Married To The Man I Swore To Kill

Chapter Three

Rules Of Engagement

The air inside the luxury SUV was suffocatingly quiet.

Rain lashed against the tinted side windows as the high-end vehicle cut through the late-night traffic away from the casino. I sat in the leather passenger seat, staring out at the blurred neon lights of the city. Beside me, Lorenzo Vitale was looking over a digital tablet, the cool blue light of the screen illuminating the sharp angles of his jawline.

I still couldn't quite process how fast my world had shifted in less than two hours.

I had snuck into the Vitale Casino intending to steal financial records. Now, my electronic bypass device sat confiscated in Lorenzo’s desk drawer, my fake identity was completely blown, and a signed six-month marriage contract was sitting securely inside my leather purse.

"You're quiet," Lorenzo observed without taking his eyes off his tablet screen.

"I'm trying to figure out if I just made a deal with the devil or signed my own death warrant," I said, keeping my tone clipped.

A ghost of a smirk touched the corner of his lips. He finally slid the tablet into his suit jacket and turned to look at me. "If I wanted you dead, Valentina, you wouldn't have made it out of my office, let alone into my personal vehicle."

"That's supposed to reassure me?" I countered, crossing my arms defensively over my chest.

"It's a fact," he said evenly. "You hold a dark view of me. I understand why. Your father’s company collapsed overnight three years ago, his reputation was smeared in the press, and his death was ruled a convenient accident. And because the Vitale group acquired his asset portfolio forty-eight hours later, I became your primary villain."

My chest tightened, a familiar coil of anger twisting in my stomach. Hearing him summarize my father's tragic downfall so casually made my blood boil.

"It wasn't an accident," I insisted, my voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "He was framed. And the transaction logs I found in your safe tonight proved that money moved from your private accounts into the firm that sabotaged his infrastructure."

Lorenzo’s dark eyes fixed on mine with terrifying intensity. "Which is precisely why we are in this car together."

I paused, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"That transaction was authorized using my personal encryption key," Lorenzo explained, his voice low and dangerous. "Except I never authorized it. Someone inside my inner circle used my authority to orchestrate your father's downfall and funnel thirty million dollars out of my corporate accounts."

The confession hung in the silence between us like a heavy fog.

"You're telling me you were framed, too?" I asked skeptically.

"I am telling you that whoever killed your father also robbed me," Lorenzo corrected smoothly. "For three years, I've had a rat in my house. But every time I trace the financial leaks, the trail goes cold. My internal auditors are either terrified of the board or compromised by them. But you?" He leaned in slightly, his presence overwhelming the small space. "You have a personal vendetta. You have forensic accounting training. And most importantly, you have zero loyalty to anyone in my empire."

I stared at him, my mind spinning as the pieces began to re-align.

"So you're using me as a bloodhound," I realized aloud.

"I'm offering you full, unfettered access to every ledger, account, and executive meeting in the Vitale conglomerate," Lorenzo said. "In exchange, you play the role of my devoted fiancée, help me root out the traitor, and keep my traditional board members from launching a hostile takeover. Once the six months are up, we part ways, and I hand you the full, unredacted file on who gave the final order against your father."

It was a dangerous proposition. Walking into the wolf's den, pretending to be the wolf's bride.

Before I could answer, the SUV slowed down and turned into a gated private driveway. High wrought-iron gates swung open, revealing a sprawling, stone estate set atop the cliffs overlooking the ocean. The grand mansion loomed against the stormy sky, looking like a fortress.

"Welcome to the Vitale Estate," Lorenzo said softly as the driver stepped out to open my door. "Starting tomorrow morning, press photographers will be tipped off about our sudden engagement. The media will spiral. My board of directors will be furious. And the person who killed your father will realize that the girl who should have disappeared three years ago is now standing at the head of the table."

I took a deep breath, smoothing down the front of my dress as the cool night breeze hit my face.

"Let them come," I said, looking Lorenzo dead in the eye. "Just make sure you remember your end of the bargain, Lorenzo."

He held out his arm for me to take as we walked up the grand stone steps of his home.

"I never break a contract, Valentina," he replied softly. "I suggest you don't either."