Chapter 3

Seraphina POV

The water was a liquid tomb. My lungs burned, screaming for oxygen that wasn't there. Through the murky, sick-gray ice, the world above blurred into nothingness. Julian's retreating form-carrying *her* to safety-faded into the shadows.

As the darkness clawed at the edges of my vision, the freezing lake dissolved into a different kind of cold. The Red Hook docks. The metallic stench of blood and gunpowder. I saw my father, Don Antonio Marino, his chest torn apart by bullets, falling with the heavy grace of a ruined king. Marco, my brother, collapsing beside him, his blood pooling on the concrete. *"Run, Sera!"* The desperate screams of Rose and Poppy, my loyal maids, echoed in my ears. Their blood splattered my face as they shoved me onto the escaping speedboat, using their own bodies as shields.

They died for my life. And now, Julian's cold, indifferent eyes mirrored the very rats who had slaughtered my bloodline.

The betrayal ignited a dormant inferno in my freezing veins. I wasn't just a girl drowning in a gilded pond. I was a Marino. I thrashed, my numb limbs kicking upward toward the shattered ice. *Vendetta.* I would not die a victim. I would live to see them all burn.

I woke with a violent gasp, my lungs expanding painfully as if still expelling lake water. The heavy velvet curtains of my secluded bedroom were drawn, the fireplace roaring, but the chill was embedded in my marrow.

Fragmented memories surfaced through the haze: strong arms dragging me from the freezing darkness, a servant's panicked voice shouting for a doctor. Julian was nowhere near the water when they pulled me out.

He had carried Linette to safety and left the rest to the household staff. Eleonora's later claim that he was "frantic with worry" was a lie, a polished lie to mask his cruelty.

A shadow moved beside the bed. A hand reached toward my forehead.

Before my conscious mind could process the threat, the predator born in the blood of Red Hook took over. I lunged. My hand clamped around the throat of the figure, using my momentum to slam her onto the hardwood floor.

"Please!" a voice squeaked.

I blinked, the red haze clearing. A young maid stared up at me, her eyes wide with absolute terror. My chest heaved. I slowly released my grip, my fingers trembling not from weakness, but from the lethal adrenaline coursing through me. I was still in the cage, but the lion was awake.

The next morning, the heavy oak door swung open without a knock. Eleonora Moretti stepped in, her posture as rigid and flawless as her tailored suit. She looked at me-pale, bruised, but alive-with a mixture of disdain and calculated grace.

"You gave us quite a scare, Seraphina," she said, her tone devoid of any actual warmth. She didn't apologize for her son leaving me to die. "To put an end to the vicious rumors surrounding this... unfortunate accident, Julian has made a decision."

She paused, her dark eyes locking onto mine. "He is frantic with worry. To ensure your absolute protection, we are setting the date for your wedding immediately."

The words dropped like an anvil. *Frantic with worry.* A bitter, hysterical laugh threatened to tear from my throat. Julian hadn't saved me, but he was tightening the leash. This wasn't love; it was a sick, possessive need to own what he had almost destroyed. He wanted to break me, to mold me into a silent, obedient ghost of a wife to parade before The Commission.

Eleonora smoothed her skirt. "It is the only way to secure your place here and protect our family's reputation. You should be grateful."

She turned to leave, the click of her heels sealing my fate. I stared at the closed door, the gilded shackles of this forced marriage tightening around my neck. If Julian thought a wedding ring would tame me, he was gravely mistaken. I needed to break this cage, and to do that, I had to make the Moretti family realize exactly what kind of monster they were inviting to their altar.