Chapter 7 - The Broken Vow
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The ICU hallway fell into dead, horrified silence as Vivienne whimpered under Marco’s unyielding iron grip.
The two armed guards at the room entrance turned their faces away, pretending not to see their boss discipline his socialite fiancée.
Marco slowly released his hold, but his dark eyes remained locked onto Vivienne’s terrified, trembling face.
“Marco, what is wrong with you?” Vivienne sobbed, clutching her bruised wrist against her silk coat.
“I am your future wife!” she reminded him in a frantic shriek.
“You are not my future anything,” Marco stated with lethal calmness, his voice reverberating through the sterile corridor.
He reached out with two deliberate fingers, caught the platinum band of the engagement ring on her left hand, and slid it off her finger without resistance.
Vivienne stared at her bare hand in complete, paralyzed horror.
“The alliance between the Santoro enterprise and the Ashford family is permanently dissolved as of this second,” Marco declared coldly.
“You cannot do that!” Vivienne panicked, all her haughty arrogance dissolving into desperate, pleading tears.
“My father controls the regional shipping ports that your distribution networks rely on!” she shouted.
“Your father orchestrated the ambush on Leo’s convoy this morning to blackmail me into signing over those exact ports,” Marco revealed, dropping a figurative bomb into the hallway.
Vivienne’s mouth dropped open, the color draining from her cheeks until she looked like a ghost.
“Did you really believe my intelligence team wouldn't trace the serial numbers on those automatic rifles within three hours?” Marco asked softly.
“Your father wanted leverage over me, and he nearly killed my only brother to get it.”
“Now take your things and leave this building before I have my men escort you directly to the district attorney’s office,” Marco commanded.
Vivienne looked desperately around the corridor for support, but every doctor, nurse, and guard stared back at her with open disgust.
She cast one final, murderous glare at me, her eyes burning with pure, unadulterated hatred.
“You think you won, Claire?” Vivienne hissed under her breath as she backed toward the elevator doors.
“You’re still just a penniless nobody, and my family will crush you into nothing before this is over.”
The elevator doors slid shut, cutting off her poisonous rant and leaving us alone in the quiet hallway.
Marco turned to me, the fury on his face instantly softening into genuine concern.
“Are you all right, Claire?” he asked, stepping closer to inspect my face for any harm.
“I’m fine,” I answered, letting out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
“She didn't touch me.”
“She will never have the chance to touch you again,” Marco promised, his voice heavy with solemn commitment.
“Julian Ashford is a dangerous, cornered animal right now,” Marco warned, looking seriously into my eyes.
“He knows I am coming for him, and he knows you and Director Porter defied him in public this morning.”
“I am placing two of my best security personnel outside your apartment building starting tonight,” he told me.
I immediately shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Mr. Santoro, I appreciate your concern, but I cannot have armed mafia guards parked outside my mother’s modest home,” I objected firmly.
“It will terrify the entire neighborhood and bring unwanted attention to our lives.”
Marco looked at me, a mixture of frustration and deep admiration wrestling in his dark eyes.
“Claire, this is not a game of pride,” he urged, leaning down slightly so his eyes were level with mine.
“Julian Ashford does not fight with honor, and I will not allow you to pay the price for saving my family.”
“Then put them in plain clothes and park down the street,” I compromised, refusing to be treated like a helpless damsel.
“I will not live my life hiding in fear from people who think money gives them the right to own the world.”
Marco stared at me for a long moment, a slow, breathtaking smile spreading across his rugged features.
May you like
“Plain clothes, two doors down,” Marco conceded softly.
“You really are an extraordinary woman, Claire Bennett.”
