Antonio’s POV
I stared at the phone in my hand long after Laura’s words hung in the air. She knows. The simple reality of that fact echoed through my mind. I had anticipated this moment, even planned for it, but now that it was here, everything felt far more fragile than I’d expected.
Alexander and I had grown up together, cousins bound by more than just blood. Our families shared a history, one that was steeped in more than just wealth and power. The world we came from didn’t operate on the same principles as ordinary people. It was about control—who had it, who wanted it, and what they were willing to do to keep it.
I had told myself that I was protecting Laura by keeping this from her, by letting her believe our arrangement was just between us. But now, with Anna having poisoned the
