The Ex-Con billionaire war God

The grand ballroom of the Rosewood Manor glittered with crystal chandeliers and champagne flutes, but Marco Benedetti saw none of it. His calloused fingers gripped the velvet box in his coat pocket as he stared at the iron gates before him, security guards blocking his path like sentries guarding a fortress.

"Sorry, pal. Private event," the taller guard said, his meaty hand pressing against Marco's chest. "No invitation, no entry."

Marco's jaw tightened. Five years. Five years he'd spent building an empire in blood and steel, becoming the most feared man in the underground world. Kings and presidents knew his name. Warlords trembled at his approach. Yet here he stood, barred from entering by two rent-a-cops who probably couldn't spell his name.

"I need to see Oriana Caruso," Marco said, his voice low and controlled. "Tell her Marco Benedetti is here."

The second guard, shorter but stockier, burst into laughter. "Marco who? Listen, buddy, we get guys like you every week. Some nobody claiming to know the bride. You probably saw her picture in the society pages and thought you'd crash the party."

"The bride?" The word hit Marco like a sledgehammer to the chest.

"Yeah, the bride. Miss Caruso is marrying Sam Wagner tonight. You know, the Wagner family? As in Wagner Industries, worth about three billion?" The tall guard smirked. "Whatever fantasy you've got cooking in that head of yours, forget it. She's way out of your league."

Marco's hand trembled around the ring box. The rare pink diamond inside had cost him $4.5 million—a fraction of what he could afford, but he'd chosen it because pink was Oriana's favorite color. She'd told him that once, years ago, when they were just kids and the world seemed full of possibilities.

"I said, I need to see her." Marco's tone dropped lower, carrying an edge that had made generals reconsider their strategies.

The shorter guard stepped closer, his breath reeking of cheap coffee. "And I said get lost, convict. Yeah, that's right—we know who you are. Marco Benedetti, fresh out of state prison. You really think Miss Caruso wants anything to do with trash like you?"

"Five years for vehicular manslaughter, wasn't it?" the tall guard added, pulling out his phone. "Says here you took the fall for some drunk driving accident. Real stand-up guy, huh? Too bad stand-up guys don't get invited to high society weddings."

The music from inside swelled—a classical piece that spoke of romance and celebration. Marco's mind flashed back to a different time: a ten-year-old girl with braids pressing her entire piggy bank into his hands after his father died. Her red bracelet dangling from her thin wrist. Her voice promising that someday, when they were grown, everything would be okay.

"She promised to wait for me," Marco said, more to himself than to the guards.

Both men erupted in laughter that echoed across the manicured lawn.

"Wait for you? Are you delusional?" The shorter guard wiped tears from his eyes. "Look at yourself, man. You're wearing a cheap suit that probably came from a thrift store. Your shoes are scuffed. You look like you haven't had a decent meal in weeks."

"Meanwhile, Sam Wagner rolls up in a Bentley," the tall guard continued, gesturing toward the fleet of luxury vehicles in the circular driveway. "He's probably dropping more on the wedding cake than you'll make in your entire life. What exactly did you think was going to happen here? You'd show up and she'd throw away billions for a ex-con with nothing to offer?"

Marco's vision tunneled. Through the manor's massive windows, he could see silhouettes dancing, celebrating. Somewhere in that crowd was Oriana. The girl who'd saved him. The girl he'd sacrificed everything for.

The girl who was marrying someone else.

"I'm going in," Marco said flatly.

"Like hell you are." The shorter guard reached for his radio. "Security, we've got a situation at the east gate. Possible stalker situation—"

Marco moved before the guard could finish. His hand shot out, twisting the radio free and crushing it in his palm like paper. Five years of commanding the deadliest fighters in the world hadn't dulled his reflexes—they'd honed them to a razor's edge.

"What the—" The tall guard lunged forward.

Marco sidestepped, delivering a precise strike to the man's solar plexus. The guard crumpled, gasping. The shorter one charged, throwing a wild haymaker. Marco caught his wrist mid-swing, applied pressure to a nerve cluster, and watched the man's face go pale with pain.

"I fought in thirteen war zones," Marco said quietly, releasing both guards as they stumbled backward. "I've commanded armies. I've negotiated treaties that prevented nuclear conflicts. And I did it all counting the days until I could come home to her. So you'll forgive me if I don't give a damn about your guest list."

He strode past them toward the manor's entrance. Behind him, the guards scrambled for their phones, shouting about calling the police, but Marco barely heard them. His focus narrowed to a single point: finding Oriana.

The manor's double doors stood before him, ornate and imposing. Through the stained glass, he could see the party in full swing. Wealthy guests in designer clothes, waiters circulating with hors d'oeuvres that cost more than most people's monthly rent, a string quartet playing in the corner.

And there, in the center of it all, stood Oriana Caruso.

Marco's breath caught. She'd grown from the girl he remembered into a stunning woman. Her dark hair cascaded over bare shoulders, her emerald gown hugging curves that hadn't existed five years ago. A diamond necklace—probably worth more than the ring in Marco's pocket—glittered at her throat.

But it was her eyes that stopped him cold. Those same brown eyes he'd dreamed about in prison cells and battlefield tents. Eyes that had once looked at him with warmth and promise.

Now they were fixed on Sam Wagner, who stood beside her with a possessive hand on her waist.

Marco pushed through the doors.

The music stuttered to a halt. Conversations died mid-sentence. Every head in the room turned toward the intruder in the ill-fitting suit, tracking mud across their pristine marble floors.

"Oriana," Marco called out, his voice carrying across the sudden silence.

She turned slowly, and for a heartbeat, Marco thought he saw recognition flicker across her face. But then her expression hardened into something cold and distant—a look he'd never seen her wear before.

"Who let him in?" Sam Wagner's voice dripped with contempt. "Security!"

"Oriana, I came back," Marco continued, ignoring Wagner and the whispers erupting around him. He pulled out the velvet box, holding it up like a talisman. "I kept my promise. I'm here to—"

"Marco." Oriana's voice cut through the room like ice. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for you," he said simply. "We had a deal. You said you'd wait."

The silence stretched unbearably. Then Oriana laughed—a brittle, crystalline sound that shattered something inside Marco's chest.

"Wait for you?" She stepped away from Sam, her heels clicking against the marble as she approached Marco. "You actually thought I'd wait for a convict? For someone who has nothing? Who is nothing?"