Chapter 1

When we stepped out of the family's detention compound, Sofia Bellini emerged with eyes still red and swollen from crying. Without so much as asking, she opened the passenger door of my car and slipped into the front seat as though it belonged to her.

I wasn't in the mood for another argument.

I reached for the ignition, but before I could start the engine, Sofia caught my wrist.

Her eyes never met mine.

Instead, she looked past me at my fiancé, Damiano Valenti.

"I'm scared," she murmured, her voice trembling just enough to sound convincing. "After everything that's happened to my brother... I don't want to ride home with anyone else."

She looked so fragile that anyone who didn't know better would've believed she was the victim in all of this.

I calmly pulled my hand free.

"Then get out."

The inside of the car fell silent.

A second later, tears rolled down Sofia's cheeks as she lowered her head, her quiet sobs filling the space between us.

From behind me came Damiano's icy voice.

"Viviana, do you always have to be this cold?"

I looked at him through the rearview mirror.

"You know she's barely holding herself together after what happened to Marco. Is it really so difficult to show her a little kindness?"

His expression hardened before I could answer.

"Move over. I'll drive."

He walked around the car and yanked the driver's door open with enough force to make it slam against its hinges. The cold night air rushed inside, carrying the scent of rain and gunpowder from the training grounds.

I stayed where I was.

For a long moment, our eyes met.

The man standing before me felt nothing like the Damiano I had spent seven years loving.

Without the slightest hesitation, he unfastened my seat belt, grabbed my arm, and pulled me out of the driver's seat.

I stumbled backward, my heels slipping against the gravel before I barely managed to steady myself.

He never looked back.

Instead, he slid into my seat, leaned toward Sofia, and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'll take you home first."

Sofia's tear-stained face immediately brightened.

"Oh, Damiano..."

She smiled sweetly, but before turning away, she deliberately shot me a look of quiet triumph.

As the engine started, Damiano finally spoke over his shoulder.

"You're an adult. Find another car back to the estate."

"I'll come back after I make sure she's safe."

The black sedan disappeared through the compound gates without another glance in my direction.

Just before it turned the corner, I caught a glimpse of Sofia leaning across the center console to press a lingering kiss against Damiano's cheek.

Neither of them seemed concerned that I could still see.

My phone vibrated inside my coat.

The caller ID displayed one name.

Mother.

I answered almost immediately.

"My dear," my mother said gently, "have you looked over the file your father sent?"

I knew exactly which file she meant.

The profile of Leonardo Vitale.

The heir to one of the oldest and most feared Mafia syndicates in the country.

Powerful.

Respected.

A man whose name alone was enough to make rival families think twice before pulling the trigger.

When I remained silent, my mother let out a quiet breath of relief.

"So you've finally made your decision."

"Your father has grown older these past few years. Even though he never approved of you leaving the family, he never stopped believing you'd come home one day."

I looked toward the towering iron gates of the Valenti estate, where rows of armed guards stood beneath pools of golden light, their rifles resting across their chests.

Seven years ago, I had walked away from my own family because I refused to become a bargaining chip in an arranged marriage meant to strengthen an alliance between Mafia empires.

Then I met Damiano.

Back then, he was nothing more than an ambitious young lieutenant with little influence and even fewer allies.

I stood beside him through every bloody power struggle, every betrayal, and every assassination attempt until he climbed the ranks and became the Valenti family's underboss—the man everyone in the organization respected second only to the Don himself.

Whenever I brought up setting a date for our wedding, he always smiled, kissed my forehead, and said the timing wasn't right.

For him, I had made sacrifices no one would ever know.

Twice, I had ended pregnancies because he insisted that having a child while he was fighting for power would only paint a target on our family's backs.

Each time, I convinced myself he was protecting us.

Each time, I believed that once everything settled down, we'd finally have the future he kept promising me.

How ridiculous I had been.

Love had never been the problem.

I had simply loved someone who never intended to give me the same place in his life that I had given him in mine.

By the time I returned to the villa we shared inside the Valenti estate, Damiano was already home.

Perhaps guilt had brought him back earlier than expected.

He found me kneeling beside the walk-in wardrobe, folding my clothes into neat suitcases one piece at a time.

A flicker of confusion crossed his face.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm packing my things," I replied calmly, without looking up, hoping he would simply take a shower and leave me alone.

The expensive cologne lingering on him couldn't hide the faint trace of Sofia's perfume.

It clung stubbornly to his clothes, making my stomach twist with disgust.

He stood there for a moment, completely unaware that anything had changed, before speaking as casually as if tonight had been no different from any other.