Chapter 19
AXEL
I hope like fuck that I’m doing the right thing here. I’ve never been very good at handling emotional matters.
Three hours of silence broken only by Viktor's occasional phone calls and Aurora's quiet breathing beside me. She hasn't spoken since we left, hasn't cried again either. Just sits there staring out the window, watching the city fade into the suburbs, then the countryside.
I want to say something. Want to tell her it'll be okay, that she did the right thing, that leaving her father was brave.
But I don't know if any of that's true.
So I stay quiet and let her process.
We cross into my territory around sunset. The landscape changes as we approach, from open fields to guarded checkpoints. My men wave us through without stopping, recognizing the car.
"Where are we?" Aurora asks. Her first words in three hours.
"Home," I say simply. "My estate."
She sits up straighter, looking out the window with more focus now. We're driving through gates that make her father's look modest. Wrought iron, twenty feet tall, topped with cameras and sensors. Guards at every post, armed and alert.
"This is yours?" Her voice is small.
"All of it."
The driveway is long, tree-lined, lit by lanterns that cast golden light across manicured lawns. We round a bend, and the main house comes into view.
Aurora gasps. “What? This is crazy… how?”
I sometimes forget what it looks like to outsiders. I've lived here so long it's just home. But seeing it through her eyes, I remember what it is.
A mansion. Three stories of white stone and floor-to-ceiling windows. Columns at the entrance like something from a Greek temple. Wings stretching out on either side, housing guest suites and staff quarters. A fountain in the circular driveway, water illuminated from below.
It's not just wealth. Its power made visible.
"Axel." Aurora turns to me with wide eyes. "This is... how?"
"I've been building my empire for twenty-five years," I say as Viktor pulls up to the entrance. "Seven of those years were from a prison cell, but that didn't stop the work."
"You ran your organization from prison?"
"Every day. Made calls, gave orders, approved deals. My people stayed loyal because I earned that loyalty before I went in, and I maintained it while I was locked up."
The car stops. Sergei's already out, opening doors. Staff are gathering on the steps, at least a dozen people in neat uniforms.
"Smart investments," I continue, stepping out and offering Aurora my hand. "Eliminated rivals who thought my incarceration meant weakness. Expanded into new territories. By the time I got out, I was more powerful than when I went in."
She takes my hand and lets me help her out of the car. Her eyes are wide, taking in everything. The staff lined up like soldiers. The sheer scale of the building. The fountain that probably cost more than most people's houses.
"This is way more than my father's operation," she whispers.
"Your father's smart and strategic. But he's also cautious. I'm not." I guide her toward the entrance. "I take risks. Big ones. And they pay off."
An older woman steps forward, her gray hair pulled back in a severe bun. This is Margareta, my head of household. She's been with me since before prison, kept this place running while I was gone.
"Mr. Santego." She nods respectfully. "Welcome home. Your rooms are prepared."
"Thank you, Margareta. This is Aurora. She'll be staying in the main house. The east wing suite."
Margareta's eyes flick to Aurora, taking in her rumpled clothes, her pale face, the way she's gripping my hand like a lifeline. If she's surprised or judgmental, she doesn't show it.
"Of course. I'll have it ready within the hour. Does the young lady require anything immediately?"
"Food," I say, because Aurora hasn't eaten since this morning. "Something light. And tea, if she wants it."
"I'll see to it personally." Margareta gestures to two younger staff members. "Martin, Claire, please assist with the luggage."
We enter through massive oak doors into a foyer that makes Aurora stop in her tracks.
The ceiling soars two stories above us, crowned by a chandelier that could light a ballroom. The floor is white marble veined with gold. A grand staircase curves upward, the banister polished mahogany. Artwork lines the walls, pieces I've collected over decades. Some legal, some not.
"This is insane," Aurora breathes. "Axel, this is actually insane."
"It's excessive," I admit. "But in this world, appearances matter. Power matters. This house tells everyone who sees it that I'm not someone to fuck with."
"It's working."
Viktor appears at my elbow. "Boss, I need five minutes. Security protocols for the new situation."
Right. The new situation where I've kidnapped Don Luca's daughter. Well, not kidnapped. She came willingly. But that's not how he'll see it.
"Give me ten to get Aurora settled."
I guide her up the staircase, down a hallway lined with more art and antiques. The east wing is my favorite part of the house. Quieter, away from the main operations. The suite I'm putting her in has its own sitting room, bedroom, bathroom the size of most apartments.
I open the door.
Aurora steps inside and just stares.
The sitting room is decorated in soft creams and golds. A fireplace dominates one wall, already lit and crackling. Comfortable furniture arranged for conversation or reading. Windows overlooking the gardens, currently dark but beautiful in daylight.
"Through there is the bedroom," I point. "Bathroom beyond that. Everything you need should be here, but if it's not, just ask Margareta."
She walks to the windows, looks out at the grounds. I can see her reflection in the glass, her face exhausted and overwhelmed.
"You built all this," she says quietly. "While my father was raising me and running his territory, you were building an empire."
"I had nothing else. No family, no life outside the organization. So I poured everything into it."
"And now?"
"Now I have you."
