Divine Obsession (GodHood #2)

Chapter 28

Present

26 years old

Manhattan, New York City

I hated that she changed.

I hated that the softness in her eyes was gone.

But most of all? I hated that she didn’t recognize me.

Did I mean that little to her?

I would’ve recognized her without even needing to see her; simply by the change of atmosphere in the room.

The calmness was gone too. Now, replaced by the harshness of reality.

I’d heard everything about her over the years. How she was the Italian’s highest-paid hacker now. That she had the respect of the mob not because of who her father was, but of what she could do. That she was ruthless. Dangerous. Cut-throat.

It wasn’t the same girl I remembered.

And I hated it.

I’d heard she took the Omertà. The fucking blood oath.

I enter alive, and will leave dead.

She was in deep with the Mafia now. Way fucking deeper than when we were fucking around in college.

Back then, with nothing set in stone, there might’ve been a chance, despite our family’s rivalries and future plans.

But now?

Being with her meant starting a war.

It didn’t matter that she wasn’t promised to another.

Just the simple fact that she was a Moretti, and I was a Su, was enough to declare us enemies.

Not even an arranged marriage would have solved this family rivalry. The hatred ran too deep. They didn’t trust each other. They wouldn’t even speak of it.

Until – of course – their money was threatened and their hands were forced to shake on a temporary agreement. Key word, temporary .

Have me and Natalia – not only their best hackers, but the East Coast’s – lead together on the job to take down whoever it was that was carrying out these cyberattacks.

Despite everything, my family might have loved Natalia as Kali’s best friend, but they didn’t trust her with our money, personal intel, or resources.

As for myself, the Moretti Crime Family saw me as an enemy on their home ground. I knew they were watching me closely.

If Salvatore even caught me looking at his daughter with anything but apathy, he’d put a bullet between my eyes. Love or hate – they were both just as bad in his eyes.

And yet, none of that had stopped me from pushing Natalia into her dark bedroom and eating her sweet pussy on that five-million-dollar, princess bed until my spit dripped down between her ass cheeks, and stained those pretty, pink, luxurious Italian sheets.

I shouldn’t have fucking touched her. But then again – when had I ever been able to keep that promise around her?

The heavy oak door closed behind me with a soft click, as I entered Salvatore’s office. Massive, dimly lit, the scent of leather and aged whiskey lingering in the air. A meeting table stretched long enough to seat ten, but all I could focus on was the woman sitting directly across from me.

Miss Perfect.

Her posture was straight, her expression blank. She didn’t glance at me. Not once .

Salvatore sat at the head of the table, surrounded by his trusted men. Soldiers leaned against walls, their hands resting too casually near their guns.

My men were seated on my side of the table, five of them, all dressed sharp, all with the same unyielding confidence as me.

The tension in the air was suffocating.

“We’ve all seen what this threat is capable of.” Salvatore’s gravelly voice started the meeting. “And I don’t think I need to tell anyone in this room how catastrophic it would be if certain information got out.”

I nodded curtly. “We can handle it. But to do this right, we need full access to everything. Every network, every server, every device. Otherwise, it’s a waste of my time.”

Natalia’s gaze finally snapped to me, sharp as a blade. “Full access?” Her voice was calm, but there was a sharpness to it that I wasn’t familiar with. “You think we’re just going to hand over every piece of intel we have?”

I held her stare, letting a smirk upturn my mouth. “Are you suggesting your people can handle this on their own?”

“I’m suggesting that my people don’t need babysitting. We’ve been handling ourselves just fine without you for decades.”

One of my men, Tao, shifted in his seat, his expression darkening. But I lifted a hand, keeping him in check. “If you were handling things just fine, we wouldn’t be here.”

“And you’re here because the Dynasty’s doing such a good job .” The sarcasm in her voice made my jaw clench.

“Your systems were breached, Moretti.”

