first thing Elena felt when she woke was cold.
Her body ached, her mind foggy, but as her vision adjusted, the truth sank in.
She was in a warehouse—tied to a chair, wrists bound tight.
A man stood in front of her.
Not just any man.
Dante De Luca.
The name sent a jolt of fear through her, even though she didn't fully understand why.
He smirked when she met his gaze. "Finally awake, princess?"
Elena's pulse pounded. "Who are you?"
Dante tsked, stepping closer. "Oh, Elena. You really don't know, do you?"
Her stomach twisted.
She had heard that name before—whispers in the dark, fragments of a past she had never understood.
And now, staring into his cruel, familiar eyes—
She knew.
Dante De Luca wasn't a stranger.
He was family.
Elena's breath caught. "You—"
"Yes, sweetheart." His smirk widened. "I'm your brother."
Before she could process the words, Dante's expression darkened.
"And I'm here to take you away from that bastard you belong to."