Isabella POV
The heavy door of the armored Maybach slammed shut, severing the chaos of the press and the suffocating scent of lilies. The soundproof partition glided up with a soft hum, locking Dante and me in a leather-scented vault. Leo, Dante’s Soldier, was nothing but a shadow behind the dark glass.
I pulled the diamond-encrusted pins from my hair, letting the veil drop to the floorboards like a discarded shroud. Outside the tinted windows, the glittering New York skyline rapidly dissolved into the oppressive, dark woods of Long Island.
The silence between us was a physical weight. Dante didn't look at me; his attention was fixed on a stack of shipping manifests. A foolish, desperate part of me craved a momentary truce, a sliver of humanity in the contract we had just bled for.
"Are we not going to Paris?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Dante finally shifted his slate-gray eyes from the papers. A faint, cruel mockery danced in their depths. "Paris is canceled," he stated, his tone flat. "I have a house to clean, and certain restless Capos to remind exactly who rules New York. That is our honeymoon, Isabella. Welcome to the Moretti family."
Two hours later, the Maybach crunched to a halt before the sprawling, stone beast of the Moretti Estate. The sun was bleeding out over the horizon. Dante stepped out first, not bothering to offer a hand. I dragged myself out, the sheer weight of the silk and tulle pulling me down. My heel caught on the gravel. I stumbled, my breath hitching.
Dante stopped on the stone steps. He didn't reach for me. He just looked over his shoulder, his eyes devoid of warmth.
"Straighten up." He nodded toward the double doors, where two rows of armed men and rigid servants stood at attention. "They will smell blood. As my wife, you bleed one drop, and you invite the wolves to tear me apart. Never let them see you waver."
I swallowed the bitter taste of humiliation, forcing my corset-bruised spine steel-straight. I lifted my chin, wearing my cold mask, and ascended the steps.
The Don's suite was a cavern of slate gray and charcoal, devoid of a single personal touch. In the center sat a massive king-sized bed—an altar I was terrified to be sacrificed on. I needed to know the parameters of my cage.
"What are the boundaries?" I asked, staring at the mattress.
Dante unbuttoned his suit jacket. "You can sleep in the guest room." Before the relief could even register in my chest, he continued, "But by tomorrow morning, the Five Families will whisper that the Moretti Don cannot even control his own bride. That crack in the armor will invite tests. The first blood will spill on our territory."
I crossed my arms, my heart hammering against my ribs. "And my... obligations?"
He stepped closer, his sheer size eclipsing the dim light. "I won't touch you, Isabella, because I lack the inclination. But your body, your loyalty—from the second you signed your name, they belong to the Moretti family. My infidelity is power. Your infidelity is treason. The price of treason is death. *Omertà* applies to more than just mouths."
He turned and disappeared into the marble tomb of a bathroom, the heavy door clicking shut.
I stood alone in the freezing silence. On the black nightstand, the glow of a lamp caught the edge of a heavy metal card. An American Express Centurion. Beside it lay a crisp note with a six-digit PIN.
I picked it up. My blood turned to ice.
It wasn't my birthday. It wasn't today's date. Month. Day. Year. It was the exact date I had sat in the Pierre Hotel and signed the prenuptial agreement that sold my life away. A brutal, calculated reminder that I was nothing but an acquired asset.
My fingers tightened around the cold metal until my knuckles turned white. The humiliation burned away, leaving behind a sharp, crystalline fury. I slipped the card into my palm. *You wanted a Queen for your board, Don Moretti? You just armed her.*
