THE BLACKWELLS AND THE DICAPRIOS
1109 Words
CHAPTER FIVE
THE BLACKWELLS AND THE DICAPRIOS
The door opened without a knock.
Sophia DiCaprio never knocked.
Her heels announced her before her voice ever could—sharp, deliberate clicks against marble, like a warning shot. Maverick didn’t look up right away. He felt her presence the way one feels a shift in air pressure.
“Darling,” she said smoothly, closing the door behind her. “You missed my calls.”
He finally lifted his eyes.
Sophia was immaculate, as always. Tailored cream blazer cinched at the waist, silk blouse beneath, dark hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail that exposed her long neck. Every inch of her screamed legacy, wealth, and strategy. She was beautiful in the way museums were beautiful—priceless, distant, untouchable.
And cold.
“I was working,” Maverick replied, voice flat.
Sophia smiled, the practiced kind. The kind meant for boardrooms and cameras. She walked in like she owned the space, settling into the chair opposite him without being invited, crossing her legs with surgical precision.
“You’re always working,” she said. “One would think you were avoiding me.”
If only it were that simple.
Maverick leaned back, fingers steepled, studying her the way one studies a contract—looking for loopholes, exit clauses, hidden traps.
“What do you want, Sophia?”
Her smile tightened just a fraction.
“Straight to business. How very you.”
She reached into her handbag and placed a slim folder on his desk, sliding it toward him.
Maverick didn’t touch it.
“My father is hosting a private dinner tomorrow night,” she continued. “Old money. New alliances. People who matter.” Her eyes locked onto his. “We’re expected to attend together.”
Expected.
There it was. The invisible chain wrapped in silk.
“The Blackwells and the DiCaprios,” she went on, “united in public. It steadies the market. It reassures investors. It reminds certain people that power still knows how to marry itself.”
Maverick exhaled slowly through his nose. He’d heard this speech in a dozen variations. He knew the truth beneath it: this wasn’t about love, or even partnership.
It was about fortifying empires. About bloodlines and balance sheets. About keeping the Blackwell name untouchable.
And Sophia was the price.
“I don’t enjoy being paraded,” he said coolly.
Sophia leaned forward, elbows resting on his desk now, invading his space with intention. Her perfume was subtle, expensive.
“You don’t enjoy many things, Maverick. That has never stopped you from doing what’s necessary.”
Her gaze softened, just enough to seem intimate. Dangerous woman—she knew when to play ice and when to play warmth.
“You knew the arrangement when you stepped into your father’s shoes,” she added quietly. “I didn’t force this on you.”
No. The legacy did.
Maverick stood abruptly, turning away to face the window. The city sprawled beneath him, alive and ruthless.
He preferred it to people—it never pretended to want him for reasons other than power.
Behind him, Sophia rose. Her reflection appeared in the glass beside his.
“You don’t look at me anymore,” she said, not accusing—observing.
“Not the way a man looks at a woman he wants.”
He didn’t respond.
“But you still need me,” she continued.
“And I still serve my purpose.”
That made him turn.
Their eyes met, tension sharp as a blade.
“You’re right,” Maverick said finally. “I don’t want you.”
Sophia’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t flinch.
“But I need you,” he went on, voice low, controlled.
“The board respects your name. Your family opens doors that would otherwise stay closed. And until the Blackwell position is unshakable…” He paused.
“This continues.”
Silence stretched between them, thick and heavy.
Sophia smiled again—but this time it didn’t reach her eyes.
“Good. Then we understand each other.”
She stepped closer, smoothing an invisible crease on his sleeve, her touch light, possessive, performative. “Tomorrow night, we will play our roles. The perfect couple. The future everyone envies.”
Her fingers lingered a second too long before she withdrew.
“Try not to look so miserable,” she added softly. “People notice.”
She turned and walked toward the door, heels echoing like punctuation marks.
Just before exiting, she glanced back. “Oh—and Maverick?”
“Yes?”
“One day, you’ll realize power demands sacrifices.” Her lips curved. “I’m just one of yours.”
The door closed behind her.
Maverick remained still, fists clenched at his sides, jaw tight.
Sacrifice.
The word tasted bitter.
Because the cruelest part wasn’t that he was trapped with Sophia DiCaprio.
It was that his heart had begun to yearn for someone he couldn’t afford to choose. Someone he knew would ruin his background and his family.
He stood there for a very long time before picking up his phone, he dialed a number.
Send me every information you have been able to gather on Isabella Valdore, the rogue queen. Leave no detail out.
I had already gotten to the front of my house gate when I noticed the black sedan that was parked across the street. I knew that car, it was the same sedan that I saw earlier today.
I walked towards the driver's side and knocked on the tinted window.
An average man lowered the glass looking at me like he wasn't aware why I had approached his car, he was casually dressed in an all-black outfit, nothing out of the ordinary.
Do you care to tell me why I have been seeing this particular vehicle everywhere I go for the past week?
I asked, my eyes burning with curiosity.
He laughed it off sheepishly, pretending like he knew nothing.
Ma'am I believe you have been stressed, the weather today was crazy, I don't know what you are talking about, he responded casually trying to hide the tension in his eyes.
I am not the type to be fooled easily, but I advise you, whatever you have going on, it's better you back off now, and tell whoever you are working for that you’ve got nothing on me.
My advice sounded more like a warning
With that, I walked away.
I watched him drive away from where I was standing on the balcony of my apartment.
The uneasy feeling that I have been suppressing since the afternoon became more intense, so I pulled my phone out and dialed Ethan's number.
- Writer
