Chapter 3

The chandelier cut the room in half. Light on black suits. Sharp. Cold.

Cigars burned thick. Champagne floated sour. Every Family stood tight, whispering deals that sounded like threats.

Under Giacomo, the Rossi Family had been bleeding for two years. This summit was his play—alliances, territory, cleanup.

What he didn't plan on was me walking in like this.

Enzo's hand stayed firm on my waist. Grounded. Unmoving. He guided me forward.

I wore a silver gown. It flashed when I moved. Black sash tight at my waist.

The diamond on my left hand lit up the room.

Our footsteps owned the ballroom.

Talks cut off. Heads turned—shock, curiosity, caution.

I looked at the Rossi table.

Giacomo clocked me and broke inside. His grip on his wine glass tightened until his knuckles went white.

Zoya sat up too straight. Eyes blown wide. Like she'd seen a ghost.

Enzo guided me to the main table.

He lifted his champagne, gave it a lazy swirl, then looked out at the room.

He didn't raise his voice. Didn't need to.

"Let me introduce my fiancée—Jessica."

Silence slammed the room.

Zoya couldn't hold back.

"Jessica?" Sharp. Mean. "Which Jessica? Don't tell me it's THAT Jessica Rossi—the one who sold out her family and murdered her own brother seven years ago before rotting in prison."

She sneered. "Don Corleone, you really standing next to someone that dirty? You trying to drag the Corleone name down with her?"

Whispers rolled through the crowd. Quiet. Ugly.

A few looks came my way—thin, sharp, already decided.

I didn't blink. I stepped up and met Zoya straight on. Voice calm. Clear.

"Zoya, before you run your mouth, try a mirror. A stain's bad—but not as dirty as stealing your dead husband's inheritance and pinning it on his sister with your lover."

Her face went red fast. She jumped up. "Lies! Carlo was killed by outsiders! You confessed yourself!"

"Confessed?" I laughed. Cold. "I confessed to something you and Giacomo cooked up. You slipped a fake record with my name into Carlo's pocket. Stamped our seal on a fake confession. Ring a bell?"

I held her stare. "Or you thought seven years would erase it."

Giacomo slammed the table. Wine jumped.

He shot up, voice sharp. Desperate.

"Jessica, watch your mouth. You're with the Corleones now—stay outta Rossi business. I run the Rossi Family. You don't get a say."

"Rossi business?" I stepped closer. Real close. Let everyone feel it. "Carlo's death. My seven years inside. You stealing my Family. That's all Rossi business."

I looked past him—straight to the other bosses. The ones who watched Carlo grow up. The ones who knew better.

"This life's got rules. We talk honor. You don't kill your Don to take his chair. That's disgrace. You don't frame your own wife. That's worse." I didn't blink. "Giacomo put a blade in Carlo's chest.

"He sent me to prison with his own hands. He and Zoya took the Family together."

I let it hang.

"I'll find the proof. And when I do, you'll all see the truth."

"Don't you dare!"

Giacomo shook with it. Rage took over. He lunged—

Enzo stepped in. Blocked him cold.

His stare didn't blink. Pure ice. "You'd lay a hand on her?"

He pulled me in by the waist. Solid.

His eyes swept the room before he spoke, and the temperature dropped.

"What happens to my fiancée is Corleone business now. From today on, anyone who touches her—anyone who comes for her—is coming for me. For the Corleone Family."

The words sank fast.

Dead silence.

The bosses traded looks. Nobody spoke. Nobody stupid.

Everyone knew Corleone muscle. Everyone knew what crossing Enzo meant—and Giacomo wasn't worth it.

Giacomo's fists balled up. That was all he had.

Zoya went pale, swayed, barely made it back into her chair.

Their perfect little power play?

It just turned into my declaration of war.

Enzo looked at me. Just for a second, his eyes went soft.

"Let's go."

I turned with him, headed for the exit.

Passing the Rossi table, I glanced back at Giacomo and Zoya. My lips moved. No sound.

'The game's begun.'

The doors shut behind us. Cut off the stares.

Enzo squeezed my hand. I felt the strength. "He won't drop this," he said. "You embarrassed him tonight. That sticks.

"He'll move fast. Rossi loyalists first. Salvatore Rizzo tops the list—three generations on your books. Lucky we reached him first.

"Salvatore said ten a.m., old bookstore, south end," Enzo went on, eyes sharp. "He's got proof Giacomo sold weapons to the Valentinos."

A pause.

"He wants to hand it to YOU."