Natalia leaned forward, her hands pressing harder into the table. “Don’t mistake a single breach for incompetence, Su. You don’t know anything about how we work.”

I leaned back. “I know enough to see your flaws.”

The temperature in the room seemed to drop as the silence stretched. Every man in the room tensed, and I caught a soldier on Natalia’s side shift his weight toward his gun.

Then Natalia stood.

Her chair scraped the marble floor like a knife. Slamming her palms onto the table, she glared down at me. “You’re walking a very fine line, Trevor. I don’t give a fuck how good you think you are at what you do – push me again, you’ll regret it.”

She didn’t raise her voice. Didn’t need to. The threat in her tone was clear enough to make even my men glance at me for direction.

Tao, seated to my left, leaned forward, his expression as cold as steel. “You think you’re in a position to threaten him? If we weren’t sitting here out of respect for your old man–”

I held up a hand, silencing him without looking away from Natalia. I pushed my chair back slowly, standing to match her height, until mine dominated hers. The tension in the room cracked like static.

“You don’t scare me, Natalia,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “You’re good at what you do. But don’t think for a second that your threats mean anything to me.”

Her lips twitched, almost like she wanted to smirk but was too angry to let it surface. She straightened further, tilting her chin up just enough to make the challenge clear.

“This is Moretti territory,” She said, her voice dropping lower but somehow growing even more lethal. “And you’re only sitting here because we’re allowing it. Don’t forget that. Or we’ll remind you what happens to people who overstep.”

Click-click.

The sound of guns loading filled the silence.

I didn’t move, didn’t blink, as I stared her down. The room felt like it was moments away from exploding, every man on edge, waiting for the first gunshot.

“Enough.” Salvatore’s voice cut through.

I didn’t take my eyes off Natalia. She didn’t look away from me either.

“Sit down. Both of you,” Salvatore said with the authority only a Don could carry.

Reluctantly, I broke the staring contest and lowered myself back into my chair. Natalia waited a beat longer before reclaiming her seat, her movements deliberate, controlled.

“If this is how you’re going to act, maybe I need to remind everyone what’s at stake.” Salvatore exhaled, the sound thick with irritation. “This ends with cooperation. You don’t have to like each other. You don’t even have to trust each other. But you will work together. I don’t care how you do it. Just get it done.”

Natalia didn’t respond. Her jaw tightened, and for a brief moment, I thought she would argue. But instead, she gave her father a sharp nod and walked out of the room.

The others followed behind, like her words and actions were law.

Stepping outside of the office, I nodded to my men to wait for me outside. As I returned to the party, the low hum of the music intensified, but my attention locked on the woman standing at the bar on the other end of the main room.

She was leaning against the counter, her head tilted slightly as she listened to a man I recognized immediately. Gìovanni DeMone.

If my blood wasn’t already boiling from our exchange in the office, it hit its peak now.

Fucking. Gìovanni.

Tall, broad-shouldered, with a smirk that was both arrogant and charming depending on who you asked. Five years older than Natalia and Cosa Nostra’s dream man – meant to take over not only his family’s empire, but as Boss of all Bosses, he looked the part of a man who had it all.

And right now, the dickhead was leaning toward Natalia a little too close.

She smiled.

It wasn’t the soft, warm smile I remembered from years ago, but it was enough to make my chest tighten.

She took a shot from him, her manicured fingers brushing his for just a second longer than necessary.

Something inside me snapped.

Gìovanni turned his head as I approached them, like he knew I’d been watching. His smirk widened, slow and deliberate, as he straightened from leaning against the bar, casually handing Natalia a second shot, which she downed immediately.

“Trevor Su,” He said smoothly, his voice carrying just enough false warmth to let me know he’d kill me if he could. “It’s been a while. Still making an entrance everywhere you go.”

I stopped just short of him, my hands in my pockets, my expression calm. “Gìovanni,” I greeted back, intentionally not saying his last name. I nodded at the drink in Natalia’s hand, careful to keep my tone neutral. “Keeping everyone entertained tonight?”

