Noah Marconi was about to climb onto his chair at the children’s table

The silence in the isolated cabin was suffocating, broken only by Victoria's ragged, terrified sobs. She pressed herself flat against the rough wooden wall, her fair skin pale and slick with panicked sweat. She looked at Raffaele, desperately searching his movie-star handsome face for any trace of the romantic partner she had manipulated. She found only a cold, calculating predator.

"Raffaele, my brother will pay you!" Victoria begged, her hands trembling violently. "He has millions in offshore accounts! He can give you the Chicago ports! Just let me go!"

Raffaele stepped slowly into the cabin, closing the splintered door behind him to block out the freezing wind. "Your brother is currently sitting in the ashes of his compound," Raffaele stated, his volume dangerously low and measured. "He abandoned you, Victoria. He gave me your location to save his own life."

The revelation struck Victoria like a physical blow. Her eyes widened in absolute shock and despair. The powerful family she had relied on to protect her had thrown her to the wolves. She was entirely, profoundly alone.

"I was just following orders," Victoria whimpered, dropping to her knees on the dusty floorboards. "My brother forced me to gather the intel. He forced me to agree to the marriage! I didn't want to hurt anyone!"

Raffaele walked toward her, his polished shoes loud against the wood. He stopped inches away from her kneeling form.

"You shoved a three-year-old boy," Raffaele whispered, the words dripping with lethal intent. "You yelled at him. You tried to make him carry a stack of heavy plates because you thought you could break his spirit before you even had the ring on your finger."

He reached down and grabbed the collar of her ruined designer blouse, hauling her roughly to her feet.

"That wasn't your brother's order, Victoria," Raffaele said softly, his angular face inches from hers. "That was you. That was the malice in your own heart."