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*

My heart thumped harder in my chest as I felt his tongue slide against mine. It sent tingles straight through my stomach and spine as I struggled to pull away. Worse was the fact that part of me actually liked it.


Part of me wanted to feel more—his tongue coiling around mine, his heated breath in my mouth as his lips pressed hard against mine. But I would rather bite my tongue off than admit it. I pushed harder against him, only to feel his hands drop from my waist to my thighs as I hovered over him.


He pressed his thighs against mine, hard enough for me to feel his hardened member between his legs.


Unable to take it any longer, I bit his lip and pushed him away. This time, he gave in. He licked his lips with reckless abandon, making it clear he wanted more as I glared at him.


Chapter 32 - Aftermath