Celine Holmes was nine the day her world ended. One moment, she was laughing in the back seat of her father’s car, excited for her birthday trip. 
The next time, she woke up in a hospital bed, broken, with a bandage on her head and legs, and alone. Her parents vanished from the face of the earth.
She knew instantly that life would never remain the same again.
After her recovery, she was sent to a foster home, where a wealthy couple, Mr and Mrs Klein, took her in. 
They called her a blessing as they welcomed her with open arms and promised her a new beginning. For a while, she believed them. She thought maybe this time, she could belong again.
But good things never lasted long in Celine’s life. Mr Klein lost his job, and his kindness turned into cruelty. 
He drank too much, gambled too often, and blamed her for every misfortune that had befallen him and his family.
The family that once smiled at her began to turn. 
His sons, now nineteen, looked at her differently, not with brotherly affection, but with a lustful gaze. 
When she resisted them, their cruelty deepened. And whenever Mr Klein lost to a gamble, he took it out on Celine.
Then one day, everything changed again. Mr Klein’s gambling caught up to him. 
The man he owed was no ordinary creditor; he was Cassian Damien, a feared mafia boss with a reputation for collecting debts in blood. 
When Cassian came for his payment, Mr Klein offered the only thing he had left: Celine.
She overheard the deal and tried running. But you can’t outrun the kind of man who sees three steps ahead. 
Cassian came for her unexpectedly and took her away. He locked her away, not as a wife, but as a slave meant to satisfy his dark desires.
But Cassian didn’t expect her to be the fire to his cold heart. Her defiance. Her refusal to break. And against his will, something in him began to change, trying to win her affection.
Luciana, his ex, was the first to notice the way he looked at her. The way he hesitated in dishing out her punishment was unlike anything he had done before. 
Jealousy turned to fury, and she began to scheme. 
In the middle of it all, Cassian’s younger brother, Alexandro, returns. He was softer, kinder, and drawn to the same girl Cassian couldn’t let go of.
In a world ruled by violence and vengeance, Celine was caught between two brothers, haunted by her past, and desired by the mafia rivals who also wanted to claim her for her beauty and spirit. 
But the soft girl was gone; she wanted revenge and freedom, and she would use Cassian’s  obsession to get what she desired.

As we got to the hotel, the man in a suit who had interrupted us during dinner went to the check-in point.


I found out his name was Lucas along the way.


"You are to follow Mr Cassian," he said when I attempted to follow him to the check-in point.


I nodded, joining Mr Cassian. After some minutes, Lucas returned and whispered something into Mr Cassian's ear, and they started talking inaudibly.


I strained my ear to know the content of their discussion, and all I could hear were bits and pieces of conversation regarding our suite reservation.


Mr Cassian swiftly turned towards the elevator, gesturing for me to come in, which I did.


For now, Mr Cassian has been nothing but gentle towards me, but I still had that unnerving feeling that one day, I would see that part of him that terrified people, that part of him that tackled the slaves before me.


Chapter 11 - Trailing after him