Chapter 1 - The Wedding Night
The heavy oak doors of the master bedroom clicked shut loudly.
Simon Wexler loosened his silk tie with a slow, lethal grace.
He turned to look at the terrified woman standing awkwardly in the center of his room.
Abigail still wore the absurdly expensive white gown his professional stylists had forced upon her.
She looked small, fragile, and exactly like the innocent pawn her father had promised him.
Simon walked toward her slowly, fully expecting her to tremble or cry.
Instead, Abigail met his cold gaze with a fiery defiance that genuinely caught him off guard.
"I will sleep on the couch," she declared flatly.
Simon let out a low, incredibly dark chuckle.
"You do not give orders in this house, little bird," he replied softly.
He reached out to gently touch her cheek, but she aggressively swatted his hand away.
The sudden, violent movement caused the delicate top hook of her intricate dress to snap open.
The heavy white silk slipped dangerously down her left shoulder.
Simon froze completely in his tracks.
There, etched deeply into her pale collarbone, was a crude, faded tattoo of a black serpent.
It was the undeniable, blood-soaked mark of the Romanov Syndicate.
The Romanovs were the exact rival mafia family that had brutally murdered his father ten years ago.
Simon gripped her arms tightly, his dark eyes flashing with sudden, violent fury.
"Who exactly are you?" he demanded in a highly dangerous whisper.
Before she could even attempt to answer, his secure encrypted phone began to ring loudly.
Simon answered it quickly, never taking his furious eyes off his new bride.
"Boss, we have a major problem at the docks," his loyal lieutenant, Leo, yelled frantically through the speaker.
"What is it?" Simon barked angrily.
"Walter Preston didn't just owe you money," Leo explained with absolute panic in his voice.
"He stole three million dollars in uncut diamonds from the Russians, and he told them you have the stones."
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Simon stared blankly at the woman he had just legally married.
The heavy bedroom window suddenly shattered inward as a sniper's bullet grazed his shoulder.
