Lahat ng Kabanata ng CONTRACTED TO THE DON...AND HIS TWIN: Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 46

Matteo found me in the library the next afternoon. I was curled up in the big leather chair by the window, pretending to read the same page for the third time. The sun was coming in low and golden, catching dust in the air. My mind was still replaying the way Nico had gone completely still in that meeting room, the flush on his neck, the way Carlo had narrowed his eyes like he could smell something off but couldn’t name it. The door clicked shut behind Matteo. I looked up. He stood there for a second, hands in his pockets, just watching me. Not angry, not even annoyed. Just... assessing. Like I was a new map he was trying to read. “You did something yesterday,” he said quietly. No hello. Straight to it. I closed the book and set it on the small table beside me. “Yeah, I did.” He crossed the room slowly and dropped into the chair across from me. The same one he’d sat in when we talked about the bond before. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, dark eyes steady on my face. “Du

It started small. Two days after Irina left, I found a plain white envelope on my nightstand. No name, no note. Just a USB drive inside. I knew it was from Matteo the second I saw it. The bond carried a quiet warmth when I picked it up, like he was somewhere in the penthouse watching to see what I’d do. I locked myself in the bathroom, plugged it in, and opened the files. Nothing huge. Nothing that would get him killed if someone found it. Just small pieces, a port manifest from seven years ago with my father’s old company name listed as the receiver. A payment note with Elias Vale’s initials next to a transfer that matched the one I’d already found. A single line from an old email chain: “Thompson becoming difficult. D says handle it quietly.” I sat on the cold tile floor and stared at the screen until my eyes burned. Matteo had been watching this empire with the same eyes I had for much longer. He didn’t say anything when I came out of the bathroom. Just gave me a small nod ac

The biggest social obligation so far was at the old Metropolitan Club, the kind of place where the chandeliers had been hanging since before most of the guests were born. Heavy velvet drapes, marble floors that clicked under heels, air thick with expensive perfume and older secrets. This wasn’t a simple gala. This was where the real strings got pulled. Where families like the Blacks reminded everyone else who still ran the table. I wasn’t the same woman who had walked into that first event months ago. Back then I’d been mapping exits and memorizing faces while trying not to drown in the dress and the role. Tonight I walked in like I belonged in the dress. Like the role had grown into my skin. The deep burgundy gown hugged every curve, slit up one thigh just enough to draw eyes without screaming for attention. My hair was up, diamonds at my ears and throat that weren’t mine but felt like armor now. Nico’s hand rested at the small of my back as we entered, warm and steady, but I d