Chapter 2 - The Velvet Trap
"Take him to the cellars," Victor ordered the guards, pulling Sophia flush against his chest. To the panicking crowd, it looked like a protective embrace. To Sophia, it felt like being dragged into a cage.
"Let him go!" Sophia screamed, struggling against Victor’s iron grip. "Gabriel! Let me talk to him!"
"He is a deranged stalker, Sophia, it isn't your brother," Victor hissed into her ear, his breath hot against her skin. "Smile for the cameras. Now."
Victor practically dragged her through the heavy mahogany doors of the Villa dell'Eternità, leaving the screaming guests and the flashing cameras behind on the terrace. The moment the doors slammed shut, sealing them inside the ancient estate, Victor threw her toward the grand staircase.
Sophia stumbled, her silk gown tearing on the marble steps. She looked up at the man she had loved just ten minutes ago. His icy blue eyes were no longer charming; they were the eyes of an apex predator.
"Was it true?" Sophia breathed, her heart hammering against her ribs. "The algorithm? The crash?"
Victor slowly unbuttoned his tuxedo jacket, tossing it onto a priceless antique chair. "Your family was weak, Sophia. Your father had the most brilliant tech developers in the world sitting in his R&D department, and he was using them to map historical archives. It was pathetic. I took the code, built my empire, and optimized the world."
Sophia felt a wave of absolute nausea. "You killed my parents. You tried to kill my brother."
"And now, I am going to marry you," Victor said smoothly, walking up the steps toward her. "Because without the legal merger of our estates, the Italian government will audit my acquisitions. You are going to walk back out onto that terrace, you are going to say 'I do', and you are going to smile."
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"I will rather die," Sophia spat, venom lacing her words.
Victor reached out, grabbing her jaw with a terrifying, bruising grip. "If you don't, Gabriel won't survive the night in my cellar. And your precious ancestral home will be bulldozed into a parking lot. Make your choice, Princess."
