“I can fix it,” he pleaded. “I can get us both out. But I need you to do something for me.”

“I am not doing anything for you, Marcus.”

“Dante has an encrypted ledger,” Marcus said, his words coming in a rushed whisper. “It is in his private study. Get it for me, and I can pay off the Valentis. I can get you your freedom.”

“Freedom?” I whispered, my grip tightening on the cheap plastic of the burner phone.

“He is keeping you there as a hostage, Alessia,” Marcus said, his voice cracking with a desperate edge. “Do you think he actually cares about you? You are just a pawn to him.”

“You sold me to pay your debts, Marcus,” I said, my voice shaking with a cold anger. “You don’t get to lecture me on who cares.”

“The Valentis are hunting me,” he hissed. “If they find me, they will come for you next. They know we are still legally married.”

My hand instinctively drifted to my stomach, flattening against the slight curve beneath my heavy sweater.

No one could know about this. Especially not Marcus.