Chapter 4 - The Court of Ravens
Two weeks passed.
The Moretti estate became Nora’s entire universe.
It was a strange, luxurious captivity. She was not locked in her room; she was free to walk the vast gardens, read in the three-story library, or swim in the indoor pool. But everywhere she went, two discreet guards—always Viktor or a younger lieutenant named Franco—followed twenty paces behind.
If she asked to step outside the wrought-iron perimeter gates, the gates remained firmly closed.
"Don Leo’s orders, Miss Hayes," Viktor would say with a respectful bow. "The city is unstable right now. It is not safe for you."
The city was unstable because Leo was making it so.
From the hushed conversations she overheard between guards, and the late-night arrivals of heavily tinted sedans at the estate, Nora pieced together what was happening. Leo’s acquisition of Garrett’s debt and his aggressive expansion into South Boston had ignited a silent war with the Irish syndicate. The O’Connells were furious about losing their foothold, and skirmishes were breaking out along the docks.
Yet inside the mansion, Leo treated her with a bizarre, intoxicating blend of absolute reverence and suffocating control.
Every evening at eight o'clock, they dined together in the grand dining room. Leo would listen intently as she talked about her love for botany, her dream of opening her own bookstore, or memories of her late grandmother. He never yelled. He never made demands. He bought her clothes from the finest boutiques in Paris, filled her room with rare botanical books, and ensured every preference she mentioned was instantly catered to.
He was courtship personified—if courtship was backed by an army of hitmen.
On a rainy Thursday evening, as they sat across from each other at the long mahogany table, Leo set his fork down and looked at her.
"Tomorrow night is the annual Solstice Gala at the Grand Harbor Hotel," he said smoothly.
Nora paused, her wine glass halfway to her lips. "I thought you said the city wasn't safe."
"It isn't for anyone who crosses me," Leo said flatly. "The gala is neutral ground. Every major family in New England will be there. The O’Connells, the Genovese clan, the politicians, the police commissioner."
"And why are you telling me?"
"Because you are coming with me," he replied.
Nora set her glass down, her heart pounding. "Leo, I don't belong in that world. I'm a waitress. I don't know how to talk to politicians or mob bosses."
"You belong wherever I put you, Nora," Leo said softly, leaning forward, resting his elbows on the polished wood. "The O’Connells believe you are my weakness. They believe I kept you here as a helpless toy. Tomorrow night, I am going to show them that you are the queen sitting beside the throne. Once they see that you are under my absolute protection, no one in this city will ever dare breathe your name in anger again."
"And if I refuse?" she asked, her voice quiet.
Leo stared at her for a long, heavy moment. The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"You won't refuse," he said softly, a dark promise underlying his smooth tone. "Because you know that as long as you are by my side, you are safe. And deep down, Nora... you are beginning to realize you don't want to leave."
Nora opened her mouth to argue, to deny it, to tell him that she hated his control, hated his guards, hated his arrogance.
But as she looked into his dark, mesmerizing eyes, the words caught in her throat.
She thought of how he had held her hand while the doctor stitched her palm. She thought of how he stood by her in the library every night, listening to her speak about things no one else had ever cared to ask about. She thought of the overwhelming, terrifying sense of absolute safety she felt whenever he entered a room.
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He was a monster. But he was her monster.
And God help her, she was falling in love with him.
