Chapter 2

I'd run out of patience.

"Are you done?" I asked.

"If you're done venting, let's go. The higher-ups sent you to pick me up, right?"

Dead silence fell over the lounge. Kai's men exchanged a few blank looks before bursting into a chorus of raucous, mocking laughter.

Liora let out a breathy chuckle, her eyes swimming with contempt.

"Renna, why are you still such a compulsive liar? We are here on direct orders to receive the Donna of the Hale family. Do you have any idea who that woman is?"

Of course I did.

"She is the one person Don Hale protects with lethal force," Liora lectured, her tone dripping with superiority.

"He butchers anyone else who steps out of line, but he bows to whatever his Donna wants. The entire East Coast underworld is tripping over themselves just to breathe the same air as her. And you... you think someone like you could even compare to her shadow?"

I stayed quiet, fighting the urge to roll my eyes.

In the three years Draven and I had been married, his syndicate's grip on the territory had only grown more absolute. Naturally, the underground rumors regarding his obsession with me had spiraled into mythic proportions.

Liora was just opening her mouth to spit another insult when her gaze snapped downward.

She froze, her eyes locking onto my left hand.

More specifically, the ring on my fourth finger.

It was a custom-cut, flawless cushion diamond set in a band of crushed onyx—a bespoke masterpiece Draven had commissioned from a private vault in Geneva.

It was my second-anniversary gift, and there wasn't another one like it in existence.

Liora stared at the ring like a predator locked on prey, before letting out a sharp shriek. "Where the hell did you get that?"

Before I could even process the sudden movement, she lunged. Her nails dug into my knuckles, and she yanked the ring right off my finger.

The violent friction left a burning red ring around my skin.

Liora held the diamond up to the lounge's recessed lights, squinting.

"The craftsmanship isn't terrible," she murmured, spite twisting her features.

"I'll admit, Renna, I didn't expect your scamming to improve this much over the last three years. But let's be real—did you buy this knockoff in a back alley, or did you steal it off some washed-up john you've been screwing?"

A fierce spike of anger hit my chest. "Give it back."

I stepped forward, reaching out to reclaim my ring, but Kai stepped between us.

"Are you done making a scene, Renna? You're wearing costume jewelry out in public and trying to pass it off as real? Aren't you embarrassed people are going to see right through you?"

"It's not a fake," I snapped. "My husband gave that to me."

Liora let out a sharp, derisive scoff.

"Oh, God, Renna. You got caught in a pathetic lie, just choke it down and accept it. If this rock were real, what's next? Are you going to tell us you're Don Hale's precious wife?"

Another wave of howling laughter erupted from the armed guards circling us.

They looked at me like I was a joke—a beggar playing dress-up.

As far as they were concerned, I was still the discarded, pathetic girl they left to freeze in a blizzard three years ago. The idea that Draven Hale would ever spare me a glance was mathematically impossible to them.

Liora slid the diamond onto her finger, admiring how the light hit the facets, a greedy, satisfied smile pulling at her mouth.

"This ring doesn't suit your trashy aesthetic anyway, Renna. I think I'll just keep it."

The temperature in my veins plummeted to absolute zero.

"No," I warned. "Take it off right now. Draven gave that to me himself—"

Crack.

The impact was blinding. My head whipped to the side as the resounding smack echoed through the lounge.

Kai stood over me, his hand still suspended in the air.

"Renna, do you have any f**king idea what you're saying?"