Shattered Vows

Liam

The door shut behind me with a dull thud, locking Isabella inside. I didn't hesitate. I didn't turn back.

She wasn't my concern. Not really. She was leverage, a means to an end. Nothing more.

I strode down the hall, my mind already moving ahead to the next step. The walls of this place—old, worn, stained with the memories of men who had come before me—held no comfort, but they served their purpose. Unlike Marco, I didn't need luxury to feel powerful. Power was control. Power was knowing the enemy's next move before he even thought of it.

And Marco... he was predictable.

He would come for her.

He'd burn the whole city down before he let someone take what belonged to him. And that was exactly why I had taken her. Not because I wanted to hurt her—she was innocent in all of this—but because Marco didn't care about innocence. He cared about ownership. Control.

He was a monster. And I was going to end him.

I pushed open the door to my office, the stale scent of smoke and leather greeting me. A few of my men were waiting inside, their eyes sharp, waiting for orders.

"She's locked up," I said, moving to the desk. "Make sure she stays that way."

One of them—Rafael—shifted, arms crossed. "She's not like the others."

I exhaled slowly. "No. She's not."

That was what made this dangerous. She wasn't screaming, wasn't breaking. She was watching. Waiting. And that unsettled me more than it should.

But it didn't matter.

Because Marco's days were numbered.

And nothing—not even the girl locked up in the next room—was going to stop me.