Chapter 27 "Tell me." Sofia's voice is soft, but it cuts through the rage threatening to consume me. Marco has gone to coordinate with his team, leaving us blessedly alone. "Three families are already on board," I say, scrolling through Mario's intelligence. "The Torrinos, the Castellanos, and the Vitales. Lorenzo's convinced them that your father has lost control, that the Renaldis are becoming a liability to the peace." She moves closer, studying the files over my shoulder. "What evidence does he have?" "Every rescue operation we've run. Every time we've acted to protect our own." The scope of his manipulation becomes clearer with each document. "He's been documenting everything for years, building a case that we operate outside Council oversight." "Who's supporting us?" she asks, though there's an edge to her voice that suggests she's already planning for the worst. "The DeLucas stand with your family. Matteo and Mario have made that clear to anyone who'll listen." Sofia's smile turns wicked. "I'm surprised Matteo's backing us, considering I snuck Elena right out from under his nose at the hospital. You'd think he'd hold a grudge about being outsmarted by a teenager." Despite everything, I can't help but smile at her smugness. She's still proud of that operation-and she should be. It was fucking brilliant. Her smile fades. "And tomorrow's meeting?" "Is a tribunal." I meet her eyes, seeing her process the implications. "They're not calling an emergency session to help us-they're calling it to strip your family of Council protection. To declare you fair game for anyone who wants revenge." Her hands clench into fists. "Viktor and Dominic get their war, and Lorenzo gets to watch our family burn from the inside." "Unless we stop him first." I close the laptop, focusing entirely on her. "This ends tomorrow night, one way or another." She steps closer, her hand coming up to cup my face. "Whatever happens tomorrow, I'm not losing you." "You won't," I promise, leaning into her touch. When she kisses me, it's fierce and desperate-not just passion, but a declaration. That we'll survive this. That we'll protect what matters most. "Sofia." Her name is a prayer against her skin. "After tomorrow⁠-" "Don't." She pulls back just enough to meet my eyes. "Don't make this sound like goodbye." Her kiss is fiercer this time, demanding. When she pulls me toward the mattress, I follow willingly. Her lips taste like cherries, and the way she moves them makes my brain fuzzy. She runs her fingernails down my arms but I quickly pin them down by the wrists and trace the opening of her mouth with the tip of my tongue. Sofia stifles her moan, biting down on my bottom lip. God, that's so fucking hot. I groan, the sound vibrating down her neck as I drag the kiss down the column of her throat. She tilts her head back to give me more leeway and moans hard as I slip my hands under her shirt and bra and squeeze her heavy, full breasts. Well, these are in the way. I make quick work of her shirt and bra, tossing them onto the ground beside us before I dive back down toward her breast, latching onto her left nipple. Sofia cries out as I run my tongue over the stiff bud before sucking on it. "You like that, don't you?" I ask huskily as I stimulate her other nipple with my thumb. Sofia only moans in response, her head flung back. Laughing, I switch between my tongue and fingers, pinching her nipples lightly and watching as she twitches and bucks beneath me. After a few more moments of that, I release her nipple with a tight pop and hook my fingers on the sides of her leggings. She eagerly lifts her ass from the mattress, providing me leeway to pull the rest of her clothes off. I kiss down her body before spreading her legs open and looking at her glistening pussy. My mouth waters. "Beautiful," I murmur before I lean forward and lick her. "Dante!" Sofia cries out, her fingers threading into my hair. "Oh god, please don't stop." Oh, I don't plan on it. My tongue flicks the hood of her clit, and I can feel a shiver course through her as she moans my name. Seconds later, I pucker my lips around her sweet spot and kiss her there. She twitches against my tongue, body convulsing as her orgasm shoots through her. "Oh-Oh, my god. Yes, yes, y⁠-" I keep at it, licking her out so fast she can barely breathe let alone speak. When she comes for a second time, only two syllables manage to escape her trembling lips. "Fuck me." I don't even wait. My underwear and pants are nearly torn off me as I position myself in between her legs. Sofia throws her arms back to fist the sheets as I lift her legs and slowly enter her, eyes focusing on the way her pussy stretches to accommodate me. "Fuck," I curse, my eyes nearly rolling to the back of my skull. "You're so fucking tight." Needing to switch positions, I release her legs and pull her up onto my