Chapter 3

The vibration of my phone pulled me back from my thoughts.

It was a message from Matteo.

The summit schedule had changed, and I was required to return immediately.

I had no interest in lingering among these people, so I turned, ready to leave with my men.

However, Lucca suddenly stepped forward, gripping my wrist and pinning me against the wall.

“Eliana, what exactly are you playing at?

“I had people searching for you for three years. I thought you were dead.

“How could you just disappear like that? I thought you…”

Bloodshot veins surfaced in his eyes, and his voice trembled slightly.

I turned my face away, yet he stubbornly lifted my chin, trying to move closer.

The scent that once captivated me now felt suffocating.

I didn’t move, but Leo’s hand had already settled on the grip of his gun.

Lucca’s motion froze midway.

We stood locked in confrontation until a soft female voice suddenly broke in.

“Darling, so this is where you are. I thought someone rude had kept you occupied.”

Victoria Balsamo approached gracefully.

She was the only daughter of the Balsamo family’s don and had married Lucca three years ago, becoming the donna of the Rossi family.

She wore an expensive gown, though faint lines now marked the corners of her eyes, and her figure had grown noticeably thinner.

I had once admired this woman for securing thirty percent of the Rossi family’s port interests through marriage and gaining control of two major laundering channels.

Now, however, it seemed the power and status she obtained from Lucca through that marriage had not granted her a life much better than mine.

Her gaze moved slowly between Lucca and me before she slipped her arm intimately through his, claiming her place beside him.

With deliberate ease, her other hand brushed the black diamond ring resting on her ring finger—the custom piece forged for the alliance between the two families.

It had been crafted from the Rossi family’s mineral stone using her family’s workmanship, entirely one of a kind.

She intentionally let the ring remain within my line of sight, her fingers lightly tracing its surface.

I stared at it.

There had been countless nights in the past when I had lain in Lucca’s arms, fantasizing about him placing a ring on my finger.

I had even secretly sketched designs, wondering if one day I might become the woman he would openly acknowledge.

During those three years at Lucca’s side, everyone knew I was his woman. Yet he had never granted me a clear identity in any formal setting.

I wore the expensive clothes he commissioned for me and attended countless occasions beside him. Still, I always remained an outsider.

The looks directed at me were always mixed with desire, caution, and disdain.

Even so, I believed I was different for him.

Until the night before that family negotiation.

I intercepted critical intelligence capable of destroying his greatest rival, and I wanted to give Lucca a surprise.

Before the negotiation began, Lucca summoned me, and we shared a drink.

I placed my hand over the back of his, feeling the pulse beneath his skin.

It was the closest I had ever been to him; the atmosphere so gentle that it felt almost unreal.

“Lucca, I obtained something that can eliminate the Balsamo family…”

Before I could finish, the meeting room doors opened.

His chief consigliere entered, his expression serious.

“Don Rossi, the family elders have arrived. We may begin.”

Lucca released my hand, adjusted his tie, and walked toward the head seat.

I remained where I was, my heart gradually turning cold.

“Ladies and gentlemen, today I will announce a decision concerning the family’s future.”

His gaze swept across the room before finally landing on my position.

My heart tightened abruptly.

Then Lucca extended his hand, not toward me, but toward the seat opposite.

“Victoria Balsamo. Our cooperation will usher in a new era.”

Seated across from me, Victoria rose in her red gown under the crowd’s complicated stares and walked to his side.

I stood in the shadows as the surrounding voices grew distant and the lights blurred, while Lucca’s words carved themselves into my mind, one syllable at a time.

“From this day forward, the Rossi family and the Balsamo family are joined in marriage.”

“An excellent decision, Don Rossi!”

“Congratulations!”

Deliberate applause erupted throughout the room.

When Victoria extended her hand, Lucca picked up the black diamond ring and placed it onto her finger. With the witness of everyone present, he lowered his head to kiss the back of her hand.