Page 32 of His Eternal Claim

She leaves the room, the door staying open this time. An invitation. A trap. I don’t know.

I stay seated at the vanity, staring at the woman in the glass.

She is writing a version of me that serves her purpose, and every time I remember a scream or a touch of iron, I am a typo she has to correct.

I look down at my hands. They are shaking.

If I am a weapon, then I have to decide who I am pointed at.

If he is coming for me, he isn’t coming for the trophy. He’s coming for the fire.

I stand up and reach for the blue silk dress. I will play the part. I will be the silent daughter. I will smile and nod and listen to the lavender-scented lies. I will walk into her dining room and sit at her table.

I walk toward the door.

Whatever awaits me on the other side of the door, let me be stronger than that.

Chapter 13

Bruise

THE MAESTRO | Past

Iswirl Scotch in my glass. It catches the dim light like molten gold.

Beautiful things always look better in darkness.

Maybe that’s why I can’t stop thinking about her.

Maybe that’s why I am losing what little remains of my fucking mind.

I thought I could wait.

Thought discipline was stronger than hunger. Thought sixteen days was survivable.

I was wrong.

Because beneath the tailored suits, the billion-euro empire, the bloodline, the crown… I am still just a man.

And men are weak where obsession is concerned.

I look at the invitation tossed carelessly across my desk.

I almost laugh.

Today I killed two of the Cosa Nostra’s most powerful men.

Two bodies. Two holes in my Father’s carefully constructed empire. Two names erased before sunset.

And still, my hands itch for another murder. I set the whiskey down. I reach for the picture that arrived a few minutes ago, lying at the edge of my desk.

And there she is. Selene.

My fingers tighten around the picture. She is wearing white.

A flowy summer dress that kisses the ground with every step, as if even the Earth knew better than to touch her skin without permission.

A faint smile curves her perfectly painted pink lips, beautiful… and completely fucking false.