Chapter 1

After my brother, Don Matteo Sabella, finds out I have a crush on our family Consigliere, Lorenzo Gallo, for years, he spikes Lorenzo's wine and has him delivered to my bed.

That night, he pushes deep into me, and we lose ourselves in each other.

When the sky begins to lighten, Lorenzo stays, kisses my temple, and asks me to marry him.

Now that we are married, he is all those things—gentle, perfect, and fiercely possessive—handing me almost everything I desire.

I truly believe I've landed the kind of love every woman in our world dreams about.

That illusion lasts until the day Matteo gets taken out in an assassination. After that, Lorenzo steps up as the Sabellas' new Don.

It isn't long before he says he has family business to handle and disappears overseas for three years. Even on the day I deliver our daughter, Luna Gallo, he can't come home because of some emergency.

Then I hear a recording that's blowing up on the family's internal network.

His Consigliere chuckles and asks, "Don, what do you think has changed the most since you took over the family?"

Lorenzo answers in this offhand tone, "It's definitely the fact that I can finally give those I care about most a home. But it also means I'm even more worried that Eliana and Sofia will be targeted because of me…"

My blood runs cold.

Eliana Rossi is his adopted sister, and Sofia is her daughter.

Turns out every business trip, every absence, every so-called emergency Lorenzo has is about them. He has another home out there.

That night, with my hands shaking, I dial the encrypted line. "Matteo, we've found the traitor. Isn't it time you stopped pretending to be dead and came to take Luna and me away?"

...

"Donna Sabella, in 72 hours, every record of you and your daughter, Luna, will be deleted from every system in existence. This is your last chance to change your mind—"

I swallowed the sharp ache rising in my chest and leveled my voice until it sounded numb. "No. Leave it. Do it the way we agreed."

Lorenzo Gallo and I got married first and fell in love later. We had three sweet years together, three more on opposite sides of the world, and now everything came down to these last three days.

I'd barely ended the call when I heard crying at the door. I would've known that voice anywhere.

It was my daughter, Luna Gallo.

Today was the annual heir assessment. Any child who stood out was almost guaranteed to be next in line to lead the family.

Before Luna left this morning, she was straightening her uniform with careful fingers, chattering about how much she wanted Lorenzo to see how far she'd come.

Now her eyes were red and puffy as she threw herself into my arms. Her little shoulders trembled as she cried.

"Mommy, does Daddy not care about me anymore? He told me he'd support me, but at the assessment, he stood with Sofia the entire time.

"Even one of the judges asked him if Sofia was the Sabellas' chosen heir. The heirs from the other families were laughing at me, calling me a bastard…"

Every word felt like it was tearing me apart.

I honestly thought if I waited three years for Lorenzo, he'd wrap up the family's business overseas and finally come home to be with Luna and me.

But reality didn't waste a second before knocking me flat.

He only came back because Eliana Rossi decided she wanted to move home. She tossed out a casual "I'm sick of staying there", and he dropped a good chunk of his overseas work to bring her back.

While he was at it, he transferred her daughter, Sofia, into Luna's school.

The day we went to pick Lorenzo up at the airport, Luna wore her favorite tulle dress and her little dress shoes. She clutched a tiny mirror the whole ride to make sure her bangs were perfect.

"Mommy, I miss Daddy so much. Do you think he misses me too?"

I kissed her cheek and smiled. "Of course he does. You're his only daughter."

The cabin doors opened, and Lorenzo stepped out, collar loose in the wind as if he'd just walked straight out of a luxury ad.

He had Eliana's hand in one of his and Sofia on his other arm. The little girl wore designer labels from head to toe.

Luna and I froze.

The moment Lorenzo noticed us, he frowned as if our presence there was the very last thing he needed.

He spoke in that cool, distant voice of his. "Alessia, che ci fai qua? Eliana and Sofia just got back, and I need to get them settled first. The driver will take you and Luna home. Wait for me there."

After that, he didn't give Luna or me another glance. He just walked right past us with Sofia in his arms.

Remembering that moment, I closed my eyes and struggled to hold back the tears.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. This is all my fault. Next time, I'll be there cheering for you."

After Luna finally cried herself to sleep, I tucked her in.

Even in her sleep, her little brows stayed furrowed, her lips moving as she whispered, "Daddy, why weren't you on my side?"

My chest tightened so much I began to tremble.

It all started at my birthday party six years ago.

That night at the party, my brother, Don Matteo Sabella, learned about my crush on Lorenzo and ordered someone to spike Lorenzo's drink.

I called Matteo, my frustration boiling over. "Why would you do that, Matteo? He's going to hate me!"

He laughed like it was nothing. "Relax, Principessa. I've seen how he looks at you. He wants you. He's just too proud to admit it. And besides, you're a Sabella. What man wouldn't come running when you call?

"He's only a Consigliere. He should feel lucky."

Before I could get a word out, a strange heat rushed through me. I gasped in fear.

Matteo gave a slow, knowing whistle. "I had someone spike your coffee too. Go on, sweetheart. Enjoy your night. Drain him dry!"

As soon as he finished speaking, they shoved Lorenzo into my room and slammed the door.

He was breathing hard, his eyes lit with a dangerous kind of hunger. But the second he saw me, whatever had been driving him hesitated.

He grabbed my wrist, his voice rough and unsteady. "Alessia? Come… Perché sei tu?"

The turmoil in his eyes sent a cold shiver through me.

I saw the desire the drug had forced into him, and the anger at being played. But underneath it all, there was a conflict I couldn't untangle, curling into something close to despair.

Lorenzo barely forced the words out. "Vai… Alessia. Leave now while I still have control!"

"The door's locked from the outside…"

I sagged against the wall, weak all over. Heat and want churned through me until I found myself drifting closer to him.

"Lorenzo, if you can't do this… I'll call Matteo and have him send me another man!"

No man alive could've ignored a line like that. I'd just struck the match.

"You started this," he growled.

Then everything tipped sideways. He yanked me into his arms and pinned me beneath him, kissing me with a fierce, desperate heat.

That night was wild, messy, and addictive.

When I woke up the next morning, Lorenzo was still inside me, his warmth pressed deep against mine.

The second he realized I was awake, he started to move, slow and deliberate, sending another wave of pleasure through me.

"Alessia," he murmured, kissing my temple.

"Sposami."

I thought that was the start of our happily-ever-after.

Then Matteo died out of nowhere. After that, Lorenzo buried himself in work, getting busier every year until he spent three straight years overseas without coming home.

I told myself he must have his reasons. I told myself this was simply what came with loving a mafia Don.

At least, that was what I believed until I asked someone to crack the encrypted part of that leaked recording.

Lorenzo's Consigliere, Dario Casalini, had asked, "Don, I don't get it. What don't you like about Donna Sabella? She's gorgeous, devoted, and she's the one who shut down all the voices against you becoming Don."

A lighter snapped shut.

When Lorenzo spoke, his voice was just as cold and hard as the metal. "It's not about liking her. I just never should've married her."

The words blindsided Dario. "Then why'd you…"

Lorenzo snorted. "I was an orphan. Eliana's parents took me in and gave me a home. Matteo might've forgotten how much blood he's spilled, but Eliana told me it was Matteo who killed my adoptive parents.

"I married Alessia so he'd know what it felt like to lose his own family, to lose his home. I just didn't expect Matteo to be the one who died first."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut.

So Luna and I were the ones who didn't belong. Lorenzo hadn't wanted this family at all. He'd married me just for revenge.