Shattered Trust
The massive safehouse on the outskirts of the city loomed like a fortress. It had high walls, cameras on every angle, reinforced steel doors, and its own generator. They called it Il Rifugio (The Refuge). A place only the core members knew about. Adriano’s crew had used it in the past for high-risk ops, but this time, it wasn’t just about regrouping. It was about survival.
They couldn’t go home. Not tonight. Not until they figured out how far Alessandro was willing to go for revenge.
Inside, the air was thick with adrenaline. Weapons were laid out on the kitchen island. Empty coffee mugs. Open files. Serena was already dissecting the contents of the flash drive with steely focus. Marco paced by the front windows with a shotgun in hand, eyes flicking between the driveway and the shadows outside. Luca locked up every single exit.
And Diamond sat in the living room, curled up on the corner of a plush gray couch, her knees drawn to her chest. Her red hair clung to her damp forehead. Her eyes were wide and glassy, still replaying the moment Alessandro’s hand had crushed her windpipe. She kept swallowing, her fingers gently tracing the fresh bruises blooming across her neck like cruel ink stains.
Adriano hadn’t spoken to her yet. He had been too busy checking security, issuing orders, and pacing like a caged lion. But now he turned to her.
His voice was low, rough. “So, are you gonna tell me what happened?”
Diamond glanced up at him, her lips parting.
But she didn’t speak.
“Diamond,” he said again, this time softer, walking closer. “Tell me what happened in there.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I’m trying not to fall apart, okay? Can I just… have a minute?”
Adriano’s jaw clenched. His emerald eyes flicked downward—and that’s when he saw them.
The red marks around her throat.
His blood went cold.
“What the hell is that?” he asked quietly.
She tried to use her hands to hide her neck but it was too late. Adriano stalked closer, kneeling in front of her. He gently pulled her hand away and leaned closer.
The handprints were clear, aggressive and bruising.
“Did my brother do this to you?” he asked, his voice quiet, deadly.
Diamond didn’t respond.
His eyes bore into hers. “Talk to me Diamond, did Alessandro do this to you?”
Diamond hesitated… then gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.
And that was all it took.
Adriano shot up to his feet and stormed off, out of the living room, down the hallway, and into the garage. The others heard it before they saw it—the sharp, violent crack of bone meeting concrete.
Luca followed and found him there. Adriano, fists bloodied, punching a support beam over and over again like it had murdered someone he loved.
“Adriano—Adriano, cazzo! Stop!” Luca grabbed him, yanking him back by the shoulder. “You’re going to break your fucking hand.”
“He put his hands on her, Luca!” Adriano growled, panting hard. “He tried to fucking kill her!”
“I know—I know. I saw her neck, man.”
“I let her go in there,” Adriano snarled. “I told her it was going to be safe. I sent her.”
“We didn’t know for sure that Alessandro would be there.”
“I should’ve.” He slammed his fist into the wall again. “I should’ve known what that psychotic piece of shit would do.”
Luca exhaled hard, steadying him. “Look, man… I get it. I’m pissed too. We all are. But she made it out. She got the drive and she’s breathing. That counts for something.”
Adriano’s breathing was ragged, each inhale sharp like a blade. “I should’ve never let her go in there alone. I fucking knew something was wrong.”
“She’s not some porcelain doll, Adriano. She made the call.”
Adriano slammed a hand on the workbench. “Yeah, and look what it cost her.”
Luca leaned against the wall, folding his arms. “You blaming her for what your asshole brother did?”
“I’m blaming myself,” Adriano muttered. “For being too fucking arrogant to see it coming.”
There was a long silence. Finally, Luca said, “Take a breath and go cool off before you do something you can’t walk back from.”
Adriano didn’t respond, but his shoulders dropped, just slightly. He stared at the blood on his knuckles for a long time before walking past Luca without a word.
—
Diamond sat alone again, hugging herself until her skin hurt. But something inside her told her to get up. To face it. Face him. She padded softly down the hall, her bare feet quiet against the marble, and knocked once on Adriano’s door.