lap, hand on the small of her back as I bounce her fast and hard. I can tell that the way I am fucking her gives her pleasure and she comes within thirty seconds, arching her back into me and rubbing her clit on my abdomen as her orgasm branches out in waves. But she's clearly not done with me as she rides out her orgasm because she starts to ride me, loosening her hips and rotating them on my lap, making me groan and causing every muscle on my body to tighten before I pull her in for another kiss. This goddamn woman must have figured out that I am so close to finishing because she begins to ride me hard. The head of my cock goes in as far as physically possible and in the seconds that follow, I'm coming. She squeezes my cock with the walls of her vagina, and I bark out another curse before we collapse onto the mattress, breathing hard. Sofia curls against my chest, fingers tracing idle patterns on my skin as we both come down from our highs. "I need to access the Council's security system," she says quietly, her mind already shifting to strategy. "If Lorenzo's presenting evidence tomorrow, I want to know exactly what he has." I press a kiss to her hair. "Can you break their encryption?" "Please." She arches a brow at me as she gets up to put her clothes back on. "I've been breaking into secure systems since I was fourteen. Council protocols are old school-they rely on tradition more than technology." She reaches for the laptop, pulling it onto the mattress between us. After I dress, I watch her work, fingers flying across keys. Her brow furrows in concentration as she navigates through layers of security. "First barrier down," she mutters, typing rapidly. "They're using a modified RSA encryption-outdated but still tricky. Second layer is...interesting. Voice recognition protocol, but I can bypass that with the right frequency manipulation." I watch her work, fascinated by the way her mind operates. She's not just hacking-she's conducting a symphony of code and logic. "Almost there," she breathes, sweat beading on her forehead despite the cool warehouse air. "Just need to crack their final authentication and..." The screen flickers then floods with data. "Ha! There," she says triumphantly. "I'm in." But as files cascade across the screen, her expression changes from triumph to horror. Lorenzo's carefully compiled evidence against the Renaldi family fills folder after folder-photos of their operations, financial records, witness statements, surveillance footage. Years upon years of meticulous documentation. "Jesus," I breathe, scanning the sheer volume of material. "How long has he been planning this?" Sofia's hands shake slightly as she opens file after file. "Look at the dates," she whispers. "This goes back fifteen years. Back to when I was four years old." Her voice cracks on the last words, and I see the moment the full scope of Lorenzo's betrayal truly hits her. This wasn't a recent decision born of resentment. This was a methodical, decades-long campaign to destroy everything she loves. "He was documenting family meetings when I was learning to ride a bike," she says, her voice hollow. "Recording conversations when I was losing my first tooth. Building a case against us while he was helping me with homework, while he was buying me birthday presents, while he was⁠-" She stops, covering her mouth with her hand as if to hold back a sob. "Sofia-" "He never loved me," she whispers. "Never loved any of us. Every Christmas morning, every birthday party, every time he called me his 'little treasure'-it was all just research. Just more evidence to collect." I pull her against me as she breaks down, her body shaking with silent sobs. The woman who faced down armed killers without flinching is destroyed by the revelation that her childhood was built on lies. "Look at this folder," she says after a moment, pulling herself together with visible effort. She points to a file labeled "Sofia-Asset Development and Vulnerabilities." "He's been studying me. My habits, my relationships, my psychological profile. There are notes about how to manipulate me through emotional leverage." The clinical nature of it makes my stomach turn. Lorenzo reducing the little girl who trusted him to data points and weaknesses to exploit. "And this," she continues, opening another folder that makes my blood run cold. "'Post-Tribunal Asset Distribution.' He's already dividing up our territory. Our businesses. Our people. Look-he's assigned himself control of the shipping operations and the East Coast security contracts." "He's been planning this since you were a child," I realize, the full scope of his betrayal becoming clear. "This was never just about revenge for Marco being chosen as heir. It was about positioning himself to take over everything when the family fell." Sofia scrolls through more files, her face growing paler