Page 37 of Ruined By Blood (Feretti Syndicate #2)

Charlotte stares out the window, watching the facility shrink in the distance. Tears slide silently down her cheeks.

W e arrive at the mansion, the van rolling to a stop in front of the grand entrance. Charlotte Sterling sits beside me.

"We're here," I say, keeping my voice gentle. "This is my family home. You'll be safe."

She nods, a small, uncertain movement. I notice how her hands tremble slightly in her lap.

Noah opens the door, and I step out first, scanning the perimeter before offering Charlotte my hand. She hesitates for just a moment before taking it, her fingers cold against my palm.

"Alessio," I call over my shoulder, "make sure Dr. Romano is ready if we need him."

"Already here," Alessio confirms. "Waiting in the east wing. Daniel informed me."

I guide Charlotte through the massive front doors, feeling her falter slightly beside me as we enter the soaring foyer.

"This way," I say, leading her toward a guest suite we've prepared. It's the one furthest from Damiano's office. Quiet, private, with a view of the gardens. "We'll get you settled, and then we can talk."

Once inside the suite, Ginerva appears with a tray of tea and small sandwiches .

"Thank you," she whispers, her voice still rough from disuse.

When Ginerva leaves, Charlotte perches on the edge of a chair, her back straight, her posture revealing years of classical training beneath the institutional damage.

"Mrs. Sterling," I begin, then correct myself. "Charlotte. I know this is overwhelming, but we need to move quickly to help Sienna."

"Where is she?" The question comes out stronger than anything else she's said.

"With Henry," I tell her again, pills must have caused something in her memory. "He took her back yesterday."

I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "I need to understand something. Henry has made countless enemies over the years. Why keep you alive? Why not just?—"

"Kill me?" she finishes, a bitter smile touching her lips. "Because I'm worth more to him alive than dead."

I wait, giving her space to continue.

"My family..." she begins, then takes a steadying breath. "My family had money. Old money. When I married Henry, my parents were already gone, and I was the sole beneficiary of a trust fund worth hundreds of millions."

Understanding dawns. "He needed you to access it."

She nods. "The terms of the trust require that I be alive to authorize distributions. If I die, everything goes to charitable foundations my grandfather selected. Henry can't touch a penny."

"So he kept you drugged but alive."

"Exactly. Once a year, he brings me out just enough to sign whatever papers his lawyers put in front of me. The rest of the time..." Her voice trails off, eyes growing distant. "The rest of the time, I might as well be dead. "

"How much does he still draw from the trust?"

"Millions each year. It's how he finances his operations when his other ventures struggle." Her eyes suddenly sharpen with clarity. "The trust is his safety net. Without it, he'd be vulnerable."

I process this information, seeing how it fits into our strategy. "And if you were to redirect those funds? Cut him off?"

For the first time, a real smile touches her lips. "I am still the legal beneficiary. With the right lawyers present, I could redirect everything within hours."

"He needed access to your money, but didn't want anyone knowing you were still alive to challenge him."

Charlotte nods, straightening her spine.

I stand up from the chair, already pulling my phone from my pocket. "Charlotte, I need to make a call. Then I'll explain everything that's happening with Sienna."

"Ginerva will bring you anything you need," I add, moving toward the door.

Once in the hallway, I pull up Henry Sterling's number. My thumb hovers over the screen for just a moment before I press call. This conversation will set everything in motion.

He answers on the third ring. "Feretti." His voice is ice cold, controlled in a way that tells me he's barely containing his rage. "You have exactly three seconds to explain why you're calling me before I hang up and make sure your family bleeds for what you've done."

I laugh, low and dark.

"Henry, Henry, Henry," I drawl, leaning against the wall. "Is that any way to greet an old business associate? I was thinking we could catch up, maybe discuss your creative approach to family health care."

"You son of a bitch." His composure cracks slightly. "I know you took her. I already have people at Oakwood. Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"

"Actually, I was counting on it." I examine my fingernails, keeping my voice deliberately casual. "Charlotte and I have been having a fascinating conversation about trust funds. Old money. Annual signatures. All very educational."

The silence on the other end of the line tells me I've struck a nerve.

"I have a proposal for you, Sterling." I drop the casual act, my voice hardening. "A simple exchange. Nothing complicated."

"If you've hurt her?—"

I cut him off with another laugh, this one sharp as broken glass. "That's rich coming from you."

His breathing becomes audible through the phone. Good. I want him rattled.

"My proposal is this: Charlotte for Sienna. A straight trade."

"Fuck you."

"Not part of the deal, I'm afraid." I push off from the wall, pacing the hallway.

"Here's what happens if you refuse. By this time tomorrow, Charlotte will be meeting with a team of very expensive lawyers.

The kind who specialize in cases of forced confinement and financial exploitation.

I wonder how your investors will react when they learn their steady, reliable partner is actually dependent on his wife's trust fund? The wife everyone thought was dead."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I'm a gambling man, Henry. I own casinos. Want to bet on what I would or wouldn't dare?"

The silence stretches between us. I can almost hear him calculating, weighing his options. Money versus his vendetta against me. His leverage with Cortez versus the foundation of his empire.

"I'll come to your house personally," I tell him, my voice dropping to a deadly calm. "Just me. No men, no backup. Only my driver and your wife."

"Do you think I'm fucking stupid, Feretti?" Henry snarls through the phone. "What's the catch? You waltz into my house alone with Charlotte? There has to be more."

"No catch, Sterling. I want to handle this like professionals. You have something I want. I have something you want."

"And what exactly do you want?" His voice drips with suspicion.

"Sienna," I state flatly. "I bring Charlotte, you keep your precious trust fund flowing, and I walk out with Sienna."

"The girl belongs to me. She's my daughter."

"She's not property," I growl, my control slipping for just a moment before I rein it back in. "But I understand the concept of fair exchange. That's all this is."

Sterling's breathing is heavy on the other end of the line. I can almost see him sitting behind his oversized desk, knuckles white around the phone.

"You've gone through all this trouble for a girl you barely know," he finally says. "Why?"

"My reasons are my own."

"She spread her legs for you, didn't she?" His laugh is ugly, cruel. "That's it, isn't it? She's got you thinking with your cock instead of your brain."

My jaw clenches so hard I hear my teeth grind. The urge to tell him exactly what I'll do to him when I get my hands on him burns through me, but I force it down. This isn't about my rage. It's about getting Sienna out .

"We're wasting time," I say instead. "Simple exchange. I bring Charlotte, I leave with Sienna. No weapons, no tricks."

"And I'm supposed to believe the infamous Enzo Feretti is walking into my house unarmed?"

"I didn't say unarmed. I said no tricks." A smile curves my lips despite the tension. "We both know neither of us goes anywhere without protection. But I'll come alone—just me, Charlotte, and my driver. Just a clean, professional exchange."

The line goes quiet as he considers. I can almost hear the gears turning in his head, weighing the loss of Sienna against the security of his financial foundation.

"When?" he finally asks.

"Tomorrow. Eight o'clock."

Another pause. "One more thing, Ferretti." His voice drops lower. "You come alone. No brothers, no men, no backup. If I see anyone else I'll put a bullet in that whore's head myself."

Every cell in my body wants to reach through the phone and tear his throat out. "I'll be alone."

I end the call.

Time to bring some hell to that motherfuckers' house.