Carmen Castilo was the only daughter of one of the most powerful mafia dons in the city—until the night her father was shot in front of her.

At his funeral, while the family mourns, Carmen disappears.

Kidnapped from her own home and drugged, she wakes beneath blinding lights in an underground auction where the most powerful criminals in the world gather to bid—not on weapons or territory, but on her.

To them, Carmen isn’t just a woman.

She’s the last piece of her father’s empire.

The final bid reaches a staggering one billion dollars.

The buyer is Nico Romano—the stepbrother she betrayed five years ago.

Once cast out of the family after Carmen accused him of treachery, Nico returns more powerful, more ruthless, and determined to collect the debt he believes she owes him.

Escape is impossible.

Alone, stripped of allies, and trapped under Nico’s control, Carmen is forced to play by his rules—a calculated system of rewards and consequences he calls repayment.

But Nico isn’t the only one playing a game.

While he believes he owns her, Carmen is quietly rebuilding what was stolen from her. Someone murdered her father, and the deeper she digs, the clearer it becomes that his death—and her reason for getting Nico’s exiled—may have been part of the same carefully planned conspiracy.

Surrounded by enemies and secrets, Carmen must reclaim her father’s empire before it falls permanently into the wrong hands.

And the one man who might damn her soul…may also be the only ally powerful enough to help her win.

*Please this is a mafia story. If you’re uncomfortable with blood and killing this is not the story for you*

The words echoed again and again in my head and there was no way to stop it as I made my way back to the underground car park, led by the guard assigned to me.


I had looked deeply into his eyes and I knew beyond a doubt that he meant every word. I could disappear and he wouldn't care.


Heck, from the rumors about him online, he could make me disappear.


There were stories about how cold and cruel he was, but at the end of the day, he was simply a rich man who thought the world revolved around him.


My hands tightened against my phone as I headed through the parking lot and toward the car, recalling how he had threatened me and my mom.


Was that the kind of person I wanted to put my trust in? I wondered, aware that I still had all the extra money he gave me, which would be more than enough for my mom's treatment while I got a job.


Chapter 73 - Meeting Adam