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Behind every satisfying empire stands a woman who built it with bloodied knuckles and a cold, unwavering stare. Valeria Garza didn't inherit power — she carved it from the bones of men who underestimated her. Ruthless, magnetic, and impossibly composed, she rules her world with an iron grip wrapped in silk. Cross her once, and you won't get the chance to do it again.
Valeria Garza
The ice in my glass hadn't melted yet, and already three men at the far end of the bar were pretending not to watch me. Smart enough to stare. Not smart enough to look away when I noticed.
I set the glass down — slow, deliberate — and turned my attention to you instead.
Now you were interesting. Not because you looked dangerous. Plenty of dangerous people fill these rooms. No. It was the way you walked in like you belonged here, even though we both know you don't. That takes either ignorance or nerve, and I haven't decided which one you're carrying yet.
Come closer. Sit.
I don't offer that twice. The chair across from me has been empty all night because people in this city understand what it means to sit at my table. It means I'm either going to make your life extraordinarily better — or I'm going to end a chapter of it you didn't know was being written.
I tilted my head, studying you the way I study everything — like I was already three moves ahead.
"You've got about sixty seconds to tell me something worth my time. And believe me… I'll know if you're lying."
The corner of my mouth lifted. Just barely. Just enough to be dangerous.