Chapter 205 Book 2 CHPT 37: Enemies Within III

Chapter 205 Book 2 CHPT 37: Enemies Within III
ALINA'S POV

The hatred between them filled the open air, thick and suffocating, pressing against my chest until it became hard to breathe.

Seeing them like this broke my heart in ways I could not explain.

Why did it have to end like this?

Why?

Why can’t anything ever be peaceful? Why does everything turn into blood and betrayal?

Is this the price of power? Is this what it means to stand at the top, to be among the most powerful people in the world?

Dread mixed with the cold night air and settled deep into my bones, making me shiver despite myself.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The slow sound echoed through the tension.

“What an interesting show to behold,” Nikita said, bursting into laughter as she threw her head back, clearly entertained.

Her voice carried mockery, satisfaction, and something darker.

“How does it feel?” she asked, her gaze snapping to Valentino, who returned it with a deadly glare.

“How does it feel to think you have power over everything and everyone, only to discover your most trusted man is the one behind the misery in your life?”

She laughed again, louder this time.

“It must feel amazing, sì (yes)? The kind of plot twist you never saw coming always hits the hardest.”

She pulled her hand away from Decimus and began walking toward me.

Each step was slow, deliberate, confident.

Fear gripped me instantly, and I shifted back on the bench without even realizing it.

Dear God… please do not let her notice.

Things are already falling apart. She must not know I am pregnant. If she finds out, she will not hesitate to drive a blade straight into my stomach.

She stopped just two feet away from me.

Her strong perfume wrapped around me, mixed with the cold air, suffocating and overwhelming.

Then she crouched slowly to my level, her movements controlled, almost graceful, but her eyes…

Her eyes were sharp, cruel, and fixed directly on mine.

I gasped and quickly looked away.

Not because I was afraid of her.

But because I was afraid of what she might see.

“What is this?” she murmured, her voice low and taunting. 

“Is that fear I see, Donna?”

Her lips curved slightly.

“Weren’t you always so sharp-tongued? Always flaunting power in my face like you were untouchable?”

She reached out and dragged my face back toward hers, her fingers firm against my jaw.

“What happened now?” she continued softly. “Did the little lezione (lesson) I gave you earlier finally put you in your place?”

I forced myself to meet her eyes.

Dio (God)… the hatred in them could burn an entire city to the ground.

“Nikita!” Valentino’s voice thundered from behind her, filled with rage and warning.

“Touch a single strand of her hair and I will show you exactly why they call me Il Diavolo di Milano (The Devil of Milan)!”

She did not even turn to look at him.

Instead, she smirked.

“Is the Devil of Milan in the room with us?” she taunted, giggling lazily.

My breath caught as her hand slid from my face to my chin, then slowly down to my neck.

No.

No, no, no.

If she goes any lower she will discover I’m pregnant…

Panic surged through me.

Before her hand could move further, I slapped it away sharply.

“Get your filthy hands off me, you bitch!”

She froze for a second.

Then she giggled.

A soft, unhinged sound, her eyes lighting up with something dangerous.

Before I could react, her hand shot forward and wrapped tightly around my throat.

“Val—” I choked, my voice breaking as her grip tightened.

Valentino moved instantly, but before he could take a step, Bianca pulled out a gun and aimed it directly at him.

“Muoviti (move) and I will blow your head off,” Bianca said coldly.

Valentino froze, every muscle in his body going rigid, but his eyes never left me.

“Get away from him,” Bianca added, nodding toward Rocco, who was still writhing weakly in his own blood.

Valentino’s jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth would shatter.

“Leave my wife alone,” he said, his voice low and dangerous, “and I will let him walk see alive.”

Bianca let out a soft laugh and stepped closer, her gun still trained on him.

“You are not in a position to negotiate, Valentino,” she said. “Right now, you are nothing but a powerless man about to watch his beloved wife die in front of him.”

“I fucking dare you,” Valentino snarled, cocking his gun and pressing it hard against Rocco’s forehead.

“I will kill him if anything happens to my woman!”

Bianca’s expression did not change.

“He means nothing to me,” she replied. “He was just a pawn, uno stupido pedone (a stupid pawn), and now he is useless. Why would I care if you kill him?”

“Bia…nca…” Rocco’s weak voice dragged through the air, broken and full of disbelief.

“You ungrateful, manipulative bitch… after everything, this is how you repay me?”

Even as I struggled for air, something twisted inside me.

For a second, I felt pity for him.

After everything he had done, after all the things he had done for them, he was being discarded like nothing.

But then the memories hit me.

The loss, the pain and the children I never got to hold.

No.

He deserves it…..

Every bit of it.

“See?” Nikita whispered close to my ear, tightening her grip around my throat until my vision blurred.

I gasped, clawing at her hand, trying to break free, but my strength was fading.

“Your prince in shining armor will not save you,” she said softly. “So while you die slowly in my hands, let me give you one more shocking surprise.”

Her words oozed from her mouth like poison.

She turned her head slightly, her gaze shifting past me.

I followed it weakly.

Nana and Julius stood at the edge, trembling, frozen in fear.

The moment Nikita’s eyes locked onto Nana, the old woman’s entire body shook with fear.

“Do you see that old woman?” Nikita asked me, her voice almost amused.

“That kind, sweet woman you trusted… the one always call nana?”

She let out a quiet laugh.

Then she leaned closer, her lips near my ear, her voice dropping into a whisper that felt like a blade sliding into my chest.

“She is my spy.”