CATHERINEShe died holding my hand. She smiled faintly, her eyes closed, and she drifted into a deep sleep, one she had never woken up from. Some would say it was a “good death,” as if there could have been anything good about dying…“At least she didn't suffer,” I heard from one of the doctors. It was a small consolation, but not enough to take a single fracture of my grief.The preparations for the funeral were a blur. I shoved my emotions away until every decision I made became nearly automatic. Hunter was always by my side as I handled all the bureaucratic issues while Fifi and Ace helped me organize a small reception for those who had known my mom and wanted to pay their last respects.I knew most of them. They were Mom's old work colleagues and neighbors. None of them had been truly close with Mom, but they all respected her and loved her as a human being.They appeared in front of me, staring into my eyes as if awaiting my tears, but all they witnessed was my numbness, and all
My blood froze in my veins. I stared at Hunter and saw his fists clenching. Would he truly sell me to Grasso to get the evidence? I knew that this evidence was something he had always wanted. This was the way to avenge his parents. Was this my worth for him? I had no value as his wife. I couldn't get him the allies he needed. But now, he could trade me for something he desired for a long time.Suddenly, those words became cruelly familiar. It sounded exactly like what that man in Chicago had said to me. The only difference was that he had used the past tense...My stomach twisted into knots. Had he been referring to some previous deal between Grasso and Hunter? Had the red-haired man been telling the truth? I clamped my hand over my mouth, fearing I might vomit. Still, I had to hear it from Hunter… even if that truth could break me.“So what now?” Hunter locked his eyes on Grasso. “Do you expect me to let you leave this place freely and wait for you to bring me some imaginary document
HUNTERI stared at the burner phone lying on my desk, one Grasso had given me. Rowan followed my line of sight and stepped closer.“Do you seriously believe Grasso will give you what you want?” He offered me a wry smile.I gave him a look. “Do you seriously believe I could trust this fucker after what happened the last time?”He sighed in relief. “Fuck, I hoped you'd say that.”“He sent us straight into the renegades' trap. Now I'm about to return the favor.” I motioned my chin at the phone. “As soon as that cunt sends us the address, I'll call Carlo Evola and Hisa Azumi. Let them deal with Grasso, and honestly, I hope they will skin him alive.”A grim smile stretched across Rowan's lips. “Yeah… I wouldn't mind if they tortured him for days. Although I doubt they have patience for it.” Then he leaned against my desk and locked his eyes on me. “But… what if the renegades have the evidence we want? Isn't it tempting to play their game a little longer?”I loosened a breath. “I thought I w
CATHERINEPerhaps I was making a huge mistake. I didn't know if the place I was looking for still existed. This could be a trap. I could be walking straight into the lair of our enemies…“Our enemies,” I muttered, realizing how bitter the word “our” tasted.Was there even “us”? I was foolish to trust Hunter. I was foolish to believe he hadn't lied about anything else. I had heard about his meeting with Guido Pelligrini. I should have known he at least considered allying with him, and the worst part was that I couldn't even be mad at him for it. It was a wise thing to do—divorce me and marry a Princess that had an army by her side.Believing that we could have had a true relationship was naïve. Don Cartelli should have had a wife who granted him more power, and I couldn't give him that. I had known that for a long time. I couldn't stay by his side. Still, his lie felt like a stab in the heart. And I kept bleeding…I should have faced Hunter, shoved those damn documents in his face, and
“And here are the third floor's bedrooms.” Lina gestured at the doors in front of us. “The nicest is the one in the corner.” She let out a soft giggle.She and Ivan, her husband, had been showing me around the estate for the past three hours. My head was spinning, and my chest kept clenching harder and harder. Why had my mom thrown all of this away? Why had she allowed us to become nearly penniless when she could have had all of this?We entered another cozy chamber with a dark wood floor, bright furniture, and an amazing amount of light coming from the wall-size windows. “Everything here looks incredible,” I murmured, scanning the large canopy bed in the center.“Katerina wanted this to resemble her old home as much as possible,” Lina said, lining up with me as I walked to the window, opening to a small balcony.I gave her a faint smile before turning my gaze to the view. There was nothing but miles of woods outside—a place perfectly hidden from the outside world. “Did my mom… live h
HUNTERMy hands at my sides kept fisting and opening. The overwhelming tension had turned my shoulders into stone hours ago, and now, the unbearable stiffness began to spread throughout my body. To say I was torn would have been an understatement. I was fucking certain the choice I had made would soon bite me in the ass, but there was no good way out of this situation, and the last thing I wanted was to let Guido Pelligrini know I had lost my wife somewhere.“Drink?” Guido placed a whiskey glass on the coffee table and gave me a knowing smirk. “You look like you need one.”Not one. Had I drunk an entire bottle or two, I was willing to bet I would have remained sober as fuck. He took my silence as a reply and filled my glass with amber liquor. I snatched it from the table and gulped down half of it. Then I sucked in a breath and started to pace around Guido's salon.Half of me screamed I shouldn't be here. I should have been heading to Bellport, looking for Catherine, making sure she w
