He knew that too. The realization made me sick.
“You threatening me with your own daughter?” I asked quietly.
Lorenzo’s grin turned uglier. “I’m threatening you with taking her away.”
The warehouse seemed to tilt slightly. No. Absolutely fucking not.
“You don’t get to touch her again,” I snarled.
“Oh, but I do.” Lorenzo’s voice turned almost gleeful now. “I can poison her against you so easily, Leo. Tell her exactly what kind of monster sleeps beside her.”
“I already know,” Santino muttered dryly. I ignored him completely. Because all I could hear now was Chiara crying. Chiara terrified. Chiara looking at me with hatred instead of confused want. Something dark clawed violently through my chest.
“She still believes there’s goodness in people,” Lorenzo continued viciously. “I can destroy that in a single conversation.”
My breathing turned slow. Lethal.
“And if that doesn’t work…” Lorenzo smirked. “I’ll simply take her back.”
No. Every muscle in my body locked.
“You try,” I said softly, “and I’ll bury you under this fucking warehouse.”
But Lorenzo only smiled wider. Because the old bastard hadn’t played his final card yet.
“You think you’re the only Moretti interested in her?” he asked.
Cold slid through my veins. “What?”
Santino and Angelo went quiet. Not smug anymore. Watching carefully now. Lorenzo’s piggish eyes gleamed. “Edoardo would love a go with her.”
Silence. My stomach dropped so violently it almost felt physical. No. Not him. Not my uncle. Not that fucking animal.
“Your uncle,” Lorenzo continued lazily, “wasveryinterested once he heard about Chiara.”
Every violent instinct inside me erupted. Edoardo Moretti was sadism wrapped in Italian silk. Old enough to be Chiara’s grandfather. Cruel enough to enjoy that fact.
The kind of man who broke women slowly just to hear them cry prettier afterward. I’d seen bruises leaving his mistresses’ bodies before. Seen girls disappear after his parties. Even my father hated him. And my father had been a monster.
“You’re lying,” I snarled.
“No.” Lorenzo’s grin widened. “In fact, Edoardo made me a very generous offer.”
The warehouse air felt too tight. Too hot. I pictured Chiara beside Edoardo. Small. Terrified. Destroyed. The image hit so violently I nearly blacked out from rage.
“She’d make a lovely little wife for him,” Lorenzo continued cruelly. “Sweet. Young.Fertile.” His eyes glittered maliciously. “And unlike you, Edoardo knows how to break obedience into a woman properly.”
Something inside me snapped. I slammed Lorenzo against the crate hard enough to crack wood apart behind him. The entire warehouse echoed with the impact.
Sergio stepped forward. “Boss.”
Not warning. Concern. Because he knew exactly how close I was to murder. Lorenzo choked violently beneath my hand now, eyes bulging. Still smiling.
That was the worst fucking part.
“You don’t deserve her,” he wheezed.
“No,” I snarled. “You don’t.”
