“Serena.”Joe speaks for the first time, with an unmistakable warning in his tone.“Father has made his decision.”
Joe means to say,Don’t fight this.You’ll lose.
With one look at my brother, the one person in this family I thought would have my back, I read the resignation in his expression.He’s not going to help me.He’s going to let Father marry me off to this predator with snake eyes and a smile like a knife.
“Of course,” I say finally.I pick up my coffee cup, noting that my hands are shaking slightly.I force them to stillness.I don’t hide the snide in my voice as I ask,”When do Cesare and I have the pleasure of getting to know each other better?”
“Tonight,” Father says immediately.“Cesare will take you to dinner.You’ll begin the courting process publicly.The Syndicate needs to see this alliance forming naturally.”
Naturally.As if anything about this is natural.
“Tonight would be lovely,” Cesare says smoothly.“I know an excellent restaurant in the North End.Very private, very romantic.”
The way he says “private” makes the cold sliver down my spine.
“I look forward to it,” I lie.
The rest of breakfast passes in a blur.I eat because it’s expected, smile when it’s required, and play the role of dutiful daughter with practiced ease.But inside, my mind is racing.
Three months.I have three months before I’m legally bound to a man who looks at me like I’m prey.
Three months to find a way out of this trap.
When breakfast finally ends, I escape to the gardens.I need air, space, somewhere to think without my father’s cold smile or Cesare’s empty stare following my every move.
Isabella finds me twenty minutes later, sitting on the stone bench near Mother’s rose garden.Mother died five years ago, and the roses are the only thing Father maintains in her memory.Even he’s not heartless enough to let them die.
“I’m so sorry,” Isabella says, plopping herself beside me.
“Don’t be.”I keep my voice steady.“You couldn’t have done anything.”
“Joe should’ve done something.”
“Joe knows better than to cross Father when his mind is made up.”I turn to look at her, my brilliant, naive little sister.“And so do I.”
“So you’re just going to marry a stranger?That man with the creepy eyes and the creepier smile?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Isabella’s eyes widen.“Serena, what are you planning?”
“Nothing.”I breathe, standing and smoothing my dress.“Yet,” I add, pacing in front of the bench, as my thoughts whirl inside my head.“I have three months to figure something out.And I’m very good at strategy.”
I keep moving because being still isn’t an option for my agitated mind right now.I take in the manicured grounds of my father’s estate.Somewhere out there, he is celebrating his successful negotiation.Cesare is probably planning our wedding night.
And I must plan an escape from this shitty mess.
Because Serena DiLorenzo won’t take a trap lying down.
Either I find a way out, or I burn the whole thing down trying.
3
Serena
The restaurant Cesare chooses is exactly what I expected—expensive, exclusive, and designed for maximum privacy.Private dining room, discreet staff, the kind of place where powerful men conduct business they don’t want people to overhear.
Or where predators isolate their prey before their attack.
