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.

​The air in Milano Centrale was thick with the smell of old iron and the electric hum of the high-voltage lines. Standing in the fluorescent glare of the locker aisle, Élise felt like a deer caught between two high-speed trains. In one hand, she gripped the singed leather satchel the weight of the Moretti secrets pulling at her arm. In the other, the silver key that had unlocked Pandora's box.


​Adriano stood twenty feet to her right, his chest heaving, his silk shirt damp from the sprint through the station. To her left, Pedro leaned against a pillar, his face shadowed, a dark smirk playing on his lips that didn't hide the cold fire in his eyes.


​"Give me the bag, Élise," Adriano commanded. His voice wasn't the "Ice CEO" tone she knew; it was raw, desperate, and laced with a terrifying authority. "He is using you. He has been feeding you lies since the moment he moved in next to you."


Chapter 22 - the midnight duel