Chapter 1 Prologue

• Gaia Spanos
• I was in my father’s office, once again trying to convince him that Joaquim wasn’t the man I wanted to marry. But I could see he was already losing patience with me. I held back my tears once more.
• "Please, Dad, I don’t want to be engaged to Joaquim. I don’t like the way he thinks he can control me." I pleaded, standing in front of his desk.
• My father remained seated in his chair, and my grandfather looked at me without showing any emotion. I knew that if my grandfather, Marius, could intervene, he would. I turned toward the door the moment I heard it open, and soon saw my mother entering with Atena.
• "Gaia, my sweet girl, you know I have an agreement with Júlio. All throughout your teenage years, I gave you the chance to fall in love with Joaquim..." My father began, but I didn’t let him finish.
• "I don’t like Joaquim. I refuse to get involved with him." I crossed my arms tightly over my chest.
• My sister walked up to me, smiling gently, and whispered in my ear,
• "I’ll do it for you, sister," she said kindly.
• I had hoped my father would understand that I didn’t love that man, that he wasn’t the one I wanted to marry. My father stood from his chair so abruptly that it fell backward, and he slammed his fist on the desk, startling us.
• "Absolutely not. There are rules in this family and in the organization. Atena is the heir to my seat. She must marry Matheus and not try to please her sister." His voice rose.
• My father had never yelled at me or Atena like that before. We held each other’s hands, frightened by his reaction.
• "Girls, leave. I need to speak with your father." We heard our mother’s voice.
• The look she gave our father was one of disapproval. Not that she was necessarily on my side, but she didn’t accept that he spoke to us like that, as if we were some of his soldiers. Before we were heirs to the Greek mafia, we were his family.
• Outside the office, I walked to my room with my sister close behind. I knew she was worried. We rushed upstairs, went into my room, and I threw myself onto the bed, crying.
• "I love Arthur, Atena. Why won’t Dad let me be with him?" I sobbed as she gently smoothed my messy hair away from my face.
• "I know, Gaia. We’ll find a way for you two to be together." I wiped away another tear that slid down. "I don’t mind being with Joaquim. Who knows, maybe I’ll even fall in love with him."
• Atena made a face. She knew Joaquim wasn’t an easy man. He had grown up surrounded by harsh and cruel men during his training. Uncle Júlio had tried to change the way his son treated me, but it hadn’t worked very well.
• While my sister lay beside me, we heard the door open. Our father entered with a calmer expression, accompanied by the only woman who could tame his anger, our mother. They stepped into my room.
• "It’s all right, girls. We’re all going to Brazil. I spoke with your father, and he’ll try to make a new agreement with Júlio. So pray that they accept." I looked at my mother, and in that moment, I felt like all my hopes were circling the drain.
• "So I won’t be able to choose my own husband?" I asked, glancing between them.
• I still hoped my father would allow me to marry Arthur, Aunt Carolina’s nephew. Unfortunately, his parents had never been involved in our world.
• "My little ruby, your husband needs to be from within our circle of alliances." I looked at my sister and my mother, then decided to confess something they didn’t yet know.
• "I love Arthur, and I want to marry him." I saw my father’s face turn red with fury, and my mother quickly stepped between us to stop him from doing anything.
• "We’ll sort all of this out. Be patient, Gaia." Bonnie Spanos said.