Chapter 2

Sienna POV

The next morning.

My broker moved fast; a cash buyer had already booked a viewing.

I needed to head downtown to the law firm to process the authorization papers for the sale.

I got dressed, walked downstairs, and headed straight to the underground garage.

I pressed the button on my keys, and the headlights of the custom armored SUV flashed in the dim light.

Lucian had bought this vehicle last month specifically for family outings.

I pulled open the passenger-side door.

Elena was sitting inside, adjusting the seat recline.

She was wearing a pristine white sundress, holding a thermal flask in her hands.

Seeing me, she covered her mouth in feigned surprise.

"Sienna, are you heading out?" she asked. "Lucian said it's the weekend and he's taking Leo and me to the aquarium. I thought you weren't coming."

The rear window rolled down, and Leo popped his head out.

"Bad mom, don't follow us," Leo snapped. "You'll just ruin the fun. Aunt Elena acts more like a real mom anyway."

Lucian walked over from the other side of the garage.

Holding two bottles of water, he naturally handed one to Elena.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked, frowning at me with undisguised defensiveness.

"I have business downtown," I replied calmly, looking at the water in Elena's hand.

Lucian opened the driver's side door.

"Elena gets motion sickness. She can only sit in the passenger seat," he dictated. "Downtown is too far anyway. Take a cab; I'll reimburse you for the fare."

He said it with absolute entitlement.

As if this armored SUV, registered solely in my name, was naturally his to assign seats in.

I held out my hand, palm facing up.

"Passenger seat. One million dollars."

Lucian froze in his tracks.

He stared at me in sheer disbelief.

"Are you completely obsessed with money, Sienna?!" he roared. "Elena's health is fragile, and you're actually extorting her over a damn car seat?"

Elena's eyes immediately turned red. She made a show of unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Lucian, let it go. I can sit in the back," she whimpered. "My motion sickness isn't that bad. Please don't fight with Sienna because of me."

Lucian grabbed her shoulder and pressed her firmly back into the seat.

"You are not going anywhere," he told her softly.

Then, he pulled out his phone, tapping furiously on the screen before shoving the device right into my face so I could clearly see the successful transfer screen.

"Take it!" he spat. "One million dollars. Take your dirty blood money and disappear from my sight immediately."

I verified the amount in my offshore account.

"Done," I said.

I took a step back and slammed the heavy passenger door shut.

I watched the armored SUV speed out of the garage and disappear from sight.

I walked to the main gates of the estate and hailed a cab.

The ride downtown was rarely this quiet. Watching the city skyline blur past the window, my mind was exceptionally clear, even ruthlessly devoid of a single ripple.

Upon arriving at the syndicate law firm downtown, the receptionist guided me straight through the mahogany doors into Consigliere Russo's private office.

Russo was an older man with thinning gray hair, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's. He was a syndicate veteran who had loyally served my father for years long before he ever served Lucian.

He slid a suffocatingly thick stack of legal documents across the polished desk.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Sienna?" Russo asked in a low, grave tone. "If you file for litigation, Mr. Romano's blatant infidelity during the marriage is more than enough for you to take half of his syndicate empire."

I picked up the heavy gold fountain pen from the desk blotter without a single ounce of hesitation.

My hand was as steady as a rock as I checked the box explicitly waiving the division of marital assets. What I wanted was a swift, clean break. I didn't want a single penny of Lucian's dirty money—I only wanted my original investment back.

Finally, I pulled the declaration renouncing my guardianship toward me.

I stared at the dotted line; as soon as I signed my name, I would completely strip away my rights as Leo's mother.

A sharp pain suddenly surged in the back of my throat, but I forcefully swallowed it down like bitter medicine. I thought of the venomous look in his eyes when he stared at me in the dining room, and the viciousness in his voice when he called me a bitch.

The pen nib met the paper, and I signed my name on the dotted line.

I put the pen down and quickly did the mental math. The various "territory fees" I had quietly extracted from Lucian recently perfectly offset the massive twenty-five-million-dollar deficit I had covered for his business years ago. Financially, I had almost completely recouped my losses.

My phone buzzed on the polished wooden desk.

I picked it up to see a text message from the Syndicate Academy Director:

"The first-grade heirs' youth shooting tournament will begin tomorrow morning. Your attendance is expected."

I stared at the message.

Then, I capped the pen.