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*

It had been a while since I felt rage—the familiar icy coldness rising from my belly as I fixed my eyes on Carmen as she smiled at a man I recognized, simply because I made sure to know everyone, regardless of how irrelevant they seemed.


Someone who suddenly came to Marcelle City on the very day Nevarro Castilo was shot needed extra attention. Even more so when I watched him walk toward Carmen the moment she left my side, almost like he had been waiting for it.


Still, it wasn't until I heard Martin's voice behind me that I realized I had been staring more than I should have—something I'm always careful about, if not for watching Carmen hang her arm around Aran with ease and no sense of wariness whatsoever.


"Boss, the hall has been secured—both entrances. And I've called in more guards," Martin reported into my ear.


I nodded, gesturing to one of the waiters. I picked a drink from his tray—one I had no intention of taking a sip from.


Chapter 46 - Perfect Place