MARKED BY THE MAFIA
Marked By The Mafia – Episode 37&38
[…BOUND BY DUTY…]
GENRE: Dark Romance
TAGS: MAFIAS, OBSESSION, POSSESSIVE, LOVE, STEAMY, LOVE TRIANGLE, EMPIRE, BETRAYAL, CRIME, VIOLENCE, DEATHS AND MANY MORE…
✧༺✰༻✧
✮{…HIS OTHER TWIN…}✮
She stirred slightly but didn’t wake.
For a moment, he just watched her for as long as he remembered… her lashes brushing against her skin, her lips parted in sleep, the steady rhythm of her breathing.
His chest tightened, an unfamiliar weight pressing down. Something dangerous, something he refused to name.
Matteo’s thumb ghosted over her cheek one last time before he pulled back, straightening to his full height. The softness was gone in a blink, his face hardening back into the mask of stone.
Turning to leave, but just as he moved, her hand shot out weakly, brushing against his wrist.
“Don’t go…” she muttered in her sleep.
He froze.
For a man who’d faced bullets and blood without blinking, those two words nearly undid him.
A muscle ticked in his jaw, his body stiff, torn between pulling away and giving in. Slowly, against every wall he’d built, Matteo bent down, slipping one arm under her knees and the other around her back.
Aurora sighed softly, instinctively leaning into his chest as he scooped her up with effortless strength. For a fleeting second, her head rested against his shoulder.
He stared down at her, his lips parting as though to say something… anything but silence won.
Matteo carried her upstairs, each step heavy, each breath taut, knowing he was already walking a dangerous line.
Because he wasn’t supposed to care.
And yet… he already did.
Matteo carried her up the stairs, his steps silent but steady, his grip firm yet careful. He nudged the bedroom door open with his shoulder and crossed to the bed.
Lowering her on the mattress, he adjusted the pillow beneath her head and pulled the blanket lightly over her body. For a man built on blood and cruelty, the tenderness in his actions was almost unrecognizable… even to himself.
Just as he turned to leave, Aurora’s eyes fluttered open.
“Matteo…?” she whispered, her voice drowsy but clear.
He stiffened, then leaned down slightly, his tone low, almost commanding.
“Sleep back”
But instead of closing her eyes, she pushed herself upright, her hair tumbling around her face, stubbornness flashing in her gaze despite the sleep still clinging to her.
“No. We need to talk”
Matteo’s jaw flexed. “There’s nothing to talk about”
“Yes, there is” Aurora shot back, refusing to back down.
She held his stare. “Who’s Bianca? For the last time, Matteo who is she?”
The name hung in the air like a blade, cutting through the silence of the room.
Matteo’s eyes darkened, his expression unreadable, his lips pressed into a tight line.
“She was…” he paused, eyes dropping to the floor for a flicker before locking back on Aurora’s, “my first love”
Aurora’s lips parted, her chest tightening at his choice of words.
“First love?” she repeated, voice breaking with disbelief.
Matteo leaned back in the chair, running a hand over his face like the memory itself clawed at him.
“I was young and angry. She was a dancer in one of the clubs. The first night I saw her, something about her…” his voice trailed, dark eyes narrowing as though replaying it, “…pulled me out of my rage. For the first time, I didn’t feel dead inside. She called me something no one else dared… Matty”
Aurora’s stomach twisted at the intimacy of the name.
“So you did love her?”
“Not anymore. Love makes you weak, i don’t want to repeat that mistake again”
Aurora’s heart thudded painfully in her chest, but she refused to look away. “Then why do I feel like she still matters to you?”
“Sleep” he ordered, his tone clipped, as though the conversation had never happened.
“Not until you answer my question”
“She doesn’t matter to me anymore, hope that answers your question?”
“Be ready to see her often now,” he said flatly.
“She’s coming with us to Paris”
Aurora’s breath hitched. “What?”
Her voice cracked as she asked, “Why?”
He leaned back, exhaling slowly as though the weight of his words pressed against his ribs.
“The man we’re after is searching for a wife for his son as you know already. Bianca is the way in. She’sbait”
Aurora’s brows knit, her chest burning with unease.
“Why not choose someone from the empire? From the dozens of women who’d gladly throw themselves at you? Why her?”
He didn’t answer immediately, which only made her heart pound harder.
“Because she fits what he’s looking for,” he said at last, his tone clipped. “And because I trust her to play the role without breaking”
Aurora swallowed hard, her throat dry. “Or because she was once your everything?”
Silence.
He ignored the question.
“I already have plans for the others. And you…” his eyes flicked to her stomach for the briefest second, “…you’re pregnant. You won’t be fit for the job”
Aurora’s chest constricted, heat rising to her face. Her lips trembled as she forced out a bitter laugh.
