Valentina Cruz, a poor but defiant college student, is thrown into a deadly world of mafia politics after her estranged father gambles with her life to pay his debt. In a cruel twist of fate, she is forced to marry Rafael D’Amico, the cold-blooded heir of a brutal mafia dynasty known as The Beast.

At first, their hatred is mutual. But as danger closes in, secrets unravel — including Rafael’s tragic past love, Valentina’s buried rage, and a passion betweValentina Cruz, a poor but defiant college student, is thrown into a deadly world of mafia politics after her estranged father gambles with her life to pay his debt. In a cruel twist of fate, she is forced to marry Rafael D’Amico, the cold-blooded heir of a brutal mafia dynasty known as The Beast.

At first, their hatred is mutual. But as danger closes in, secrets unravel — including Rafael’s tragic past love, Valentina’s buried rage, and a passion between them that refuses to die.

In a world ruled by violence, can love survive betrayal?
Or will it be buried beneath blood and bulen them that refuses to die.

In a world ruled by violence, can love survive betrayal?
Or will it be buried beneath blood and bul

Chapter 19 – Bloodlines and Bombshells


If fairy tales were real, this would be the part where the curse broke.


Where the monster turned into a prince and the girl found her happily ever after.


And now — by a secret that shattered everything I thought I knew.


Delivered by a silent courier in a gray suit with eyes like a corpse.


Rafael took one look at the envelope and froze.


Froze — like a statue made of rage and history.


"Who's it from?" I asked, watching him from across the room.


I found him two hours later, in the wine cellar — sitting on the floor like a man who'd just realized his throne was made of bones.


I sat beside him. "You going to tell me what's in that letter?"


He said nothing. Just handed me a single sheet of paper.


He rubbed his face with both hands like he was trying to scrub off the truth.


The silence that followed wasn't empty — it was heavy.


Correction: I didn't know Rafael had a living brother.


He told me Luca had died when they were kids — caught in crossfire between rival families. It was the tragedy that made him ruthless. That turned him into the cold, calculating beast who now ruled a criminal empire.


"He faked his death," Rafael said. "Joined the De Rossi family. My father's enemies. My enemies."


Rafael laughed. But it wasn't joy. It was fury wrapped in disbelief.


"He never left. He's been working in the shadows. Undermining me. Setting traps. Manipulating allies. Watching."


Rafael turned to me, eyes dark as an executioner's hood.


"Because he knows I've found something he can use against me."


Later that night, I was in the hallway when I heard voices.


"Are you sure it's her he cares about?" she whispered.


"He'd burn this empire for her," someone else said. "Which means she's our perfect target."


I backed away slowly. Quietly. Every inch of me trembling.


Because if they thought I was still the naïve little girl sold off to a monster…


They hadn't met the woman who could make monsters kneel.


Back in our room, I found Rafael sitting at the edge of the bed.


"They're going to come for me," I said quietly.


"But what if I don't want to be saved?"


"Then what do you want to be, Valentina?"


"A weapon," I whispered. "For once… I want to strike first."


His expression didn't change. But something in him cracked.


Chapter 19 - chapter 19