Sins of Ace {Castle of Cards #1}

ＳＩＮＳ ＯＦ ＡＣＥ

𝓗𝓮 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝔂𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓵𝓮𝓮𝓭, 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝔀𝓲𝓷.

On the night Vinicio De la Garza is set to propose to Josefina San Antonio--the daughter of a rival whose hand would seal power, territory, and loyalty between Miami's two most ruthless crime dynasties--nothing goes as planned.

For nine years, Benita Guzmán has been the invisible housekeeper who keeps the De la Garza mansion spotless, scrubbing away the blood and dust left behind by their business.

A quiet fixture.

A ghost in plain sight.

But tonight, she sees something she shouldn't, and it's Vinicio slipping out of the security room moments before chaos erupts, moments before his father begins drilling the truth about his fiancée's dead bodyguard out of everyone.

When Don demands answers about tampered CCTV footage, Benita should say what she saw, yet for reasons that elude Vinicio, she pushes forward and takes the blame, exposing herself to humiliation and punishment to cover up for him.

For the first time since she walked into the mansion, Vinicio really sees her, not as the quiet shadow that cleans up his world, but as a woman brave enough to lie to Don. And even stupid enough to bleed for him when it came to that.

Maybe it's madness to feel something new for someone else on the night he's supposed to seal the business contract he calls a marriage. But timing has never stopped Vinicio, and neither have rules.

As weeks bleed into months, the ring on his finger starts to feel like a shackle, the empire he's meant to protect tightening like a cage. And because some poorly-treated housekeeper isn't supposed to matter to him, yet somehow, she's the only thing he can't get his hands off.

Unfortunately, his desire for her is more fatal than forbidden.

And every heartbeat in her direction is one step closer to having her blood on his hands.