The Mafia Boss Married Me to Destroy My Family, but What He Found Beneath My Wedding Dress Changed Who He Wanted Revenge On

“Who did this?”

Luca’s voice was no longer a mocking, arrogant drawl. It was a low, guttural snarl that seemed to vibrate the floorboards beneath my feet.

I kept my back to him, clutching the heavy silk of the falling dress to my chest so it wouldn't pool completely on the floor. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Who did this to you, Seraphina?” He stepped closer, his chest almost brushing my bare, scarred back. The sheer, overwhelming rage radiating from him was palpable. It wasn't directed at me; it was directed at the marks.

“You wanted to break Victor Vance’s most precious possession,” I whispered, my voice completely devoid of emotion. “I am just showing you that he broke it long before you ever got here. You cannot ruin me, Luca. There is nothing left to ruin.”

Gently, hesitantly, his rough fingers traced the edge of the darkest bruise on my ribs. I hissed in pain, my spine locking. He immediately pulled his hand back as if he had been burned by the contact.

“Your father,” Luca said. It wasn’t a question. It was a horrifying, sudden realization.

“And Julian,” I added softly, staring into the flames of the hearth. “Julian held me down when Victor got tired.”

A loud, violent crash echoed through the room. I jumped, spinning around. Luca had punched the solid oak wardrobe, his knuckles splitting and bleeding against the wood. His chest heaved, his dark eyes wide and wild with a fury I had never once seen directed on my behalf.

“They sold you to me,” Luca breathed, staring at my battered skin with an unrecognizable expression. “They told me they were giving up their pampered princess. They were just throwing away their punching bag to save their own pathetic lives.”

I looked at the floor, tightening my grip on the silk. “Yes.”

Luca took a slow step toward me, his hands raised in a gesture of complete surrender. The terrifying mafia boss looked entirely undone. “Seraphina. Look at me.”