with each revelation. "Here-communications with Viktor going back two years. With Dominic back eighteen months. He didn't just react to Anthony's arrest, he helped orchestrate the entire network rebuilding." She opens a video file that makes us both go still. It's Lorenzo in what appears to be a private meeting, speaking directly to the camera. "For the Council's consideration," his recorded voice says with chilling calm. "The evidence you'll see demonstrates a pattern of reckless behavior that threatens the stability we've all worked to maintain. The Renaldi family has become a liability that can no longer be ignored or managed through traditional channels." The video cuts to surveillance footage-Sofia's rescue from the auction house, the warehouse raid, even our escape from the cabin. Every moment of violence, every casualty, every dramatic action taken out of context to look like unprovoked aggression. "He made us look like terrorists," Sofia says quietly. "Every person we saved, every life we protected-he's framed it as evidence that we're out of control." The weight of it settles over us like a shroud. Lorenzo hasn't just betrayed Sofia's trust-he's systematically demolished any chance her family has of surviving tomorrow's tribunal. "There's more," she says, opening what appears to be a personnel file. "He's got detailed profiles on every family member, every ally, every asset. Psychological evaluations, financial vulnerabilities, personal relationships that could be exploited. Look-he's got a whole section on Marco's protective instincts regarding me, with recommendations on how to use that against him." I scan the files, each one a violation of trust so profound it makes me want to put my fist through the wall. "He's turned your family's love for each other into weapons against you." "Fifteen years," Sofia repeats, and there's something broken in her voice that tears at my chest. "Fifteen years of sitting at our dinner table, celebrating our victories, comforting us through losses-all while planning our destruction." She closes the laptop with shaking hands, unable to look at any more evidence of Lorenzo's betrayal. When she looks at me, her eyes are red but fierce. "He thinks he knows me," she says, her voice gaining strength. "Thinks he understands my weaknesses, my patterns, how to predict my behavior." "Sofia-" I try again but she cuts me off. "He's wrong." She stands, moving to the weapons cache we've assembled. "He studied the little girl who trusted him. Who loved him unconditionally. Who believed family was sacred." She checks her pistol, the motion grounding her. "That little girl is dead," she continues, her voice cold as winter steel. "He killed her the day he decided to sell me to Viktor. What he doesn't understand is what rose from those ashes." She meets my eyes, and I see something that makes my blood sing with fierce pride. Not the broken victim of Lorenzo's betrayal, but something harder. More dangerous. "He wants to use my family's love against them?" She slides fresh magazines into her bulletproof vest. "Let's see how well his psychological profiles hold up when I burn his entire fucking network to the ground." My phone buzzes. Mario. "Status report," I answer, my eyes never leaving my girl. "Estate's under pressure. Lorenzo's men are testing the defenses, probing for weaknesses." Mario's voice is low. "But that's not why I'm calling. We've got⁠-" A crash downstairs cuts him off. Sofia's already moving. But I catch her arm before she can head toward the stairs. "I can't lose you," I say roughly, the weight of everything we've just learned making the words desperate. "Not to him. Not after seeing what he's capable of. Not when I know how much you mean to me." The fear in my voice surprises even me. After years of controlling every emotion, every reaction, the thought of losing Sofia strips away all my careful defenses. "You won't." She kisses me hard. "But I need you to trust me. To let me fight beside you, not behind you." "Sofia-" I plead, unable to stomach the thought of losing her. Not when I just got her. Not when I've finally found something worth fighting for beyond duty and obligation. "Choose, Dante." Her eyes are fierce, blazing with purpose and fury. "Choose to let me be your partner, not your weakness. Choose to believe in what we've built together. Choose to trust that I'm strong enough to stand with you." More crashes below. We're out of time. I look at her-my warrior, my heart, the woman who transformed me into something better than I ever thought I could be. "Lead the way," I say finally. Her smile is brilliant, dangerous. "Now you're learning." In a romance-themed observation show, several participants undergo a series of interactions and conflicts filled with love, misunderstandings, and power struggles. In the end, one couple rises to over...