Chapter 1 - The Shattered TreatyWhen a mafia heir chooses his hidden daughter over a multimillion-dollar marriage, he doesn't just break a vow—he starts an all-out war.
The raindrops fell like tiny shards of ice against my face, but the cold inside my chest was far worse.
Coraline Ashford stood on the slick pavement of Fifth Avenue, her ivory bridal veil plastered against her sharp cheekbones. Her eyes, usually calculating and controlled, burned with a furious, humiliated fire.
"Excuse me?" Coraline repeated, stepping closer, her expensive designer heels clicking ominously against the wet asphalt. "You're defending her? Look at you, Garrett! You're ruining three years of diplomacy, embarrassing my father, and handing the street control of New York over to our enemies for a ghost!"
I didn't look at Coraline. My eyes remained glued to Posie—to the tiny girl clinging to Mave's neck, shivering beneath the thin, soaked fabric of her mother’s coat. Those pale gray eyes were wide with innocent terror, watching the circle of armed men and flashing smartphone cameras closing in around us.
"Wesley," I barked, my voice cutting through the blare of traffic and murmuring crowds like a steel blade.
My chief of security immediately stepped forward, his hand resting casually inside his suit jacket over his shoulder holster. "Yes, Boss?"
"Get Mave and the child into my personal car," I commanded quietly. "Now."
Mave gasped, backing her heels up against the metal pole of the traffic light. "No! Garrett, please! You can't do this! You don't know what you're doing—"
"I know exactly what I'm doing," I said, stepping between Mave and Coraline. I reached out, my large, warm hand covering Mave's trembling fingers as they clutched the cheap plastic folder. "Three years ago, I let you disappear because I thought you wanted to leave me. I thought you didn't love me anymore. But if my mother had a hand in this... if my blood is running through this little girl's veins... then nobody on this earth is taking you away from me again."
"Garrett!" Coraline shrieked, dropping all pretense of elegance as she grabbed my forearm, her sharp manicured nails digging through the wet wool of my tuxedo sleeve. "If you put that woman in your car, the Ashford-Hail treaty is dead! My father will fill these streets with blood by nightfall! You are signing your own death warrant!"
I slowly turned my head, looking down at Coraline's hand on my arm. The icy glare in my eyes made her grip loosen in pure, instinctual fear.
"Tell your father," I said, each word dripping with lethal calm, "that Garrett Hail doesn't trade his daughter for a peace treaty. The marriage is canceled."
I didn't wait for her reply. I gently guided Mave toward the armored limousine.
Behind us, Coraline let out an enraged, inhuman scream of fury, tearing her veil from her hair and slamming it into the muddy puddle at her feet. Sirens began to wail in the distance as news vans pulled up to the curb.
The heavy door of the limousine clicked shut, sealing us off from the roaring chaos of Fifth Avenue.
Inside, the leather-scented warmth was deafeningly quiet. Mave sat pressed against the far door, her breathing shallow and frantic, wrapping her worn coat around Posie. The little girl looked around the luxurious vehicle in stunned silence, then looked up at me.
"Are you a prince?" Posie asked softly, her little voice small, sweet, and melodic.
My breath caught in my throat. The ruthless mob boss who had executed three capos without blinking felt his knees go weak. I sank onto the plush leather bench opposite them, my eyes brimming with unshed tears.
"No, sweetheart," I whispered, my voice cracking with an emotion I hadn't felt in three agonizing years. "I'm just a man who's very, very late."
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I looked at Mave. Tears were running down her pale cheeks, leaving tracks through the dirt and rain.
"Tell me everything, Mave," I said, leaning forward. "Start with the day my mother threatened you."
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