Chapter 194: A DEVIL'S BARGAIN
SOPHIA HERNANDEZ’S POV
Italy feels different.
It all feels alive in a way that makes your skin prickle like something or someone is watching you.
Maybe it’s just me.
Or maybe it’s because I know exactly whose territory I’m standing in even before I see it.
I step out of the car slowly, with my heels clicking against the stone pavement as I take in the estate in front of me.
It is old and massive and the kind that doesn't require a lot of guards to watch it.
No one would be stupid enough to break in anyway.
This is power.
Not the loud, flashy kind that Noah carries or the ones broadcasted all over the news, no–
This is something else.
Something older and darker, something better that doesn't need to prove itself to anything or anyone.
I smooth my coat down as I walk forward keeping my posture straight and my expression calm.
I'm already being watched so I want to give an expression of controlled calm even though my pulse and mind is anything but.
I'm about to meet a woman whose name alone makes presidents hesitate.
Emily Moreau.
The matriarch and the ghost beside the throne.
The one everyone in theFamily answers to, and right now?
She’s waiting for me.
The doors open before I even reach them and I step inside calmly as the air turns cooler and heavier, like the weight of my decision is growing on me.
I only have one chance to drop my ridiculous request so I'm not risking anything.
I don’t flinch, I’ve come too far to stop now especially with Noah frantically sending people to look for me all over the world.
They lead me through long corridors and a lot of doors before we finally stop in front of a grand red door.
The doors open.
And there she is.
Emily Moreau. She's seated carelessly like she owns everything in the world but she doesn't look or acknowledge me instead her attention is on the documents in front of her.
I step forward and wait until she silently says and points to a chair.
“Sit.”
The single word is enough and I obey without even saying a single word of greeting to her.
She doesn't look like the type that likes greetings anyway.
She finally looks up at me.
And for a split second–
I understand why people fear her greatly.
It’s not her presence or her status entirely, it's her eyes.
Even I come to a halt when I see her eyes.
It's chilling and cold in a way that has nothing to do with age.
Like she’s seen everything and done everything and yet somehow, she's survived it all.
“You’ve caused quite the disturbance,” she says calmly, signing the last page before sliding it aside.
Her voice is smooth and rich but I don't respond.
I wait for her to tell me before jumping into conclusions.
She gestures slightly as another document is placed in front of her before her full attention shifts to me.
“So,” she says. “You wanted to see me.”
There it is, the moment I've been anticipating and dreading.
“I want to cash in my favor.”
Her brows lift slightly but not in surprise but in mere curiosity.
“Well you could have called and said what it is for that so what exactly is it that you want?” she asks.
This is it, no turning back or second guessing myself.
“I want to join the Family.”
Silence and mirthas Emily stares at me really hard and long as she looks at me really hard.
Like she’s trying to decide if I’ve just said something incredibly stupid–
Or incredibly bold.
“Why?”
The question is simple but I know if my answer is unsatisfactory, I'll be rejected.
“You’re on the run,” she continues. “Noah West is not the type of man that forgets.”
Her lips press slightly.
“And from what I hear, you’ve given him quite a number of reasons not to.”
I say nothing and remain silent because she’s right.
I am truly done for if I say and remain alone.
“If you wanted protection,” she continues, “you could have asked for it.”
A pause.
“If you wanted revenge, I might have even considered that too.”
Her gaze sharpens.
“But joining the Family?”
She leans back slightly.
“Why?”
I meet her eyes steadily without flinching.
“I want power Nonna.”
The truth, or at least a part of it.
She watches me for a second.
Then she laughs softly with amusement.
“Little liar.”
The word lands clean like she's already seen through everything.
“I’m not like their other brainless Nonna, Isabella, who likes bloodshed. I know what you want. You want protection,” she says.
“You want influence and you want to stand somewhere no one can touch you.”
Her lips curve slightly.
“And you think the Family will give you that.”
I don’t deny it because denying it would be pointless.
“And you think you can wield it,” she adds.
Now, that almost makes me smile.
“I know I can.”
Her eyes flicker slightly in interest.
“Do you?” she murmurs.
Silence stretches between us before she exhales softly.
“Outsiders don’t join the Family.”
There it is, the one rule stopping me from joining.
“Not like this.”
I tilt my head slightly.
“Then how?”
Her gaze doesn’t waver as she tells me.
“Marriage.”
“Marriage is the only way,” she continues. “Blood or bond. There are no other options for you to join.”
I nod slowly, processing it.
I was going to get married to that old geezer for protection, I might as well use my marriage to join something bigger.
“Fine,” I say.
Her brows lift slightly.
“Marriage it is.”
“To who though?”
That makes her pause because she didn’t expect me to accept so easily.
She studies me for a moment longer before answering.
“I don’t have many eligible options,” she says slowly.
My attention sharpens.
“But there is one for you.”
Her lips twitch faintly in amusement.
“My niece.”
I blink in confusion.
I was not expecting that.
“You’ll marry her,” Emily finishes calmly.
I lean back slightly to process what she just said.
A woman, not a man. I could work with that.
Emily watches me carefully like she's waiting for what I'll say.
“I’m not expecting you to fulfill any marital duties,” she adds coolly. “This is a contract marriage, nothing more.”
That makes things much easier so I slowly nod.
“Then that’s fine.”
Her gaze sharpens on me.
“You agree?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation or doubt from me because this is exactly what I need.
The Moreau name attached to my own.
Emily studies me for a long moment before she warns me one last time.
“Think carefully little Sophia,” she says finally. “Once you enter the Family–there is no leaving.”
Her voice drops slightly.
“You don’t step out, you don’t walk away. You don’t disappear.”
A pause.
“You stay till your dying breath.”
I smile faintly.
“That sounds familiar.”
Her brows crease slightly.
“I already come from a restrictive life,” I add calmly. “This won’t be any much different from that.”
A different cage is still a cage.
But this one? This one comes with power.
Emily nods slowly.
“Then welcome,” she says with her voice final and absolute, “to the Family.”
The words settle over me.
Because I know there's no going or coming back from this decision.
But as I rise to my feet and I meet her gaze one last time, there’s only one thought in my mind.
Noah West wanted to destroy me.
Now?
I dare him to even try.