Inside was the heirloom jewelry set his late wife had gifted Seraphina when she married into the Family. Emeralds and diamonds set in old gold, pieces that had passed through three generations of Valente women.
The moment those jewels were revealed, the room fell dead silent. Glasses stopped halfway to lips. A Capo's wife put her hand over her mouth. Even the soldiers by the door seemed to hold their breath.
Everyone in this world knew what it meant when a woman returned her Family's ancestral jewelry. It was not a gesture. It was a severance. A declaration that the blood-bound union was over, delivered not in private but before every ally, every associate, every witness who mattered.
Before Salvatore could react, Dominic, face dark as storm clouds, strode toward the third gift. The silver lighter was nowhere in sight. His hands were empty and rigid at his sides.
Just as expected, he tore it open with frozen hands.
