Page 217 of Wrong Marriage. Right Groom
“Bribe as many insiders as necessary within the Italian networks. Dig deep—old debts, family secrets, terrified cousins, whoever still has a pulse and something to lose. Money, threats, whatever it takes. Turn their own against them. I want eyes in their kitchens, their bedrooms, their confessionals if that’s what it costs. Flood their ranks with our ghosts until they can’t shit without us knowing.”
The room held its breath.
Then his voice softened—just a fraction—but the shift hit like a revelation.
“No harm should come to Tess.” He paused, the name catching on his tongue for the briefest second.
He turned his head deliberately, and looked at me.
His dark eyes locked onto mine across the charged space between us.
There was something unguarded in that stare, a flicker of possession laced with something deeper.
“And to my wife.”
The way he said it—my wife—landed with unexpected weight, like a vow spoken in the middle of a battlefield.
He held my gaze a moment longer than necessary, then the mask of the boss slammed back into place.
A chill ran through me despite the warmth of the chandeliers above.
The grand living room suddenly felt different—too large, too open, like it could no longer contain what had just been set in motion inside me.
Without another glance at either of us, Rafael turned.
His footsteps struck the marble in deliberate rhythm as he walked away, disappearing into the long corridor.
The sound echoed once... twice... then slowly faded until the house swallowed him completely.
And just like that—
he was gone.
But the weight he left behind remained.
Ramiro and I stood alone in the center of the grand living room.
The chandeliers above us cast soft golden light across the space.
Ramiro exhaled quietly beside me.
“Loretta,” he said, his tone softer now but still carefully controlled.
“We are on the brink of war with the Italians.” The statement landed heavy. “Tensions are now dangerously high on both sides. Bruno’s betrayal has lit the fuse, and the explosion will come soon—bloodier than anything we’ve seen in years. Streets will burn. Alliances will shatter. And in that kind of fire, innocents get caught in the crosshairs.”
“For your safety... and Tess’s,” he continued, voice dropping lower, “it would be best if you lie low. Rafael can’t afford to lose either of you. Not to some coward’s bullet or a message meant for him. This house is a fortress, but even fortresses have cracks if we’re not careful.”
He paused, jaw flexing once as he searched my eyes.
“There will be far more men protecting you than before—triple the details, elite teams, eyes on every corner. They’ll shadow you like ghosts, invisible until they need to be lethal. But please—” The wordpleasecarried rare vulnerability, “—keep your movements strictly between this house and the office. No detours. No spontaneous lunches. No visits that aren’t cleared through me first. No deviations.”
The finality in his tone made it clear this wasn’t advice.
It was instruction.
I nodded slowly, though my mind wasn’t anchored here anymore.
It was already moving ahead.
