Corrupt Prince by Ivy Mason

Twenty

Aster should've known better.

My brother should've known better.

I'm. Always. Fucking. Watching.

Call me selfish, but I’d worked so hard to get everything set up to sneak Aster out at the same time that Rose would be doing her final fitting, the only time she would be alone enough without my father's watchful eyes.

I just wanted to see the happiness on their faces when, finally, after years of being apart, they were reunited.

And it had been worth it.

Christ, I'd almost teared up myself at the sight of them together like that.

And then, my world came crashing down.

They made arrangements for Aster's escape and didn't trust me enough to tell me.

I wasn't sure who I was more pissed at.

Knight, for not knowing, when he was supposed to be my eyes and ears on Rose.

Bourbon and Rose, for not trusting me that I could help them pull it off.

Or Aster, who'd I'd truly come to feel something for, something I knew was the truth, now that I felt the depth of her betrayal.

It was like the night Lily died all over again, and in one full swoop, I lost everything.

I'd just finished making arrangements with Massimo. Not only did he give me information on Nicholi’s weaknesses but he was also coming in with a full team at the wedding, disguised as guests. Furthermore, he’d agreed to meet my father under the pretense of discussing business.

Everything was going exactly to plan when this bombshell dropped, and I felt the ground fall out from under me.

For a whole day, I seethed.

I'd made last minute adjustments and set Aster up as the maid of honor so that she could stand next to Rose at the wedding. I used this as an excuse not to see her, keeping her busy by sending in a team to get her ready for the wedding. She spent the whole day selecting a dress to wear, along with getting waxed, her make up and hair done, everything she would need to be ready for tomorrow.

And yet, all this was a distraction because, the fact was—I couldn’t even look at her.

I’d been betrayed. There was no coming back from that.

Ideas came and went with what to do about it.

For hours, I debated about whether or not to let Aster go. To simply do nothing and walk away from her, just like she was walking away from me.

But I had information they didn't have, something I was planning on sharing with Bourbon as soon as I'd set everything up with Massimo.

But that one video changed everything.

Even though I hadn’t seen the DNA results from the doctor, I knew that Bourbon wasn't Nero’s son.

My father and Bourbon had the same eyes, something that had always bothered Bourbon since he hated our father. But, Uncle Daimon also had the same startling shade of blue, like looking into a turbulent ocean.

Now that Nero knew the truth, Bourbon was as good as dead. What little trust my father had in Bourbon was now demolished.

Nero had invited the whole mafia world to this wedding, announcing that the lost Russian mafia princess had been discovered, and that she was marrying into the Las Vegas outfit. He was also making a big deal about providing the cake, going to great lengths to plan the presentation of it in the middle of the reception.

I didn’t trust it.

Nero was at the pinnacle of his career, his ‘son’ marrying the legendary missing princess of the great Igor Petrov, thought to be dead. Killing them at the wedding made a bold statement, and was exactly something a crazy man like my father would do.

And, as angry as I was at their betrayal, I couldn't let that happen.

No, I needed to follow through with my own plans.

For once, I'd outsmarted my father, and I was going to relish in it tonight.