Donato reached the office much faster than usual. The moment his car stopped, he stepped out without waiting for anyone to open the door. His expression was no longer calm and teasing like at home - it was cold, sharp, and focused. People in the lobby immediately straightened when they saw him walk in with fast, determined steps.

Behind him, his management team and security heads rushed to keep up with him as he walked straight toward the main conference room. The atmosphere in the building had already changed - people were whispering, phones were ringing nonstop, and tension could be felt in the air.

When Donato pushed the conference room door open, De Luca CEO Andrian Luca was already inside, standing near the large screen, talking on the phone. He cut the call immediately when he saw Donato enter.

Donato didn't even sit down. He threw his file on the table and said in a cold voice, "Tell me the progress. What did they do?" Everyone in the room went silent.

The team leader swallowed slightly and quickly opened a file. "Sir... first they hijacked our Japanese ship, then they destroyed that and after they attacked our other shipment."

The room felt even colder. Donato's jaw tightened slightly, but he didn't interrupt. "It was a mid-sea attack," the team leader continued. "They waited until the ship was far from the main route. Communication was jammed for some time. By the time our security team responded, it was too late."

No one spoke for a few seconds. Everyone in the room was watching Donato carefully, waiting for his reaction. But he didn't shout. He didn't hit the table. He just slowly pulled a chair and sat down. Which was more dangerous? Donato leaned back slightly in his chair, his fingers tapping slowly on the table.

The screen in front of the room still showed the burning remains of the destroyed ship in the middle of the sea. Smoke, fire, broken metal - the image was enough to make any businessman panic. But Donato Romano did not look like a man who had just lost millions. He looked like a man who was thinking. Planning. Calculating.

The silence in the room was heavy until finally Adrian, who had been quiet the entire time, spoke.

"Mr. Romano," Adrian said, his voice controlled but clearly tense, "would you tell me what is going on? You gave us your word that our goods would be delivered safely to their destination. So what is this? How did it get attacked in the middle of the sea?"

Everyone in the room looked at Donato. Donato stopped tapping the table and slowly looked at Adrian. His expression was calm. Too calm. "Mr De Luca," Donato said relaxedly, "I gave my word... and I am still standing on it. Your goods shipment has reached its destination safely."

Adrian blinked, clearly confused. "What?" he said, almost in disbelief. "Donato, are you joking with me? We can see on the screen that the ship was destroyed before reaching its location. And you are saying the goods reached their destination? How is that possible?"

Donato didn't answer immediately. He slowly stood up from his chair and walked toward the large screen showing the destroyed ship. He looked at the image for a few seconds, then slightly tilted his head, as if examining a piece of art rather than a disaster.

Then he turned back toward the room. "It is possible," he said calmly. "And you will receive a call in five minutes that your goods have reached their place."

The room fell silent again. Some of the managers looked confused. Some looked shocked. De Luca slowly narrowed his eyes, trying to understand what Donato was implying. Donato walked back to the table and placed both hands on it, leaning slightly forward.
____

Lucas's office looked like a war zone. A broken glass lay shattered near the wall, papers were scattered across the floor, a chair had been pushed so hard it had fallen sideways, and Lucas stood in the middle of the room breathing heavily, his hands clenched into fists.

Just a few minutes ago, he had received a call from his man - the one who had led the hijack operation. And what he heard on that call had made his blood boil.

"The ship was empty, sir... there were no goods."

At first, Lucas thought it was a mistake. Then the second report came.

"US shipment... also empty."

Then the third.

"Russian shipment... empty containers. No real cargo."

And that was the moment Lucas understood. He picked up the glass from his table and threw it across the room with full force. It hit the wall and shattered into pieces. "UGHHHHH! DONATO ROMANO!" he shouted in rage. "I will kill you!"

He placed both hands on the table and leaned forward, breathing heavily, trying to control his anger but failing. "So you already knew," he muttered to himself, his voice low and dangerous. "You knew I was going to do this. You knew I would try to destroy your shipments."

He started pacing around the room like a trapped predator. "Russian shipment, US shipment, Japan shipment... all of this was your plan," he said slowly, thinking out loud, connecting every piece. "You sent empty ships on these routes so I would attack them... so I would stay busy here..."

He stopped walking and looked toward the large world map hanging on the wall. "And while I was busy destroying empty ships... you delivered the real shipments to other countries." His jaw tightened. "You played very well, Donato," he said quietly, anger now turning into something colder. "Very, very well."

He walked to the map and stared at it for a long moment. "But don't think this was your victory," he continued slowly. "This was just one move. Just one round." He picked up a marker from the table and circled a few few photos aggressively.

