Cruel Savior – Lilith Vincent

Almost free. My phone buzzes in my purse. I pull it out, still smiling, expecting maybe a text from Lucy. It’s from Dad. Be careful around Vincenzo’s guard dog. If he catches on to what you’re up to, he’ll wring your neck. The engagement means nothing. You’re not safe. It’s them or us. Matteo couldn’t possibly see my screen from where he’s sitting, but I hastily lock the screen and put my phone face down in my lap. The sunshine suddenly feels cold. I stare out the window, my good mood crumbling to ash.

“Everything okay?” Matteo glances at me in the rearview mirror. I smooth my features over with a smile. “Of course. Everything’s fine.” Class passes in a haze. I take notes without absorbing a single word, my professor’s voice washing over me like distant static. When it’s finally over, I find Matteo waiting outside the lecture hall, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking supremely unbothered by the curious stares from passing students.

“Good class?” he asks. “Shall I take you home?” I nod wordlessly, wishing I had an excuse to go anywhere else. The bottle of poison is in my nightstand, and I’ll feel its deadly presence silently demanding me to use it on the man who promised to keep me safe. Matteo gazes at me, his lips pressed together in concern. “You know what? I’ve got a better idea.”

I look up in surprise. “Oh?” A smile spreads over his face. “You hungry? I know a place. The best Italian food in the city.” “Yes, please,” I say quickly. He escorts me back to his car and opens the back door for me. I slide inside, relief lightening my heart at the thought that I’m going anywhere but home. As we drive, I feel my phone vibrate in my bag.

Wincing, I glance inside, praying that it’s not Dad. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that it’s Lucy. Damiano just told me he saw you at dinner with Vincenzo Vici last night. Does this mean that Vici–Montoni relations have been mended? Perhaps with a kiss? More kisses?? I stare at Lucy’s messages as I wonder how to reply.

A minute later, she texts me again. Was Damiano with a woman? Was it that politician’s daughter? Ugh. I can’t stand her. I smile and roll my eyes. Lucy has hated every woman her brother has ever dated. She’s as possessive of his affections as he is protective of her. I’ll call you soon and tell you everything. Promise.

I saved his life. Now he owns mine. I’ve lived my whole life in a golden cage, the captive daughter of a powerful mafia don. When my father arranges my marriage to Vincenzo Vici, a cold-blooded assassin from a rival family, it’s a death sentence.

For both of us. Because my father uses our engagement to slaughter the Vicis and take their territory. But he makes a grave error. He doesn’t kill the most dangerous Vici of all: Vincenzo himself. I’ve never met my intended fiancé, so when I stumble upon a handsome, bloodied stranger being tortured in a laundromat in the middle of the night, I follow my instincts and save his life.

Big mistake. The man I saved is Vincenzo Vici, and when he discovers I’m the woman who led his family to slaughter, I realize there are circles of hell my father never showed me. Vincenzo should kill me. He wants to kill me. Instead, he decides to make me pay in a different way—by holding me to our arranged marriage and exacting his revenge on me. But Vincenzo isn’t the monster I expected. His ruthless kisses light up my soul. His darkness is a dangerous addiction.

And when my father hands me poison and orders me to finish what he started, I’m caught between two impossible choices: loyalty to my own blood, or devotion to the darkness that sets me free. OceanofPDF.com CRUEL SAVIOR by LILITH VINCENT Copyright © 2026 Lilith Vincent | All Rights Reserved | Cover design by The Book Brander Cover photography by Paperback Model Editing by Fox Fiction Editing Proofreading by Rumi Khan No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief quotations for reviews.

Thank you for respecting the author’s work. This book is a work of fiction. All characters, places, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any similarities between persons living or dead are purely coincidental. Created with Vellum OceanofPDF.com WELCOME TO MALUS The city of Malus. Proud and deadly mafia families locked in a struggle for power. Protect your heart. Love is ruthless. OceanofPDF.com A NOTE TO READERS Adora and Vincenzo’s story was inspired by a daydream I had on New Year’s Day 2024 (the laundromat scene that you’ll read in the first chapter) and it unfolded from there in all its messy, violent glory.

Cruel Savior contrasts dark and sweet. The violent with the romantic. The cruelty of a toxic family and the blessings of a family you create yourself. Vincenzo is a dangerous and broken anti-hero driven to the brink. Adora is his sweet heroine nursing scars of her own. They’re sworn enemies pitted against each other in dire circumstances, and they’re desperately in need of each other.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: f79f906dd7392e22
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 2,078,906 bytes (1.983 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 249
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 413.62 minutes
• Total Words: 82,724
• Total Characters: 455,928
• Average Words per Page: 332.22
• Average Characters per Page: 1831.04

Most Frequent Words

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