He chuckled, low and rich, like we were sharing some private joke. “Someone has to, no?” His gaze flicked to Natalia briefly, the tilt of his head almost possessive. “I thought I’d start with the birthday girl.”

My jaw tightened, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I turned to Natalia, my tone measured. “Enjoying yourself?”

She raised a brow, taking a deliberate sip of the drink Gìovanni had given her. “I was.”

The subtle jab hit its mark, but I didn’t take the bait. Gìovanni’s smirk deepened, his dark eyes gleaming with amusement.

I never could understand his lack of reaction.

If someone had spoken to the woman I was interested in like that, I’d have put a bullet in each of their eyes.

“I didn’t realize your guest list was this generous.”

Natalia set her drink down with a soft clink, her gaze cutting to mine. “You’re here too, no?”

The corner of Gìovanni’s mouth twitched, his satisfaction practically radiating off him. He was enjoying this, feeding off the tension he’d created. “Easy now. Wouldn’t want to cause a scene, would we?”

Natalia’s gaze flicked between us, her expression unreadable. She drained the last of her drink, the glass clinking against the bar as she set it down with deliberate force. Without a word, she turned and strode away, her pink heels clicking against the marble floor.

Gìovanni watched her leave, the smirk never leaving his face. “Looks like the lady’s had enough,” He said smoothly, his eyes shifting back to me. “You should take notes, Trevor. Now, that is how you make an exit.”

I barely heard him.

My focus was on Natalia’s retreating figure as she disappeared through the side doors leading to the garden terrace.

I followed. The air was sharp and cool against the heat of my skin as I stepped outside, the noise of the party fading behind me.

Natalia stood near the edge of the terrace, her back to me, one hand gripping the glass railing. The city lights reflected off the skyline beyond, casting a soft glow around her. The quiet hum of the city – car honks, construction, people, airplanes – buzzed around us in the quiet night.

She didn’t turn as I approached, but I knew she heard me.

“Not scared of the dark anymore, huh?”

“ I’ve changed ,” She snarled, over her shoulder, her voice poison.

“You’ve been like this all night,” I said, my tone hardening. “Cold. Distant. It’s childish, Natalia. Whatever you think you’re proving–”

“ Childish? ” She turned to me, her heels clicking on the stone. She pointed her finger at me. “You’re calling me childish?”

The anger in her eyes sparked something in me. “What else would you call it? You’ve barely said a word to me, but you’re all too happy to let Gìovanni hang onto your every move.”

“You don’t get to talk about him. You don’t get to talk about me . Not after what you did.”

“What I did?” The words came out sharper than I intended, the frustration boiling over. “What about what you did?”

She took another step closer, her eyes locking onto mine. “ You disappeared. And now, you think you can just walk back into my life and call me childish? Fuck you .”

“Me staying would’ve made things worse.”

“Worse for who? You? Because it certainly wasn’t for me.”

I shook my head, glancing towards the city. “Stop twisting this.”

Her laugh was sharp, cutting through the air like a blade. “Twisting it? No, I’m just finally seeing things clearly. You left because you were a coward .”

That word hit harder than I wanted to admit, and before I could stop myself, I lashed out. “No, Natalia. I left because you were never part of my plan.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

Natalia didn’t flinch. She didn’t break. She stared at me, her expression like ice, her strength unmistakable.

I watched as she glanced back toward the party, and something in me tensed. I didn’t need to follow her gaze to know she was looking at Gìovanni.

“I moved on,” She said, her voice flat, like it was nothing to her.

I hated how that simple sentence felt like a punch to the throat. I tried to swallow it down, but it lingered, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

She turned back to me, her expression colder than I’d ever seen.

Her eyes steady. Unflinching. “You should too.”

She walked away, her heels clicking sharply against the stone – leaving me alone in the cold, with nothing but the ghost of her.