CHAPTER 1: THE BRIDE

MIA'S POV

"Get in the car."

The man's voice was cold. Professional. His hand gripped my arm tight enough to bruise.

"Please," I begged.

"There's been a mistake. My sister—Vanessa was supposed to—"

"Your sister ran." He shoved me toward the black SUV. "You're the replacement. Mr. Moretti doesn't care which Chen girl he gets. Just that he gets one."

My father stood on our porch, tears streaming down his face. My mother wouldn't even look at me.

They were letting this happen. Selling me like cattle to pay a debt I didn't owe.

"Dad!" I screamed as rough hands pushed me into the vehicle. "Please don't do this! Don't let them—"

The door slammed shut. Locked. Two men in suits sat on either side of me. Silent. Armed.

Through the tinted window, I watched my childhood home disappear.

I was twenty-one years old. I was about to be forced to marry a man I'd never met.

A monster named Dante Moretti. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

_________

The church was beautiful in the worst way. Stained glass windows threw colored light across marble floors. Flowers decorated every surface.

Hundreds of people filled the pews—strangers in expensive suits, all watching as I was dragged down the aisle.

I wore jeans and a sweater. No wedding dress. No veil. Just me, terrified and trembling.

At the altar stood a man who stole my breath. He wasn't old like the rumors said. Wasn't scared or ugly.

Dante Moretti was devastatingly handsome. Tall, dark-haired, with storm-gray eyes that tracked my approach with zero emotion.

He looked at me like I was a package being delivered. Nothing more.

The scarred man—Marco, I had heard someone call him—shoved me forward.

I stumbled. Dante's hand shot out, catching my arm. His grip was firm. Controlled. His eyes swept over me once.

Then,something shifted in his expression.

"You're not Vanessa," he said. Not a question. A realization.

My heart stopped. "I—my sister ran. I'm Mia. They made me come instead—"

"Marco." Dante's voice was ice. He didn't look away from me.

"You brought me the wrong girl."

"Sir, the house only had this one. The other sister was already gone."

Dante's jaw tightened. A muscle ticked. Then his hand gripped my wrist. Hard.

"Fine," he said flatly.

"She'll do."

The priest cleared his throat nervously.

"Should I... begin the ceremony?"

"Yes," Dante said. He pulled me to stand beside him.

"Let's get this over with."

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. This was happening. This was really happening.

"Dearly beloved," the priest began, his voice shaking, "we are gathered here—"

The church doors exploded open. Everyone turned.

A man strode down the aisle. Tall, dark-haired, with storm-gray eyes.

He looked exactly like Dante. Identical.

"Stop the wedding," the man commanded. His voice was smooth, dangerous.

"That bride is MINE."

Dante's entire body went rigid beside me.

"Luca."

"Hello, brother."

The man—Luca—smiled as he reached the altar. He was holding a gun in one hand. A document in the other.

"Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"

"This wedding is legal," Dante said coldly.

"The contract was signed. The debt is paid through marriage to a Chen daughter."

"To the ELDEST Chen daughter," Luca corrected. He held up the document.

"Our father's contract specifically states Vanessa Chen. This girl—" He looked at me, and his eyes were nothing like Dante's. Warmer. Hungrier. "—is the wrong bride."

My head spun. They were twins. Identical twins. And they were fighting over me like I was property.

"The contract says 'a Chen daughter,'" Dante argued.

"I checked the wording myself."

"You checked the COPY I let you see." Luca's smile sharpened.

"But I have the original right here. Father promised the eldest Chen daughter to ME. You stole her, brother. You stole my bride."

"You're lying."

"Am I?" Luca turned to the priest. "Father Giorgio. You witnessed our father sign this contract five years ago. Is the bride specified or not?"

The old priest looked between the brothers, his face pale.

"The contract... it says Vanessa Chen specifically."

No.

No, this couldn't be happening.

"Then this wedding is invalid," Luca announced.

"The girl goes free. Dante's marriage is void. And I get what's rightfully mine—the inheritance."

"Like hell," Dante growled.

In one smooth motion, he pulled me against his chest. His arm locked around my waist like iron.

"The marriage ceremony already started," Dante said. His voice was deadly calm.

"And it's going to finish. Right now."

"You can't—" Luca started.

"Finish it," Dante ordered the priest.

"Now. Or everyone in this church dies."

The priest's hands shook as he opened his Bible again.

"Do you, Dante Moretti, take this woman—"

"I do," Dante snapped.

"And do you, Mia Chen—"

"She does," Dante answered for me.

"I need to hear it from—"

Dante's gun appeared from inside his jacket. He pointed it at the priest's head.

"She. Does." Each word was a death sentence.

"I do," I whispered. Because what choice did I have?

"Then by the power vested in me..." The priest was crying now.

"I pronounce you husband and wife."

"Finally," Dante muttered.

His hand slid to the back of my neck. He pulled my face up to his. And he kissed me.

It wasn't gentle. It wasn't romantic. It was a brand. A claim. A declaration of war.

When he pulled back, his gray eyes burned into mine.

"You're mine now," he whispered.

"Legally. Completely. And nothing—not my brother, not God himself—is taking you away from me."

Behind us, Luca laughed. The sound was cold. Cruel.

"Oh, brother," he said. "You have no idea what you just did. Father's will states that the first son to produce an heir within one year of his death inherits everything."

Dante's grip on me tightened.

"He died eleven months ago," Luca continued.

"Which means you have exactly four weeks to get your new bride pregnant. And if you fail—" His smile was vicious. "—everything becomes mine. Including her."

The church erupted into whispers.

Four weeks. Pregnant. Heir.

I was going to be sick.

"We're leaving," Dante said. He dragged me toward the exit.

"Run while you can, brother," Luca called after us.

"But remember—clocks don't stop. And when your time runs out, I'll be there. Waiting. For everything you love."

Outside, Dante shoved me into a waiting car.

The door slammed. The locks clicked.

We sped away from the church, from the people, from everything I'd ever known.

I was married. To a man I didn't know.

Who needed to get me pregnant in four weeks.

Or his twin brother would take everything.

Including me.

And I had absolutely no idea which brother was telling the truth.

Or which one would destroy me first.