LOGINNella’s POVAntonio’s last message came at 11:47 p.m.I know because I had been staring at the screen so long that my vision blurred.He had typed slowly. I watched the ellipsis appear and disappear three times before the message finally came through."The order didn't come from inside your father's circle. It came from someone who had been watching him for a long time.Someone patient. Someone who needed him gone before a certain deal closed."I stared at it."Who?" I typed again.“I don’t know yet.But I’m looking.I’ve been looking since the day it happened," Antonio replied.I paused.“Why are you telling me now?”“Because you deserve to know the truth,” he said.“Because you’re carrying a child in a world that still wants to hurt you.Because if someone were to kill Vito, they would target you next.”I felt sick.Not just from the words.But from the violent, abrupt outburst of anger that followed them.Someone had murdered my father.Someone had taken him from me.And I had spen
Nella’s pov“Food is ready, ma’am.” The maid said after knocking twice.For the first time since I got to the villa, I counted the stairs. Sullen and slow.Giovanni was already seated when I came into the dining room. He didn't look up from the document in his hand when I sat down. We had settled into this—the performance of ignoring each other across a table laid for two by staff who had learned not to make eye contact with either of us.The dining space was quiet except for the careful clattering of the cutlery. The maid served risotto with saffron, mushrooms with grilled chicken, and roasted vegetables. It smelled good, but I had no appetite.I hadn’t seen him until dinner.This was not unusual. He moved through his own house like a ghost—present everywhere in effect, rarely visible in form. I would find evidence of him before I found him: a jacket folded over a chair, a glass rinsed and set upside down on the kitchen counter with the precision of a man who did not trust other peo
Nella’s POVThe villa was quieter than usual that afternoon.Giovanni had left early for a meeting downtown — something about territory lines and a shipment that needed his personal sign-off.He had kissed my forehead before he went, hand lingering on my stomach for a moment longer than necessary, and then he disappeared with two cars and four men trailing him like shadows.The rash from last week had finally faded, the ointment working quietly the way small miracles do — without announcement.I wandered the halls barefoot, one of his white shirts hanging loose over my leggings, the hem brushing my mid-thigh.The pregnancy was more visible now — a soft, undeniable curve that made my hands drift to it without thinking.I still hadn’t told anyone outside the villa.Not even Antonio or Brenda.I went to the art room; it was filled with several paintings—Giovanni’s, a lady arching her back in the doggy position while the hands of a strong man locked her wrists backwards, and the view of t
Giovanni’s POVThe bedroom was quiet except for the soft sound of Nella’s breathing and the faint wet glide of my hands over her skin.She lay on her side, naked, one arm tucked under her head, the other hand resting protectively over the gentle curve of her stomach.The pregnancy was visible now — not huge, but unmistakable.A small, perfect swell that made something primal twist inside my chest every time I looked at it.I knelt beside the bed, one knee on the mattress, working the cinnamon-shea ointment into her calves first.Her skin was warm from the shower, flushed pink in places from the hot water and the allergic rash that had appeared after the dinner.The scent of cinnamon filled the air — sharp, sweet, and grounding.The smooth movement was soothing her skin and making her feel relaxed.She closed her eyes.I continued. "How do you feel now?” I asked.“Much better,” she replied”“Hmm hmm. That’s what I want to hear.”She sighed – small, involuntary – when my thumbs pressed
Nella’s POVThe second trimester isn’t going the way I had imagined in my head, but I have been trying to cope, not like I have a choice, though.I have gotten used to the quiet villa and the mute bodyguards. The maids—I never got to see their faces fully; they were always bowing.Giovanni did not know I had been in touch with Antonio for a while and that he kissed me at the capo’s private dinner. I’m not sure of Antonio’s intentions; I just want to have my life figured out, not caged as the girl subjected to the Don.Here we are, at another private dinner.This dinner was supposed to be small — just a handful of Giovanni’s most trusted capos, a few wives, and the new Don himself.“Get ready; we have a dinner to attend tonight.” Giovanni had said to me that evening, staring deep into my eyes like he was searching for something.I sat to his right, my black dress revealing a bit of my cleavage, trying to look like I belonged in the mafia world, but I knew too well it wasn’t for me.The
Brenda’s POV (Flashback – 12 years ago)I was twenty-two years old and drowning.The restaurant in Palermo was a tourist trap: overpriced pasta, waitresses in tight black dresses, and men who tipped with wandering hands.I worked the late shift six nights a week, smiling through gritted teeth while my feet bled in cheap heels and my daughter slept at my mother’s apartment across town.That was the night a man named Rico walked in. The most dreadful and dangerous I'd ever known. No, he didn’t look dangerous, nor did he look like someone who could snap a person’s neck backwards in five seconds.Instead, he looked like money — quiet money. More like a humble billionaire with his dark suit, no tie, silver at the temples, and his eyes like the colour of wet slate.He sat alone at the VIP corner table; he ordered a bottle of Barolo and a plate of bruschetta he barely touched.When I brought the wine, he looked up at me and smiled. I noticed how he’d watch me arranging the wine glass.His g
Nella’s POVI was losing my mind in this villa. Giovanni always had business meetings to attend; I can go days without seeing or speaking to him.Not like I missed him, but this villa seems too large and quiet.A week had passed since the latest attack. What if Giovanni hadn’t come in time? But he
Giovanni’s POVThree months ago – New YorkThe bar in Lower Manhattan was loud, dim, and full of people trying too hard to forget their problems.I had come for a business meeting — a quiet sit-down with a few East Coast associates about territory lines and shipping routes. The kind of conversation
Nella’s POVLucas was dead.I kept repeating it to myself like a prayer — or a curse.I saw his body crumple right in front of his garage every time I closed my eyes: his chest blooming red, his revolver clattering to the stone, and the light leaving his eyes before Giovanni even reached me.I had
Nella’s POVThe black SUV hummed along the winding road back to the villa.Giovanni sat beside me in the back seat, one arm draped casually over the seat behind my shoulders. His fingers brushed the nape of my neck every few minutes, as if he couldn’t stop touching me.His other hand rested lightly