“Not like you care if I’m pregnant” she muttered, the words laced with hurt.
Matteo said nothing as usual.
He simply turned, his broad shoulders rigid as he walked out, leaving her with the sting of silence and the hollow ache that burned deeper than any truth he could have spoken.
•••
THE OLD LADY’S HOUSE*
Bianca folded a blouse slowly, smoothing out invisible creases before tucking it neatly into a small leather bag. The faint rustle of fabric was the only sound in the room until Agnes, perched on the edge of the bed, finally spoke.
“Where are you going with that bag?” Agnes asked.
Bianca didn’t look up immediately. Instead, she reached for another dress, her fingers brushing over the fabric as if choosing the right words.
“Paris” she said at last, her tone calm but guarded.
Agnes tilted her head, a sharp edge to her gaze. “Paris? For what?”
Bianca zipped the side pocket of the bag before answering, her lips curving into a faint, unreadable smile.
“There’s a family I need to visit. They’re expecting me”
The silence that followed was heavy, filled with things left unsaid. Agnes shifted slightly, her expression hardening. “Does this have anything to do with him?”
“Maybe” she shrugged with a smile.
•••
MIDNIGHT AT THE EMPIRE*
Blade sat in his suite. Music thrummed low from the speakers, a controller in his hands as he slaughtered nameless enemies on the glowing screen.
With a sudden exhale, he dropped the controller on the couch, silencing the music with a swipe.
Something restless crawled under his skin.
He left his suite.
The corridors stretched wide and shadowed, leading him into the empire’s private garden, a place meant for quiet.
Instead, what he found wasn’t quiet at all.
Sylvia’s back was pressed to the stone wall, her fingers tangled in Axe’s hair as they kissed like thieves stealing midnight. Axe’s massive hands gripped her hips, pulling her flush against him, their movements rushed, hungry, like they didn’t want to be seen and yet couldn’t stop.
Matteo’s mouth twitched, but not in humor.
“Wow. Just wow. Can’t believe I left my suite to watch two fools kissing”
Axe froze, his jaw tightening. Sylvia’s eyes flicked up, cold and unbothered even as she adjusted her clothes.
Matteo turned to walk away, only to pause.
Scarlett stood a few steps behind, half-hidden by the shadows of the garden’s archway, smoke curling from the cigarette between her fingers.
“I couldn’t sleep”
Another voice drifted out, softer.
“Me too”
Rosa stepped into the light, blade glinting faintly at her thigh, her eyes calm, as if midnight confessions in the garden were as natural as breathing.
The garden was no longer quiet.
And then the others began to arrive.
Ace stepped into the moonlight, his tattoos glinting across his forearms, cigarette dangling from his lips.
Blade smirked, tossing his knife in the air, catching it by the blade.
“Well, well. Family reunion at midnight. Should I pop champagne or sharpen the knives?”
From the far archway, heavy footsteps sounded. Rocco emerged and behind him, Storm trailed in, hoodie up, wires, and small detonators stuffed into his pockets. “You are reading from www.mhiztaemy.com.ng” His gaze didn’t lift at first, but when it did, it locked instantly on Viper.
Because Viper had arrived too.
She tilted her head, lips curving faintly, ignoring Storm’s lingering look as though he were invisible.
And then came Vixen.
The air seemed to shift when she appeared, her beauty wrapping the space like a chokehold. Everyone’s eyes followed her, even if they didn’t want to. Especially Ace’s.
“Aw, isn’t this cute? All the little monsters out to play”
Scarlett’s cigarette ember flared in the shadows, her voice calm and haunting. “Monsters don’t play, darling. We kill”
Blade twirled his knife, grinning like a lunatic.
“Six months ago… tell me you guys haven’t forgotten that mission in Naples. Man, we painted the whole dock red that night”
Storm shook his head, smirking under his hood. “Half the city still whispers about it”
Scarlett exhaled smoke, her lips curving.
“The whispers are what keep them afraid”
Rocco chuckled, his smile crooked as always. No one noticed when he stood. No one paid attention when his heavy steps drifted into the shadows.
Because when wolves are busy bragging about kills, they never watch their own pack.
Underground, vault corridor.
Rocco’s steps were measured as he moved past the cameras and blind spots he’d studied for weeks, reaching the steel door at the end.
The keypad blinked, waiting.
He inhaled, steadying the thrum in his chest, then tapped in the string of numbers he’d stolen that afternoon.
Beep.
Green light.
The bolt shifted, and the door groaned open.
Inside, the vault glowed cold and sterile. Stacks of cash lined the room, crisp bills reaching toward the ceiling like towers of greed. Gold gleamed faintly from locked cases.
Rocco stepped in, his crooked grin wider now.
“Freedom” he muttered under his breath, his fingers reaching for the nearest stack.