"You fooled me once," he said. "But I don't lose twice." His voice dropped into a cold whisper. "If this plan didn't work... I will make another plan." He leaned slightly closer to the photos , his eyes dark and full of revenge. "And next time, Donato Romano... I will not attack your ships."

He paused. "I will attack what you cannot replace." He straightened, a slow, cruel smile appearing on his face. "Let's see then... how smart you are."

____

"I knew they would attack," donato said quietly. "Not the exact place, but I knew they would try to hit one of the shipments. That's why the original goods were never on that ship."

Now everyone was staring at him.

"I split the shipment," Donato continued. "The real goods were transferred at the secondary port two nights ago. What was on that ship... was just a decoy shipment empty trunk."

De Luca's eyes widened slightly. "A fake shipment?" he asked.

Donato nodded once. "Yes. Enough to look real. Enough to make them believe they destroyed something important."

The team leader spoke slowly, still processing. "So... the real goods..."

"Already delivered," all over of your branches." Donato finished calmly.

Right at that moment, Adrian's phone rang. Everyone in the room looked at him. He slowly pulled out his phone and looked at the screen. The call was from his receiving port manager. He answered immediately. "Yes?" There was a pause. His expression changed. "Yes... confirm again... all containers?" Another pause.

Then he slowly looked up at Donato. "Okay... I understand," he said and cut the call. The room was completely silent now. Adrian slowly put his phone down and looked at Donato with a mixture of shock and respect. "The goods... reached safely," he said quietly.

No one spoke. Donato simply adjusted his cuff and said calmly, "I don't lose deals, Mr. De Luca." He slowly walked around the table, his hands behind his back, his posture relaxed but his presence dominating the entire room.

"I let my enemies think that they are winning," he continued slowly. "And when they start believing in that victory... that is when I execute my real plan." He stopped walking and looked at everyone in the room. "Romanos never let enemies play with them," he said quietly. "We play with our enemies' minds."

The room was silent, everyone listening carefully. Adrian nodded slightly, then asked, "But Donato... how did you know Lucas was planning something?"

Donato's lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. "I have my own ways of knowing things, Adrian," he replied. "He sent his dogs among us and thought I wouldn't find out."

One of the managers frowned. "His men? You mean someone from our team?" Donato looked at him directly. "Yes. Someone from the planning team was working with Lucas. He was passing every piece of information to them." The room immediately filled with tension.

"That's why," Donato continued, "yesterday I only discussed three shipments. And even those details were incomplete. Because I knew someone in that room was betraying us. I just wanted to confirm it." He walked to the screen and pointed at the routes map.

"I talked about changing routes, and I only shared half the information. The routes we planned publicly... ships went on those routes - but empty ships. And the routes we 'cancelled'... those were the routes where the real shipments went."

He paused, then added, "And those shipments were split and delivered through multiple branch ports in Japan and Russia. U.S India, china, and many other contries. Not one big delivery - many small deliveries. Impossible to track in time." Everyone in the room was completely silent now.

But this silence was different. It was not fear. It was respect. Pride. They were looking at their boss - not just as a businessman, not just as a mafia leader - but as a strategist.

Adrian slowly nodded, almost smiling. "Now I understand," he said. "No wonder the Romanos are ruling Italy." He looked directly at Donato and continued honestly, "You know, I thought you were too young to be a mafia boss. I wondered why all the leaders chose you after your father. They could have chosen anyone." He paused for a moment.

"But now I know why," he said. "You truly deserve that position. I would like to thank you. Because of your leadership, and with the protection of your mafia network, we Italian businessmen can work peacefully. Otherwise, there are dozens of gangs who would destroy big companies like ours."

Donato didn't respond with pride or arrogance. He simply nodded once. But his team felt proud standing behind him. Very proud. Adrian then asked another question. "So where is the one who betrayed us?"

A slow smirk appeared on Donato's face. He picked up a pen from the table, rotated it slowly between his fingers, and said calmly, "Already in my cage." The room went silent again. But this time, everyone understood one thing very clearly-Donato Romano didn't just win battles. He planned them before they even started.

___

The Romano mansion felt unusually quiet. Too quiet. Kiara was sitting in her room, near the large window, her hands resting in her lap, but her fingers were tightly intertwined. The sunlight was still there, the same soft warmth filling the room, but somehow... it didn't feel comforting anymore.

Her eyes were fixed somewhere outside, but she wasn't really seeing anything. Her mind was somewhere else. With him. With Donato. She could still hear his voice in her head - calm, firm, reassuring.

