Chapter 4 - The Threat in the Manor
As soon as the heavy oak doors closed behind Dominic and Julian, the atmosphere inside the study shattered into pure tension.
""They know,"" I said, rising to my feet, my knees trembling so violently I had to lean against the armrest. ""Dominic knows something isn't right. Luca, he won't wait for tomorrow night's council vote if he suspects I'm pregnant. He’ll strike first!""
Luca walked over to me, wrapping his large, warm hands over mine to steady my shaking limbs. ""He won't strike tonight, Evelyn. Dominic is arrogant, but he is fundamentally a bureaucrat. He wants the illusion of legitimacy. He wants the Council to hand him the empire lawfully under the ancient family bylaws. That is his weakness. He thinks he can humiliate me in front of the twelve district capos tomorrow night.""
""And Dr. Bennett?"" I asked.
""Mateo,"" Luca barked toward the doorway.
Mateo stepped forward instantly. ""Boss?""
""Take four men. Find Dr. Bennett at his Martha's Vineyard estate before Dominic realizes he is a liability. I want Bennett alive, breathing, and terrified. If he resists, break both his legs, but bring him to the harbor warehouse by eight o'clock tomorrow evening.""
""Consider it done,"" Mateo nodded and vanished into the shadows of the estate.
That night was the longest night of my life. Luca had doubled the guards around the Beacon Hill manor, placing snipers on the roof and armed sentries along the perimeter wall. Yet the air inside the bedroom felt charged with impending violence.
I lay in bed, staring at the high plaster ceiling, unable to close my eyes. Beside me, Luca had discarded his jacket and tie, lying atop the covers with his hand resting gently against my stomach. In the darkness, the terrifying mafia boss looked vulnerable, his thumb rhythmically stroking my skin through my silk nightgown.
""I spent twelve years hating myself, Evelyn,"" he whispered into the silence of the room. ""When Bennett told me I was sterile, it broke something inside me. My father valued blood above everything else. He looked at me with pity on his deathbed. I believed I was cursed, that God was punishing me for the violent sins of my life.""
I turned onto my side, pressing my forehead against his broad chest, listening to the steady, powerful rhythm of his heart. ""You are not cursed, Luca. You were betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect you.""
""And you brought me life,"" he murmured, his fingers curling into my hair, pulling me close until his warm lips pressed against my forehead. ""I married you to buy an alliance and save your mother. But these past eleven weeks... Evelyn, you gave me a reason to fight for this empire instead of just ruling it out of spite. I will burn all of Boston to the ground before I let anyone hurt you or our child.""
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""Promise me you'll be careful tomorrow,"" I pleaded, looking up into his dark, haunted eyes. ""Dominic has spent twelve years planning this. He won't give up without blood.""
""In our world, Evelyn, nothing is ever settled without blood,"" Luca answered softly, his jaw set like iron. ""Sleep now. Tomorrow, the Varenna family learns who truly rules this city.""
