For a moment, no one moved.
Camilla's chair scraped softly against the floor as she straightened, disbelief flashing across her face. Even Liam looked mildly surprised, though the smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth suggested he didn't entirely hate the idea.
Beside me, Alex's grip on my thigh tightened.
"You're rushing this," he said flatly. "Why?"
Seamus only smiled.
"You owe me, Barinov," he said, as if the answer were obvious. "I'm offering you far more than you ever gave me anyway. The least you can do is seal the deal quickly in return."
He tapped the ash from his cigar.
"That's my price."
He leaned back in his chair, perfectly at ease while the rest of us sat in stunned silence.
"Besides," he continued calmly, "I'm an old man. I need an heir sooner rather than later."
Then his glaze slid to Camilla, before turning back to Alex and I. "I'd prefer our families to be tied together before you two take hold of what Lorenzo Ricci left behind."
The air in the room grew heavier.
"You know how this works, Seamus," Alex said after a moment, his voice calm but edged with warning. "What makes you think my wife will inherit anything at all, now that her grandfather knows about her betrayal?"
Seamus didn't look the least bit concerned. If anything, his smile widened.
"Because," he said slowly, "it's not his fortune I'm after."
He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the table as he rolled the cigar between his fingers. His son watching him with anticipation.
"It's the power that comes with his name."
His blue eyes flicked briefly toward me.
"Despite his...and Arturo's betrayal of half their associates, people still fear the name Ricci," he continued. "Fear like that doesn't disappear overnight. It lingers. It becomes legacy."
He gestured lightly between Alex and I.
"And now your wife, the last of that line, has aligned herself with you, Barinov."
A faint, satisfied smile curved his mouth.
"That makes the two of you...indispensable."
My stomach tightened.
Seamus leaned back again, utterly relaxed.
"I want a piece of that," he said plainly. "If not for myself, then for my son."
His hand landed briefly on Liam's shoulder.
"For our legacy."
Alex said nothing.
The silence stretched for a moment before Seamus spoke again, his gaze sliding back to him.
"You, Barinov, of all people, should understand a thing or two about legacy."
His tone carried a hint of mockery now.
"Weren't you the one tearing half the world apart looking for your wife a few years ago?" he said. "The one you claimed was carrying your child?"
Camilla stiffened next to me, as Seamus chuckled softly.
I covered my hand over my husband's that was resting on my thigh, trying to keep him calm.
"And now you've got her," he added lightly.
The room fell quiet again.
Alex didn't react to the jab. His expression remained perfectly neutral, though the tension in his shoulders told another story. He simply sat there and enjoyed the remaining of his cigar.
Seamus studied him for a moment longer before spreading his hands across the table, as if he was laying all the cards out in the open.
"Well then," he said, his gaze moving between us, "you've heard my terms."
He leaned forward slightly, the glow of his cigar casting a dull light across his weathered face.
"My son marries the girl tonight. Our families become tied by blood before the city realizes what the two of you are about to become."
His eyes settled on Alex.
"In return," he continued calmly, "I give you both Lorenzo Ricci and Arturo."
A faint smile tugging at his lips, as the promise hung heavy in the air. Seamus tapped the ash from his cigar into the tray between us, and Alex followed.
"So," he said, voice turning businesslike again as he looked back at my husband. "Do we have a deal...or not?"
Within the next hour, I was seated on the sofa, my hands folded in my lap as I watched Camilla pace the length of the drawing room they had ushered us in.
She was still wearing the same clothes she had arrived in. Black trousers and a dark sweater, though her coat now was lay draped beside me on the sofa. Her steps were restless, her fingers fidgeting as she moved back and forth across the carpet.
"You can still back out of this," I said finally, pushing myself to my feet.
Alex was nowhere to be seen, walking off with Seamus and Liam after telling us to wait here.
So was Sergio. But that was because Alex had sent him along with Seamus's men to verify the claim that both Arturo and my grandfather was being held at one of the Irish safe houses.
"No," Camilla said quickly, shaking her head. She sounded breathless, as if she had been running rather than pacing. "You need this. I need this. We're doing it."
She tugged her ponytail, releasing her blond hair.
"It's just a contract marriage," she went on, combing her fingers through her hair as her words tumbling out faster now. "Half the people in our world have done it. My parents did it. It's like ripping off a bandage, right? Quick and done."
She forced out a tight laugh. "How hard could it be?"
"You're rambling," I pointed out gently.
"You wouldn't know what it's like, Sol!" she burst out, stopping in the middle of the room.
Her eyes flashed.
"You married the love of your life. Twice," she said. "You don't know what this feels like."
"Trust me," I said quietly. "I do."
She frowned.
"When I married Alex the second time, I wasn't ready," I continued. "I loved him, but...I wasn't truly ready."
I glanced down at my hands before meeting her gaze again.
"I had just gotten my memories back," I said. "Everything felt unfamiliar. Even him."
I exhaled slowly.
"So no, maybe I don't know what it's like to marry a man I don't love." Then my voice softened. "But I do know what it's like to bind your life to someone you barely recognize."
I walked up to her, placing my hands on her shoulders. If it weren't for her history with Sergio, I might have said she and Liam looked well suited. They were close in age, carried themselves with the same sharp confidence.
But looks could still be deceiving.
"Just say the word, Camilla," I said quietly. "And I'll stop this deal. We'll walk out of here and find another way to get my grandfather and your father back."
I held her gaze.
"Or we abandon this whole thing entirely."
Camilla swallowed.
"If the Irish don't work with us," she said softly, "they'll work with them." Her eyes flickered with worry. "And we can't let that happen, Sol."
"I know," I said, my voice tightening. "But you matter more to me than all of this."
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"I'll do it," she breathed. "I mean it."
I pulled her into my arms, holding her tightly.
"Everything will be okay," I murmured. "I promise."
After a moment, I pulled back, though my hands remained on her shoulders. "And if he so much as raises his voice at you, I'll—"
"I know," she said quickly, nodding.
Before I could reply, a sharp knock sounded at the door.
Both of us turned.
The handle twisted and the door opened.
Alex stepped inside.
His expression was unreadable, his dark coat still dusted with the cold from outside.
"They confirmed it," he said.
My stomach dropped.
"The Irish have them," he continued. "Both Arturo and your grandfather. They're being held at one of Seamus's safe houses."
Silence filled the room.
Alex's gaze shifted to Camilla, apologetic.
"The wedding goes through," he announced.