Chapter 3

For five years, I poured my heart into managing the Falcone estate and raising Luca into the sharp young prince everyone in the underworld already whispered he would become.

I was a living reminder of his wife, the one person keeping the soul of this family from shattering completely.

But no matter what I did, I never received even a shred of their recognition.

To Horton, I was just a tool he remembered only for his physical needs. In bed, he always kept his eyes closed, unwilling to even glance at me.

"Seraphina..." he would whisper at his climax. Always her name.

And Luca, from the very first day, saw me as the murderer who killed his mother.

"Why don't you just die?" he once asked me when he was five. "If you died, would Mom be able to come back?"

How could a hell like this be called a home?

Don Corrado finally gave up. He motioned for his lawyer to hand me the termination agreement, his voice old and weary. "Once you sign this, there's no turning back."

Without hesitation, I signed my name on the document.

The sun was setting when I drove back to the estate that evening. I pressed the remote for the main gate, but the display flashed: ACCESS DENIED.

I rang the intercom, but there was no response.

A guard appeared, his tone respectful but firm. "Apologies, ma'am, but we have important guests tonight. Only core family members are permitted inside."

I knew this was Horton's way of punishing me for my "incompetence" today, for not returning to the estate to prepare Luca's dinner. Since he was a child, Luca had the picky palate of a family heir, eating only specific ingredients prepared in a certain way.

That was why I had learned traditional Sicilian cuisine, mastering every classic recipe served at the Falcone family table.

I remembered how he used to hug my leg, pleading in his small voice:

"Christine, your meatballs are the best in the whole world. I want you to stay here with me forever."

But somewhere along the way, everything had changed. Now, all he wanted was to make me disappear from this world in the cruelest way possible.

A biting wind cut across my face like a razor. The New York night was freezing, and the thin cashmere I wore was no defense against the December cold.

Within minutes, I was shivering uncontrollably. I had nowhere to go for warmth, forced to stand outside the iron gates of the estate like an abandoned beggar.

Through the heavy iron bars, I could see the warm, spring-like light of the living room.

A woman in a designer evening gown descended the spiral staircase, moving as if she owned the place as she approached Luca.

When she saw me freezing outside the gate, a cold, triumphant smirk crossed her lips.

I recognized her. Millie. A bombshell poached from a high-end Manhattan strip club, with hair like spun gold and eyes the color of a turquoise sea.

Her features were a startling echo of Seraphina, even more so than mine. She was the most convincing of the nineteen replacements Horton had brought home.

"Oh, look who it is. I'm so sorry, darling, but Horton is spending the night with me. Looks like you'll have to enjoy the fresh air."

Then she turned to Luca, a perfect smile on her face.

"Come on, my little prince. Dinner is served, and your papa is waiting for us in the dining room."

"Great! I love eating with Millie!" Luca jumped up, taking her hand. "You're a thousand times better than that murderer! At least you didn't kill my mom!"

I watched them disappear behind the grand door, the warm scene a bullet through my chest.

The child I had raised, the boy whose life I had shaped for five years, saw none of it.

Instead, he clung loyally to a woman Horton had brought in from the outside, simply because she had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as Seraphina.

And because she offered a permissive, fawning style of parenting that let him do whatever he wanted.

It was too late to call a cab now, and the deep winter night in New York was brutally cold. I huddled in a corner outside the gates like a stray dog, the piercing wind tearing at my skin.

Just as I thought I might freeze to death right there, my phone rang. The butler's voice was cold through the receiver.

"Mrs. Falcone, the Boss says you may come in now. Please use the servants' entrance."

My body was numb with cold, but I forced myself to stand and stagger toward the side door.

At this point, survival mattered more than pride.

Walking through the corridor, which was as cold as a morgue, I saw them: Horton, Luca, and Millie, seated in a perfect triangle on the Persian rug before the fire.

The orange glow of the fire danced on their faces, as warm as an oil painting.

Luca was on Millie's lap, scooping tiramisu with a small silver spoon.

"Open up, little prince," Millie said softly, her voice sickeningly sweet.

Luca obediently opened his mouth, then closed his eyes in satisfaction.

"Millie's dessert is the best in the world!"

Horton watched them, a gentle smile on his lips I had never seen before.

This was what a family was supposed to look like. Warm, harmonious, and full of love. It was a pity none of it had ever been for me.

I stood in the shadows like an intruder, watching this heartwarming play unfold.