I sipped my whiskey and leaned back in my chair, drawing on all my willpower to appear unperturbed. “No, I’ll divorce her, and your entire family will be disgraced. You will fall out of favor, and your influence will wane. You can’t win this, old man.”

He jerked back as though I’d punched him in the face. “You wouldn’t. It would kill your father if you caused a rift between our families.”

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “My father is a dead man walking. I’m thinking of the future. I am the future. You can fall in line, or you can get left behind. It’s your choice.”

He gnashed his teeth. “Dante will kill you.”

“He can try, but he won’t get any help from you. Will he?” I had him cornered, and he knew it.

When he’d tried to arrange the marriage between Dante and Nora, it’d been a signal of his support for my rival. Now that Nora was married to me, Giuseppe’s power play was at an end. Any move against me, his own son-in-law, would be seen as a declaration of war, and he would tear our organization apart. He would jeopardize his position of power by weakening our crime family and making us vulnerable to the Russians.

The old bastard wouldn’t risk it.

“Don’t make trouble for me, and I won’t make trouble for you,” I told him coldly. “You can keep your money and your influence. Your life will be unchanged. You will bless this marriage, and we will make peace.”

I stood and extended my hand between us. My skin crawled at the prospect of making contact with the man I hated most in the world, but I would see this through. I wouldn’t lose my birthright because I couldn’t control my own emotions. I was stronger than that. Stronger than this motherfucker, who let spite and fear rule him.

He grabbed my hand and squeezed, as though trying to crush my bones. He was too weak to hurt me in the slightest. I reminded myself that I’d handled the threat, and I didn’t need to fracture his fingers. I didn’t need to wring his neck.

I couldn’t.

I released his hand and drained the last of my whiskey from the glass. “I need to see to my bride,” I told him, twisting the knife just a little with the reminder that his daughter belonged to me now. My triumph was complete, and Giuseppe would fall in line.

Nora was mine.

7. Nora

Chapter 7

Nora