The silence in the Crown Diamond Atelier was thick enough to choke on. Julianne stared at the approved transaction slip, her mind spinning in a desperate circle.
Emilia must have given him the money, she thought, her jaw tightening. She’s a fool. She’s throwing away her recovery to fund this man’s delusions of grandeur. Why waste a fortune just to make him look like a king for a day?
But as she pulled the card from the reader, her eyes snagged on the account name displayed on the terminal. It wasn't a Virelli account. It wasn't Emilia’s.
It was a private equity line under a name that held more weight than the entire Monterio combined.
The color drained from Julianne’s face. A cold, hollow regret settled in her stomach, quickly followed by a bitter surge of jealousy. She had spent years
