Carmen Castilo was the only daughter of one of the most powerful mafia dons in the city—until the night her father was shot in front of her.

At his funeral, while the family mourns, Carmen disappears.

Kidnapped from her own home and drugged, she wakes beneath blinding lights in an underground auction where the most powerful criminals in the world gather to bid—not on weapons or territory, but on her.

To them, Carmen isn’t just a woman.

She’s the last piece of her father’s empire.

The final bid reaches a staggering one billion dollars.

The buyer is Nico Romano—the stepbrother she betrayed five years ago.

Once cast out of the family after Carmen accused him of treachery, Nico returns more powerful, more ruthless, and determined to collect the debt he believes she owes him.

Escape is impossible.

Alone, stripped of allies, and trapped under Nico’s control, Carmen is forced to play by his rules—a calculated system of rewards and consequences he calls repayment.

But Nico isn’t the only one playing a game.

While he believes he owns her, Carmen is quietly rebuilding what was stolen from her. Someone murdered her father, and the deeper she digs, the clearer it becomes that his death—and her reason for getting Nico’s exiled—may have been part of the same carefully planned conspiracy.

Surrounded by enemies and secrets, Carmen must reclaim her father’s empire before it falls permanently into the wrong hands.

And the one man who might damn her soul…may also be the only ally powerful enough to help her win.

*Please this is a mafia story. If you’re uncomfortable with blood and killing this is not the story for you*

I fixed my eyes firmly on her, because I knew better than to trust a single word that came out of her mouth. Bianca was many things—ruthless, calculating, patient—but never careless with her emotions. Yet one look at her face was more than enough to tell me she meant it. The slight tremor in her voice, the tension in her jaw, the way her fingers curled like she wanted to claw something apart—it was real.


Her younger son, Kade, was missing. There was no way it was Nico.


Slowly, I pulled away from the door and stepped back into the room. My heels clicked softly against the polished floor as I moved toward her, taking measured, careful steps until I stood right in front of her. She lifted her gaze to meet mine, and for a moment, neither of us spoke.


I could have asked if she knew who took him, or what she had done so far to get him back. I could have pretended to care. But the truth was, I didn't.


Chapter 83 - Going Out