Page 21 of Ruthless Match

My blood ran cold. I no longer knew the man sitting across from me. Maybe I never did.

“And you agreed to it? You allowed him to use our hotel for illegal business?”

My father’s eyes flashed with anger. I did what I had to do to secure our family’s future.”

Outraged, I began yelling. “No, you did what was best for you! You don’t care about me or the family!”

“How can you say that?”

“Because you sold me to a mobster to protect your business! Not exactly Father-of-the-Year stuff.”

“Watch your tone, Young Lady.”

My eyes welled up with tears, and I began laughing hysterically. “Oh, that’s rich! I’m thirty-one, Dad, not thirteen, and I won’t let you control me anymore.”

“Be careful what you say, Aurora…”

“You’re insane, Dad. You thought you could handle getting involved with and threatening the mafia, but there wouldn’t be any repercussions. I hate to break it to you, Dad, but Matteo is more powerful than even you realized. He won’t be threatened or manipulated. You have no idea what he’s capable of.”

“I think I have a better understanding than you do, my dear.”

What I once saw as confidence, I now saw arrogance, which made me sick. “Keep telling yourself that, Dad. But if I were you, I’d have extra security around at all times.”

Before my father could respond, we were interrupted by shouting. My worst fear had come true: Matteo was here.

CHAPTER 13

Matteo

After Aurora left, the weight of my mistakes felt like Atlas trying to balance the world on his shoulders. How did I let this happen? Why was I so careless? Her leaving had me reeling, torn between rage and a gnawing sense of regret. I had sent her countless texts and left multiple voicemails, but there was no response. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was.

I’m not used to being ignored.

How did it come to this? I am thirty-seven years old, and I have spent my entire life perfecting the art of control. Every move I make is done with precision, yet here I am, brought to my knees by the last person I ever expected, my wife.

Not only was I concerned about Aurora, but I was also infuriated. How dare she defy me?

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Of course, I had contingency plans, I always did, but none of them accounted for Aurora finding out about my plans for her father and leaving me. Not only had she found out my plan, but I had also underestimated her.

Aurora wasn’t a scared little girl who would sit by and do what she was told. No, she was fiery, independent, and passionate. I came to realize that I loved these traits about her.

A knock on the door had interrupted my thoughts. It was Marco with an update.

“Yes, Marco, what is it? Have you found her?” I tried to keep my voice calm but knew it betrayed me. I was anxious to find her, and it showed.

“Boss, we know where she is. We just got word that Mrs. Santoro is outside the city at her father’s house. Would you like me to go and retrieve her?”

I should have known she went to Dominic. Of course, she did. Where else would she go? I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it.

“I’m going with you. I need to take care of this myself. Have the car brought around. I’m going to get my wife.”

“Yes, Boss.”

When Marco left, I walked to the bar and poured a shot of whiskey. Was it the most intelligent choice? Probably not, but I needed something to calm my nerves. It wasn’t just my life on the line; my heart was in danger, too.

The drive to DeSantis’s house was tense. I was angry but also afraid, afraid of losing Aurora for good and what her leaving could mean for my carefully crafted plans. I couldn’t let them slip away, not without a fight.

“Boss,” Marco said, interrupting my thoughts. “I don’t want to overstep, but are you sure about this? Going to her father’s house might make the situation worse. She’s obviously upset.”

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