Vera Kastel
Vera Kastel
Ilaria Sarno was married at nineteen to settle a debt she never owed. Cassian Vook gave her a room, a surname, and a list of places she was allowed to stand. For eight months he treated her like something he'd bought and might resell. It was almost bearable. Then her mother's letter arrived with a ledger page inside, and Cassian stopped treating her like inventory and started treating her like evidence. She ran in the spring. She got eleven weeks. When he finds her in Portugal he isn't angry, which is the worst part. He's already sold the east wing. He's already moved her things. He's already told his men there will be a christening. But the name on the ledger isn't Cassian's. It's the man who walked her down the aisle.