VALENTINO ~~~~~~~~♧♧♧♧♧♧I walked into the living room to find a sleeping Jasmine in Sofia’s arms “You didn’t tell me you had a child. Where’s her mother?” Sofia asked. “She’s not mine. Her mother is dead.” Sofia gasped. “Poor baby. Are you going to keep her?” “I haven’t figured that out yet. I’ll be really busy for a while, so I won’t be able to look after her.” “I can do that. I can take care of her. Since I’m the only one at home, we can keep each other company. She’ll need a nursery.” “I bought some things for the baby. Byron will set that up for you tomorrow. I need to get some sleep.” “Okay. Goodnight.” “Goodnight.” I made my way to my room, coming to a stop when I saw the painting Carlo had brought wedged against the wall. I picked it up, examining the painting for the first time since he had brought it here.I didn’t see the fuss about the painting. It looked like something Fiore would splash money on just for the fun of it.

VALENTINO ~~~~~~~~♧♧♧♧♧♧“Tino, someone has been knocking on your door for minutes now,” Ravenna said. “I don’t see how I’m going to go meet said person with you splayed over me like a starfish. Besides, the knocking has stopped.” “It could be your mom.” “Or Byron. The baby definitely cannot be the one.” Ravenna scoffed, slapping my chest and climbing off me. “Don’t try to be a smartass.” She looked at something across the room. “When did you get a painting in your room? That reminds me. Nero wanted me to take a painting from you.” I raised a brow at her. “Take or steal?” “Take. Definitely take. I was going to, but then things happened, and you helped me. I couldn’t do it, so I told him no.” “That was why you wanted to sleep with me so badly that night. So you could have a look at it, and probably get a fake one to replace the original.” “That was my exact thought. How did you know that?” “I knew about it from the start. I just want

VALENTINO ~~~~~~~~♧♧♧♧♧♧“You have the gold. I have the market. In exchange for that, I get a cut out of the money.” I leaned back in my chair, chuckling to myself. “And you expect me to say yes to this because you think you have the ultimate blackmail material? I don’t know who you think you’re talking to, but I’m not Ciro or Fiore.” I knew letting her in was a bad idea, but Ravenna had insisted. Now I was the one suffering the consequences of listening to her. “I know. That’s why I’m here. You’re a powerful man. That’s the type of man I need as an ally to achieve my goals, and you also need a powerful ally by your side.” “And that’s you?” “Yes. Soon, Gina will step down. I’ll have control over The Sisterhood.” “No. Whatever it is you want to tell anyone, go on.” I’ll bet she had nothing on me and was just going on what Ciro must have slipped out during late-night pillow talks. Another thing that bugged me was how Ciro knew about the g

RAVENNA~~~~~~~♤♤♤♤♤“Have you checked out the flash drive Eloise gave you?” Valentino asked, running his brush through his hair. I stopped mid rubbing sunscreen on my thighs. “I believe someone said not to trust the information because it could be a trap.” He cocked his head to the side so he could look at me. “And I believe a certain someone told you not to trust him and you agreed not to.” “And I believe that said someone has done nothing to make me not trust him.” “Raven- “ “I don’t even see why this is turning into an argument. Besides, I thought you were going to get your father.” “I didn’t say the information wasn’t worth checking out. Sometimes, you take my words seriously, and other times you don’t.” “You can’t exactly fault my decision. You know who Lucian was.” Lucian had been strongly against me when he was alive, and I wouldn’t put it past Fiore to do something as fucked up as using Eloise to execute a plan after her husband

RAVENNA~~~~~~~♤♤♤♤♤“It’s rare for things to be calm around here. It feels so strange,” Ravenna said. “That’s so true,” Zypher agreed. “The break was needed, and who knows? Maybe Fiore is dead. It’s been weeks since we returned from the Bahamas and he has done nothing.” “Nobody ask me anything. Just ignore me and act like you can’t see me,” Alaina said as she popped out of nowhere, taking a seat on a pool lounge chair. “I’m not sure that’s gonna be possible. Your tantrum is begging for attention. Now, I’m just gonna keep quiet and back away,” Zypher said, swimming backward so she was away from Alaina, who looked a second away from jumping her. “What happened to you?” I asked, from where I was positioned on the gigantic pizza pool float. “By the way, your idea to get this pool float is amazing.” Alaina cracked a smile. “Thanks. I had to promise Jacob and Andrea my first-born child just so they could help me get them home. My arms were loaded with cl