I Bled for Their Empire, Now I Rule My Own

The day Anna set foot on the estate lawn, my couture wedding dress had just been flown in.

She watched as I walked past, followed by several dressmakers wheeling the diamond-studded gown.

Dressed in black mourning lace, she threw herself at Dante and clutched the hem of his jacket.

"Don, I can't stay in Chicago!

"Before my brother died, his only wish was to see me in a wedding dress, with a safe home of my own.

"But now I'm all alone. My father and brother died violent deaths. By the old Sicilian rule, if I'm not married within 100 days, I'll be handed over as a reward to some low-ranking thug!

"If that happens, I'd rather put a gun in my mouth right now and go join my brother!"

When she finished, her eyes locked on Dante.

Sitting on the leather sofa, I watched Dante bend down and pull her into his arms. I already knew what he'd choose.

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, he spoke.

"I'll give you a respectable place in this family.

"Your brother took a bullet for me. I can't let you be humiliated in the slums."

Then he turned to me.

"Claire, Anna has to be inducted within 100 days. Our wedding has to be witnessed by the Five Families' Commission, and rescheduling it would be a hassle, so we'll have to hold her ceremony first."

In a few days, I was supposed to stand beside him at the Cathedral of Our Lady in that gown while the family's loyal members kissed our hands.

But before that, he was going to walk another woman into the church.

I picked up my espresso, swallowed the chill in my chest, and ran a fingertip over the ring on my finger.

"Whatever you decide, Don Rinaldi."

The tight line of his jaw relaxed.

"I knew you'd understand. You always do."

After a pause, his gaze swept over the velvet display case behind me, and he went on.

"Anna lost her parents young. She doesn't have anything decent of her own.

"Could you lend her that ruby necklace in your safe for a couple of days, just so she looks the part?"

That ruby necklace was a trophy. I'd pulled it from a pile of bodies on the ocean floor when I was 14, during an ambush near the reefs while fighting for the Gambino family.

Back then, Dante had gone down on one knee and said that on our wedding day, he'd fasten it around my neck himself to tell the world I was the love of his life.

Now he wanted to use it to make another woman happy.

"Sure."

I didn't even look up.

"Time's tight. Why don't you let me handle the arrangements for this happy occasion?"

Anna looked at me with tears clinging to her lashes.

"Claire, you really won't hold it against me?"

I forced a smile.

"Of course not."

Two days later, white gauze hung across the estate's back garden.

It wasn't until the bulletproof sedan stopped in the garage at the back entrance that Anna realized something was wrong.

No priest to officiate. No gifts from the Five Families. No cathedral bells.

Even the carpet beneath her feet was plain gray.

She ripped off her veil, her chest heaving.

"Why are we going through the back garage?"

I stood at the top of the steps and said flatly, "Mistresses always enter the estate through the back."

Anna swayed.

"Who said I'm a mistress?"

I turned to Dante.

"The Don only said he'd give you an induction ceremony. When did he ever say he'd make you his wife?"

Dante frowned.

"Claire, her brother's body isn't even cold yet. Do you have to humiliate her right now?"

"The family rules can't be broken. If the Don wants to change brides, he can start by explaining to the elders of the Five Families' Commission why he's tearing up an alliance that's already been signed and sealed."

Dante was speechless. At last, he said in a low voice, "Give her a ceremony worthy of a Donna, but keep her on the books as an adopted daughter. It's just for show. It won't threaten your position."

I had the parchment alliance signed by the Five Families' Commission brought out.

"A Donna's induction requires the sacred bell, the family flame, 12 elders kissing her hand, and her name carved into a tombstone beneath the chapel.

"If you have the nerve, Don Rinaldi, take your private jet to Sicily right now and ask the council of elders to their faces whether they agree."

Dante's face went completely dark.

Anna burst into tears, her voice shaking.

"It's all my fault. I didn't know my place. I was just afraid that if my brother saw me from heaven living like some plaything kept in the shadows, he'd never rest in peace!"

Dante immediately pulled her to his side and turned on me in a rage.

"Her family's been destroyed. Do you have to grind the last of her dignity into the mud before you're satisfied?"

I looked at their tightly clasped hands and suddenly laughed.

"Fine. Since the Don wants to give her a show, I'll give her a gift she won't forget."

I snapped my fingers, and the maid behind me brought over a rosewood box.

On the black velvet lining lay a dark gold lion-head family crest.

It was the token only Chicago mafia Donnas were allowed to wear when formally inducted.