Chapter 7 No.7

Isabella POV

The walk to the dining room felt less like a stroll through a home and more like a procession toward an executioner's block. The Moreno estate was a labyrinth of gilded corridors and marble floors that echoed with the ghosts of a violent history. But unlike the trembling girl who had walked down the aisle yesterday, the woman whose heels clicked rhythmically against the stone today carried a weapon: Damien's permission.

Break him if you have to.

The words replayed in my mind, a dark mantra shielding me from the oppressive weight of the house.

I entered the Grand Dining Room, and the conversation died instantly. It was a cavernous space, dominated by a mahogany table long enough to seat thirty men. Crystal chandeliers dripped from the ceiling like frozen tears, casting a cold, prismatic light over the silver service and fine china. Portraits of dead Dons lined the walls, their painted eyes following me with judgmental stares.

Damien was already seated at the head of the table, a dark anchor in the room's opulence. To his right sat Sofia Moreno, the Dowager Queen, her posture rigid, her gray hair coiffed into an intricate crown. Further down sat the vultures-Francesca and Lucia, wives of the high-ranking Capos, their eyes sharpening the moment I crossed the threshold.

A servant pulled out the chair to Damien's left-the seat of the Mafia Queen.

I sat, feeling the heavy silence press against my skin. Francesca leaned over to whisper something to Lucia, their gazes darting to my neck, likely searching for bruises, for signs of how thoroughly the Don had broken me.

I kept my chin high, unfolding my napkin with deliberate slowness.

Halfway through the silent meal, the clinking of silverware ceased abruptly. Sofia Moreno placed her fork down. The sound was soft, but it commanded the attention of a gunshot.

"Isabella," Sofia said, her voice raspy but commanding.

I looked up, meeting the older woman's gaze. There was no warmth there, only a fierce, assessing intelligence. Slowly, she began to twist the heavy gold ring on her right hand-a massive, blood-red ruby surrounded by diamonds. The Moreno Matriarch's Ring.

The air in the room grew thin. Francesca's fork hovered halfway to her mouth, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Sofia slid the ring off and stood. She walked around the table, her steps slow and heavy, until she stopped beside me. She held out the ring, the ruby catching the light like a drop of fresh blood.

"Give me your hand, child."

I hesitated, my heart hammering against my ribs. This wasn't just jewelry; it was a target. To wear this was to claim a throne that half the people in this room believed I had stolen.

I glanced at Damien. He didn't look at his mother; his obsidian eyes were fixed on me, unreadable and intense.

"You are Mrs. Moreno now," he said, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through the table. "Wear it."

It was an order, but it was also a validation.

I extended my hand. Sofia's skin was dry and cool as she slid the heavy band onto my ring finger. It was loose, cold, and terrifyingly heavy.

"May you have the strength to bear its weight," Sofia murmured, her eyes locking with mine for a brief second before she returned to her seat.

The silence that followed was shattered by the sharp intake of breath from across the table. Francesca was staring at my hand, her face a mask of poorly concealed fury. She and Lucia had spent years vying for influence, hoping to position their own daughters or daughters-in-law for this role. Seeing the ruby on the finger of a "disgraced" bride was evidently too much to bear.

Francesca reached for her champagne flute, her knuckles white. A tight, synthetic smile stretched across her face, not reaching her eyes.

"Well," she began, her voice dripping with a sweetness that tasted of arsenic. "We must offer a toast, I suppose."

She raised her glass, her gaze boring into mine. "To Isabella. You must be so relieved, dear. To land on your feet like this after... well, after my nephew's unfortunate lapse in judgment."

The room went dead still. Even the servants froze in the shadows. Francesca took a sip, savoring the tension she had just unleashed, before delivering the final blow.

"Not every girl gets a second chance at this family," she purred, setting the glass down with a delicate clink. "Let alone an upgrade. It's quite the Cinderella story, isn't it? From the son's discarded toy to the father's... wife."

The insult hung in the air, toxic and undeniable. She had just called me a whore in the most polite way possible, stripping away the dignity of the ring I had just been given.

Damien shifted in his seat, the leather creaking, a predator disturbed. But I didn't look at him. I didn't look at Sofia.

I kept my eyes on Francesca. My pulse remained steady, a slow, rhythmic drum of war. She wanted me to cry. She wanted me to look at my husband for protection.

Instead, I felt a cold, sharp smile blooming in my chest. She thought she was twisting a knife in a wound, but she had just handed me the hilt.