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I taste blood where my teeth cut into my inner cheek, but I refuse to show weakness. I turn back to face him, chin raised, eyes defiant. “Neither are you. Marco will burn this place to the ground when he finds me.”

Something flickers across Fabrizio’s face—doubt, perhaps, or a flash of fear quickly suppressed. “Your faith in him is touching, if misplaced. He’s a Bianchi. Their loyalty is to blood, not marriage vows.”

“You don’t know him.”

“I know men like him,” Fabrizio counters.

His words slice deeper than they should, brushing against my doubts. Marco kept the truth from me. Where do his loyalties lie? He’ll come for me…right?

I immediately shut down the doubts. Of course, he will.

Because Marco had also looked at me with genuine fear when I confronted him. Not fear for himself, but fear of losing me.

“You’re wrong about him,” I say, the certainty in my voice surprising even me.

Fabrizio steps back, straightening his cuffs with exaggerated care. “We’ll see, won’t we? When your beloved husband discovers you had the audacity to walk out on him.”

“Is that why you took me? To punish Marco?” The pieces click into place. “You’re using me to get back at him for interfering in your business.”

His smile returns, colder than before. “Among other reasons. Salvatore Bianchi will pay handsomely to find the last DeLucas.”

Horror washes through me. “You’re going to sell me to him.”

“I’m keeping my options open.” Fabrizio moves toward the door. “Salvatore gets the first chance to negotiate for you. If he proves… uncooperative, well.” He shrugs. “There are other buyers.”

My hands curl into fists at my sides. “I’m not merchandise.”

“Everything has a price, sweet Aria.” He pauses at the door. “Even you.”

“I won’t stand for it,” I say, clenching my fists. “I’ll fight you every step of the way.”

Fabrizio laughs. “Your choices in the coming days will determine whether you leave here alive or in pieces. I’d be careful, if I were you.”

The door closes behind him with a soft click, and I hear the unmistakable sound of a key turning in the lock. So much for the pretense of hospitality.

I sink onto the edge of the bed, my legs suddenly too weak to support me. My cheek still throbs where he struck me.

But beneath the fear and pain, something else burns—determination.

I am Aria DeLuca. I’ve survived foster homes and poverty. I’ve survived heartbreak and betrayal. I will survive this, too.

And when I do? I’ll take back everything they tried to steal from me—my name, my future, my power.

24

MARCO

Ihaven’t slept in twenty-six hours. My body moves on pure adrenaline, my mind focused on finding Aria. Every second she remains in Fabrizio’s clutches is another second I risk losing her.

My hands grip the steering wheel so tightly they’ve gone numb, but inside my chest burns with rage and fear that keeps me moving forward through the darkness.

“Boss, we’ve got something.” Nicolo’s voice crackles through the radio, cutting through the tense silence in the SUV. “One of D’Angelo’s men just used his credit card at a gas station in Riverdale. The station attendant confirmed he saw three black SUVs heading west toward the Montrose estate area.”

“The Belletti property,” I say immediately, the pieces clicking into place. “Fabrizio bought it through a shell corporation last year. It’s not in his name.”

“That’s why it didn’t appear in our initial search,” Nicolo confirms. “Do we have visual confirmation?”

I press harder on the accelerator, the engine roaring as we cut through the empty pre-dawn streets. “Tell the drone teamto get eyes on it now. And have the second team circle from the east. No sirens, no lights. I want complete surprise.”