She turns, and there are tears in her eyes again. "Do you? Have me? Because I don't even know what I am anymore. I'm not Luca's daughter. Not Leo's fiancée. Just... this person who destroyed everything."
"You didn't destroy anything. I did that."
"We both did." She wraps her arms around herself. "I should have stayed away from you at that club. Should have asked your last name. Should have..."
"Should have what? Not fallen into bed with me? Not gotten pregnant with my child?" I cross to her. "Aurora, if you could go back, would you change it?"
She's quiet for a long moment. "I don't know. Everything's such a mess now."
Well. Shit.
The words hurt more than I expected.
"I'm going to meet with Viktor," I say, stepping back. "Get the security situation sorted. You should rest, eat something when Margareta brings it."
"Axel, wait." She reaches for me but doesn't quite touch. "Did you do the right thing? Telling my father?"
"I don't know."
"Neither do I." She looks so lost. "He called me a disgrace. Said I'm not his daughter anymore. And maybe he's right."
"He's angry. Give him time."
"How much time? Days? Months? Years?" Her voice breaks. "What if he never forgives me?"
"Then he's a fool."
"He's my father."
"And you're his daughter. That doesn't change just because he's angry." I want to pull her into my arms, want to promise her everything will be okay. But I'm not sure it will be. "Get some rest. We'll figure this out tomorrow."
"Will we? Figure it out?"
"We have to."
She nods, but she doesn't look convinced.
I leave before I do something stupid like beg her to tell me this was worth it. That leaving her father, destroying my friendship with Luca, burning everything down was the right choice.
Because right now, standing in this massive house that suddenly feels empty, I'm not sure of anything.
Viktor's waiting in my office, a room lined with monitors showing every angle of the estate. He's already pulled up security feeds, checking perimeters.
"Talk to me," I say, pouring whiskey for both of us.
"Doubled the guards. Put our best men on rotation. If Luca sends someone, we'll know." He takes the glass. "But boss, realistically, what's the play here?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you've got his daughter in your house. You've admitted to getting her pregnant. You've destroyed a twenty-year friendship and a major alliance." He leans back. "So, what's the endgame? You marry her? Raise the kid? Hope Luca eventually calms down?"
"I don't know."
"That's not good enough. You need a plan."
"I KNOW I need a plan!" The words come out harsher than intended. "But I don't have one, Viktor. For the first time in my life, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing."
He studies me. "You care about her."
"Of course I care about her. She's carrying my child."
"It's more than that."
He's right. It is more than that. But admitting it feels dangerous.
"She's twenty-six years old," I say instead. "She just walked away from her father for me. Left everything she's ever known. And I don't even know if I can give her a life worth that sacrifice."
"Can you?"
"I don't know. This world... it's violent, Viktor. Dangerous. She's seen glimpses, but living in it is different. What if she can't handle it? What if she realizes she made a mistake and wants to go back?"
"Then you let her go."
"I can't." The admission is raw. "I can't fucking let her go."
"Then you better make damn sure this is worth it for her." He finishes his whiskey. "Starting with keeping her safe. Luca's hurt and angry. That makes him unpredictable."
"He won't hurt her. She's his daughter."
"Maybe. But what about others? Your numerous enemies will hurt her just to spite you.”
He's right. Fucking hell. He’s right. This was a terrible idea.
"Put extra security on her wing," I order. "No one gets close without clearance."
"Already done."
Of course it is. Viktor's always three steps ahead.
"Anything else?" he asks.
"Yeah. Find out what Luca's saying. What he's planning. I need to know if he's coming after us."
"And if he is?"
"Then we fucking deal with it."
Viktor leaves, and I'm alone with my whiskey and my thoughts.
Did I do the right thing, telling Luca the truth?
I replay the conversation in my head. His face when I confessed. The betrayal in his eyes. His fists breaking my nose.
I could have kept lying. Could have found another way to end the engagement without revealing my relationship with Aurora. Could have protected the friendship.
But that would have meant more lies. More sneaking around. More pretending.
And I'm done pretending.
A soft knock interrupts my spiral.
"Come in."
Margareta enters, carrying a tray. "Miss Aurora refused the food, sir. Said she wasn't hungry. She requested to be left alone."
I run my hands through my hair, this is uncharted fucking territory, I don’t know how to deal with emotions. "Thank you, Margareta. Make sure someone checks on her in a few hours. She needs to eat something."
"Of course, sir." She hesitates. "If I may... the young lady seems very distressed."
"She is."
"Anything I can do to help?"
"Just… make her comfortable. Let her know she's safe here."
After Margareta leaves, I sit in the dark and wonder if that's true.
Is Aurora safe here? Or have I just traded one cage for another?
My phone buzzes. A text from an unknown number.
You took my daughter from me. There will be consequences.
Luca.
I stare at the message, then delete it.
Let him threaten. Let him rage. As long as Aurora's with me, under my protection, he can't touch her.
But Viktor's question echoes in my head.
What's the endgame?
I don't have an answer.
All I know is that Aurora's upstairs, probably crying, definitely scared. And I put her there by confessing the truth.
Did I do the right thing?
I still don't know.
But it's done now. For better or worse, we're in this together.
And I'll be damned if I let anyone hurt her.
Even if the person hurting her is me.