na

smile in the Grand Foyer, my mind drifted to a me

hetic frame-up to accuse me-the commoner Queen-of attempting to assassi

hogany table with a deafening crack. *"If anyone touches my wife, I will have the Underboss and my Enforcers drag

immediately backed down, scapegoating a low-level Associate to save her own s

om. Adeline had orchestrated a lavish luncheon, ostensib

rling her expensive Bordeaux. She didn't look at me, but her target was obvious. Isabella smirked into h

hed my chair back, the legs scraping harshly against the marble fl

onto my silk sleeve. Chiara looked up at me, her

th that familiar, sickening fragility. "Don't anger th

ood run cold. This was the exact face she wore b

ping around her wrist like a vice. I squeezed until I felt the

monic, hollow rasp meant only for her

e sweet victim shattered, replaced by raw, unadulterated shock. She stared at me as if look

inevitable praise of Chiara'

sery. I needed silence. But the moment I stepped onto the plush wool

ive-month-old son, swaddl

cooed, stepping toward me to present

ld him

a weak commoner

see a pure, innocent infant. I saw the ten-year-old boy standing in the shadows of the in

tural scream tor

ty. Perfume bottles crashed to the floor, shattering into a h

er chest, backing away in sheer terror. Sensing the panic, Leo bega

ushed into the nursery, th

n glass. I curled into myself, trembling violently as the past and present collided in a horr

ing. I needed Dante. I needed the terrifying, absolute protection of his arms