ella

t. When I descended the grand staircase, the living room felt like a mausoleum. The high ceilings swallowed the sound of my footsteps, and

New York night with him. He didn't even glance in my direct

ndled," he stated, his voi

my chest. I took a step forward. "Because she

t a low, humorless laugh that made the blood in my veins run cold.

ly, she overstepped. She used your mother's life as leverage without my authorization." He set the glass down and cl

n't a wife. My mother wasn't a person. We were just tools in his arsenal, items on a ledger

one foot on the bottom stair, the words

round. The silence in the cavernous room thicke

on B. Should you initiate a separation, the Parisi family's debt to the Rossi clan is reinstated

y lungs. But I had nothing left to lose. I took a shaky breath, de

it?" I challenged, my voice echoing off the high

l, predatory stillness. He descended the single step and stalked toward me. I back

lking about?" he

s of his eyes and spat out the

out, gripping my upper arm with enough force to bruise the bone. He leaned in, pinning me against the marble, hi

d, the Italian word heavy with a dange

e of triumph bloomed amidst the terror. The secret

ulate cuffs as if the violent loss of control had never happened

its usual icy command. "There are financial matters to discuss." He looked at my p

e off with a smile that didn't reach his e

Refuse, and I will personally drive her to the state-subsid

ee the submission he demanded. But beneath the sapphire silk, my heart beat to the rhythm of a newly forged *V