He flipped it open, the heavy paper rustling in the quiet room.

“Speaking of Evelyn Shaw,” Dante said.

He ran a finger down a column of numbers.

“You think Marcus married you because of a sudden gambling debt.”

“He did,” I said. “He used my name to secure loans from the syndicate.”

“No, Alessia,” Dante said.

He looked up at me, his eyes cold.

“The debt was a cover.”

“What do you mean?”

“Marcus and Evelyn did not meet after you were married,” Dante said.

He turned a page in the ledger.

“They have been working together for five years.”

I frowned, trying to process his words.

“But Marcus met me through my father’s firm,” I said.

“Exactly,” Dante said.

He tapped a specific line in the ledger.

“Your father’s estate was worth millions before his sudden passing.”

“Marcus helped me manage the transition,” I said, a sinking feeling forming in my chest.

“Marcus did not help you,” Dante said.

“He and Evelyn Shaw targeted your family inheritance from the very beginning.”

I took a step toward him, staring at the handwritten names on the page.