Chapter 12: The Cost of Losing Her

(Third-Person Perspective)

Dominick stood outside the Bianchi estate long after the gates had closed.

Snow settled across his shoulders, but he didn't seem to notice.

For the first time in his life, the Don of the Costa family had been shut outside a door he desperately wanted to enter.

His phone rang.

"Don, we have a problem."

Dominick's expression hardened.

"Speak."

"Three more of our business partners have withdrawn. The board is demanding an emergency meeting, and the authorities have frozen several of our accounts."

Dominick's eyes narrowed.

"Who is behind it?"

"We're still investigating."

A second man hurried over and handed him a file.

"Don, there's something else."

Dominick opened it.

His face changed immediately.

The documents showed transfers from Costa accounts to several shell companies connected to Gia.

"Where did you get these?"

"From the internal finance department."

Dominick's fingers tightened around the papers.

Suddenly, everything connected.

The missing money.

The leaked information.

The secret accounts.

Gia's constant insistence that Luna was the obstacle standing between them.

He had been so obsessed with keeping his affair hidden that he had never questioned what Gia was doing behind his back.

"Find Gia."

"She's disappeared, Don."

Dominick's eyes turned cold.

"Find her."

Inside the Bianchi estate, Luna sat across from her parents while her father spread the same documents across the table.

"These transfers started nearly two years ago," he said.

Luna stared at the dates.

Two years.

That meant Gia had been moving money long before Luna discovered the affair.

"Did Dominick know?" she asked.

"We don't know."

Her mother reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

"But you don't need to involve yourself anymore."

Luna remained silent.

She wanted to agree.

She truly did.

But something bothered her.

Gia had been reckless with their affair, yet she had also been careful enough to hide financial crimes for years.

That contradiction wouldn't leave Luna alone.

"Dad, I want to see everything."

Her father frowned.

"Luna—"

"I'm not going back to Dominick. I'm not protecting him either. But if Gia used the Costa family to hurt people, I want to know why."

Her father studied her face before finally nodding.

"Then we'll find out."

Hours passed.

The deeper they looked, the stranger the evidence became.

Several transfers led to the same offshore company.

And that company wasn't controlled by Gia.

It belonged to someone else.

Luna's father tapped the final page.

"This is the real problem."

Luna leaned closer.

Her eyes widened.

The name on the document belonged to a man who had been presumed dead for eight years.

"That's impossible."

"Exactly," her father said.

Before Luna could ask another question, the lights in the estate suddenly went out.

The security system began screaming.

A gunshot shattered the silence outside.

Her mother grabbed Luna's arm.

"Stay behind me!"

More shots echoed through the estate.

Security guards rushed through the hallway.

"Sir! Someone breached the eastern gate!"

Luna's father immediately reached for his weapon.

Then his phone rang.

He answered.

A distorted voice came through.

"Give us the documents, or the Bianchi family will bury another daughter."

Luna's blood ran cold.

Her father slowly looked at her.

"They know you're here."

Another gunshot exploded outside.

Luna's mother pulled her toward a hidden passage.

"Go! Now!"

"Mom, what about you?"

"Your father and I can handle this. You need to leave."

Luna refused to move.

"I'm not leaving you."

Suddenly, the hidden door burst open.

A man in black stepped through with a gun raised.

Before he could fire, another shot rang out.

He collapsed.

Luna stared in shock.

A familiar figure stood behind him.

Dominick.

His coat was covered in snow, and his gun was still raised.

Their eyes met.

Dominick lowered the weapon.

"Luna."

She stared at him coldly.

"Why are you here?"

"Because they're after you."

"You don't get to protect me anymore."

The words struck him harder than any bullet.

Dominick swallowed and looked toward her parents.

"I know."

For once, there was no command in his voice.

No arrogance.

Only regret.

"But let me keep you alive long enough to hate me properly."

Luna said nothing.

Outside, more footsteps approached.

Dominick turned toward the sound.

"They're coming."

He raised his weapon again.

"This time, nobody is taking you from me."

Luna's eyes narrowed.

She still didn't trust him.

She might never trust him again.

But as the gunfire grew louder, she realized one thing.

Whatever had begun between Gia and the mysterious organization was far bigger than a broken marriage.

And somehow, she was now standing at the center of it.