Getting her out.

"You know nothing about heartache and pain," she spat.

He gripped her wrist, pinning her to a nearby wall. Her eyes were shut and her teeth clenched as she seethed. "I don't know your struggle, Tesoro, but I know plenty about struggle." His voice was calm.

Tears pooled in her eyes, and she finally stopped resisting. He pulled her into a tight hug, her face pressed against his chest. "Let me understand your struggles, Bella Ragazza."

As the new school year started, she found herself unexpectedly placed in 11th grade instead of 10th. True to form, she kept to herself, focused on her schoolwork and hoping to avoid attention. But soon, Mason noticed her. He found her intriguing, especially since she wasn't fawning over him like most girls. Each day, he made an effort to catch her eye, stopping her in the hallway or walking her to class.

Mason later learned about Hera's difficult home life. Her parents, Hailey and Oliver, were neglectful and abusive, leaving Hera to care for herself and her younger sister, Havana. After their grandmother, Bailey, passed away, Hera worked two jobs to cover funeral costs while maintaining her outstanding grades, allowing her to skip a grade.

Despite her beauty, Hera felt invisible. She spent all her resources on Havana, ensuring her sister had food and clothes, leaving little for herself.

Mason grew up homeschooled until his senior year, when he was instructed to get close to another student and gather intel on her family. He and his childhood friends, Adam and Joseph, had been trained as assassins for a Mafia family. Mason's mother, Georgina, had him at 34, and his father preferred having only one child, making it easier to train him. After losing their parents in a car accident, Adam and Joseph were taken in by Mason's family, forming an unbreakable bond among them all.