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*

Nico didn't speak at all as they drove straight to his estate at an adequate speed. I didn't speak either as I went through a lot of things in my mind until I settled on a single thought.


Not only to keep me safe but if push came to shove I could end my own life if I realized that a much worse fate waited for me. Aware that if Nico could torture a young woman like a piece of meat then the other mafia dons wouldn't be any better.


Heck, whoever was trying to kill him would be much worse if they got their hands on me. The thought alone sent a shiver right down to my very soul as I turned to look out the window.


All I saw were trees as the cars zoomed past the forestry, heading towards the exclusive part of the city where only wealthy people built their mansions in seclusion—which was good and bad since it meant they could do whatever they wanted there and not get caught.


Chapter 31 - First Bloody Kiss