Siena POV
“On your knees,” Valentina demanded, shoving my shoulder. “Kneel and beg my forgiveness, or you will not walk out of this casino alive.”
I ignored her and looked at Julian. “Does she speak for you?”
Julian took a slow sip of whiskey. “Her words are my command. On your knees, Siena.”
The room erupted into coarse laughter.
My hand shot out, caught Valentina’s wrist, and before anyone could blink, I delivered a vicious backhand slap across her face. The crack cut through the murmuring like a gunshot.
Valentina screamed, staggering into the corner of the mahogany table. Her heel twisted. She hit the floor hard, clutching her reddening cheek.
The men laughed harder. Violence between women amused them.
“Julian!” Valentina whined. “She struck me! Discipline her!”
Julian dropped to one knee and gently scooped Valentina into his arms. He brushed the hair from her face with a tenderness I had never seen—not once in seven years.
That was when my last shred of naive hope turned to dust.
Julian was capable of loyalty and affection. He just never wanted to give it to me.
I thought of Maria, his dying mother, whose secret medical bills I had been paying in silence for nearly a year. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars a month. Black-market experimental drugs. Maria had begged me not to tell Julian—she did not want to distract him from his bloody war for the Capo seat. I had honored that wish. I had carried that weight alone.
Now, looking at the man who had just thrown me away, I wondered if I had made a catastrophic mistake.
But that was a reckoning for another hour. First, he would learn what it meant to discard Siena Romano.
Julian stood up, and his eyes turned murderous. “You know how to fight,” he observed. “But throwing a punch does not make you a player in this game.”
“You are not worthy of knowing my true capabilities,” I said. “And you are certainly unworthy of the name I bear.”
Julian’s face flushed with rage. He hated being talked down to. He stepped close, his breath hot on my face.
“You speak boldly for a woman whose body is useless,” he mocked, loud enough for everyone to hear. “A name? What name? You are nothing but an empty vessel.”
The soldiers roared with laughter.
I stretched my wrists and looked him in the eye. “Is it possible the fault is not mine?”
The laughter died instantly. The room held its breath. Questioning a Capo’s virility was an unforgivable offense.
Valentina quickly stepped forward, caressing her stomach. “This child is undeniable proof of Julian’s power! You are just a jealous, broken woman!”
Julian wrapped an arm around her waist. “We will settle this debt of blood slowly, Siena. You threatened my operations. You assaulted my woman. And now you insult my honor.”
He glanced at my silent phone. “Where is your grand destruction? A pathetic bluff.”
Right then, Julian’s burner phone rang violently.
