Page 130 of Theirs to Corrupt

You need to sign your inheritance over to me. That’s the only way to save my life.

Frowning, I stare at the screen.Inheritance?To my knowledge, there’s no such thing. I know my parents left the house to Axel, but that there’s any more money stuns me.

“You didn’t know about that?” Link asks.

I shake my head, and since my wine is in danger of spilling again, I slide the glass onto the coffee table. “Didyouknow about it?” I counter.

He remains silent.

Damningly so.

Anger floods me, drowning my hurt. “And the whole thing withScandalicious?Giving them an exclusive. You hired Marcella and arranged for pictures to be published so that my brother and Emiliano would find out I was married.”

Again he says nothing.

“Everything you do serves a higher purpose, doesn’t it? Your own.”

“Little—”

“I’m nothing but a pawn to you.” In some stupid, high-stakes game between powerful men.

He shakes his head. “It’s not like that.” Abruptly Link stands and paces to the window.

The view that had been so soothing now unsettles me.

He stares out for a long time before turning back. His expression is raw, vulnerable in a way I’ve never seen before.

“Look, little dove…” He sighs. “I married you to keep you safe. There’s no fucking chance I would have ever let you fall into the clutches of Emiliano Sartori.”

Pax leans forward, his green eyes intense. “There’s something you need to understand about Link’s history with Emiliano.” Then he looks at Link “Boss?”

Dragging his hand through his hair, Link returns to his seat. “Sartori and I were business partners in a casino. The Casablanca.”

I’d heard of the resort, a once-legendary hotspot outside of Chicago that had closed when I was a teen, amid rumors of mob activity.

“It was successful beyond what I imagined when I invested.” Link’s voice is tight with old pain. “But Sartori got greedy, started embezzling.” He pauses, as if deciding to say something. But he shakes his head. “He ignored bills and was paying the mob for protection.”

Once more, I feel as if I’ve fallen into a fantastical story. That seems like something that would happen in a previous century rather than just a few years ago.

“By the time my accountant figured out what was happening, it was too late. The casino was drowning in debt, and the mob wanted what was due them.”

Pax picks up the story. “Link liquidated everything he owned to pay off the debts and keep the mob from coming after him. It nearly destroyed him.”

My anger doesn’t soften.

“And your brother owes money to Link.”

I look at him. “Toyou?”

“I invested in one of his schemes.”

My mind whirls.

“I called the debt. That’s when he tried to sell you.”

Shock leaves me numb.

“I didn’t know who you were when we first met.”

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