One innocent fumbled paper. Two warring brothers. A world of ice and silk where silence is the only survival.
When Élise Laurent left France for a prestigious internship in Italy, she expected hard work and high fashion. She didn't expect to be caught in the crosshairs of a decades-old blood feud. During her interview, a single moment of vulnerability caught the eye of Adriano Moretti the "Ice CEO" of Milan. He is cold, untouchable, and powerful enough to crush anyone in his path. But for the first time in his life, the man who has everything has found something he refuses to share.
Enter Pedro the charming, friendly neighbor who helped Élise move in. He’s the man who knows her coffee order and her floor plan. But Pedro is no stranger. He is Adriano’s brother, the shadow in the Moretti legacy, and he’s spent his life waiting for the perfect weapon to destroy the Golden Son. He found that weapon in Élise.
Now, trapped in a luxurious estate on the cliffs of Varese, Élise is no longer just an intern. To Adriano, she is a prize to be guarded at any cost. To Pedro, she is the ultimate bait. And to Lucia, the vengeful socialite promised to Adriano, she is a threat that must be eliminated.
As the secrets of the Vigna del Sole begin to unravel, Élise realizes that in the Moretti family, love is a liability and "protection" feels a lot like a prison. Caught between the brother who wants to own her and the brother who wants to use her, Élise must find her voice before the ice closes in forever.
In this game of kings, the silent pawn is the most dangerous player of all.

Saturday arrived like a breath of freedom.


No whispers trailing her name through glass hallways.


Élise woke late, sunlight spilling through her curtains, warming the quiet apartment. For the first time in weeks, her shoulders felt light. Milan outside her window buzzed with weekend energy laughter drifting up from cafés, the sound of heels on stone streets, the city alive and indulgent.


By noon, she was already laughing with Zara.


"Today," Zara announced, looping her arm through Élise's, "we forget work, rumors, and powerful men who don't know how to mind their business."


Élise laughed, genuinely this time. "Deal."


They wandered through the city, coffee in hand, stopping to admire storefronts and window displays. Zara pulled her into boutiques, spinning dresses off racks, teasing her into trying things she'd never dare to pick herself.


Chapter 9 - price for wanting