"It's owner killed my mother."That pendant still hung over the mirror while I continued to play the deadly version of Spot the Difference and kept on failing. I couldn't lie to myself; this was Dad's pendant.It couldn't be a coincidence that it appeared in the hands of Adler.My lips moved, but the voice refused to form; I felt the warm tears creep to my lids as I swallowed.I thought... I thought I had finally found peace and protection, but all this while, I was not even close to being safe. Instead, In my ignorance, I had settled with danger, danced with it, and let it hold my hand.I was the daughter of the man who made Adler the monster he had become, and he didn't know. If he did...Oh God!I wanted to run, flee the room and even the manor. The death I would meet outside this place would be more lenient than what I'd go through if he found me out.Despite the cardigan, I trembled, and my damn eyes began to fill again; gosh, I wanted to be knocked out, and when I woke up, all o

KYRAWhy was everyone suddenly so sensitive? Urgh, get a life, people, and emotions running high and low. It was just the early hours of the morning, for goodness sake.She wasn't one to readily admit her mistakes; she glared it down until it became the other person. But she couldn't dodge this guilt. This time around, she did make blunders.Or had she?For all she knew, Adler would never cause harm to Lily; she'd even like to say her plan had worked because minutes after Lily had raced out of Donna's room, Adler was walking out of his.Reading Adler was futile. One never knew what he thought, all thanks to that poker face, but this time, his body language had said it all; Boss was worried.Ha, Drama.Then what was the cause of Lily locking herself up in her room? Had Adler accidentally snapped at her? Did the anger at the intrusion of his personal space apply to everyone?If that, then maybe she overestimated Lily's hold on Adler, and she did mess things up.It still didn't warrant

ADLER"Why would he desire your contact?" Rune's disbelief was evident on his face, making it clear to everyone in the room. "Is he that deranged?"Adler gazed at the card torn from the envelope. He regretted not having the sense to look into it from the very first minute it was handed over to him by Rune.Weeks later, he found himself gripping its edge, the red number glaring back at him. Adler would have called had Ruslan not grown impatient and chosen not to wait any longer.Whoever this Ruslan wanted attention so bad he was doing everything to get it, and lucky him, it was just sparking the Don's interest. His surroundings were void of civilization, just crumbling stones and half-demolished buildings, miles away from the manor and almost at the outskirts of Campania.His men were behind him, and the long, freshly painted, blue shipping container was the only evidence of life in this god-forsaken place. He could feel Rune's eyes watching the sides of his face."What is it, Rune?"

The smell of blood, the ringing phone drawing close to his hiding spot, the sharp pain from deep within his chest as he pressed his lids tightly, struggling not to groan aloud while he winced. He felt them all now."I'm sorry, son," the man's tone was regretful, a deep melancholy sound as he hunted for his prey, "I know where you're hiding. Let's finish this up. I promise it will be painless."Pressing his head against the wooden walls of the shack, Adler had left the gun wound in his chest and instead tightened his fingers around the pistol at his side.His sight blurred, but he forced it open, waiting and inhaling deep breaths as the footsteps drew nearer."Don't make this harder than it already is, little boy.'When the huge body frame came into view, Adler gritted his teeth, his eyes on the glinting knife the perpetrator held in his right hand, so new that he could see his disordered reflection in the steel.He remembered the slash against his eyes, to which he had fallen back jus

AUTHOR'S POV [ADLER'S]"Addie, she's dead still. Now quit bugging my phone every minute like I did the drugging."A deafening tone marked the end as Adler returned the phone to the desk.Give Rune a little power, and expect to be reminded of how much one was a helpless idiot who needed him.Adler fell back against the seat, the same one he had stood behind and betrayed her trust. He raised his face to the ceiling, counting sheep; he had to do it, or else she'd be walking out of the manor with zero chance of staying alive.And to Vito? Did she crave death or mistreatment? Judging from the text messages he had the fortune of stumbling upon after he moved her to the hospital.He had had no clue what he was after being in her room and just looking around until the phone's vibration caught his attention.The more he read, the more he felt his blood steam. Whoever this man was, if he hadn't caused a massive share of her trauma, then he had caused it all. 'You don't call the shots, sugar, I