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“Let him try,” I responded, remembering myself. I would not show emotion. Especially not to Dominic.
Dominic regarded me. “You need to remember that you can be hurt much easier now. All these years, you have run the family successfully because you were made for the job.”
Though I didn’t show it, I was surprised at Dominic’s words. It was as close to a compliment I’d heard from the man in all the years I’d known him.
“Also because you were almost impossible to hurt,” he added. “Because you never let anyone get close. Never had anyone important to you.” He paused. “Until now.”
I clenched my fists, instantly knowing what he was referring to, who he was referring to, immediately feeling fucking furious.
The details of my engagement were now public, and I’d been receiving ‘congratulations’ from all over the country. It had already left a bad taste in my mouth. I could feel the underlying threat, knowing that my enemies would be feeling fucking glee at the fact I now had a weakness.
Originally, I hadn’t considered Sienna a potential weakness. She was an excellent fuck. A prime opportunity for a wife. One who I would certainly protect because if I let harm come to her it would affect my reputation, weaken it.
But the second she moved in here, I disregarded the need to protect my reputation, more concerned about someone possibly hurting her. All I thought about was tearing that person to shreds. I’d been wrestling with that for the past few days. I did not want to give anyone that power. Not after Isabella. I’d learned my lesson. Do not care for anyone lest they destroy you.
Which was why I was fucking furious with Sienna. Why I hated her at times. Because she had the power to eviscerate me, and she didn’t even know it.
“Lorenzo has problems,” I said, keeping my voice even and my eyes on Dominic’s. “He has made many mistakes. But even he is not stupid enough, or suicidal enough to touch what’s mine.”
Dominic regarded me and stood, buttoning his jacket as he did so. “Lorenzo is a child, not a man. When you take away a child’s toys, they will throw a tantrum without thought of the consequences. He will throw his tantrum. It remains to be seen how far reaching the damage will be.”
And on that warning, he walked out.
I stayed seated long after he left, staring into nothing. I spent an hour considering whether I should get Felix in here, instruct him to take care of Sienna.
I was not going to repeat what happened twenty-five years ago.
Even if it meant I had to kill Sienna myself.
Chapter Eleven
Sienna
“You’re new.”
I jumped from where I’d been making myself coffee. As much as I hated it here—as much as I was telling myself I hated it here—the coffee machine was out of this world. I’d formed a routine quickly. It was something I’d clung to my entire life, functioning on strict routines. It gave me a semblance of control.
Control was just a façade now. One I was clinging to by getting up at six, working out in the basement gym, making a smoothie, toasting a bagel then making coffee. I’d go out to the garden terrace, bask in the early morning sun, look out onto the grounds, listen to the birds and try to remember why I hated it here. Then I’d go to work, try my best to distract myself from what went on at the mansion on the outskirts of the city. I avoided Jessica’s calls. I didn’t work late. I let Cristian fuck me however he wanted. Fell asleep with him and woke up to an empty bed.
A strange man in a suit and ownership in his eyes was a stark reminder why I hated it here. How little control I had.
The second my eyes met his, I knew he was trouble. Nothing like the trouble that Cristian represented. This was more juvenile, less precise, a fuck of a lot more dangerous. Despite how cruel I suspected Cristian could be, his cruelty always had a purpose. It was controlled, sadistic as it may be. There was no control here. There was a madness to his eyes, to his energy. He had no plan. Which meant anything and fucking everything could happen from here on out.
He was much younger than Cristian too. Maybe my age but it was hard to tell.
Handsome too. In a way that meant he was used to getting everything he wanted from women, in a way that meant he expected everyone with a vagina to bow down to him. The entitled tilt of his chin told me that.
I tried to hide the unease I felt meeting his jade eyes, but he caught it. He liked it, that I was startled, afraid. The knowing smirk told me that, the way those dark eyes flared in satisfaction. He had been leaning on the kitchen island, watching me for who knew how long. You’d think I’d be more on guard in a house that belonged to the head of the mafia, the one I was being forced to live in.
