Core business in his mouth was the very casino I’d been running for the past three years—Vale’s beating heart. And right now, it was balancing on the edge of one of the most lucrative, high-risk collaborations in our history. 

A secret alliance with the Northern mafia. We were laundering their money through the casino, camouflaging it so cleanly the authorities wouldn’t even get a scent. If it went well, the Vale family would walk away with billions. And more importantly, with unshakable dominance in the NYC’s underworld. 

And I was the one who’d built this deal from the ground up. Every meeting. Every clause. Every loophole and forged signature. 

Mr. Vale’s voice was taut with frustration. “Well, if I can’t trust her, then who the hell am I supposed to trust? You?” he snapped at Adrian. “Can you handle a casino of this scale on your own?” 

He didn’t wait for an answer. 

“Selene has done more for this family than you ever have. If you want to marry Elara so badly, fine—make her your girlfriend, your mistress, I don’t care. But Mrs. Vale? That title belongs to someone dedicated. Loyal. Proven. And Selene was the perfect one.” 

“I don’t care!” Adrian shouted back, eyes blazing. “I’m marrying Elara. No one else.” 

… 

I waited until Adrian stormed out, the echoes of his footsteps still pulsing down the hall, before I knocked on the office door. 

“Come in,” Mr. Vale called. 

I stepped inside, chin high. “Mr. Vale,” I greeted with a respectful nod. 

His eyes lit up at the sight of me, though there was something different behind his smile this time. Pity. “Selene.” 

“I came to hand in my resignation,” I said plainly. 

“Resignation?” His voice faltered. “From the casino?”