Chapter 42 The Invitation

• The following days were tense. Marco was being held in the underground room, and Russo and Viktor were constantly with him, pushing him for answers. Each night, Russo returned to our room with that same intensity, a quiet storm brewing inside him, and I was there, always waiting, always ready to support him. But the emotional weight of what we were doing and what we had become was something I hadn’t fully processed yet.
• The nights Russo spent with me were filled with whispered confessions and stolen moments of passion, but by day, the mafia world consumed us. We never talked about what was happening between us in the open, but there was no denying it now. The connection we had was no longer just physical; it was emotional, it was trust. And though Russo never said it outright, I could feel that he needed me, that I had become more than just a pawn in his plan for revenge.
• One afternoon, as I was sitting in the living room of the safehouse, a knock came at the door. I opened it cautiously, expecting one of Russo’s men or maybe Viktor, but instead, a courier handed me a cream-colored envelope, thick and elegant. I frowned, not expecting any mail, and took it, offering a quiet thanks before shutting the door.