Page 92 of Marriage of Revenge

"You haven't touched those keys in years, boss." Franco's voice carries weight. "Maybe Isabella—"

"She rots in that room." The words tear out like broken glass. "Until she understands exactly what her choices cost."

Franco flinches - and something I've never seen before flashes in his eyes. Doubt. From my most loyal soldier. The urge to smash his face in hits like lightning, but that violence... fuck. That's exactly what made me pause last night. "Almost kept her," I admit, the words tasting like surrender.

"You said you wanted my truth." Franco stands his ground like always.

One sharp nod. Continue.

"This revenge? Making her suffer? It shows everyone - especially the young ones - exactly what kind of monster you are." His eyes cut deep. "The same kind you swore we'd never become."

Becoming what I hate to punish what I want.

Turning into my stepfather to break his daughter.

"He turned our fucking wedding into a war zone." Rage burns through my veins hot as napalm. "Orchestrated a goddamn massacre just to show he could. My retaliation? That's aimed at him, his men, his blood."

"Those boys out there?" Franco doesn't back down. "They follow you like you're some dark Robin Hood. Because you're different from men like her father. You give them something to believe in."

"I'm not her father." My jaw clenches hard enough to crack teeth. "But I'm not running a fucking charity either. Isabella pays for what she did."

"For a mistake she made as a kid." Franco stands firm like always, like the brother he's become.

"A mistake that put my mother in the ground." The words rip out with decades of pain. I close the distance between us, beast recognizing the one person who might understand.

"If you're growing a conscience, Franco, walk away now. Just this once, no consequences. Because it's you." My voice drops to granite. "But if you stay? You follow my lead without question. Clear?"

Franco's nod comes slow as death. "Understood.”

“And what’s going on with the fucking contract? Was that a lie, too? And the men that are supposed to be loyal to her?”

“Her father said the contract will be valid in a year. She still needs to be alive in a year and living in the fortress.”

“Always fucking fine print. Well, she will be. Isabella stays locked away. Let her be a fucking monument to what happens when people betray me." My fingers curl into fists. "Plus her name might be enough for part of the next phase. That alliance is our key." I watch him for any hint of doubt, but he's stone-faced as ever.

"Moving forward with the plan?"

"Every goddamn shipment into Moretti's territory gets intercepted. His men get one choice." The smile that curves my lips feels like violence. "Join us or join their boss in hell."

Franco's eyebrow lifts. "Or?"

"They die." Simple as a blade between ribs.

He inhales like he's tasting gunpowder. "Got it, boss." Then hesitates, something complicated crossing his face. "What about Naomi?"

Naomi.

The Mediterranean crashes against cliffs like my thoughts against skull. Is she watching these same waves, worrying about her friend?

"Connor gets Naomi."

"Connor?" Franco's surprise grates.

"He wants a wife. Better him than those German or Russian animals." I meet his eyes, daring him to argue. "I'm not completely the monster they made me."

"Just selling another woman." Franco's mutter carries judgment.

Something snaps. I slam him against the wall, forearm against his throat. "Last warning. Walk away clean now, or stay without questioning me. Doubt's a cancer I won't let spread. Not after what their betrayal cost us."

---