ManyWriters

For eight years, I was his shadow, the weapon a mafia boss had raised from childhood. My loyalty was absolute.
So when he was betrayed and needed fifty million dollars to live, I bled for it on the dark web. They took my ear with a bullet and my kidney with a blade.
Three months later, I dragged what was left of me back to his door, only to find him with another woman in his penthouse.
"If she means nothing, why give her the Moretti family crest?"
"You have to throw a dog a bone to keep it loyal. Darling, Alessia is just a stray I took in. She's fit to be my killer, never my wife."
But the final blow came at his wedding, where he stood before the world and declared, "I'm single, finally free to pursue my true love."

My Blood for His Empire

Besides, the Luciano of today was no longer someone I could lean on.


Isabella mentioned she knew an exclusive, tucked-away restaurant, and Luciano drove.


On the drive there, I sat in the back seat, watching them flirt in the front.


“Now, Moretti,” Isabella said, her voice a playful caress, “I’ve already divorced for you, so you absolutely have to take responsibility for me, okay?”


Luciano tenderly brushed a stray curl from her temple, his voice dripping with affection as he murmured:


They weren't wrong; they truly were a perfect match. Their looks, their family backgrounds, even their cunning ways—everything about them was so perfectly aligned.


So, a change of heart… that was perfectly natural too, wasn't it?


The exclusive restaurant was hidden down a remote alley. No one could have foreseen that Isabella’s ex-fiancé would send men to ambush us there.


Although Luciano quickly called for backup, he had only brought a handful of his most trusted men on this trip to New York City, while their opponents numbered in the dozens.


In the ensuing chaos, Isabella suddenly shoved me forward, exclaiming:


“Alessia, you’re my bodyguard now! Luc and I are leaving first. You stay here and hold them off!”


I looked towards Luciano. He clutched Isabella protectively to his chest, his gaze meeting mine, filled with pained indecision.


The old wound in my abdomen throbbed with a dull ache. A kidney was missing from there.


Now, I could barely protect myself, which was why I’d taken on this guard duty assignment.


But I knew Luciano. Once he made a decision, it wouldn't change.


A bitter laugh escaped me. "Leave the others here to help me. You go."


Just as Luciano was about to nod, Isabella instantly feigned terror.


"Luc! Who knows if there's another ambush waiting for us on the way back? These men are barely enough to protect us; how could we possibly spare anyone?"


"Isn't Alessia supposed to be a great fighter? She can handle these people easily enough. Once we're safe, we can send reinforcements for her. You wouldn't want to see me get hurt, would you? I’ve already told my father I’m going to marry you..."


Luciano hesitated for only a heartbeat before turning to me and issuing his command.


"Ally, hold them off on your own for a while."


Chapter 5