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"Melania," Raymond had said, materializing at my side as I admired a painting in the silent auction. "You've been avoiding me all evening."
His cologne was too strong, like he was trying to mark his territory with scent alone. I shifted away slightly, maintaining a polite smile.
"I've been circulating, Mr. Stone. Father expects me to represent the family."
"Raymond, please," he corrected, stepping into my space. "I'd like to continue our conversation from last week. Perhaps dinner tomorrow night? I know a wonderful Italian place that reminds me of Florence."
My mouth opened to form a gentle but firm refusal when Father appeared, his hand landing heavily on my shoulder.
"She would love to," Father accepted for me, his fingers digging into my skin. "Wouldn't you,cara?"
I looked between them, trapped. "I actually have plans to?—"
"Nothing that can't be rescheduled," Father interrupted, his smile never faltering while his grip tightened. "Seven o'clock?"
"Perfect," Raymond replied, his eyes never leaving my face. "I'll send a car."
After Raymond walked away I turned to Father, keeping my voice discreet but unable to hide my anger.
"I don't want to have dinner with him. He's old enough to be my father and there's something about him that feels... wrong."
Father pulled me into a corner, his expression hardening. "You will do what is best for this family, Melania. Raymond Stone is a powerful ally."
"An ally? Is that what you call selling your daughter to the highest bidder?"
His hand shot up, finger pointing in my face. "You sound like a spoiled child. Your mother would have understood the importance of such a connection."
The mention of my mother made my blood boil. "Don't you dare. Mama would never have wanted this for me."
"Your mother knew her duty to this family," he hissed. "She would have taught you to do the same."
The irony wasn't lost on me. My mother—gentle, loving, trapped in a marriage she couldn't escape—would have indeed told me to comply, but only because Father would have given her no choice. She'd spent her life being the perfect Lombardi wife, slowly fading away under Father's control until cancer finally freed her.
I twisted my mother's ring that night, the thin band that was her most treasured possession. The only thing of hers I had left.
"I'm nothing but a business transaction to you," I whispered.
Father's face softened slightly, a purely manipulative move. "You're my daughter. I want what's best for you—for all of us. Raymond can provide security, connections, a future. Just dinner, Melania. Is that so much to ask?"
It wasn't just dinner. We both knew that. It was the first step on a path already mapped out for me.
I push myself off the bed, my body aching from tension. The memory of Raymond's calculated pursuit makes my skin crawl all over again. I need to wash his phantom touch off my skin.
The adjoining bathroom is surprisingly luxurious for what must be a safehouse—marble countertop, plush towels, high-end toiletries.
I welcome the shock of cold water splashing my face. I cup my hands, letting the water pool before pressing it against my closed eyes. Again and again I repeat the motion until my racing thoughts begin to slow.
I stare at my reflection in the mirror—mascara smudged beneath my eyes. The primped and polished Lombardi princess replaced by someone wilder, more desperate.
"Think, Melania," I whisper to myself. "Think clearly."
And suddenly, as water drips from my chin, a realization hits me: I'm not at the cathedral being made Raymond’s wife. I'mnot under my father's watchful eye. For the first time in months neither man knows exactly where I am or what I'm doing.
This kidnapping—as terrifying as it is—has achieved what I wanted most: escape. Not in the way I planned, certainly, but the result is the same. I have breathing room. Time to think without Raymond's possessive gaze or my father's machinations.
I grab a towel and pat my face dry, mind tumbling with new clarity. If I can access my laptop, retrieve the USB drive with evidence of their crimes, I might still salvage my original plan. The Ferettis clearly have their own agenda with my father and Raymond, but perhaps I can use that to my advantage.
For now, being away from both Raymond and my father is exactly what I needed.