The Last Hand She'll Hold

- A slow-burn arranged marriage mafia romance

Addison Rye grew up in the quiet corners of her father's house. The kind of corners where voices weren't raised-but silenced. Where hugs were handed out to the right daughters, and she wasn't one of them.
She wasn't beautiful like her sisters.
She wasn't bold.
She wasn't wanted.
Her mother died giving birth to her, and no one ever let her forget it. Not her father. Not her stepmother. Not the siblings who reminded her daily that she was a mistake.
She became small. Apologetic. Afraid of everything. Even success didn't save her-it only made her easier to ignore.
But Addison had one secret:
She wanted to be loved.
Just once.
So when someone finally saw her, finally reached for her... she made the mistake of reaching back.
Torak Saine doesn't let anyone close-not even his own blood.
CEO by day, something darker by night.
He doesn't need company. He doesn't need affection. And he definitely doesn't need a wife.
But when a debt between his family and the Ryes is forced to the surface, he offers a brutal deal:
"I'll marry one of your daughters. Not for love, not for peace. Just to settle a score.
But whoever she is, be prepared to dig her grave.
I don't keep anything I don't need alive."
And so-without hesitation-Addison's father sends her.
The daughter no one will miss.
The black sheep.
But what Torak doesn't expect...
is that the quietest girl can hide the loudest pain.
And the hand he last meant to hold-might just be the one that brings him to his knees