Episode 46: Vengeance Wears Red
1010 Words
Lucas Aragon had killed Dante Valerio.
And now, the ghost of that decision had come knocking.
🔥 Dante’s widow was in the city.
🔥 And she wasn’t here for negotiations.
🔥 She was here to make Lucas pay.
Celeste Navarro had fought too hard to keep Lucas alive.
🔥 Had risked everything to stand by his side.
🔥 Had chosen him over her own freedom.
And now?
🔥 A new war was about to begin.
🔥 One that could cost them everything.
Lucas sat in his penthouse, his fingers tapping against the glass of whiskey in his hand.
🔥 The city was buzzing.
🔥 Dante’s widow—Isabella Valerio—was making moves.
🔥 Gaining allies. Turning old enemies against him.
Rafael exhaled sharply from across the room.
🔥 “She’s already buying out politicians. Cutting deals. Making friends in high places.”
Lucas smirked darkly. “Then we remind them whose city this is.”
🔥 Rafael hesitated. "Lucas, she’s not Matteo. She’s smarter. More calculated."
🔥 Lucas’s grip tightened on the glass. "And?"
🔥 Rafael exhaled. "And she’s not afraid of you."
🔥 Lucas chuckled. "Then she’s already fking lost."**
🔥 Because there were only two kinds of people in this world—
🔥 The ones who feared him.
🔥 And the ones who didn’t live long enough to regret it.
🔥 Celeste had spent years reading people.
🔥 Studying power. Manipulating control.
🔥 And something about Isabella Valerio didn’t sit right.
🔥 She wasn’t reckless like Matteo.
🔥 She wasn’t arrogant like Dante.
🔥 She was something else. Something more dangerous.
🔥 Because she wasn’t playing for power.
🔥 She was playing for vengeance.
Celeste paced the penthouse, watching as Lucas sat in his chair, calm, unaffected, sipping his drink like this was just another day.
🔥 She hated when he did that.
🔥 Acted like the world couldn’t touch him.
🔥 Like he wasn’t one step away from losing everything.
🔥 Like he wasn’t one step away from losing her.
Celeste exhaled sharply. "You’re underestimating her."
🔥 Lucas smirked. "Am I?"
🔥 Celeste crossed her arms. "She’s not coming for your empire, Lucas."
🔥 Lucas raised a brow. "Then what the fk does she want?"**
🔥 Celeste’s chest tightened. "She wants you dead."
🔥 Silence.
🔥 Lucas set down his glass. "Then she should’ve brought an army."
🔥 Celeste’s stomach twisted. "She doesn’t need an army, Lucas."
🔥 Lucas exhaled sharply. "You’re worried."
🔥 Celeste clenched her jaw. "I’m not worried. I’m fking terrified."**
🔥 Lucas smirked, standing, gripping her waist, pulling her against him. "You think she can take me from you?"
🔥 Celeste swallowed. "I think she’s smart enough to know she can’t beat you in a war."
🔥 Lucas tilted his head. "So?"
🔥 Celeste inhaled sharply. "So, she won’t start one. She’ll find another way."
🔥 Lucas chuckled darkly. "Then let’s see how far she’s willing to go."
🔥 And that? That was the moment Celeste knew—Lucas wasn’t just walking into a trap.
🔥 He was fking welcoming it.**
🔥 Isabella Valerio arrived unannounced.
🔥 Dressed in a red silk gown, stepping into Lucas’s club like she owned the fking place.**
🔥 She was stunning. Elegant. Every inch a woman who had learned how to survive in a world of men.
🔥 And she wasn’t afraid.
🔥 Lucas leaned back in his chair, watching as she walked toward him.
🔥 Celeste sat beside him, silent, unreadable.
🔥 Isabella smirked. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Aragon."
🔥 Lucas chuckled, tilting his glass toward her. "Likewise. Though I have to admit, I expected you to come with a gun, not a smile."
🔥 Isabella exhaled slowly. "Guns are for men who don’t know how to win."
🔥 Lucas’s smirk deepened. "Then tell me, Isabella. How do you plan to win?"
🔥 Isabella leaned in, her red lips curling. "By taking away the only thing you actually care about."
🔥 Silence. Thick. Suffocating.
🔥 Celeste’s pulse pounded. "And what would that be?"
🔥 Isabella’s gaze flicked to her. "You, of course."
🔥 Lucas’s breath hitched. Just slightly. But Celeste caught it.
🔥 Because he had never feared losing anything before.
🔥 Not money. Not power. Not his fking life.**
🔥 But losing her?
🔥 That was the only war he didn’t know how to fight.
🔥 Isabella stood, adjusting the strap of her dress. "Enjoy your night, Lucas."
🔥 Lucas exhaled sharply. "That’s it?"
🔥 Isabella smirked. "For now."
🔥 Celeste clenched her jaw. "If you touch him—"
🔥 Isabella tilted her head. "Oh, Celeste. You still don’t understand, do you?"
🔥 Celeste inhaled sharply. "Understand what?"
🔥 Isabella smiled. "That I never said I was going to hurt him."
🔥 Lucas frowned. "Then what the fk do you want?"**
🔥 Isabella’s gaze burned into Celeste.
🔥 "To see if you’ll break him before I do."
🔥 And then—she walked away.
🔥 Leaving behind a silence more dangerous than any war.
🔥 Lucas sat in the penthouse, rolling a cigarette between his fingers, his mind sharp, calculating.
🔥 Celeste stood near the window, arms crossed, her pulse still unsteady.
🔥 She was in his world now. Fully.
🔥 No way out. No more pretending.
🔥 And now? Now, someone was coming for them—not with a gun, but with something worse.
🔥 Doubt.
🔥 Lucas exhaled. "You trust me, Navarro?"
🔥 Celeste swallowed. "I always have."
🔥 Lucas smirked darkly. "Then don’t fking let her get in your head."**
🔥 Celeste inhaled sharply. "And what if she’s right?"
🔥 Lucas turned, his gaze burning. "About what?"
🔥 Celeste’s throat tightened. "About me being the thing that finally breaks you."
🔥 Lucas exhaled sharply, closing the distance between them, gripping her waist. "Baby, the only thing that could ever fking break me—is losing you."**
🔥 Celeste’s breath caught.
🔥 Because she wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth.
🔥 Or if this was just another war they wouldn’t survive.
🔥 To Be Continued… 🔥
- Writer
