Page 68 of Deceptive Vows
The screen showed an unknown number. I frowned, my instincts immediately on alert. Nazar must have sensed the shift in my demeanor because his hand moved to my waist, protective rather than passionate.
I opened the message, and the words on the screen made my blood run cold:
The wedding needs to be real, sealed, public, and legal. Otherwise, Marco finds out just how much you've been lying. You have until Christmas Eve. Say the vows, or watch them suffer.
A picture popped up on the screen. Three girls who couldn’t have been more than ten, bound, looking terrified. Tears stung my eyes as anger burned in my veins.
“What is it?” Nazar asked, his voice sharp with concern.
I turned the phone so he could see the message. His expression darkened as he read, muscles tensing beneath my fingers that came to rest on his chest.
“Someone knows we’re playing Marco.”
“Could be Gabriele. Or Marco, and he’s hiding behind someone.” Nazar handed the phone back to me, his expression grim.
Another text popped up.
These little girls will find themselves offered to the highest bidder unless my demands are met. As long as you cooperate, they’ll remain safe.
The lingering heat from moments ago had evaporated, replaced by the chill of reality. I shivered, suddenly acutely aware of my thin silk pajamas in the night air.
Nazar noticed, immediatelydraping his arm around my shoulders and guiding me inside. “We need to tell your brothers.”
I nodded, still processing the implications. If the Morettis knew our engagement was fake, our entire plan was compromised. Those women we were trying to rescue and the little girls would remain in danger.
As we stepped inside, Nazar’s hand found mine, squeezing gently. Despite everything, I drew strength from his touch, from his presence beside me.
“We’ll figure this out,” he said quietly, his voice carrying a conviction I desperately wanted to believe.
I looked up at him, at the determination in his eyes, and realized something that should have terrified me—but didn’t. If our wedding had to be real… I wasn’t afraid of that anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Four
NAZAR
“Are you sure, Thea?”her brother, Lucas, asked. “Ma?—”
“Would want those little girls saved.”
Because her Ma had saved her once—and now, Thea was determined to do the same for someone else. I could see it in her eyes the moment she got the text—she’d seen herself in that picture. The fear, anguish, and rage swirled in her dark gaze. Marco would die, and no amount of luck would make it quick.
Lucas cursed under his breath. If I were in his place, I’d be pacingthe Lykos office, running my hands through my hair, desperate to find a way to stop my sister from marrying a man she’d only just met—a man who might be leading her straight into a trap.
"It's probably just one of Marco's games. We know how much he likes power plays. I mean, do you really think he'll let those women go if you get married?" Her brother met her eyes a moment before sweeping his gaze to me.
“We have to do it, Lucas. We have no choice. Besides, once the auction happens, we take Marco out, we…” She trailed off, glancing at me. That flicker of pain in her expression—there and gone—might have been easy to miss if I hadn’t been watching so closely.
“Annulment,” Lucas supplied, his voice tight. “You can get an annulment after we handle Marco.”
I kept my expression neutral, though the word struck me like a physical blow. An annulment. Normally, that would be the clean severing of a bond that hadn’t even formed yet. But that wasn’t the case between Thea and me. Yes, the time we’d known each other was short, but there was most certainly a bond, a deep one.
I could understand her brother’s perspective. It was a necessary exit strategy that made perfect sense.
“Yes,” Thea agreed, her voice steady as she stood next to me, her arms crossed over her chest. “After Marco is dealt with, we can end it legally. The important thing is saving those girls.”
My gaze shifted to the phone sitting on Lucas’s desk, the message still glowing on the screen. The deadline, Christmas Eve, gave us three days. Three days to transform what had been an elaborate ruse into something legally binding and befitting the Kalantzis family.
“We can’t tell anyone else about the threat.” My voice sounded loud in the tense silence that had descended. “Whoever sent it could be watching any of us. The wedding preparations continue as planned, just accelerated.” And real.