But then…
“Touch it, and see magic”
The voice froze him.
He spun as fast as Flash.
From the shadows of the vault entrance, Ace emerged, tattoos shifting under the pale light, his cigarette glowing like a fuse. Beside him, Vixen leaned against the wall.
Behind them, one by one, the rest of the empire stepped forward… Scarlett, Blade, Rosa, Storm, Sylvia, Viper and Axe.
Vixen tilted her head, her voice silk and venom.
“Game is over, Rocco. We were aware of your plans before you even stole the password”
Ace dropped the cigarette, crushing it under his boot.
“You think you could steal from us and just walk out?”
They advanced slowly, wolves cornering prey.
But Rocco’s smile didn’t falter. He bent slightly, almost like a bow, then straightened, eyes sharp with defiance.
“Guess I’ll just have to run faster than all of you”
And before the first hand reached him, Rocco grabbed a steel bar from the rack and swung, forcing his way through the nearest opening. Sparks flew as metal clashed, his body twisting with the precision of a man who’d been planning this for weeks.
He slipped past their reach but barely.
An alarm blared, red lights flooding the corridor.
Vixen’s smirk hardened into fury.
“After him!”
And just like that, the garden’s laughter was gone.
Now it was war inside their own walls.
The alarm wailed, red lights flashing across the walls as Rocco tore down the corridor like a cornered rat. His breath came in gasps, feet pounding the floor, every turn a desperate attempt to shake off the shadows behind him.
Blade’s knife spun between his fingers ready to strike.
Storm ripped wires from his vest, ready for anything.
Ace was a silent storm at the front, eyes locked on his prey.
Rocco’s lungs burned but he pushed harder. Freedom was close. He could feel it…
BANG!
The gunshot tore the silence apart.
Rocco stumbled, confusion flashing before the pain hit. His body jolted, blood blossoming across his chest. He hit the ground, coughing, choking, his scream strangled in his own voice.
The rest stopped dead.
From the darkness, heels clicked slowly and theatrically. A laugh rang out, high-pitched and cruel, bouncing off the walls like a melody of madness.
She stepped into the strobe of red light, a wild grin stretched across her face. Her hair whipped with every move, eyes gleaming with wicked delight.
Planting her heel on Rocco’s chest, she pressed down hard until he groaned in agony.
“Oops” she giggled, tilting her head. “Tell me I shot the right rat?”
The others stiffened. Their weapons raised, eyes darting.
“Who are you and how the hell did you get in here?” Viper snapped, already lifting her gun.
Maya only tilted her head, laughing in their faces. “Oh, kitten, if I told you… I’d ruin the surprise”
CRACK!
Viper fired.
The shot hissed through the air, sparks bursting against the wall.
But Maya moved fast, her body bending back, spine arching with an impossible grace, the bullet missing her by inches. She straightened slowly, brushing invisible dust off her shoulder, eyes glittering with delight.
“Temper, temper,” she teased, her grin stretching wider. “No wonder they call you Viper. You strike, but you never land where it hurts”
The group froze, unsettled.
That was when Ace stepped forward. His eyes locked on her, jaw tight, as though every piece of the puzzle had just slammed into place.
His voice came out low, rough with recognition.
“…She’s Maya”
The others snapped their heads toward him.
His expression hardened, ice dripping from every syllable.
“Boss’s twin sister”
They all gasped in surprise.
Rocco wheezed, trying to drag air into his failing lungs. His hand clawed at the ground, desperate, pitiful.
Maya crouched beside him, head tilted, watching him twitch like a broken animal. A slow smirk curved her lips.
“Shhh” she whispered, pressing a finger to her own mouth. “One last lullaby”
The barrel touched his skull.
BANG!
Silence followed as Rocco’s body went limp, crimson spreading fast beneath him.
Maya rose with elegance, spinning the gun once on her finger before flashing the rest a wicked grin. Her teeth caught the red light as though she’d bitten into it.
“I’m whoever you think I am” she said lightly, eyes sweeping the room before landing on Ace. Then she winked, playful and poisonous all at once.
No one moved.
Maya tossed the weapon. The pistol spun, gleaming, and Ace’s hand snapped up, catching it with lethal ease.
She clapped slowly, mockingly, her smirk twisting into a grin.
“Dispose of the body, and let my brother know…”
Her gaze lingered on each of them, savoring their silence, before finishing with a whisper that cut sharper than any scream:
“…I’m back for good”
She turned, heels echoing in rhythm with the dying alarm, disappearing into the shadows like she’d never been there at all.
Ace stared at the gun in his hand. Her words still bled through the air.
“Nice catch, Ace…” she said from down the corridor.
The smirk tugged at his lips before he could stop it.
“Things,” Ace muttered, almost to himself, “…are about to get interesting”
•
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TBC😈