"I will come back to you safely... no matter what happens."

Kiara closed her eyes for a moment and took a slow breath. "What must have gone wrong..." she whispered softly to herself. Something had clearly happened. She had seen it in his eyes. The sudden change. The way his voice hardened. The way he left without looking back again. Her heart clenched slightly.

"No..." she said softly, shaking her head. "Kiara, you should be strong." She straightened a little in her seat, trying to control the storm building inside her. "He will come back," she whispered, more firmly this time. "He said that." Her fingers tightened slightly as she held onto those words like they were the only thing keeping her steady.

"He always keeps his word." She stood up slowly and walked toward the mirror, looking at herself. Her eyes looked worried. But beneath that worry... there was trust. Deep, unshaken trust. "You are not weak," she told herself quietly. "You are his wife." She took a deep breath again.

"And he will come back to you." The words were simple. But she repeated them again and again in her mind... Like a prayer. Because somewhere deep inside- She knew. The world Donato lived in was not simple. It was dangerous. Unpredictable. And today... something had moved in that world. Something serious.

Kiara walked back to the bed and sat down slowly, her gaze falling on the door. As if she was waiting. As if any moment- It would open. And he would walk in. Safe. Just like he promised.

____

Elena finished her last class of the day and walked out of the university building, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. The evening air was cool, and the parking area was already filling with students leaving for home. Her driver was waiting near the car, as usual, standing respectfully near the back door.

She walked down the steps calmly, her mind still half on her class notes, when suddenly she saw a familiar figure standing near the parking area entrance. It was the same boy from the café.

He was standing there like he had been waiting for a long time, hands in his jacket pockets, looking nervous but determined. Elena immediately recognized him and sighed quietly to herself. he must be here to meet someone, she thought, and tried to ignore him as she walked toward her car.

But before she could reach it, the boy quickly walked in front of her and stopped her. "El-Elena... listen..." he said hesitantly. Elena was startled and stopped suddenly. "Oh God, you scared me, nico!"

Nico immediately raised his hands slightly in apology. "I-I am sorry if I scared you. I just wanted to talk to you. Please don't ignore me."

Elena sighed, already a little tired. "I already told you, I am not interested in any type of talk."

"Just listen to me once," he said quickly, almost desperately. "Please. Just give me one chance. Please."

Elena looked at him carefully this time. He didn't look like a bad guy. Just a student. Nervous. Stubborn. Standing there like he had rehearsed this moment a hundred times. She noticed a few students nearby were looking at them curiously. She sighed again.

"Fine," she said finally. "Let's go to the café and talk there."

Nico's face lit up immediately. He nodded quickly. "Okay. Yes. Thank you."

Elena first walked to her driver and said, "I'm going to the café with my friend. I'll be back in some time."

The driver nodded respectfully. "I'll wait here, ma'am."

Then Elena and Nico walked toward the café together. They sat at a small table near the window - the same café where he had first seen her. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Nico looked nervous, while Elena looked calm but slightly impatient.

Finally, she spoke first. "Okay. I am here. Say what you want to say."

Nico took a deep breath. "I know you think I am annoying," he said honestly. "And maybe I am. But I just... I just wanted to talk to you properly once."

Elena didn't respond, she just listened.

"I first saw you here," he continued, looking around the café. "About a month ago. You were sitting there, near the corner table, reading something and drinking coffee. You didn't talk to anyone. You just sat quietly."

Elena remembered that day.

"And I don't know why," Nico said, "but I kept looking at you. Not in a bad way... I just... I liked the way you looked so calm, like nothing in the world bothered you."

Elena crossed her arms slightly. "So you started following me?"

"No!" he said quickly. "Not following. I just started coming to this café more often. Then I saw you again... and again. Then one day I tried to say hello, but you ignored me. Then I tried again. And again."

"Yes, and I ignored you every time," because i don't wanted to talk to, Elena said calmly.

"I know," he said with a small, embarrassed smile. "But I thought maybe one day you would at least listen."

Elena looked at him carefully. He wasn't arrogant. He wasn't acting cool. He was just... honest and very nervous.

"So what do you want now?" she asked.

Nico took a deep breath again and said directly, "I want to take you on a date."

Elena stared at him for a few seconds. its so daring boy and "You don't even know me," she said.

"I know enough," he replied. "You come to the café almost every evening. You always order the same coffee. You read more than you talk. You don't like when people are loud. And you always thank the waiter. Most people don't."

Elena was slightly surprised he noticed all that. "But still," she said, "you don't know me."

"Then let me know you," he said quietly. "That's why I am asking for a date. Not marriage. Not love. Just... one date."

