ly

ffocating tension of the West Wing. I sat at my vanity, staring at my r

ing study," Ashlynn murmured

fted into my ear. He had intercepted Jacob just moment

forced this marriage. Gustavo's mind is fracturing by the day, and the Commission is watching. You cannot publicly h

unctuated only by the sharp

tirely devoid of warmth. "And I know exactly where my wife stands on it.

t back to Ashlynn. Jacob's disdain was exactly as I expected. He saw me a

ns later, that

vered a box of handmade Sicilian Cassata to eight-year-old Korbin. The boy's arrogant scowl had faltered

uite, the faint, metallic scent of

ows, her posture rigid. "The Don

ped foot in this room sinc

n I told him you were in the courtyard gifting pastries to young Korbin, his eyes went completely

would my attempt to bond with his brother anger him? I dismissed it with a cold shake of my head. A Don's moods were as

soon manifested into

a brutal *Vendetta*. The slaughter was ordered by the Capo dei Capi, Gustavo Rodriguez, who suspected them of interfering with

He was acting as Gustavo's bloody blade, absorbing the ha

ission, I used the excuse of a bad dream abo

cient Mafia crests. My grandfather, Horatio Golden, sat behind his m

sian rug. "Jacob is the Don. Why is he risking the Collins

ching his weathered face. "Because you are loo

cing. "What

lained smoothly. "Jacob is a Don in name, but he is financially shackled to his grandmot

passing the money entirely. He is taking direct control of the Commission's military forces. He doesn'

tion gap between us shattered. Jacob wasn't just a ruthless brute; he

ifying clarity. The sun was already setting, casting long, bloody s