Forbidden Claim: A Mafia King’s Obsession

Chapter 35: The trade

Nadia’s POV

We drive back to the estate in absolute silence. It is already dawn as the pitch darkness of the night begins to fade away. When we reach the mansion, I climb the stairs to my room with Lorenzo following silently behind me.

When we reach my room, Lorenzo doesn’t leave. He follows me inside, kicking the door shut with a low thud. I sit on the edge of the bed, staring down at my hands that are still trembling.

“Why did you listen to me?” I whisper, keeping my gaze fixed on my hands. “You’ve never listened to me before.”

Lorenzo walks over to the window and stares out. “You offered a trade, Nadia.”

“A trade?”

“You said you will be the perfect wife, you said you will never try to run. You also have given me full access…. “ he pauses and darts his gaze to me, his dark eyes scanning every inch of my body.

I freeze the minute I recall my own words. What have I done? I said those things to save the kids. If I didn’t, he would have killed them.

“I would have said or done anything to save those kids,” I admit softly, a bitter tear streaking down my cheeks. “Even if it means exchanging my life for theirs.”

“I know,” he says, his gaze fixed entirely on my body, like he is planning what he’d do soon in his head. “But, you said it to me. And in my world, a promise made to the Don is written in blood. You belong to me now, completely. You surrendered your defiance to save those children. Remember that.”

He turns around and walks out of the room, leaving me with the cold realization of what I have done. I saved two innocent lives. But in doing so, I have chained myself permanently to the devil.

The next two days that follows, the mansion is quiet again . But the dynamic has shifted. I am no longer just a prisoner, I am a hostage of my own word. I stay in the room, staring at the walls, waiting for the next blow to fall.

On the morning of the third day, I am scrolling through my phone when my door is suddenly thrown open without a knock, startling life out of me.

“Pack your bags,” Lorenzo says, stepping into the room. He is dressed in a sleek, dark travel suit. His expression is businesslike and distant.

“Pack? Why?” I ask, backing away slowly toward the headboard.

“We are going to New York,” he says, lifting his hand slightly to arrange his cufflinks.

“A business trip. We leave in an hour.”

“I don’t want to go to New York,” I say, a spark of my old defiance flaring up, then remember the promise I had made in the playroom. “Please. Can I just stay here? I won’t cause any trouble.”

“You are my f*****g wife, Nadia. You travel with me,” he says, his tone leaving no room for negotiations. He walks over to the bed, leaning down until his face is only inches away from mine.

“Do not make me regret sparing those kids, piccola,” he murmurs, his warm breath fanning my face. “Now get up. And get ready.”

I nod slightly, dragging myself off the bed and sauntering into the bathroom. Lorenzo stays in the room and waits until I am ready. The moment I step out of the closet, his icy, crystalline gazefixes on my gaze for a moment too long.

“Let’s go,” he purrs and walks to the door. I follow closely behind him so he wouldn’t see reasons to punish the innocent kids.

The drive to the airport is silent, but the flight is much worse. Lorenzo totally ignores me, his attention is fixed entirely on whatever he is doing on his laptop. The only sounds are his fingers against the keyboard and the low whine of the jet engines.

I look out the window, trying to ignore his presence, but it is just so overwhelming. I had made a bargain with the devil just to save the lives of those kids, and the ink on that contract is still wet, fresh and binding.

When we land, a fleet of black cars are already waiting. Lorenzo suddenly grabs my hand, locking my fingers with his own in a harsh, bruising grip before leading me out of the private jet. The moment we step out, a group of hefty bodyguards in black, tailored suits instantly rushes over and covers us entirely, leading us to the cars. Lorenzo opens the door of the Maybach and shoves me inside before slamming it shut and entering from the other side.

The ride to wherever his mansion is located takes a few hours. Lorenzo continues his work on his laptop while I sit glued to the door, keeping my gaze on the window and totally ignoring his suffocating presence.

The car finally comes to a stop, and the first four cars drives in before ours. The mansion before me is jaw dropping. There’s a waterfall on the right hand side and a huge, golden statue of a lion in the middle.

“Do you want me to drag you out, piccola?”

Lorenzo’s voice suddenly pulls me back into reality, I snap my gaze to him, blinking in horror as I reach for the door. I open it and step out, the evening chill biting into my skin. Lorenzo steps out and walks past me, I quickly follow behind him so I don’t get lost in this massive space of the mansion.

The double doors are pushed open and a woman, maybe in her late forties steps out, smiling widely.

“Mr Romano, it’s really good to see you back, sir,” she says to him. From the corner of my eyes, I can see Lorenzo’s lips twitch slightly in a smile. He actually smiled.

“Hannah,” he greets in a polite tone. “This is my wife, Nadia,” he says, grabbing my shoulders and giving me a light squeeze.

“Welcome, Mrs Romano,” Hannah says, her expression flickering from shock to surprise. ”It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, ma’am,” I respond, forcing a weak smile .

“Show her to the master bedroom, Hannah,” he orders before turning fully to look at me.

“Go upstairs and freshen up,” he leans in closer and says in a harsh whisper. “Then wait for me. Naked.”

I freeze instantly as I watch his back retreating to the other end of the hallway. What did he just say?