Chapter 1

“Alessia,don’t flatter yourself.Just because our fathers shook hands on this arrangement doesn’t mean I’ll ever touch you.I will never love you.Remember that.”

Dante Moretti’s words were a jagged blade,slicing through the heavy silence of the study.

I looked up at the man who was supposed to be my husband.At twenty-four,Dante carried himself with the lethal grace of a predator.He was handsome in a way that felt like a death sentence—eyes like frozen obsidian,lips that only ever curled in a sneer when directed at me.

I wasn't crying.Not this time.Somehow,the universe had pulled me back from the brink of death,dropping me right into the week before our cursed wedding.

My chest tightened with a ghost of the old pain,but I forced the words out,my voice as steady as a dead man’s pulse.“You’ve always loved Bianca Rossi,haven’t you?”

Dante’s gaze sharpened,dark and dangerous.“How do you know that name?I’m warning you,Alessia—stay away from her,or—”

“Save your threats,Dante,”I interrupted,the nickname tasting like ash.“Soon enough,you’ll be with her.She’ll be the one wearing your ring.The one standing by your side as your true wife.”

Dante narrowed his eyes,searching for a lie in my expression.After a heartbeat,he let out a harsh,metallic laugh.“Is this a new game?A pathetic stunt for attention?I won’t be tricked.Sign the damn proof.The printers are waiting.Don’t waste my time.”

He tossed a thick,cream-colored invitation onto the mahogany desk and turned his back on me,already dismissing my existence.

I stared at the wedding invitation.His name was embossed in elegant,lethal gold script.In my past life,I had worshipped that name.I had spent ten long years starving for a crumb of his affection,only to die with his final words ringing in my ears:My biggest regret was marrying you when Bianca needed me most.

I was his captive for a decade.Not because he locked me in a room,but because my own love was the cage.

Well,the cage was broken now.

I picked up the pen and,with a flick of my wrist,I signed Bianca Rossi in the bride’s section.

As I turned to leave the room,I heard Dante on his phone in the hallway.

“Redirect this month’s Vitalis Serum to Bianca.Alessia is stronger;she’ll handle the deficiency for a while.Bianca is fragile.She needs it more.”

I froze.My heart felt as if an invisible hand had crushed it.

The'Vitalis Serum'was the specialized tonic the Syndicate reserved for its most injured soldiers.After a mission-gone-wrong that had left me with chronic anemia,I relied on it just to keep my heart from racing into a collapse.And yet,Dante was handing my life-blood to his mistress like it was common wine.

“It’s fine,”Dante continued,his voice softening in a way it never did for me.“Alessia will understand.She’s a Valli;she’s made of steel.”

A hollow,jagged laugh escaped me.

Dante finished the call and turned,surprise flickering in his obsidian eyes when he saw me standing there.“You heard that?”

I forced a brittle smile.Before I could speak,he cut me off with an arrogant wave of his hand.

“Alessia,you’re about to become the Madre of this Syndicate.Keep the bigger picture in mind.Bianca’s health is even more delicate than yours.Be considerate for once.Got it?”

I looked at him—really looked at him—and felt nothing but the cold wind of freedom.“I understand perfectly,Dante.From now on,I’ll be as considerate as you deserve.”