That’s got to hurt. I can hear her shrieking from the second story, through thick glass. It’s like watching a live action snowglobe. She was Miss New Jersey Teen a couple years back. Now she’s hunting for a rich husband to refill her parent’s coffers.

Pageant coaches don’t come cheap.

“About what?” Morelli demands again.

“About how you’re not going to lay a finger on your daughter.”

“I don’t care what she told you. She’s always been a willful, spoiled child.”

“And you’ve always been a terrible liar. Why the hell Sarah Morelli stays with you, I have no idea. But I don’t think she’d stand by you if you lost the money. Or the power.”

“How dare you,” he sputters. “You’re nothing. A fucking child.”

I don’t bother looking at him when we talk. He’ll notice the slight. I’m twenty-nine years old. Young, compared to Bryant Morelli. Young compared to others in the game of money and power. It doesn’t stop me. “Is that so? You haven’t heard any rumors? You haven’t heard whispers? Then you’re even less well-connected than I thought.”

In the reflection, his eyes widen. Those same dark eyes that Eva has. It’s unnerving, the similarity. That’s the irony of family, I suppose. He’s heard the rumors. That’s the important thing.

Eva has her secrets. I haven’t forgotten what Leo said. Another Constantine? Who was the first? Well, I’ll find out. She isn’t the only one with secrets, though.

Hers are probably innocent. Mine are goddamn gruesome, but it doesn’t matter. At the moment it’s something I’m using to my advantage.

“Do we have an understanding?” I ask.

Silence. Then, “Yes.”

Without a word I leave the room and retrace my steps down the carpeted staircase. The gala has lost its appeal. I text my driver to pick me up at the entrance. It’s time to go.

Bryant Morelli will keep his promise, for now. Because he’s afraid of me. He should be, but eventually he’ll forget. Eventually he’ll hurt her again. She’s too loyal to walk away from her family, no matter how toxic and abusive they are.

I’ll have to watch over her from a distance.

I can’t have Eva Morelli, but I can protect her from afar.

*     *     *

Thank you for reading this holiday story set in the lush and dangerous Midnight Dynasty world! Finn Hughes and Eva Morelli meet again in ONE FOR THE MONEY if you’d like to read more.

Finn Hughes knows about secrets. His family is as wealthy as the Rockefellers. And as powerful as the Kennedys. He runs the billion-dollar corporation. No one knows that he has a ticking time clock on his ability to lead.