[PART 2] The bouquet slipped from my fingers. White rose petals scattered across the polished marble floor like snow. “What?” I breathed, certain I had misheard. “Your fiancé refused to marry you,” Alexander said, each word precise and deliberate. “So I’m offering to take his place.” “That’s insane,” I said, finding my voice. “I don’t…
[PART 2] The penthouse suite of the St. Regis Chicago offered a panoramic glittering view of Lake Michigan. But Alessandro Cavali had his back to the floor-to-ceiling windows. He sat at a massive slab of Nero Marquina marble that served as his desk, a glass of Macallan 25 untouched in front of him. His most…
PART 2 “What did you just say?” Alexander’s voice was dangerously low. The vein at his temple pulsed. Clara was sweating, but she forced herself to meet his terrifying gaze. “I said you can’t cut it open, Mr. Romano. The magnesium layer isn’t triggered by heat alone. It’s a pressurized differential. If you pierce the…
PART 2 Sleep did not come to James Costello that night. He spent the early hours pacing the hardwood floors of his penthouse overlooking Lake Michigan. The yellowed check and the faded Polaroid rested on the granite kitchen island like active explosives. If his father survived the bombing, where did he go? Why did he…
PART 2 I didn’t sleep that night. How could I, knowing armed guards stood outside my door, knowing cameras watched my every move, knowing a dangerous man held my life in his hands? Instead, I spent the hours cataloging every detail of the room, looking for weaknesses, escape routes, anything that might help me survive…
PART 2 Rachel arrived with wine and immediately noticed my panic. “Okay, spill. What’s really going on?” I showed her my phone. The texts. The Google results. The Wikipedia page that carefully detailed Alessandro Russo’s alleged criminal empire. “Holy sh*t,” she breathed. “You helped a mob boss’s kid. Sophie, this is serious. This is like…
PART 2 Penelope woke up to the feeling of Egyptian cotton against her skin and the soft, steady patter of rain against a massive bay window. She blinked against the morning light, her mind struggling to bridge the gap between the terrifying alleyway and the luxurious sprawling bedroom she now occupied. It wasn’t a dream….
PART 2 Slowly, her heart hammering against her ribs, Chloe slid her arm through his. The muscle beneath his bespoke suit felt like solid iron. She could feel the heat radiating off him, could smell expensive cologne and something darker underneath—something that reminded her of thunderstorms and dangerous decisions. Matteo pushed open the heavy oak…
[PART 2] The car glided down a narrow road that descended in curves toward Lake Como. I saw the black water reflecting the scattered lights of the villas. I felt the cold leather of the seat beneath my palms. Dante drove in silence with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the…
[PART 2] Marco Salvatore had spent three years looking for her. He’d had his best people search every hospital in the city. Nurses were common, and brown-haired women named Elena weren’t exactly rare. But he never forgot her face. Those brown eyes, worried and kind, looking down at him as if he mattered. When he…
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