My mind was a fucking mess. I was slowly losing myself in the agonizing swirl of thoughts, drafting new scenarios with no good way out of this situation. I lifted my whiskey glass to my lips and poured the liquor down my throat. At least the burn helped silence the noises in my head… for about two seconds.“So what did you tell Guido?” Rowan's voice and piercing gaze shattered my momentary calm.I lowered my glass and grunted, “Nothing. I got back into my car and drove away.”His eyes narrowed as if he tried to read my thoughts. “What was your reaction when you saw Arianna again?”I drank from my glass. “It was… intense,” I admitted. “It felt like everything I've ever felt for her returned and amplified.”“Damn,” he drawled, reaching for his whiskey. “So… now what? If you love Arianna, where does it put Catherine?”“I've never said I love Arianna,” I corrected. “This… initial surge of feelings lasted a moment and then gave way to something akin to pity, I guess.”Rowan's brows inched
CATHERINEThe Pink Opium. My grandma created the Pink Opium. It was hard to accept the reality no matter how many times I had read the entry in her diary. I was certain that the completed formula was somewhere in her study. I was its new owner. I currently possessed something all the renegades would have killed me for.A shudder rushed through me. The rising panic within me encouraged me to find matches and gasoline and burn down all the documents and the laboratory. But a weak voice reminded me that Grandma created Pink Opium to help people, not turn them into a weapon.Lina helped me find several more Grandma's diaries. I brought them all to one of the bedrooms I picked as mine—at least for now—because, well… I decided to stay. Knowing I actually owned this estate and was Katerina Fedorova's only heir felt terrifying but also exciting. I was still somewhere in the middle of accepting the fact that I had suddenly become rich, but I could already feel how it empowered me.Of course, i
I drew a deep breath and slowly descended the stairs, heading to the salon. I debated whether I should dress up or keep it casual. I chose the latter, as if I paid little mind to Hunter's unexpected visit. I was determined to show him his presence was unwelcome, and I only decided to meet him so he would stop bothering me and leave.I kept repeating it in my head as I walked through the corridor with my hands fisted into balls. I raised my chin and straightened up my back while summoning my composure, anything to cover the storm of emotions coiling inside me.I walked to the doors and opened them with one confident swing. I passed the threshold, and my eyes instantly landed on Hunter. He was sitting on the sofa, two armed guards standing beside him. Logan, my new six-foot-three, bulky chief of security, decided to escort my husband here personally. Now he and Daniel, his second, watched Hunter's every movement as if he were a deadly predator on the loose.I was no expert, but I could
CATHERINEThe Pink Opium. My grandma created the Pink Opium. It was hard to accept the reality no matter how many times I had read the entry in her diary. I was certain that the completed formula was somewhere in her study. I was its new owner. I currently possessed something all the renegades would have killed me for.A shudder rushed through me. The rising panic within me encouraged me to find matches and gasoline and burn down all the documents and the laboratory. But a weak voice reminded me that Grandma created Pink Opium to help people, not turn them into a weapon.Lina helped me find several more Grandma's diaries. I brought them all to one of the bedrooms I picked as mine—at least for now—because, well… I decided to stay. Knowing I actually owned this estate and was Katerina Fedorova's only heir felt terrifying but also exciting. I was still somewhere in the middle of accepting the fact that I had suddenly become rich, but I could already feel how it empowered me.Of course, i
My mind was a fucking mess. I was slowly losing myself in the agonizing swirl of thoughts, drafting new scenarios with no good way out of this situation. I lifted my whiskey glass to my lips and poured the liquor down my throat. At least the burn helped silence the noises in my head… for about two seconds.“So what did you tell Guido?” Rowan's voice and piercing gaze shattered my momentary calm.I lowered my glass and grunted, “Nothing. I got back into my car and drove away.”His eyes narrowed as if he tried to read my thoughts. “What was your reaction when you saw Arianna again?”I drank from my glass. “It was… intense,” I admitted. “It felt like everything I've ever felt for her returned and amplified.”“Damn,” he drawled, reaching for his whiskey. “So… now what? If you love Arianna, where does it put Catherine?”“I've never said I love Arianna,” I corrected. “This… initial surge of feelings lasted a moment and then gave way to something akin to pity, I guess.”Rowan's brows inched
