Chapter 3 - The Execution of the DebtNico didn't pull the trigger in the foyer.
He pulled back his sidearm, making a subtle gesture to his chief lieutenant, Marco’s former second-in-command, Leo.
"Take him to the private holding facility beneath Terminal 4," Nico commanded flatly. "Strip him of his phones, his watches, and his legal counsel. Keep him alive until Nora extracts every encryption key from his private server."
"No! NO! NORA, TELL HIM TO STOP! I'M YOUR FATHER!" Edmund shrieked, his voice cracking into pathetic, high-pitched whimpers as two broad-shouldered Ferrara enforcers dragged his thrashing frame flat across the marble floor toward the waiting armored vans outside.
The front doors slammed shut, sealing the foyer back into a deep, heavy silence.
I stood on the lower step of the marble staircase, my body shaking uncontrollably as the adrenaline that had sustained me began to drain away. The silk robe felt heavy against my skin, and my legs threatened to collapse beneath me.
Nico turned slowly. He walked up to me, his silver sidearm returning to its holster, his storm-gray eyes searching my face with a quiet, intense concern that cut straight through my shock.
Before I could fall, Nico reached out, sweeping his broad arm beneath my knees and around my spine, effortlessly lifting my body into his broad chest.
"Nico..." I gasped softly, my hands instinctively clutching the collar of his shirt. "You... you didn't kill him."
"Not yet," Nico murmured, carrying me slowly back up the grand staircase toward the master suite. "His death belongs to you, Nora. You will decide when his debt is settled."
He carried me into the master bedroom, setting me down gently onto the soft velvet sofa near the roaring stone fireplace. He dropped onto one knee flat on the rug before me, reaching for a warm cashmere blanket, draping it over my legs.
He reached out his long, calloused fingers, gently, reverently tucking a stray lock of dark hair behind my ear.
"Why are you doing this, Nico?" I asked, tears burning behind my eyes. "Six hours ago, you told me you were going to destroy my life to avenge your brother."
Nico looked up into my hazel eyes, his storm-gray gaze holding a depth of raw, unadulterated truth that made my pulse take a wild, dangerous leap against my ribs.
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"Six hours ago, I believed I was marrying the daughter of a corrupt hedge fund manager," Nico confessed quietly, his baritone thick with an unbroken, eternal weight. "I didn't know I was marrying the bravest woman in New York. I promised to destroy the Ashford bloodline, Nora... and I will. But starting tonight... you are no longer an Ashford. You are a Ferrara."
He leaned down, pressing his soft, warm lips against my forehead in a deep, unhurried vow that made a weightless peace settle into my chest for the first time in twelve years.
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