Book 2 of the Painted Lies duet grief /ɡriːf/ noun; intense sorrow, especially caused by someone's death. Liliana Russo is many things. The head of the Spanish mafia. A daughter. A sister. An assassin. A young woman. A criminal. Cruel? Ruthless? Unforgiving? Grieving? After everything she's been through in Italy, everyone almost forgot about everything that happened in Russia. Apart from Liliana, she struggles to forget a second of her past no matter how hard she tries. The training, the psychological manipulation, the torture and the fear. Now she has to face everything at once. Her family. Her friends. Her enemies. Her own reflection. Her past, her present and her future. And her grief. She watches as everything within reach to her burns at her command, at her touch. And she watches as it all goes up in flames. All of it. ... "Do you know how it feels-" I start, the anger seeping out of every crevice of my body as I walk up to him swinging my knife around in my hands with practiced precision, something that felt completely natural to me. Like riding a bike. "To have everything you love stripped away from you with one person?" My voice cracks and I point the knife against the external jugular vein popping out the side of his neck as he strains to get away from my hold. Alas his attempts appear to be useless against the restraints binding him the the wall. "My sisters dead" "I- I promise I didn't do anything to her" "Oh I know" I recoil with amusement and repositioning the knife so that the tip and butt both rest comfortably between my fingers as I twirl it, grinning like the Cheshire Cat with a sincere expression towards the bloody man hanging on the basement wall. "But unfortunately the person who did met an all too easy demise, quicker than I would have liked" I pout breaking into a manic laugh before dropping my face all together. "So I suppose, you'll have to do"

When she was three, Seraphina De Luca vanished without a trace. Kidnapped from her family's estate. Raised by their enemies. Trained to forget who she was. For years, the the feared De Luca mafia searched for her - never giving up, never forgiving. Meanwhile, Seraphina grew up in the hands of her family's enemies. She was controlled, conditioned, and shaped into a weapon. Her past was buried. Her name erased. But deep down, a part of her remembered-flashes of warmth, of music, of a mother's perfume. Now, at sixteen, Seraphina escapes. Not to destroy the empire that once belonged to her. But to uncover the truth buried in blood, memory, and lies. She doesn't know her last name. She doesn't know the world she was born to rule. But she is the missing heartbeat of the De Luca family. She just doesn't know it yet.

Emilia Morelli's world shatters when she's told her mother has died. Left with no family, well at least none that she knows of, she's pulled into a system that sees her as just another case. She's alone and unsure of herself. But far away, there are men who have been searching for her. Men who share her name. Men who are feared by the world. They've spent years looking for the little girl who was taken from them. Now that they've found her, they'll stop at nothing to bring her home. Emilia doesn't know them. She doesn't know the truth. And she has no idea that her life is about to change forever.

She is the definition of water. Powerful enough to drown you, but just as delicate enough to cleanse you. She is irreplaceable. The unassailable longing for love and affection that she never received, molded her into stone. She is unstoppable. A lone girl shredded to pieces and tossed into the wind. A heart covered with walls as tall as time. She is Dangerously shattered. Scarlett D'Angelo. A girl who has been abused, forgotten, hated. only to have it craft her into becoming powerful, underestimated, independent girl. An unstoppable force. - As the truth unravels before her, she finds out her life was an on going cycle of lies. Brothers who live across the country take her under their care with little to no consent from her. But what she doesn't know is that they are some of the most dangerous people in the world. The fear she used to know is nothing compared to them. The D'Angelo family known as leaders, killers, and powerful men and women. Their whole life and generations before run the Italian mafia. The strongest. The most merciful. The most dangerous Mafia in the world. Will their world hurt her in the end? Or will she thrive in the world of violence? Will she be able to expose her past to them? Or will she keep her haunting past to herself and let it destroy her? ---------- rankings #12 in family problems #16 in gore #3 in drunk #3 in character development #14 in guns #5 in gang violence #1 in drug abuse #5 in powerful #1 in secretive #114 in dangerous #78 in overprotective #536 in depression #101 in little sister Started: September 2nd, 2024 ongoing!

Malakai Moretti is trying to live with something he can't undo. After taking a life, that night still haunts him quietly, lingering in the corners of his mind no matter how hard he tries to move forward.His family surrounds him with loyalty and protection, but even in the middle of them he struggles to understand who he is now and where he truly fits in the Moretti family. Summer Rossi knows what it feels like to lose everything. After the death of her older sister, the world she knew fell apart-and when her father walked away, it left a silence in her life that never quite fades. With a mother who works long nights as a nurse, Summer has learned to face most of her pain alone, carrying grief that feels too heavy for someone her age. When Malakai and Summer collide, two broken teenagers recognize the wreckage in each other. Their connection is fierce, desperate... and dangerous. Love may be the only thing that can save them if it doesn't destroy them first.

