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*

He hadn't made it to the door when I bombarded him with questions. "You can't be serious?" I gasped, genuinely concerned that he would mention Vale—Marken Vale, of all people. My hands gripped his arm pulling him back before he could head out the door.


"Tell me you're not serious," I added, clutching his sleeve before he could put his hand on the door handle. He turned to look at me, and suddenly our bodies were much closer than before. The air between us seemed to thrum, taut with tension, my breath catching as I realized how uncomfortably near we were.


"If you would like us to continue, all you had to do was ask," he whispered, low and flirty, the hint of a smirk tugging at his lips. I knew exactly what he meant—but now wasn't the time. I kept my focus on the matter at hand.


Chapter 49 - Darkness