4

Simon shot to his feet.

Elena grabbed his arm.

She gritted her teeth. "If it really comes down to it, I'll have our men make sure Marcus never leaves."

"No," Antonio snapped at her for the first time.

"If he's bold enough to walk through the door, he's got a backup plan.

"Kill him today, and tomorrow the feds have an excuse to tear this place apart."

Victoria asked quietly, "So we just give up?"

Antonio didn't answer.

After a long silence, he looked at Simon.

"How much is left in the trust your mother left you?"

Simon's expression shifted.

"Dad, that money is—"

"For Chloe," Antonio cut in. "She has nothing to do with the family business. Once she signs the divorce settlement, she can make a clean break from all of this."

Simon clenched his fists. "I'm not divorcing her."

"I wasn't asking." Antonio sounded old, but he still spoke with the authority of the head of the family. "You're a Ferro. You live or die with this family. Chloe doesn't."

Standing in the shadows on the stairs, I couldn't put my feelings into words.

For three years, Elena had thought I was too high-maintenance, and Victoria had thought all I could do was spend money.

Even Antonio usually scowled and grunted whenever he saw my latest piece of jewelry. But when they were truly out of options, their first thought was to leave me the last of their clean money.

I went back to my room and poured myself half a glass of Lafite.

When my fingers touched the bottle, I realized my hands were a little cold.

Every one of them had a terrible temper. And every one of them was fiercely protective of their own.

I took a sip.

It tasted a little bitter.

I suddenly remembered my first year in the family. Elena had thought my clothes were too flashy, but she'd still stepped in when someone at a party tried to pressure me into having a drink.

Victoria was always calling me a spendthrift, but when she found out I loved a particular pair of discontinued earrings, she had someone track them down for me in London.

Then there was Antonio.

He'd never once praised me, but every year he made sure Alfonso got me a birthday present.

Fine.

At least today, I couldn't let them hand over the family signet ring.

I took my wine and headed back downstairs.

Alfonso was halfway up the stairs when he saw me and froze.

"Mrs. Ferro..."

I walked right past him and down the stairs.

Every eye in the room landed on me.

Marcus looked me up and down.

"You're in the mood for a drink at a time like this?

"Looks like Mrs. Ferro has already lined up her next husband."

I didn't even bother to look at him.

I walked over to the sofa he'd just been sitting on and frowned in disgust.

"Where'd this nouveau riche nobody come from? He's getting my couch dirty."

The smile on Marcus's face froze.

Elena went pale and yanked me behind her.

"Chloe, go back upstairs!"

Simon immediately stepped in front of me, too.

"Just go upstairs, okay?"

The more nervous they got, the more I wanted to laugh.

On a normal day, every one of these people looked down on me.

But when it came down to life or death, not one of them had even thought about throwing me to the wolves.

Marcus's expression turned icy.

"Since Mrs. Ferro has so much backbone, I guess she won't need to sign the divorce settlement after all.

"The whole lot of you can go down together."

He took out his phone and pressed his thumb to the screen.

Simon pulled me back a step. I was just about to turn around when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Marcus's lapel.

Up on the stairs earlier, the brooch had just seemed a bit loud.

Now that I was closer, the light was hitting the panther's eyes just right.

I stared at that panther brooch for two seconds, and then I smiled.

"You're a big shot with three gold mines, and your Cartier panther has cheap rhinestones for eyes?"

The moment the words left my mouth, the room went so quiet that all you could hear was the fire crackling.

Marcus didn't answer right away.

That half-second of hesitation was enough to change both women's expressions.

I lifted my wine and took a slow sip.

"Don't tell me the paperwork on those three gold mines is fake, too?"