Page 102 of Iron Roses

“Why should I make a deal with you?”

I don’t look away.

“As long as I’m alive,” I say, “you can’t have my father’s estate. Not legally. Not cleanly. You’d always be the man who stole it. But if I give it willingly... you win.”

He looks away from me for a moment, pacing a few steps. His shoulders shake once with amusement.

He turns back.

“You want to say goodbye to your lover boy first?”

“I want to give him a proper farewell,” I say, jaw clenched. “And get the map. It’s in his house. He was kind to me.”

Fausto’s grin sharpens.

He walks toward the door.

“I’ll have the boys prepare you a bath,” he says. “You stink like rust. We’ll feed you, have the doctor come. Then we’ll pay Rivetti a little visit.”

He knocks twice on the door. One of the men outside opens it. Fausto doesn’t look at me again.

Chapter Seventeen – Cassian

“Oh my god, how—how did you even get here?” Allegra’s hands move to Elaria’s shoulders, checking her, trying to make sense of the bruises, the blood. “What did they do to you? Are you—”

Lorenzo stands nearby. Watching her. His brow is furrowed, mouth pressed into a hard line.

Her gaze hasn’t left mine.

Allegra touches her face, tries to lift her chin, but Elaria moves past her gently, like water slipping around stone.

She walks toward me. I’m still holding the journal.

My hands tighten around the cover without meaning to.

She stops in front of me. Soft fingers brush mine, taking the journal.

My eyes search hers.

There’s damage there. The side of her mouth is split. Her cheekbone is turning dark. Her wrists, when she lifts the journal, bear the trace of rope.

I feel it swell in my chest—something sharp. I don’t know what it is.

She holds the book against her ribs. Her mouth parts, breath shallow.

“Thank you all for your concern,” she says.

Her voice barely reaches above a whisper, but it cuts.

“I had a conversation with my uncle. This is a family matter. We’ll handle it privately.”

She holds up the journal slightly.

“I just came to take this.”

“Elaria, wait—” Allegra steps forward.

Elaria turns slightly but doesn’t look at her.

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