Chapter 4

Matteo reached for his hip but before he could draw, a guard pinned him to the table. The engagement ring clattered across the floor.

Then Lucien walked in. His eyes found my pale face first, then moved to my wrist where Matteo had grabbed me.

"I told you." Lucien said to me. "These people aren't worth coming back for."

"Grandfather is still here." My voice was barely a whisper.

"Then we take Vittorio with us." Lucien came to me. "No reason to set foot in this house again."

Matteo struggled to rise. "Who are you?"

Lucien caught his arm and slammed him into the wall. Before Matteo could recover, Lucien's fist connected with his face. Blood spilled from his lip. "You talk too much." Lucien said. The guards pinned Matteo again. Lucien did not spare him another glance.

Lucien draped his jacket over my shoulders, wrapped an arm around my waist, and took my full weight. "The doctor is outside. And your glass has been secured."

I blinked. "How did you know?"

"You missed your check-in time. The driver reported that the Romanos wouldn't let him through the gate."

Lucien guided me out. In the hallway, Romano guards stood disarmed along the wall, hands away from their weapons. Draven's men had secured the main house.

Hundreds of guests turned. Marco and Nico pushed through the crowd, their faces shifting as they saw me in a stranger's arms.

"Let go!" Marco barked. "This is Romano property. You don't just walk in here."

Nico's eyes flicked nervously over the armed Draven men, but he kept his voice strong. "You attacked the Bellini heir. You brought armed men into the Romano estate. Do you know who you're declaring war on?"

Lucien ignored them. Marco shouted at his guards: "What are you waiting for? Arrest him!" No one moved. The head of Romano security lowered his gaze. "Underboss, they've taken our weapons. There are twenty more Draven vehicles outside the gate."

Murmurs swept the ballroom. "They've taken over Romano security?" "Who is this man?" "Those are Draven pins." The final whisper sent a ripple through the older family heads. They rose from their seats, not to confront him, but to incline their heads in acknowledgment. The crowd parted as my father and mother rushed over.

"What is this?" My father demanded. "Who gave you permission to enter my estate?"

Lucien finally looked at him. "Elena was drugged at your dinner and thrown into a security room. And you ask why I came in?"

"Elena was just drunk." My mother cut in quickly. "She attacked Giulia in front of everyone. We only put her somewhere to cool down."

"The Draven family doctor is waiting for her. And her glass is already in my hands. After the test results come back, I hope you can still call it drunkenness."

Giulia went pale. She shrank behind my mother and whimpered. "I don't know why Elena wants to blame me."

"Shut up." Lucien said.

Several European guests were already standing, bowing their heads in deference. My father stared at Lucien for a long moment, and when he spoke, the certainty in his voice was gone. "You're from the Draven family?"

"Lucien Draven."

The ballroom fell completely silent. That name carried more weight than any weapon. The current Don of the Draven family. Chairman of the European Crime Commission. The man the underworld called the Mafia King.

My mother seized my father's arm. "How do you know Elena?" She swung to me, her voice instantly reverting to command. "Elena, come here. Get away from this man."

Lucien's arm tightened around my waist. "She is going nowhere."

Matteo wiped the blood from his mouth and glared at Lucien. "She is my fiancée."

Lucien reached for the locket at my throat. The tiny clasp opened. Inside lay a wedding band. Lucien took it out and slid it back onto my ring finger.

"Ex-fiancée." he said.

Matteo's face went rigid.

Lucien's gaze swept across my parents, my brother, and every guest who had been eager to watch me fall.

"Allow me to introduce her properly."

He took the wedding band from my locket and slid it back onto my finger.

"Elena Draven," he said. "My lawfully wedded wife—and the only Donna of the Draven family."