Over Lily's shoulder, Valentina's eyes found his. The connection was instantaneous and icy, cutting through the warm amber glow of the dining room like a blade through silk.
The look lasted for less than a heartbeat, but in that fragment of time, a silent conversation unfolded between them, one stripped of all pretense.
'I know what you want from me tonight,' her gaze screamed with terrifying clarity. 'I know the price of this dinner.'
'I will play my part... I will sit at this table, I will cradle these girls, and I will hold this lie together with everything I have left.'
'But understand this, Rex: this is not a gift.'
'This is a transaction.'
She was reminding him that her compliance was not surrender; it was a calculated concession, a performance maintained by sheer force of will. She was keeping her end of the arrangement, ensuring the foundation remained solid for his coming storm, but she wanted him to know she was doing it with eyes wide open.