HUNTERMy hands at my sides kept fisting and opening. The overwhelming tension had turned my shoulders into stone hours ago, and now, the unbearable stiffness began to spread throughout my body. To say I was torn would have been an understatement. I was fucking certain the choice I had made would soon bite me in the ass, but there was no good way out of this situation, and the last thing I wanted was to let Guido Pelligrini know I had lost my wife somewhere.“Drink?” Guido placed a whiskey glass on the coffee table and gave me a knowing smirk. “You look like you need one.”Not one. Had I drunk an entire bottle or two, I was willing to bet I would have remained sober as fuck. He took my silence as a reply and filled my glass with amber liquor. I snatched it from the table and gulped down half of it. Then I sucked in a breath and started to pace around Guido's salon.Half of me screamed I shouldn't be here. I should have been heading to Bellport, looking for Catherine, making sure she w
“And here are the third floor's bedrooms.” Lina gestured at the doors in front of us. “The nicest is the one in the corner.” She let out a soft giggle.She and Ivan, her husband, had been showing me around the estate for the past three hours. My head was spinning, and my chest kept clenching harder and harder. Why had my mom thrown all of this away? Why had she allowed us to become nearly penniless when she could have had all of this?We entered another cozy chamber with a dark wood floor, bright furniture, and an amazing amount of light coming from the wall-size windows. “Everything here looks incredible,” I murmured, scanning the large canopy bed in the center.“Katerina wanted this to resemble her old home as much as possible,” Lina said, lining up with me as I walked to the window, opening to a small balcony.I gave her a faint smile before turning my gaze to the view. There was nothing but miles of woods outside—a place perfectly hidden from the outside world. “Did my mom… live h
CATHERINEPerhaps I was making a huge mistake. I didn't know if the place I was looking for still existed. This could be a trap. I could be walking straight into the lair of our enemies…“Our enemies,” I muttered, realizing how bitter the word “our” tasted.Was there even “us”? I was foolish to trust Hunter. I was foolish to believe he hadn't lied about anything else. I had heard about his meeting with Guido Pelligrini. I should have known he at least considered allying with him, and the worst part was that I couldn't even be mad at him for it. It was a wise thing to do—divorce me and marry a Princess that had an army by her side.Believing that we could have had a true relationship was naïve. Don Cartelli should have had a wife who granted him more power, and I couldn't give him that. I had known that for a long time. I couldn't stay by his side. Still, his lie felt like a stab in the heart. And I kept bleeding…I should have faced Hunter, shoved those damn documents in his face, and
HUNTERI stared at the burner phone lying on my desk, one Grasso had given me. Rowan followed my line of sight and stepped closer.“Do you seriously believe Grasso will give you what you want?” He offered me a wry smile.I gave him a look. “Do you seriously believe I could trust this fucker after what happened the last time?”He sighed in relief. “Fuck, I hoped you'd say that.”“He sent us straight into the renegades' trap. Now I'm about to return the favor.” I motioned my chin at the phone. “As soon as that cunt sends us the address, I'll call Carlo Evola and Hisa Azumi. Let them deal with Grasso, and honestly, I hope they will skin him alive.”A grim smile stretched across Rowan's lips. “Yeah… I wouldn't mind if they tortured him for days. Although I doubt they have patience for it.” Then he leaned against my desk and locked his eyes on me. “But… what if the renegades have the evidence we want? Isn't it tempting to play their game a little longer?”I loosened a breath. “I thought I w
My blood froze in my veins. I stared at Hunter and saw his fists clenching. Would he truly sell me to Grasso to get the evidence? I knew that this evidence was something he had always wanted. This was the way to avenge his parents. Was this my worth for him? I had no value as his wife. I couldn't get him the allies he needed. But now, he could trade me for something he desired for a long time.Suddenly, those words became cruelly familiar. It sounded exactly like what that man in Chicago had said to me. The only difference was that he had used the past tense...My stomach twisted into knots. Had he been referring to some previous deal between Grasso and Hunter? Had the red-haired man been telling the truth? I clamped my hand over my mouth, fearing I might vomit. Still, I had to hear it from Hunter… even if that truth could break me.“So what now?” Hunter locked his eyes on Grasso. “Do you expect me to let you leave this place freely and wait for you to bring me some imaginary document
CATHERINEShe died holding my hand. She smiled faintly, her eyes closed, and she drifted into a deep sleep, one she had never woken up from. Some would say it was a “good death,” as if there could have been anything good about dying…“At least she didn't suffer,” I heard from one of the doctors. It was a small consolation, but not enough to take a single fracture of my grief.The preparations for the funeral were a blur. I shoved my emotions away until every decision I made became nearly automatic. Hunter was always by my side as I handled all the bureaucratic issues while Fifi and Ace helped me organize a small reception for those who had known my mom and wanted to pay their last respects.I knew most of them. They were Mom's old work colleagues and neighbors. None of them had been truly close with Mom, but they all respected her and loved her as a human being.They appeared in front of me, staring into my eyes as if awaiting my tears, but all they witnessed was my numbness, and all