Page 37 of Claimed At First Sight

“That’s the spirit. Really sentimental for your last day here.”

My gaze sweeps over the clean lines, dark stone, and endless glass.

The penthouse was always temporary. The estate outside the city is where the Don resides. Starting today, that’s where I’ll live.

Not because I particularly care about that tradition, but because perception matters. Men follow symbols almost as readily as power itself.

Tonight, control changes hands officially.

Operationally, everything will remain the same. Everyone already comes to me before my father anyway. They’ve been doing it for over a year.

I take my jacket from the back of the chair and shrug it on. The moment the black wool settles across my shoulders, Gabe’s expression changes.

“You ready?”

I button the front. “I was born ready.”

His eyes narrow, studying me the way he always does when he thinks there’s something beneath the surface worth uncovering.

“You’ve been more closed off than usual. Did something happen in Sicily?” he asks.

I still for half a second. “That’s vague.”

“You came back distracted.”

“I came back busy.”

“Hmm.”

Mialina is not a topic I intend to discuss until I’ve worked out how to get her here.

Gabe pushes away from the counter and slips on his jacket, smart enough not to press further.

We take the elevator to the parking level for the forty-minute drive to our family’s estate outside the city.

By the time our convoy reaches it, afternoon is surrendering to the heavy winter sky. Stone walls and iron gates emerge through the falling snow, security lights glowing between the trees.

The gates open, and we move up the long drive.

My attention shifts toward the western side of the property. Snow blankets the gardens there, untouched except for skeletal hedges and dark branches cutting against the white landscape.

The location is right. It gets enough winter sunlight and sits far enough from the main drive to offer privacy without compromising security.

A glass conservatory would look good there.

Rafa steps from the entrance before the SUV even stops. Security is his domain, and as our lead enforcer, he handles anything that requires a heavier hand, so naturally he knows I’m here before I’ve even stepped out of the car.

“About time,” he says as I approach.

“You survived fifteen extra minutes without me. I’m proud of you.”

“Barely.”

Gabe joins us. “You’ve been terrorizing the staff, haven’t you?”

“They were moving too slowly.”

Gabe just shakes his head. Rafa ignores him and turns back to me.