جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 30

“Looking for something, Mrs. De Luca?”Lorenzo’s voice rasped through the silent, dimly lit study like polished steel dragging across marble.My heart slammed violently, a spike of pure, icy adrenaline shooting through my veins. Every survival instinct screamed at me to drop the yellowed folder, but I forced my trembling fingers to hold their ground. I drew a slow, deliberate breath, relying on every shred of legal discipline I had cultivated to lock my face into a mask of pure, unbothered composure.I slowly lifted my chin, staring straight into his storm-gray eyes.“As a matter of fact, I am,” I said, my voice quiet, steady, and sharp enough to cut glass.Lorenzo didn't move fast. He walked with that slow, predatory grace that made the air in the room feel heavy, almost unbreathable. He crossed the hardwood floor until he stood directly on the opposite side of the mahogany desk, his massive frame towering over me, casting a long shadow across the papers in my hand. He looked lethal—

Lorenzo threw open the rear door of the Maybach, tossed me onto the hand-stitched leather backseat, and slid in right behind me before I could even scramble toward the opposite door.“Childish,” Lorenzo rasped, catching my wrist in a loose, inescapable grip as I lunged for the handle.“I am wearing joggers and an oversized hoodie, Lorenzo!” I hissed, yanking my arm back and glaring at him with enough heat to melt steel. “You literally carried me out of the penthouse in front of your entire staff! Do you have any concept of personal boundaries?”Lorenzo didn't even blink. He adjusted the cuffs of his black dress shirt, leaning back into the leather seat as Marco pulled the Maybach out of the subterranean garage.“You were given a choice to walk down the stairs like an adult, Mrs. De Luca," Lorenzo said smoothly, his storm-gray eyes fixed on me with unbearable calm. “You chose the alternative. I simply accommodated you.”“You are infuriating," I spat, crossing my arms tightly over my ch

The ride back in the Maybach was thick with the lingering electricity of the ballroom and the sharp scent of expensive bourbon.I stared out the bulletproof window, watching the neon lights of the city streak past in a blur. My heart was still hammering from the way Giuliana had sneered at me and more dangerously, from the terrifying heat in Lorenzo’s eyes when he had pulled me against his chest and declared me his in front of the entire elite crowd.I hated how easily my pulse spiked around him. I hated that under all his cold, calculated control, he made me feel like I was standing on the edge of a cliff every time he touched me.Beside me, Lorenzo moved with slow, deliberate grace. He reached across the dark leather seat, his large, calloused fingers brushing gently against the bare skin at the back of my neck. Before I could flinch, his thumb pressed the hidden latch of the De Luca heirloom necklace, releasing the antique platinum and raw black diamonds with a quiet, metallic clic

Morning arrived in a blaze of sharp, pale sunlight cutting through the floor-to-ceiling glass of the East Wing.I woke up to the smell of fresh espresso and the sound of Chloe humming loudly as she shuffled around my sitting room. She was wearing my bathrobe—which was about three sizes too big for her, with her copper hair tied back in a claw clip and her round glasses sitting crooked on her nose.“Morning, Mrs. De Luca,” Chloe chirped cheerfully, setting a silver tray with two steaming mugs onto the glass coffee table. "I convinced the scary chef downstairs to give me hazelnut syrup. Turns out if you compliment their kitchen layout, mob staff are actually very accommodating."I rubbed my eyes, sitting up against the plush pillows. "You went down to the kitchen alone?""Of course," Chloe said, taking a loud sip from her mug. "I also saw your husband's chief security guy—the big guy, Marco? I asked him if he ever smiles, and he stared at me like I was a localized natural disaster. It w

The sound of air brakes hissed through the quiet mountain air, echoing off the stone walls of the estate.I stood near the floor-to-ceiling glass of the East Wing sitting room, a cup of tea balanced in my hands, staring down at the gravel driveway in total disbelief.A brightly painted, slightly dented yellow moving van was currently idling right in front of the main foyer entrance. Two armed security guards stood near the iron gates, looking utterly bewildered as the van's rear doors swung open.Chloe hopped out of the passenger side wearing paint-splattered overalls, a graphic tee, and bright red high-top sneakers.“Marco! Grab the heavy box, will you? It’s labeled 'spite supplies'—don't drop it, it's fragile!” Chloe shouted upward toward the grand entrance, waving casually at the chief of security as if he were a bellhop at a resort.Marco stood on the top step of the porch, looking frozen in place. His jaw flexed, his hand hovering instinctively near his suit coat as he stared dow