“What kind of trials?” I ask, cutting through the chatter.
The room falls silent again, and I can feel Alessandro tense beside me.
But I keep my eyes on Dominic, knowing instinctively that whatever he’s about to propose will be designed to break me.
And I won’t let him.
“Simple,” he says, his smile widening. “Four tests of worthiness. Prove you have the stomach for what leadership in our world requires.”
Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad. “And the first test?”
“Personal execution of a family traitor.” His eyes glitter with malicious amusement. “Someone who sold information to the FBI. You’ll do it yourself, publicly, to send a message about the consequences of betrayal.”
The brutality of it should shock me.
The coldness of asking a nineteen-year-old to commit murder should appall me.
Instead, I feel something dark and satisfied unfurl in my chest.
“Absolutely not.” Matteo’s voice cuts across the room like a whip. “She’s nineteen years old. I won’t allow?—”
“You won’tallow?” I turn to face him, letting every ounce of fury show in my voice. “You don’t get to allow or disallow anything in my life anymore. Remember? You’re not my father.”
The words hit their target and I feel that same dark satisfaction grow stronger.
“You will not?—”
“No.” I turn back to face the room, my decision crystallizing with startling clarity. “I accept.”
The room erupts again, but this time I can barely hear the voices over the sudden rush of sound in my head.
Not external sound—internal whispers, distinct and unmistakable.
Kill them quickly,a harsh voice growls inside my head.Show no mercy, no hesitation. Make them fear what you’re capable of.
What the fuck?—
Use their sympathy,a softer voice murmurs, completely different from the first.Play the reluctant heir forced into violence. Make them pity you even as they respect your strength.
My heart starts racing.
There arevoicesin my head.
Actual voices that aren’t mine, speaking with such clarity it’s like having other people in the room with me.
Think strategically,a third voice cautions, and this one I recognize with a jolt.
It sounds like Matteo, like years of his training embedded so deeply in my psyche that I can hear his guidance even when I don’t want anything to do with him.
Consider the long-term implications, the political ramifications, the message you’re sending.
I keep my expression neutral even as panic starts to claw at my chest.
I’m hearing…voices.
Multiple distinct voices giving me conflicting advice, and I have no idea what this means or why it’s happening now.
Am I losing my mind?
