Two days before my wedding, my father informed me that I was being handed over to one of New York’s most feared crime families—and refusing would cost me everything. But the real shock came on my wedding night, when the man who had already decided I was a spoiled, reckless party girl discovered the one truth nobody knew: I had never been touched.

"Get out, Arthur," Niko barked, his voice carrying a resonance that rattled the glass windows.

Arthur didn't back down. "Niko, you need to look at these server logs! Her father is using her location to feed data to the FBI!"

"I SAID GET OUT!" Niko roared, stepping into his brother's space, his fist clenching so hard his knuckles popped.

Arthur glared at me, adjusted his lapels, and shoved past Niko into the hallway, slamming the door behind him.

The study went deathly quiet.

I stood behind the desk, my hands shaking uncontrollably as I looked at my husband. "Niko... I swear to you on my life... I didn't know. I didn't give anyone access to your servers."

Niko walked over to the desk. He didn't pull a weapon. He didn't yell. He simply stood across from me, looking down at the scattered papers.

"I know you didn't," Niko said softly.

I blinked, tears burning behind my eyes. "You... you believe me?"

"I built my encrypted networks myself, Evelyn," Niko revealed, reaching out to gently wipe a stray tear from my cheek. "Arthur is the one who opened the back door for your father's team two weeks ago. My brother has been plotting with Marco Valenti to overthrow me and take control of the family."

My jaw dropped. "Arthur?"

"He used your father as a pawn, knowing Arthur Shaw was desperate enough to take any bait," Niko explained, his thumb tracing my jawline. "Arthur wanted the family council to believe you were a spy so they would force me to execute you. He knew if I refused, the council would strip me of my title and make him Don."

"What are you going to do?" I whispered, chilled to the bone by the sheer depth of the betrayal.

Niko’s eyes turned into cold, dark slate. "I am going to hold a family council meeting tonight. And I am going to end this war once and for all."

He looked into my eyes, his expression softening with intense devotion. "But first, I need to secure the most precious thing I own."

"Where are you sending me?"

"To the vault in upstate New York," Niko said firmly. "Leo will take you. You will stay there until I call you."

I grabbed his lapels, pulling him down to my level. "No, Niko. If Arthur brings your father-in-law's federal documents to that council meeting, you will need someone who actually knows how to read them. I am a constitutional law student. I know every legal loophole Arthur Shaw used."

Niko stared at me, astonished by my fierce refusal to run.