Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 94076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
She loved books so much, she became a rare book collector and encouraged both her daughters to read.
“What are you in the mood for?” I ask, holding up her two favorite Harry Potter books. “The Sorcerer’s Stone or The Chamber of Secrets.”
Lucretia thinks for a moment. “The Sorcerer’s Stone.”
I give her a bright smile. “Good choice.”
But the sound of car tires in the driveway draws my attention toward the window.
I cross the room quickly to see what’s happening outside.
Luca.
And he’s back early.
Oh hell.
With alarm pounding in my heart, I watch as he brings the Bentley to an abrupt halt and flies out of the car at a rapid pace.
If he finds out I’ve been sneaking out, he’ll let his cruelty out to play when he punishes both Lucretia and me.
I hurriedly turn to Lucretia. “I have to go. Make sure this door is sealed after I’ve gone.”
“Ella, why is he back?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m scared. Is he going to start yelling at you again?”
I give her a reassuring smile. Despite the fear building in my stomach. “He probably just forgot something. Why don’t you write one of your stories until I get back.”
Her face brightens. “Okay.”
I give her a quick kiss before disappearing through the hidden door and back along the corridor to my room, wondering why Luca is back so soon. My brother is a creature of habit. He leaves the house every evening at the same time.
Something made Luca break his routine.
My gut tells me that something has everything to do with me.
I close the door to the secret passageway and lean against it, forcing myself to control my breathing. But my heart is pounding so hard, it’s a struggle to catch my breath.
Does he know I’ve been sneaking out to see Lucretia?
No, he couldn’t know about the hidden corridors.
My father kept them a closely guarded secret.
He had them constructed so he could get his family to safety if a threat came from inside the house. And my father never told him about them because he didn’t trust him.
Thank God.
Now they are the only reprieve I get when he locks me in my room for whatever reason he can conjure up.
If he doesn’t know about my visits to Lucretia, then what caused him to turn around and skid to a stop outside the house?
I hear footsteps outside my bedroom door, and I know it’s him.
Quickly crossing the room to resume my place at the window, I bite back my fear and straighten my spine, because when Luca visits, I never know what he is going to do.
Or how much it is going to hurt.
The door opens and my half-brother steps inside my bedroom, bringing with him the same energy as an approaching shark attack.
Just the sight of him fills me with dread and fear and the deepest hate I have ever known.
Dressed in a black silk suit and a white shirt, his dark hair is slicked back off a handsome face that is reminiscent of our late father. But that’s as far as the comparison goes. My father was a powerful man with a temper, but he only had a gentle touch for his children. My brother doesn’t know such gentleness. Only brutality.
“I take it you have learned your lesson?” he says, pulling at the cuffs of his sleeves.
“You’ve locked me in this room for two days and for what? I did nothing wrong.”
His black gaze sears into mine. “You questioned me in front of my men. You need to learn to keep your mouth shut and to do as I say, or there will be consequences. Perhaps another two days is required.”
Since Luca took over our father’s empire, and without the protection of Santo and my father’s attorney who died recently in a car accident with another one of my father’s trusted men, I am easy pickings for Luca.
He crosses the room to where I am standing by the window, and I turn away from him to focus on the view.
Most days I can hide my true feelings behind a carefully secured mask of acquiescence. But after two days of being locked in this room, I can’t look at him without wanting to claw his eyes out, and I won’t be able to hide it. My disdain for him is so wild I can taste it on my lips.
“Have you forgotten we are at war?” he asks.
Sometimes I think it’s all in his head. But I get locked in my room so often, it’s hard to piece together what is happening anymore.
“What do you want, Luca?” I ask, returning my focus to the dying sunset and wishing it would take me with it below the horizon’s waters.
Anything would be better than living like this.
“It’s time for you to serve this family. It’s time for you to step into your birthright.”