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*

The next day was a weekend and I was more than relieved when I saw no signs of Nico. Most likely because I refused to leave my room while ordering in food from the chef.


Bite me but I wanted to relax even for one day and that was exactly what I did. 


Watching movies and eating junk food. I thought this would at least continue until Monday only to hear a knock on my door which I was tempted to ignore. But another and I got up to pull the door open only to be stunned to see Nico standing right there immaculately dressed in a tuxedo with a Bolaji bow tie.


"Get dressed. Something colourful. It's important," he said turning around to leave the next instant and i masked my face into one of complete indifference which was a lie by the way my heart thumped sporadically in my chest as I shut the door behind me.


Chapter 44 - Frustration