Chapter 66 Talk of what's mine

Chapter 66 Talk of what's mine
The sharp, assertive click of heels echoed in the hall. I stood, my heart hammering, knowing who it was before the lock turned.

Jennifer Vitale swept in as if hosting a gala. Dressed in white linen, her blonde hair a casual cascade, she was the mistress of this domain.

"I hope you find the room satisfactory," she said, her gaze possessive. "This was my grandmother's. Ironic, don't you think? A would-be DeSanti ,locked in a Vitale matriarch's sanctuary. I don't know if it's influence or protection... I can't find dirt on your family."

"You don't own the whole circle. "

She glided to the glass doors, a silhouette against the moonlit sea.
"Welcome to Sicily. This villa has been in my family for four hundred years. Popes, kings... and now you." She turned, her casual lean more threatening than any overt aggression.

"The nearest town is thirty kilometers away, through mountains watched by men who swore loyalty to my family generations before you were born. Your father's influence ends at the city limits. Here, my family is the law."

The reality solidified around me, cold and hard as the stone. I was strategically disappeared into a fortress Alessandro could not storm.

"Alessandro will come for me, I see why you wanted to escape from everything especially you." I said, the words fragile.

"I'm counting on it," she replied, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "This isn't his city. The Desanti name has weight in the north, but here? Here, the old families rule. The ones with Norman blood."

She moved closer, her sea-colored eyes pinning me. "Alessandro's fatal flaw is pride. He forgot the old rules. Our engagement was a treaty. The Vitale shipping routes, the Desanti financial networks,together, we would have been unstoppable. He humiliated me, damaged a decades-long alliance, for you. His family moved from the country who does that?"

The raw pain in her voice was unmistakable. "I've known him since we were children. My life was preparation to be his wife. You undid it all. You were trouble when the both of you met you're still trouble.

"I never wanted this," I whispered. "Blame him. I wanted everything with him, he met you and he wanted to give you the world . It was never like that."

"Oh, I do," she assured me, her smile freezing over. "He will pay, you are the living proof of his poor judgment. The mistake that must be erased. I will use you to remind him where his true loyalties lie."

She walked to the door, pausing with a flicker of something like regret. "For what it's worth, I don't enjoy this. You are collateral damage. If you had been wiser, this could have been avoided."

A cold dread seeped into my bones. "What are you going to do to me?"

"That depends on your husband," she said, her hand on the knob. "If he is smart, if he chooses his legacy over his heart, you may live. I will send him proof of life. A chance to negotiate."

"And if he chooses me?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

Jennifer's eyes hardened into ice. "Then you will both learn the price of sentimentality. This villa has medieval dungeons. The walls are so thick, no one can hear you, no matter how long or how loud."

She opened the door, revealing the impassive guard. "Get some rest. You'll need your strength. Tomorrow, we film a message for Alessandro. I want him to see you healthy, whole, and utterly within my power. I want him to know exactly what he is gambling."

The door closed. The lock engaged. The sound was a period at the end of my hope.

I pressed my forehead against the cool glass. The moonlit sea was a vast, empty expanse. Somewhere beyond it was Alessandro. The distance felt infinite.

Jennifer’s words were poison in my veins. Would he come? Could he? And if he did, would it be to save me or to die trying? In our world, love was a fatal weakness.

I sank onto the ornate bed, exhaustion a physical weight. But to give in to despair was to let her win.

I thought of Alessandro’s face, the ferocity of his love, his promise that I would always be safe. I had to cling to that. I had to believe it was a force strong enough to defy empires.

The waves continued their assault on the rocks—a relentless countdown. With every crash, Jennifer’s grip tightened. I was a pawn in a game for a throne I never wanted.

I was still breathing. Two heayrt are still beating. My mind was still my own.

In this beautiful, terrible place, that had to be enough. For now, it was the only weapon I had.