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*

"You can leave, but this is not over," he said, but I was already walking past him as fast as I could. I was drenched, and my dress was still zipped down behind me, but that was the last thing on my mind. I didn't care as I practically ran straight back to my room, closing the door behind me as I dropped to the ground.


"Idiot! Idiot!" I cursed under my breath as I held my hands to my head, wondering how the one man I promised myself to stay away from was suddenly the person whose hands I willingly allowed. Lips and tongue too.


"I forget myself," I whispered under my breath, stopping myself in time before I slapped myself as I slowly straightened back up, heading to the bathroom and running hot water into the tub before I sank into it.


Chapter 43 - More plans