Elena looked out the window for a moment, thinking.

Nico didn't speak again. He just waited.

After a long silence, Elena looked back at him and said calmly, "You are very stubborn."

He smiled slightly. "Yes."

She picked up her coffee cup and took a small sip. "I am not saying yes," she said.

Nico's face fell slightly.

"But," she continued, "I am also not saying no right now." He looked at her again, hope returning to his face. "First, we will talk like normal people," she said. "We will become friends. Then I will decide if you are worth going on a date with."

Nico smiled - not a big excited smile, but a relieved one. "That's fair," he said.

Elena nodded once. "Good," she said. "Now tell me something normal about yourself. Not how you followed me for a month."

Nico laughed nervously. "Okay... I am an architecture student. And I am very bad at talking to girls."

Elena almost smiled. And for the first time since he had seen her a month ago- She didn't look like she wanted to walk away.

____

On the other side of the city, far from the polished glass walls of Romano Industries and the calm warmth of the Romano mansion, a completely different world existed. A dark, silent room. The air smelled of smoke, blood, and tension.

A man was tied to a chair in the center of the room, his head hanging low, his body barely holding itself upright. His face was bruised beyond recognition, lips split, blood dried along his jawline. His breathing was uneven - shallow, weak - as if even staying conscious was a struggle.

In front of him stood Enzo. A cigarette rested between his lips, the faint orange glow lighting up his face in the dim room. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, knuckles slightly bruised, his breathing still heavy - not from effort alone, but from something deeper.

This wasn't just punishment. This was release. Every hit he had delivered carried more than anger at betrayal. It carried frustration. Elena not answering his calls. Ignoring him. Walking away like he didn't exist.

His mother's constant pressure for another blind date. Work stress. Pressure. Expectations. Everything that had been building inside him for days... was coming out here. On this man. Enzo grabbed the man's collar roughly and forced his head up slightly.

"Stay awake," he muttered coldly.

The man barely responded. Enzo exhaled slowly, dragging on his cigarette, then stepped back when he realized the man was on the verge of losing consciousness. He clicked his tongue in irritation.

"No... not yet," he said quietly. "You don't get to pass out before Donato arrives."

Just then- The door opened. Heavy footsteps entered the room. And suddenly, all the lights turned on at once. The harsh brightness cut through the darkness. Donato Romano had arrived.

Enzo didn't turn immediately. He just stood there, smoke curling in the air, his gaze still fixed on the broken man in front of him.

"Relax, darling," Donato's voice came from behind him, calm and slightly teasing. "You don't have to tire yourself this much."

The moment Enzo heard his voice, his shoulders relaxed slightly - almost instinctively. A small smile appeared on his lips. "Well," Enzo said casually, flicking the ash from his cigarette, "I didn't want my baby to get tired after a long meeting. So I thought... why not I handle him myself."

He gestured lazily toward the man tied to the chair. Donato walked forward and stood beside Enzo, his eyes scanning the man once - sharp, assessing, emotionless. "Did he say anything?" Donato asked calmly.

Enzo shook his head slightly. "Nothing useful. He only knows that Lucas was planning to destroy your shipments... because you destroyed their Russian ships earlier."

Donato's expression didn't change. "So he doesn't know their future plans?" he asked.

"No," Enzo replied. "He's just a pawn, Donato. You know Lucas isn't weak or careless. He plays his game properly. His plans, his locations... only his trusted men know. Not his dogs." He paused, then added, "He doesn't even know where Lucas is right now."

Donato looked at the man again, then smiled faintly. "I won't leave him," Donato said quietly. "He destroyed my ships. I can't just let that go." There was something dangerous in his calmness.

Enzo tilted his head slightly. "So you want to do the same?"

Donato shook his head slowly. "No," he said. "I want something else."

Enzo looked at him, already understanding. "You know what," Donato added.

Enzo's eyes narrowed slightly. "The weapons?" he asked.

Donato's smirk deepened. "Yes."

Silence filled the room for a moment. Then Donato turned slightly toward his men. "Give him water," he said calmly. "Make him stable enough to speak. He knows where the weapons are." One of the men immediately nodded and moved forward. The tied man was barely conscious, but now... he wasn't going to be allowed to escape that easily. Not yet. Not until he spoke.

Donato turned away from the scene like it was nothing more than routine. He adjusted his watch slightly, then looked at Enzo. "Let's go, baby," he said casually. "It's going to be a long night. Let's drink something."

Enzo smirked and dropped his cigarette, crushing it under his shoe. "Let's go," he replied.

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