The encrypted message about Sofia hung in the air like a loaded gun ready to fire. Aria stared at the surveillance photo on Dante’s phone — her sister-in-law meeting secretly with a high-ranking member of the European consortium in a shadowed café. The timestamp was recent. Too recent. The image burned into her mind, stirring up a storm of doubt, betrayal, and heartbreak that threatened to c***k the hard-won strength she had built over the past months.
“Sofia?” Aria whispered, her voice cracking despite the queen she had become. “After everything we’ve been through… after she trained me, fought beside us, called me sister…”
Dante’s jaw clenched so tightly she could see the muscle twitch. His gray eyes darkened with a dangerous mix of betrayal and tightly controlled fury. He pulled her fi
