Valentine didn't blink.
"Then let it be forced."
The words landed like a gavel.
Elena made a small sound—half gasp, half sob—and pressed her fingers to her mouth. She looked between them, pleading without speaking, but neither man moved.
Martin's pulse roared in his ears.
"You think you can force me into a marriage I don't want?" he asked, voice steady but edged with something dangerous.
"I think you'll do what's necessary," Valentine said. "You always have."
Martin's laugh was short, cold, humorless.
"Not this time."
He turned.
Grabbed his keys from the console table.
Stormed out of the room without another word.
The front door slammed behind him—hard enough that the chandelier in the foyer swayed.
Elena flinched.
Valentine stared at the closed door.
Then he picked up his phone.
Dialed Katherine.
She answered on the second ring, voice bright and expectant.
"Martin?"
