Page 39 of Crushed Vow

But I didn’t look at him again.

I lay curled in Ethan’s shirt, surrounded by soft lights and muffled music.

I didn’t know when I drifted off—but when I woke, the room was dim and quiet. The party had gone still. The music silenced.

Cassian was sitting beside me, elbows on his knees, head bowed like a statue carved from grief.

I pushed myself up slowly. My throat was dry. “Is the party still on?”

He lifted his gaze. There was a sadness there. “No. It ended an hour ago. Everyone’s gone.”

My heart kicked. “Where’s Ethan?”

Cassian hesitated. That pause—too long, too careful.

“Cassian.” My voice sharpened. “Where is he?”

“He went to her place,” he said finally. “His ex. He was going to plant something—tech. A tracker. Maybe a bug. Try to find where they’re keeping Vincent.”

My stomach flipped. “But why would he do that alone? He’s still injured. You saw what Luca did to him—”

“He insisted. Said he needed a reason to keep moving. I couldn’t stop him.”

“And you just let him go?” I whispered, the ache rising in my throat.

“Can’t leash a grown man,” Cassian said tightly. “But your father... he already paid the Volkovs. None of us knew.”

My breath caught.

He looked at me, voice low and lethal. “Vincent’s been released. But he didn’t go home.”

I stared. “Wait... What?”

His expression was unreadable. “He’s with them now. With your father. With Luca. And the Bratva.

A chill slid down my spine.

“They’ve aligned,” he continued. “Three families who should never be in the same room now whisper together behind locked doors. And whatever they’re planning... it isn’t small.”

I swallowed hard. “Why would they even—what do they want?”

Cassian didn’t blink. “You.”

My breath hitched.

“You’re the leverage. The legacy. The piece they all want to control,” he said, voice razor-sharp. “And they won’t stop until they own you.”

I swallowed hard. “Why me? What more could they possibly want now?” My voice cracked. “They already locked me up. Drugged me. Left me to rot in that psych ward like I was nothing. What more is there left to destroy?”

His jaw tensed. “Everything. And it starts with what our grandfathers built.”

I frowned. “What does this have to do with our grandfathers?”

He stepped closer. “Your grandfather and mine... they didn’t just build empires. They buried one—together. A vault. Deep underground. Full of gold, ledgers, codes... wealth and secrets meant to outlive them both. But it was sealed. Protected by a blood clause.”

My brows drew in. “Blood clause?”

Cassian nodded. “It can only be opened if a Moretti and a Grayson are married—for a set number of years. That’s why you matter. Not just because you’re a Grayson. Because you married me.”