Chapter 2

Lina was already pregnant!

My heart twisted. But that wasn't the only thing eating at me.

"The champagne wasn't poisoned by them, was it? You were the one who spiked it."

I stared at Rhett. The idea that the Matteo Family would openly poison a drink at its own banquet was too ridiculous to believe.

The only explanation was that Rhett had staged the whole thing so he could wipe them out once and for all.

He knew I always tasted his drinks first. All he had to do was spike the champagne, let me drink it, blame the Matteo Family, and open fire.

"Yes. You know me well enough to understand why I had to do it. A surprise attack was the only way to take them down for good. And it worked.

"Don't worry, though. The dose wasn't lethal. I kept it small."

Rhett admitted what he had done without hesitation.

"And the wedding? How did you get the Elders to agree?"

"The Elders were against it, but Lina's pregnant. And besides, you signed the consent form yourself."

My heart skipped a beat. I had trusted Rhett, so whenever he handed me stacks of documents, I signed without a second glance.

I had never imagined he had slipped a consent form for his marriage to Lina into the pile.

Everything I had believed was love had actually been Rhett's manipulation.

I'd had enough. In one furious sweep, I knocked everything off the table.

"Get out! All of you, get out!"

Rhett shielded Lina and ushered her out of the room.

My father stayed behind, his face tight with exasperation.

"You need to be smarter about this. Think about where you stand. We rely on the Raines Family now. If Rhett decides he's done with you, things will not end well for you. Use your head."

With that, he turned and left.

That night, I was still weak from the poison, and everything I'd learned pushed me over the edge.

My fever shot up.

Through the haze, I heard the doctor's nervous voice.

"Don Raines, Ms. Rossini has a high fever. She keeps calling for you. Would you like to see her?"

"Lina's home alone and she's scared. I need to get back. Vera's been through worse. She can handle it."

I'd been beaten protecting Rhett from assassins.

My right leg had been shattered, and I had been shot in the left shoulder. Those old injuries still ached.

He used to sit by my bedside day and night. Now he said I could handle it on my own.

Tears slid silently onto my pillow, and I let myself sink into the darkness.

When I woke the next morning, Rhett was gone. His right-hand man was the only one there, along with several boxes of supplements Rhett had sent.

"Ms. Rossini, you're awake. The doctor cleared you for discharge. The Don asked me to take you home."

By the time I got home, I could barely stand. I forced myself upstairs, only to find my bedroom locked.

"Who told you to lock my room? Open it. Now."

I stopped a maid passing by. She lowered her head before answering.

"Ms. Rossini, this is Mrs. Raines's room now.

"Those were Don Rossini's orders."

My father had even given my room to Lina!

"I'm sorry, Vera. I'll be staying here from time to time. You know I'm carrying Rhett's baby. I need a large room with plenty of sunlight.

"Father insisted on giving me your room. It wasn't my idea."

Lina stroked her still-flat belly and put on an innocent expression.

"He's my father!" I shot back.

Then something on her chest caught my eye. She was wearing the brooch my mother had made for me before she died!

It was the keepsake my mother had left me!

"How dare you wear my brooch! Give it back!"

I lunged for it, but my father stepped between us and shoved me back.

"Vera! Is this any way for a Rossini to behave? You're an embarrassment!"

"That's my brooch! She has no right to touch my things!"

My father calmly adjusted his collar.

"She has every right. She's my daughter too. That makes her just as much a Rossini as you are."