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Before I left the room, I looked back at Azaria one more time to make sure she was still breathing.

CHAPTER 12

Laurent

“I Was Never Included”

There was nothing more dangerous than a man who felt replaced.

I wasn’t invited to the contract signing, and that was the part that bothered me more than anything. It wasn’t the marriage or even Ares getting another piece of the family handed to him. It was being excluded.

Two days ago, I stood across the street from the Hôtel de Marseille and watched my family walk inside as if I didn’t share their blood. Security surrounded the building, lawyers were already inside, and black cars kept pulling up with people who apparently mattered enough to be included.

Ares was one of them.

I was outside.

That was when I realized something. If they were planning the future without me, I would start planning mine without them.

Now I stood in the hallway of my Paris condo watching Bianca in the living room. She claimed she needed a vacation, but I knew better. She came because she wanted information on Ares, and she knew I had access to more than I had been willing to tell her.

I had always liked Bianca bitter. Heartbreak took some of the polish off her and made her more honest.

I walked into the living room while she poured her third glass of red wine. I pulled my phone from my pocket and sat beside her, close enough to feel the warmth coming from her body.

“I might have something that interests you.”

Bianca watched me while I pulled up the video.

The footage wasn’t the best, but it showed enough. The entrance to the hotel came into view first, followed by my family arriving with security. The Laveaus came next.

Then Azaria stepped out.

She was dressed in black with a veil covering most of her face, moving as if she wanted to be anywhere except there.

Bianca frowned. “Who is that?”

“The girl Ares is being forced to marry.”

She looked at me, then back at the screen.

“That?”

I paused the video and zoomed in until Azaria’s face became clearer. She was beautiful even with exhaustion all over her.

Bianca moved closer to the phone.

“She looks…”

“Sick,” I finished.

I gave her time to process what she was seeing before I continued.

“I overheard Marcel talking. She’s on meth. The whole family is trying to clean her up before they tie her to Ares, but it looks like they failed. The contract is signed.”

Bianca laughed, and the arrogance in it told me exactly where her mind went.

“So he left me and the other girls for a crackhead?”