Chapter 1 - The Belt
The bridal suite went dead silent when Preston Hale lifted the leather belt over his shoulder like he’d done it before.
Giulietta Marconi stood in the center of the room in her white gown, one hand resting against the vanity, her face calm in a way that made him angrier. Behind her, flowers spilled from crystal vases. In the mirrors, his reflection looked wild.
“My father used this to teach my mother submission,” Preston said coldly.
He expected fear.
Instead, Giulietta slid her engagement ring off her finger and placed it carefully on the vanity, never breaking eye contact. The tiny click of the ring against the glass sounded louder than his threat.
Then he swung.
She moved fast. One step to the side. One hand catching his wrist. One brutal slap across his face.
The crack echoed through the suite.
Preston stumbled backward, shocked, and crashed onto the sofa so hard he knocked a pillow to the floor. Before he could get up, the door burst open.
Warren Hale stormed in, red-faced, finger pointed straight at her. “You are marrying my son.”
Giulietta turned toward the doorway.
And that was when Warren saw the hallway.
Several men in dark suits stood behind her in complete silence. Broad shoulders. Hard eyes. Marconi men. Not wedding staff. Not hotel security. The kind of men who didn’t raise their voices because they never had to.
The arrogance drained out of Warren’s face.
Giulietta looked at him with a coldness that made even Preston stop breathing.
“No. Your son is the one marrying *my* son.”
Warren took a step back.
At the vanity, Giulietta picked up her ring and closed her hand around it.
May you like
“Now you know whose family this really is.”
Neither Hale man had any idea that the trap had been set weeks ago—and the first clue had come from a trembling woman Preston never thought would speak.
