Corrupted Queen - Nicole Fox Page 0,97

leave him here.” He shifts around, as though caging me in. “Think about Harry. You don’t want to traumatize him, do you?”

I let out a bitter laugh. “I am the only one thinking about Harry. You have no idea what removing me from his life will do to him.”

“I’m just following orders.”

I swallow, blinking back the stinging tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. The situation seems hopeless, but I refuse to give in. I will not let Silvano see me cry. I will not hand over Harry. If Gabriel wants him, he will have to rip him from my arms himself.

“Listen, Silvano, maybe you haven’t heard, but I’m not the best at following orders.” I hoist Harry up and begin to step to the side. Silvano mirrors my movements, following me. “If you want to take Harry from me, you will have to drag him, screaming, from my arms. While you are doing this, I will be clawing your eyes out. How does that sound?”

Silvano’s mouth tightens. “I guess I need to call for backup.”

My heart sinks. Of course, even if I could fight off Silvano, there’s enough burly men in this house to subdue King Kong.

My desperate mind reels—what do I do? What do I do? The only person in this house who I think might stand up for me is Angelo, and if this is a direct order from Gabriel, I doubt even he would stop it.

“I want to speak to Gabriel,” I snap.

Silvano shakes his head. “He doesn’t want to speak to you.”

“Well maybe he will when he finds out I’m pregnant!”

The words shoot from my mouth like a dart and hit Silvano right in the jugular. His eyes flare open and I stifle a triumphant laugh. I wonder if there was a module on me in his consigliere training. Even if there was, he clearly wasn’t prepared for this.

“You’re lying,” Silvano says.

I point to the pregnancy tests on the table. “For a man whose job it is to be observant, you kind of suck at it.”

Silvano bends over the table, inspecting the tests. When he rises, he adjusts his suit jacket, frowning to himself. I take profound enjoyment out of his reaction to my little dig. Serves him right for swanning in here thinking he could take my son from me.

“Don’t go anywhere,” Silvano instructs, leaving the room.

He doesn’t trust me though, and a second later two guards appear in the doorway, blocking my exit. Damn.

I wait over an hour for Silvano to return. Harry starts to get restless around the half an hour mark, sensing something is up, and I try to keep him calm. I try to keep myself calm too. The shit has hit the fan, and what happens next will have life-changing consequences for Harry and for me.

I want to believe that Gabriel will make the right choice, but I can’t imagine what’s going through his head at the minute. He obviously feels hurt and betrayed. He obviously wants me to feel a similar pain. I almost don’t blame him, except that I do. How dare he try to take Harry from me? What kind of small, spiteful man would do that?

When Silvano finally returns, I jolt to my feet and eye him warily as he crosses the room.

He shakes his head. “People have been tortured and killed for lesser crimes,” he says. “And yet you get away scot-free.”

I can’t tell if he disapproves of the decision Gabriel has handed him or if he just finds it morbidly fascinating.

“So?” I ask.

“So, you can leave,” he says. “You and Harry will be set up in an apartment in the city and will be kept under surveillance.”

Relief floods my bones, but the elation is short-lived.

“Gabriel wants nothing to do with you,” Silvano continues. “A word to the wise, I wouldn’t try to contact him or push him in any way. He is done with you.”

Done with me.

The words reverberate in my skull. I knew what I was doing when I wrote that article. I knew this divide was inevitable. But fuck, it still hurts. I will never feel his arms around me again, never kiss him, never listen to the sound of his breaths in the dark. Gabriel and I are over, and when I leave this mansion today, I will be leaving a pathetic, still-thumping chunk of my heart on the foyer’s marble tile.

“Okay,” I say, forcing myself not to break composure. “When do we leave?”

32

Gabriel

It feels good to be back