Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Then:We'll see, cousin. We'll see.
I deleted the thread and immediately called the security team. "Lock down everything. Double the guards on Leo's floor. No one gets near them without my direct authorization."
Then I pulled up Dmitri's contact, typing a message:Threat level elevated. Be ready to move on my signal.
His response was immediate:Standing by.
But even as I gave the orders, I knew the truth: Matteo had just declared war.
And in war, there were no rules.
I set the phone down and returned to the window, watching my reflection in the glass. The city sprawled below, full of threats I couldn't control, enemies I couldn't see.
But in this penthouse, under my roof, were the only two people who mattered.
And I would burn everything—the business, the territory, the empire—before I let Matteo take them from me.
CHAPTER 16
Isla
I'd been planning to leave.
The thought had kept me awake for three nights straight, circling my mind like a vulture. That morning, while Leo ate his dinosaur-shaped pancakes, I searched "apartments Queens affordable" on my phone. Looked at train schedules. Calculated how far my savings would take us if I walked away from the job, from the penthouse, from Cassian.
From the man who killed people when it was "necessary."
But Leo had laughed at something—syrup on his nose, maybe—and Cassian had smiled. A real smile, soft and unguarded, the kind I'd only seen him give our son. And I'd closed the browser tab, hating myself for the weakness but unable to deny it.
I didn't know what I felt anymore. Fear, certainly. Anger at being trapped. But underneath, something more complicated. Somethingthat whispered, maybe, and what if, when I watched Cassian build block towers with Leo's complete trust shining in his eyes.
"Mama, go park? Wanna swing. Really high!"
I glanced toward Cassian's office. The door was closed, had been since his morning call with Marco. Something about the docks, about Matteo, about threats I couldn't quite hear but felt in the tension of his shoulders.
"I don't know, baby. Maybe we should stay here today."
"But Mama!" His lower lip jutted out in that expression that always undid me. "You said!
I had promised. And the thought of spending another afternoon trapped in this gilded cage made my chest tight. The security team would follow us. Cassian had made that non-negotiable. But at least we'd be outside, breathing air that didn't taste of secrets and violence.
"Okay," I said, ignoring the unease curling in my stomach. "Go get your jacket. The blue one with the dinosaurs."
Leo's squeal of delight made me smile despite everything.
Twenty minutes later, we stepped into the October afternoon. The air was crisp, with that sharp bite that promised winter was just weeks away. Trees lined the street, leaves turning gold and crimson. Two bodyguards flanked us at a discreet distance—Marcus, the younger one who always snuck Leo cookies, and another man whose name I didn’t know.
Leo ran ahead to the playground, his small legs pumping with excitement. I followed more slowly, hyperaware of every person we passed, every car that slowed at the curb.
You're being paranoid, I told myself. Cassian's security is good. Nothing will happen.
But the unease didn't fade.
Leo made a beeline for the swings, climbing into the seat with practiced ease. "Push me, Mama! Push me high!"
I moved behind him, pushing gently at first, then higher as he demanded. His laughter rang out, pure and uncomplicated, and for a moment I could almost forget the danger that supposedly circled us.
"Higher! Touch da sky!"
