn't mine, but it's fresh. Still wet. Still warm.
It smears across the leather steering wheel as I grip it tighter and cut the engine in the back lot behind the Cirelli's club.
The job went clean. Fast. The guy begged, of course; they always do. It didn't matter. He owed. He talked. He died. I am not the one to decide justice.
I am just the hand that delivers it.
I park behind a Bentley that costs more than most people make in a year. Gold trim. Shiny as hell. Enzo is, probably, Cirelli's heir. Or maybe Rinaldo, the Don, is in town.
My pulse ticks up. If the Don's here, something's brewing.
The hallway stinks of smoke and aftershave, cheap cologne on expensive suits. I nod at Nico by the side door. He doesn't say a word.
He just steps aside like he always does. I'm the Consigliere's golden boy.
Been that way since I was sixteen. Rinaldo's errand dog had a silver leash.
They love me when I spill blood in their name. That's the part that gets me later.
I'm about to push open my father's office door. His real name is Stefano Plazo, but he has never earned the title of "father."
They just raised me under the Cirelli crest like a damn stray they took pity on, but that is when I hear my name.
"...Damien's too close to Enzo now," someone says behind the door.
Pause. Shuffle of papers. The clink of a glass.
"He is a weapon, not a son," comes Rinaldo's voice, low and smooth like poison in wine. "We took him for a reason. Don't forget that."
I freeze. Not breath-freeze. My hand is still on the doorknob. My heart drops like it's made of lead.
Took me?
My chest goes cold. Skin prickling. I press closer. It's quiet for a second, and then Stefano speaks. Sounds tired.
"I know. He still believes the sob story. That we found him, gave him a home-"
"That was the plan. Make him loyal. Mould him. And it worked," Rinaldo says, amused. "He was a Bartello. Now he is ours. Why is it bothering you now, Stefan?"
My ears ring.
Bartello?
No.
No, no, no.
The Bartellos are scum. Rivals. Enemies. I've heard that name all my life with disgust. I've put bullets in men for wearing their crests. And now, I am one of them?
I step back before I can stop myself. Wood creaks under my boot. I flinch, but no one comes out.
I'm gone before anyone notices. Out the back, across the alley, into the driver's seat with my mind in shards. I sit there, fists clenched on my lap, breathing like I just ran ten miles.
My reflection in the rearview mirror looks calm. Dead calm. That version of me is already broken.
Two days later, I'm standing in the shadows of a parking garage in Midtown. Private level. High surveillance, low traffic.
Perfect for secret meetings with the man I share blood with.
Antonio Bartello doesn't look like I expected.
He looks like me.
Older, sure, with silver streaks in his black hair and a long scar down his jaw. He is bigger. Harsher.
Eyes like steel and storm. But the face? The bone structure? It's mine. Or I guess, his. He sizes me up like I might be packing C4 under my coat.
"Is this a trap?" he says. A voice like gravel. "Did the Cirellis send you to play mind games?"
I don't flinch. "I am here because I heard the truth."
"From whom?"
"Does it matter?" I hold up the small case in my hand. DNA kit. Quick swab. Third-party lab. No one connected to Cirelli or Bartello. No games.
He hesitates. Then steps closer.
"If this is a trick," he says. "I will find out, and I will kill you."
"For my sake, I hope it is all just a misunderstanding. That I just misheard."
We do the test. No drama. No handshake. No hug. He walks away without another word.
I didn't sleep that night.
And for the days that pass, I play my part. Meetings, cleanups, and on and on.
But when the results came in later that week, they hit like a sledgehammer.
99.99% match.
Antonio calls me the second he sees them. I don't pick up. I drive instead. Late-night back roads. Windows down.
Wind screaming in my ears while my whole world rearranges itself around me.
The next evening, we met again.
Same place. No words for the first minute. Just heavy silence between two men who should have had nineteen years of it and don't know where to start.
"You are my son," Antonio says finally. It sounds like it costs him everything to say it.
I nod. "And you are the reason I was taken?"
His jaw tightens. "No. I spent a decade tearing this city apart looking for you. We were ambushed. You were two. The cops sent me proof later, saying you were gone. We thought you were dead."
I believe him. I don't know why, but I do.
"So, what now?" I say. "What do you want? For me to come back?"
He nods. "You should. You belong with us. I'll protect you."
But that is the thing. I don't want protection. I want payback.
"I'm not leaving," I say. "Not yet."
His face goes hard. "Why? You are not one of them. You are a Bartello; they took you from us. Why-"
"Because I am close. They trust me. Rinaldo put a gun in my hand when I was fifteen. I've bled for that family. If I walk away now, it's over. But if I stay-"
"You want revenge. You want to remain there so you can burn them down from the inside."
My smile is thin. Cold. "Exactly."
Antonio looks at me for a long time. Then he nods once. Slow. Respectful.
We don't hug.
We don't say we love each other. But we understand each other. That's enough.
That's the night the boy they raised dies, and I become something else entirely.
No more blind loyalty. No more playing soldier.
From this moment on, I'm a Bartello.
And I'm going to make the Cirelli's pay for every lie they ever fed me.
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Chapter 1 1
19/08/2025
Chapter 2 2
04/09/2025
Chapter 3 3
04/09/2025
Chapter 4 4
04/09/2025
Chapter 5 5
04/09/2025
Chapter 6 6
04/09/2025
Chapter 7 7
04/09/2025
Chapter 8 8
04/09/2025
Chapter 9 9
04/09/2025
Chapter 10 10
04/09/2025
Chapter 11 11
04/09/2025
Chapter 12 12
22/09/2025
Chapter 13 13
22/09/2025
Chapter 14 14
22/09/2025
Chapter 15 15
22/09/2025
Chapter 16 16
22/09/2025