Outside, the wind howled, driving sheets of thick white snow against the panes.

“She has been planning this for months,” Luca muttered, his eyes wide with realization.

“Since the day Elena found out she was pregnant,” Sophia corrected. “It was the perfect catalyst.”

She glanced at me, her expression blank and professional.

“You were always too soft for this family, Elena,” she said. “You wanted a quiet life, but I wanted the empire.”

The silence in the foyer grew heavy, broken only by the rattle of the windows under the force of the blizzard.

I looked at Marcus, who stood motionless on the stairs, his chest rising and falling slowly.

His face was a mask of cold fury, but I could see the slight twitch in his jaw.

He was calculating his options, measuring the distance between himself and Sophia.

“You think you can run the grid?” Marcus asked her. “The syndicates will tear you apart within a week.”

“They won’t tear me apart,” Sophia said. “Because I already made a deal with them.”

My heart hammered against my ribs, loud and frantic.