I stared into the darkness, the truth settling over me like a shroud.
This was a mistake. Because now, he wasn’t just my captor. He was becoming the one man who could break me.
CHAPTER 5
Luca
Dawn crept through the blinds as I stared at the untouched glass of whiskey on my desk. The club had emptied hours ago, leaving only ghosts of bass lines and desperate laughter. I hadn't slept. Couldn't sleep. Not with the memory of another night with her still fresh in my mind.
Six weeks of this charade, and I still hadn't mastered my own reactions.
Sienna.
I closed my eyes, but that only made it worse. Images flashed behind my eyelids—the defiant tilt of her chin, the curve of her waist beneath my hands, the sounds she made when I—
No.
I slammed my fist on the desk, the sharp pain driving away thoughts I had no business entertaining. This marriage was strategic. Nothingmore. Over these past weeks, I'd let it become something dangerous, something that threatened the cold calculation I'd built my empire on.
Prison had taught me that feelings were liabilities. Want made you weak. And weak men didn't survive in our world.
My phone buzzed. Marco's name flashed on the screen.
"What?" I answered, my voice gravel-rough from lack of sleep.
"Boss." Marco's voice was tight, controlled. A warning. "You need to come downstairs. Something arrived for you."
"I'm busy."
"Trust me, you want to see this."
Something in his tone made me straighten. Marco didn't rattle easily.
"Five minutes."
I grabbed my jacket and headed down to the main floor. Cleaning staff scattered at my approach, eyes downcast.
Marco waited by the bar, his face impassive. At his side stood Angelo, my head of security. Both men wore the same grim expression.
"What?" I demanded.
Wordlessly, Marco slid a plain white envelope across the polished wood. No markings, no address.
"Where did this come from?" I asked, not touching it.
"Found it under the delivery entrance door this morning," Angelo said. "Checked the cameras. Nothing. Whoever left it knew the blind spots."
That narrowed the field considerably. Not many people knew the layout of my security system.
I slid on leather gloves and opened the envelope. Inside was a single sheet with a message constructed from letters cut from magazines.
LIAR AND WHORE PLAYING HOUSE. WONDER WHAT THE FAMILIES WOULD THINK IF THEY KNEW THE TRUTH? $100,000 OR EVERYONE FINDS OUT.
Cold rage settled in my chest. This wasn't just an attack on my reputation—it was an attempt to shatter the fragile peace between our families. If both sides believed the marriage was a sham, the alliance would crumble and we'd be back to open warfare within days.
"Who's seen this?" I asked.
"Just us three," Marco replied.
