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"WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO LAY A FINGER ON MY WIFE?" THE BALLROOM SCREAMED IN TERROR AS LUCIANO’S BLADE PIERCED HIS OWN CAPO’S HAND TO THE TABLE! / Chapter 4 / 10

Chapter 4 - The Poisoned Tea

The next morning, Sienna Marchetti arrived at the estate under the pretense of bringing me my remaining belongings from my family home. In reality, she was my only lifeline to the outside world.

We sat in the sunroom, drinking tea while two of Luciano’s guards stood just outside the glass doors.

"He hasn't touched you?" Sienna whispered, leaning in close, her eyes wide with worry.

"No," I said, taking a sip of the sweet chamomile. "He barely looks at me. We sleep in separate rooms."

"Good," she breathed, relaxing slightly. "Because your father is losing his mind, Valyria. The Capos in the Caruso family are pushing him to break the treaty. They think Luciano is weak because he hasn't seized the southern docks yet. They want to launch a strike."

"They can't," I said, my hand shaking as I set my cup down. "If they attack, Luciano will destroy them. I saw his files, Sienna. He has enough evidence on my father’s smuggling operations to put him in a federal prison for three lifetimes. He is just waiting for an excuse."

"Then we have to stop them," Sienna said, her voice urgent. "If a war starts, you will be the first casualty in this house."

Before I could reply, my stomach twisted in a sharp, agonizing knot. A wave of intense nausea hit me, followed by a cold sweat that broke out across my forehead. My vision began to blur, the green trees of the garden spinning into a dizzying vortex of color.

"Valyria?" Sienna’s voice sounded far away, as if she were speaking through water. "Valyria, what's wrong?"

I tried to stand, but my legs gave out completely. I collapsed to the marble floor, the teacup shattering beside my hand, spilling dark liquid across the white stone.

"Help!" Sienna screamed, lunging toward me. "Someone help her!"

The glass doors flew open, and through the haze of my failing vision, I saw a large figure rushing toward me. It wasn't the guards.

It was Luciano.

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Dr. Mercer looked down at the ultrasound monitor, her fingers moving wit...

The ambulance siren wailed in the distance, a rising shriek that cut through the rainy night like a knife. I didn't wait for them. I held Arianne against my chest, feeling the terrifyingly erratic rhythm of her pulse, and bolted down the grand mahogany staircase.

The ambulance siren wailed in the distance, a rising shriek that cut thr...

The heavy cabin door hissed shut behind me, sealing in the scent of expensive cologne, manufactured corporate harmony, and betrayal. As I stepped back onto the sun-baked tarmac of the private aviation terminal, the stifling afternoon heat hit me like a physical blow. Behind the thick, tinted glass of the jet's windows, I could see Carter’s silhouette—his jaw set in that familiar, arrogant angle of a man who believed he had just successfully disciplined a disobedient pet.

The heavy cabin door hissed shut behind me, sealing in the scent of expe...

He scooped me into his massive arms, his face pale with a terror I had never seen on him before. "Valyria! Stay with me! Look at me!"

"The... the tea," I gasped, pain ripping through my abdomen like a hot blade before the darkness claimed me completely.

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