I had downed three glasses of scotch just to tolerate the sound of Valeria's voice. She was drunk on champagne and power, parading around the room like she owned the very air we breathed.

Meanwhile, I couldn't get the image of Sienna out of my head.

The way she looked in that cell. Broken. Dirty.

And those eyes.

They didn't plead. They judged.

"Dante, baby," Valeria slurred, tugging me toward the elevators. "Let's go upstairs. The night is young."

I let her lead me to the bridal suite.

I didn't want her.

I craved silence.

Valeria kicked off her heels and collapsed onto the bed. She reached into her clutch and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

"Look what Rocco gave me," she giggled. "The little mute finally signed."

She tossed the paper at me.

It fluttered to the floor between us.

I picked it up.

The divorce decree.

At the bottom, the signature was shaky but firm.

Sienna Vitiello.

She had signed away her name. She had signed away her place by my side.

Something inside me snapped.

It was a violent, ugly fracture in my chest.

I didn't feel relief. I didn't feel free.

I felt rage.

Pure, molten rage.

"She signed it?" I asked, my voice dangerously quiet.

"Yes!" Valeria clapped her hands. "Now we are official. No more loose ends."

I stared at the paper.

She gave up.

Sienna never gave up. She fought me at every turn. She defied me with her silence.

Signing this paper wasn't surrender. It was an exit.

I tore the paper in half.

Then in quarters.

"Dante?" Valeria sat up, her smile faltering. "What are you doing?"

I let the confetti of legal documents rain down on the carpet.

"She is my wife," I growled, stalking toward the bed. "She stays my wife until I say otherwise."

Valeria scrambled back against the headboard. "But... but we just got married! The ceremony!"

"A show," I said. "For your father. For the Commission."

I grabbed Valeria's chin, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes widened in fear.

"You are a placeholder, Valeria. Do not forget that. You wear the ring because I allow it. But Sienna..."

My chest heaved.

"Sienna belongs to me. Even in that cell. Even in hell."

I released her. She fell back against the pillows, sobbing.

I walked to the window and looked out at the dark grounds.

Why did I feel like I had just lost something I could never replace?

Chapter 9

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