Soon the formal dinner winds down. Nico excuses himself for security rounds, and Ana and Valentina follow. Dante and Marco remain, discussing Sofia’s behavior in rapid sign language.
"We should go," I say, helping Emma from her chair, letting my hands linger on her waist. "It's been an eventful evening."
Marco nods. I guide Emma toward the door, my hand possessive on her lower back, already imagining how she'll look bent over our bed, that dignity cracking as I make her beg.
We're almost to the stairs when Sofia's voice cuts through the hallway.
"Alessandro. A word."
She's been waiting, positioned perfectly to intercept us. Emma tenses beside me, but I squeeze her waist.
"Go ahead to our room," I tell her. "I'll be just a moment."
Emma looks between us, clearly reluctant to leave me alone with Sofia after tonight's confrontation. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." I kiss her forehead, marking territory even in this simple gesture. "I'll be up soon."
She goes, but I see her glance back once before disappearing up the stairs. The click of her heels feel final, like a coffin lid.
Sofia waits until we're alone before she corners me against the wall, her blue eyes blazing with something between fury and fear.
"She's not who she claims to be," she hisses, keeping her voice low. "I know it, you know it, and if you weren't so fucking pussy-drunk you'd see how dangerous this is."
"Watch your tone," I warn, but Sofia's past caring about hierarchy tonight.
"No, you watch everything you've built crumble when the truth comes out. Because it will, Alex. Secrets this big don't stay buried." She steps closer, and I smell wine on her breath, see the slight tremor in her hands. "I've been watching her since the wedding. Something’s off, Alex."
My blood chills, but I keep my expression neutral. "You're paranoid."
"I'm right." Her laugh is bitter, sharp. "That woman at our table tonight? She's not Frances Hewson. I'd stake my life on it. And when the truth comes out, when our enemies discover you've been harboring some impostor, it will destroy everything. Every alliance, every piece of credibility, gone."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't I?" She pulls out her phone, shows me a blurry photo from what looks like a service entrance. "This servant bears a remarkable resemblance to your precious bride. Same height, same build, same way of walking with her head down like she's trying to be invisible."
The photo is too blurry to be definitive, but the threat is clear. Sofia's investigating, and she's getting close.
"Leave it alone," I say quietly, putting all my authority into the words.
"I can't." Sofia's voice cracks slightly. "Don't you see? When this comes out, and it will, they won't just come for her. They'll come for all of us. For the family that was stupid enough to be fooled. For you, for Marco, for…" She stops, swallows hard. "I won't let your dick destroy this family."
"What I do about my wife is my business."
"Not when it affects all of us!" The words explode from her, louder than she intended. She immediately looks around, checking we're still alone. "Jesus, Alessandro. What hold does she have on you? What is she that you'd risk everything?"
Protecting Emma from outsiders is simple: I break them. But protecting her from Sofia means choosing between blood and obsession. The fact I'm choosing Emma worries me less than it should.
"She's mine," I say simply. "That's all that matters."
Sofia stares at me like I've lost my mind. Maybe I have. "When the truth destroys everything: your reputation, our business, maybe our lives, remember that you chose this. You chose her over us."
She stalks away before I can respond, her heels clicking against marble like bullets being chambered. The warning hangs in the air like smoke from a fired gun.
Tomorrow, Sofia will keep digging. Tomorrow, the threats will get closer. Tomorrow, I'll have to decide between the family I was born into and the woman who's become my obsession.
But tonight? Tonight, Emma is waiting upstairs, probably replaying every moment of her triumph at dinner. Tonight, I get to reward her courage in ways that will make her forget every threat, every danger, every reason she should run. Tonight, I getto make good on the promises I made her at the charity luncheon and show her exactly what Emma Rosetti means to me.
16 - Emma