“Yeah?” came his voice from inside.
She opened it.
Adriano sat on the edge of the bed, a bottle of red wine in one hand, his other resting on his thigh. His knuckles were raw and split. His eyes met hers, softer than before.
He gestured toward the bed beside him.
“Come here.”
She walked over and sat beside him. The silence between them was heavy but not hostile. At least for now. He handed her the bottle and she took a sip.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “For how I reacted earlier. I just—fuck, I was scared. You could’ve died.”
“I know,” Diamond whispered. She reached for his hand, lacing her fingers through his. “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain. I get it.”
“I care about you, Diamond,” he said. “I care about you a lot more than I ever thought I could care about someone. You know that, right?”
Diamond smiled faintly, resting her head lightly against his shoulder. “I know. I care about you too.”
He kissed her knuckles. “Tell me what happened. The whole story. I need to know how you managed to get out of there with that flash drive. Because I swear to God, I still don’t believe it.”
She chuckled, a low, tired laugh. “It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got time.”
Diamond sighed. “It wasn’t easy. After I bumped into him in VIP, I had to think fast. So I played it smooth. Told him I wanted to apologize for punching him that time—remember? Back when I nailed him in the face with my heel?”
Adriano laughed, a sharp huff of amusement. “You’re still a legend for that. Total badass.”
She grinned. “He didn’t take it personally… at least not at first. I flirted. A little here, a little there. But he wasn’t buying it. I could feel it—he was suspicious.”
“So what did you do?”
She hesitated.
Adriano leaned in. “Diamond?”
“I… distracted him.”
“Distracted him?” Adriano asked, smiling. “How?”
Her memory flashed to the way she got on her knees in front of Alessandro, her throat tight with Alessandro's hard cock deep inside.
Her smile faltered and a flash of discomfort passed over her face. She cleared her throat. “It’s not important,” she said quickly. “Just something I had to do.”
“Diamond,” he pressed, his tone light. “C’mon. I wanna know.”
She shook her head, tried to stand. “Seriously, it’s not—”
“Diamond,” Adriano said, his voice now darker. “Tell me.”
“It doesn’t matter!”
“Don’t fucking do that. Tell me what happened.”
She looked at him, silent for a beat. Then whispered. “I gave him a blowjob.”
Adriano’s breath caught.
It was like the room cracked in half.
Adriano jolted to his feet. “YOU WHAT?!”
Diamond stood quickly, hands raised. “Adriano, calm down—”
“Calm down?!” he barked. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?! That wasn’t the plan, Diamond! That wasn’t what we agreed on!”
“I had no choice!” she yelled. “He was onto me, I had to think of something fast—”
“And sucking his cock was the best you could come up with?!” Adriano roared, pacing, running his hands through his hair like he was going to rip it out. “Jesus fucking Christ!”
She reached for him. “ Adriano, please—”
“Don’t fucking touch me!” he snapped, recoiling. “You disgust me.”
Diamond flinched like she’d been shot.
“Adriano, please calm dowm,” she said, her voice cracking. “Just listen to me—”
But he was already storming toward her. He grabbed her by the jaw, his grip tight, trembling with rage.
“Don’t you ever tell me to fucking calm down,” he hissed. “Tell me—how did it feel, huh? When you were gagging on my brother’s cock. Did you let him cum in your mouth? Is that what you did?!”
“You’re hurting me,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
He didn’t let go.
“I should’ve never let you go in there,” he spat. “If I knew you were going to sell yourself out like some roadside whore—”
Diamond immediately pushed him away with all her strength and gave him a dirty slap.
The sound rang out like a gunshot.
Adriano staggered back, stunned.
Diamond was shaking, eyes burning with anger and heartbreak. “Fuck you, Adriano.”
The silence that followed was suffocating. Neither of them moved. The sting of her slap lingered in Adriano's cheek. He glared at her, hand on his cheek, his chest heaving.