Chapter 1

“Evening, Donna. The Don got back about half an hour ago.”

The gate guard nodded as he swiped the access card. I nodded back, silent.

The front door swung open before I could turn the handle. Donovan stood in the doorway.

“You’re back,” he said, surprise in his voice.

“Yep.”

“What time did you land?”

“Three-forty.”

His brow lifted. “I thought you were coming tomorrow.”

I held his gaze, slow and steady. “I sent you the flight details.”

“Did you?” He frowned slightly. “Things have been crazy. Must’ve missed it.”

“Crazy with what?”

“Sera’s Vegas book got hit with a fine. She was upset. I stayed to smooth things over.”

He took my carry-on and set it against the wall, then turned back toward the living room. “I would’ve picked you up if I’d known.”

“You were busy picking up Seraphina.”

“That’s different.” He took a sip of bourbon, his tone easy.

“Sera’s young. Doesn’t know how to handle pressure from rival crews. You’re experienced, Vi. You always make it home.”

Ironic.

Seraphina alone was unsafe. But me, the Donna of the Valentino family, I was “fine.”

“Trip go okay?” he asked, offhand.

The plane had nearly torn apart in the sky. I didn’t have the energy to tell him.

“Fine.”

I walked into the master bath and froze.

On the marble counter sat a tube of custom foundation. Next to it, a small, matte-black pistol.

“Donovan,” I said. “Whose things are these?”

“Sera’s. She left them here last week when she stopped by to sign some papers.”

“She stops by often?”

“Only for work.” He leaned in the doorway. “When you’re gone, she comes by to keep things in order. Handles the small family stuff that piles up.”

So she was here. In our space. Almost every day I was away.

“I told security to give her full access. When you’re not here, someone needs to be able to get in if things go sideways.”

He’d given his right-hand girl the run of the house. Without asking me. The Donna.

“You didn’t think to tell me?”

“Come on, Viola. Sera works for the family.”

Funny.

His burner phone lit up on the table. He grabbed it fast.

“Sera wants me to go with her to a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. She hates needles.”

“Okay.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Why would I?”

He smiled, relieved.

“Knew you’d understand. Sera’s always saying how cool you are. How you never make a fuss.”

Not because I didn’t want to. Because it never mattered.

He’d call me jealous. Say Sera was his right hand. Say I didn’t understand the weight of being Don.

Every time, I ended up the one in the wrong.

“Donovan,” I said, quiet. “What do you have Seraphina saved as in your phone?”

He blinked. “Sera. Why?”

“And what do you have me saved as?”

He flipped his phone and glanced at the screen. “Viola Valentino.”

A nickname for her. My full name for me, like another contact in his ledger.

“Problem?” he asked, frowning like I was being petty.

“No.”

“Get some sleep. You look tired.”

Then he left to handle family business.

“Oh,” he called from the hall.

“Don’t touch the bag on the kitchen counter. It’s a custom massage cushion for Sera. She’s flying cross-country for the casino deal next week. Got the family crest stitched on it.”

Last winter, I’d asked him to order a massage cushion for the long flights home.

He’d shut it down at the table. Said it was a weak ask. Not worth the family’s resources.

I’d bought one myself instead.

My hand slid into my carry-on and pulled out the signed divorce papers.

My phone lit up. A WhatsApp from Marshall, head of long-haul operations.

“Vi, visa and tickets locked for Dubai Monday. All set?”

I stared at the closed bedroom door, then typed back, my thumb steady on the glass.

All set.