Kallias D'Angelo. The infamous assassin, known for playing with her victims before brutally killing them. Taunting them, giving them false hope, watching them grovel and beg beneath her feet. It was all the same to her- a perfect game. Eros D'Angelo. A temperamental Streetfighter, whose fists are guided by his reckless and impetuous emotions. Though he attempts to keep his impulsive actions in check, the overprotectiveness over his triplets gets the best of him. Kian D'Angelo. An effervescent Street Racer who finds humor in watching people lose. As much as he is bubbly and lively, he's equally cold and reserved around those he despises. From poor to rich, together, they made an irreversible title that has made them well-known in the underworld. Meanwhile, the Italian mafia has been on a long search for their lost mafia triplets. Just when they decide to give up, their mother, the former leader, manages to track down the triplets. Just not in the way anyone was expecting. Having caught the Triplets red-handed in her own assassination attempt, the cold and intrigued mother decides to keep their secret as long as they keep her secret in return. Despite the triplets not wanting to meet the family that abandoned them, they comply as a new plan comes to mind. Ruin the Italian mafia- something they've always wanted to do. And now they had all the chess pieces right in their hands. Seven mafia brothers, an assassin father, and secret family friends. Yet, only their mother knew their real identities and who was living under their own roof. Will the triplets be able to play innocent and get their hands on what they've always wanted? Or will they be blinded by the longing urge for familial love? What chaos will they bring into this newfound household?

Some flames burn quietly... until they don't. Aurora Bellini is the picture of innocence. Quiet. Kind. A law student with a soft heart and a tragic past. When a violent attack threatens her safety, she's placed under the protection of the Vitti family - Italy's most feared crime syndicate. More specifically, under the cold, watchful eye of their heir: Angelo Vitti. Angelo doesn't want her there. Too sweet. Too soft. Too breakable. But there's something about her that unsettles him. Her gentle smile, her quiet strength - it seeps past the walls he's spent years building. He tells himself she doesn't belong in his world. He tells himself to stay away. But he watches her anyway. Protects her anyway. And slowly, against his better judgment - he starts to burn for her. With war simmering between the Italian and Russian mafias, every secret is dangerous. Every glance, every touch, every whisper in the dark... it all matters. Because nothing is ever what it seems. And sometimes the softest things burn the most.

Alessandra Romano is a 16 year old girl who got neglected and abused but also got trained to be a deadly assassin. With her dark, long,brown hair that goes down to her waist, her doe brown eyes that once held so much light now dull and lifeless, and her curvy body. Many people would see her as perfect and gorgeous but to her all she sees is a girl that went through absolute torture as she was growing up. She has loads scars that show what she went through. She has many walls built up around her heart that only a few people could break through. She only has one person that could ever make her smile and laugh and that person is her twin brother. Alessandro Romano is a 16 year old boy who got neglected and abused but also got trained to be a deadly assassin. With his dark brown hair and dull brown eyes, and muscular body his aura screams confidence and cockiness. Many girls want to be with him while many boys want to be him. He has also got many walls built around his heart that hardly anyone can break through except for his twin sister. He is only a couple minutes older but he always protects his little sister. Alessandro has had many hookups but he has never fallen for anyone as he doesn't think anyone could give him the same love that his sister has given him. Their bond is indestructible. They went through hell and back together but have always been there for each other. His face never shows any emotions as over the years he has been taught to not show any weaknesses. The two twins have always yearned for a happy family that will love and care for them but they never thought they would have that. Until fate found them one day and it changed their whole perspective on love and family.

HIGHEST RANKINGS: #1 in tragedy #1 in sixbrothers #1 in teenagegirl Lily Alexandra Miller was wary of the circumstances she lived under. She was hanging by a thread to a play called life but somehow always survived. As she hears about the demise of the only people she knows in her life, the fate decided to bring her back to the place she was taken away from. What Lily doesn't know is that she is moving to her real family, the ones who love her, or so she hopes. All she can hope about is that her life gets better.

Taken from her family at the age of four, because of a deep grudge, Aria doesn't remember the place she used to call home. All she knows now, is silence and pain. All she has is her broken self, and the hope of being free one day. She's been called a curse, and she's been called worse- to the point where Aria doesn't know what is true or not. She'll never escape the hell she's in, she'll never have a home or a family, right? *Sneak peek* Aria: "BITCH! Where the fuck are you?" I wake up with a jerk on the cold floor of the kitchen's store. The rope that he used to keep me there when his friends were over, bit into my skin, and was now stained with red. He had forgotten. Again. But that was a good thing, because it means I didn't get beatings last night. I tired to move, but the pain from my ankle was sending vibrations to my brain, and I winced, my back hitting the wall hard. I closed my eyes, praying he won't find me- but luck is never on my side. He opens the door, and smirks as he looks down at me. His eyes were clear, he wasn't drunk. That was bad. He made it more painful when he wasn't. He undid the rope, and dragged me by the hair, into the kitchen. "You little bitch. Growing wings now, are we?" He threw me on the floor and kicked my ribs. Pain flared through me, but I shut my eyes tight. Don't make a sound. "Make me my damn breakfast right now. And I want it prepared next time or else." I nod my head, and get to my feet. But he dragged me towards him by the neck, my back to his front. His hand went under my shirt, the threat hanging in the air, and I squeezed my eyes shut. "Do you hear me?" I nod. His hand went up to my chest, and I swallowed the nausea rising up in me. "Yes who?" "Yes Daddy." I choked out. Then he pushed me towards the stove and walked out.