Page 38 of Vow to Claim You

When I open my eyes, blood stains the floor at my feet, spreading slowly, pooling beneath the chair where Domenico’s body has gone slack, his head lolling forward as if exhaustion, not death, claimed him. And Aric stands with his gun still raised, arm unwavering. His posture remains immaculate and controlled, as though nothing in this room required more effort than a signature on paper.

It was him.

He fired the shot.

He killed a man.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Aric

Domenico’s body slumps forward, the chair scraping softly against stone. The sound carries farther than it should, but the room absorbs it.

I don’t look at the body again. I look at Nikos. He’s watching me closely, dark eyes calculating. He knows why I did it. He also knows I didn’t have to.

Domenico was Serena’s cousin. Chiara’s brother. Blood, even diluted, still counts for something in this world. Especially to Serena.

She stands motionless beside Nikos, spine straight, hands folded, face carefully neutral. She would’ve accepted the execution. She understands the rules better than most. She’s in the middle of initiation, being carved into something harder, colder like all of us once were. She knows betrayal ends one way. But knowing doesn’t mean it wouldn’t leave a mark. I won’t give Domenico that power. And I won’t make Serena pay for his choices.

Nikos’s gaze flicks briefly toward Ayanna. Then back to me.

“He targeted my wife.” My voice is level. “That made him mine.”

Nikos merely inclines his head, the motion barely perceptible, but in this room, that gesture carries the same authority as a verdict.

Ayanna stands beside me, still too quiet. Too still. But then I see her chest rise in a controlled breath as she steadies herself.

“You should come with us.” Serena breaks the silence, voice composed and gentle like her cousin’s blood isn’t still warm on the floor. “At least for dinner. You’re already here.” Her focus shifts between Ayanna and me. “You can stay the night.”

I don’t answer immediately, pretending I consider the offer. Though I don’t.

Ayanna has already endured enough for one day. Staying here, under the same roof as Serena, as Chiara’s memory, feels unnecessary at best.

“That won’t be required,” I reply. “We’ll return tonight.”

Nikos’s gaze settles on Ayanna for the first time since the gunshot. “We insist.” His attention returns to me. “I believe we have business to discuss, Vold.”

My jaw tightens. I know exactly what this place will stir. Serena’s resentment. Chiara’s memory. Everything Ayanna has been forced to inherit without ever asking for it.

When I finally turn to Ayanna, I find her already watching me. Her chin lifts a fraction before she gives a single nod. That settles it.

“Very well.”

The convoy pulls away from Olympus. We fall into formation behind Niko’s car. Ayanna is next to me. Her gaze is fixed on the tinted window, on the blur of Italy slipping past—olive trees, pale stone, the illusion of warmth after what just happened inside those walls.

I study her reflection in the glass instead. She looks…different. Stripped of the sharp edges she uses like armor. No sarcasm. No challenge waiting behind her eyes. Instead, she’s quiet. Her brows knit together, as though the image had already carved itself into her memory.

“Are you fine with staying here?” The question serves no strategic purpose, yet I ask it anyway.

She turns her head slowly.

“It’s fine,” she says, eyes flicking between mine. “This is the life I married into.”

Not you.

The life.

I don’t answer. There’s nothing to correct there.