The Mafia King Took His Mistress to the Gala, but His Wife Walked In Beside the Man Who Could Take Everything From Him

The underground parking garage beneath the Vale Holdings tower was heavily guarded, but the men patrolling the concrete pillars didn't even blink as Evelyn walked past them. She carried no luggage. She wore a simple trench coat over a dark dress, holding nothing but a small clutch purse.

Exactly as Gabriel had promised, a massive, custom-built black Sentinel SUV sat idling in parking bay four. Its windows were tinted so darkly they absorbed the fluorescent lights of the garage.

As she approached, the heavy, armored rear door swung open.

Evelyn climbed inside, the heavy scent of old leather and Cuban cigars washing over her. The interior of the vehicle was completely soundproofed, separating the back seat from the driver’s cabin with a thick pane of bulletproof glass.

Sitting in the shadows of the backseat was Gabriel Cross.

He was striking in a terrifying way. Dressed in a bespoke midnight-blue suit, Gabriel possessed the kind of sharp, predatory features that warned people to keep their distance. His dark hair was swept back, and his eyes—a striking, pale amber—locked onto Evelyn the moment she settled into the leather seat.

“You look entirely too calm for a woman who was just discarded by the King of the Lake,” Gabriel murmured, pouring a glass of amber liquid from a crystal decanter in the center console. He handed it to her.

“Dominic relies on anger,” Evelyn said, taking a slow sip of the whiskey. It burned perfectly all the way down. “If I had yelled, he would have felt powerful. If I had cried, he would have felt justified. My silence terrifies him because he can't categorize it.”

Gabriel smiled, a genuine expression that didn't quite reach his cold eyes. “He’s a fool, Evelyn. I warned your father not to let you marry a street-level thug with a talent for accounting. Dominic Vale is a middleman pretending to be a monarch.”

“My father wanted me legitimate,” Evelyn replied, looking out the tinted window as the heavy SUV surged up the ramp and into the freezing Chicago night. “He thought Dominic was safe. He thought putting the family’s holding companies in Dominic’s name would protect me from the life.”

“And instead, it just gave a rat the keys to the castle,” Gabriel said softly. He reached out, his gloved hand gently brushing a stray lock of hair from Evelyn’s shoulder. “The time for hiding is over, Evelyn. Your father is dead. The truce is broken. Are you ready to take back what belongs to you?”