*ADELINE*
The room felt like it was closing in on me as I processed Vincenzo's revelation. He was not just a man caught in the crossfire of a power struggle; he was a prince in a realm I had only skirted the edges of, an heir to a throne that loomed over the De Luca legacy like a dark cloud. I shifted in my seat, my mind whirling like a cyclone, tossing around thoughts of loyalty and betrayal, ambition and fear. Vincenzo, with his sharp jaw and colder-than-ice demeanor, was not just my antagonist—he was a potential ruler in a world I barely understood.
"Why haven't you claimed what's yours?" I blurted, too curious, too caught up in the moment. The question hung between us, woven with disbelief and intrigue. "If your father were a De Luca, why isn't everyone shouting about it from the roo
