Chapter 5

Seraphina POV

The morning sun did nothing to warm the Grand Salon. The cold marble floor reflected the grim face of my grandmother, Francesca Marino, who sat at the head of the room, her gnarled hands resting heavily on her ivory-headed cane. The sweet, suffocating scent of lilies hung in the air, masking the rot beneath our family's polished surface.

"She has lost her mind, Mother," Sophia cried, dabbing at her dry eyes with a lace handkerchief. "Punishing innocent maids just because Angelo broke the engagement! She is a liability."

I stood tall, my expression entirely bored. "Since when do you weep for Rats, Aunt Sophia?"

Sophia's face flushed with ugly color. "Jasmine heard a man's voice in your room! You are acting like a common-"

"And did you find a man?" I cut her off, my voice slicing through the massive room like a blade. "Or are you just spreading baseless rumors to tarnish the Marino Onore (honor) on the day of my eighteenth birthday?"

Sophia opened her mouth, but no words came out. Beside her, Carissa shrank back into the velvet sofa, playing the perfect, terrified victim.

I turned my gaze to my grandmother. "Aunt Sophia's inability to control her spies is threatening this family's reputation. If you want me to smile for the cameras today, I suggest you leash her."

Francesca stared at me, her dark eyes calculating. She didn't care about the blood on my hands; she only cared about the optics. Finally, she slammed her cane against the marble. The sharp crack made Sophia jump.

"Enough," Francesca barked. "Sophia, your incompetence is showing. Clean it up and shut their mouths for good. I will not have a scandal today."

Sophia swallowed her humiliation, bowing her head. The purge was officially sanctioned.

Hours later, the suffocating tension of the salon was replaced by the intoxicating, dangerous perfume of the estate's rear garden. Red carpets stretched across the manicured lawns, champagne towers gleamed under the afternoon sun, and a jazz band played softly in the background. The elite of New York's underworld mingled, their designer gowns and tailored suits hiding the knives they carried for one another.

I stood near the white marble dais, watching the vipers circle.

"Is it true, Sera?" a guest asked loudly, clearly prompted by my aunt. "Are you really taking suitors today?"

Sophia stepped out from the crowd, a vindictive gleam in her eyes. She had her useless nephew, Marco Conti, hovering nearby, ready to pounce on my fortune. "A Marino's word is her bond, isn't it, Sera?" she challenged, trying to trap me in my own game.

Before I could answer, Angelo Valenti stepped forward. He looked every bit the arrogant prince of New York, his jaw set in a condescending line.

"Don't degrade yourself, Sera," Angelo said, his tone dripping with fake pity. "This tantrum won't change anything. Accept your fate with some dignity."

A cold, dark amusement flared in my chest. I didn't shrink away. Instead, I walked past him, climbed the steps of the marble dais, and grabbed the microphone from the bandstand. The jazz music screeched to a halt. Hundreds of eyes snapped to me.

"It is no rumor," I announced, my voice ringing crystal clear over the silent garden. "Any man who wishes to be my husband must meet three conditions."

Sophia smirked, while Angelo shook his head in mock sorrow.

"First," I continued, my eyes locking onto Angelo's, "he must have no prior engagements. Second, he must be a true uomo d'onore (man of honor), with no stain of betrayal in his bloodline. And third, he must have the strength to stand beside me, not behind me barking orders."

The crowd erupted into shocked whispers. I had just publicly humiliated the Valenti heir and set an impossible standard. Angelo's face twisted into an ugly sneer, his pride wounded.

Suddenly, a heavy, suffocating silence rippled from the entrance of the garden, spreading through the crowd like a drop of blood in water. The guests parted instinctively, stepping back in sheer self-preservation.

Damien Falcone walked through the parted sea of New York's elite.

The Underboss of the Chicago Falcone family wore a flawless Armani suit, but no amount of expensive tailoring could hide the lethal, predatory grace of the Devil. He moved like a black panther stalking into a pen of trembling sheep.

He stopped at the edge of the lawn. His dark, dangerous eyes bypassed everyone and locked instantly with Angelo's. The silent, violent challenge hanging in the air between the two heirs was palpable. The game had officially changed.