Chapter 1

All three capos were waiting in the study when Dante brought Bianca Russo home.

Rosa Alvarez, our housekeeper, led me there as soon as I returned from the hospital.

Dante sat with Bianca pressed against his side. He was holding her hand, soothing her.

I stared at him in disbelief.

Yesterday, he'd sat beside my hospital bed and taken care of me.

Today, he'd brought another woman home.

Dante noticed the look on my face and got to his feet.

"Vivian, how are you feeling?"

I didn't answer. My gaze went straight to Bianca behind him.

"What the hell is going on?"

Dante took my hand, his voice softening.

"I know losing the baby is tearing you apart, but everyone already knows I'm about to get married and that the Moretti family is expecting an heir.

"If they find out we've lost the baby, they'll start wondering what's really going on in this family."

I stared at him, my eyes still swollen from crying.

One of the capos stepped forward.

"Vivian, the Don is doing this to protect the family's reputation. Surely you understand."

Enzo Ricci spoke up too.

"Vivian, nothing has to change between you two. You'll still be the woman the Don cares about most."

Enzo and Dante had grown up together. He'd been at Dante's side for years and was now his right-hand man.

I let out a bitter laugh.

Dante, of all people, knew exactly how much I'd sacrificed for him and this family.

We'd been together for five years.

For the last four, he'd kept promising to marry me. Every time, he gave me the same excuse. He had to secure his position as Don first. Once he did, we'd get married.

And like a fool, I believed him.

So I kept running the business for him.

I landed exclusive distribution contracts and secured deals with every major dock supplier.

Yet as far as the outside world knew, I was just another one of Dante's lieutenants.

He never once let anyone suspect there was more between us.

Only the inner circle knew the truth.

The second capo shot me a cold look.

"Vivian, protecting the family's reputation and the Don's position is part of your job."

I looked from one hypocritical face to another.

Three months ago, when I found out I was pregnant, these same men had insisted I should marry Dante.

I pressed a hand to my empty stomach.

The tiny life that had once grown there was gone.

Bianca watched me with a smug little smile.

Suddenly, everything made sense.

She was pregnant with Dante's child. She had to be. Otherwise, the capos and Enzo would never have turned on me overnight.

I gave Bianca a slow once-over.

This hadn't started yesterday. Dante must have been sleeping with her for a while.

So that was why he'd kept putting off our wedding.

I swallowed my tears. I wouldn't give any of them the pleasure of watching me break.

"You're the Don. Marry whoever you want."

With that, I turned and walked back to my room.

The second the door shut, I broke.

Tears streamed down my face as another cramp tore through my stomach. I sank beside the bed and curled in on myself.

I didn't know how long I sat there. Eventually, my legs went numb.

I wiped my face and forced myself to think.

They hadn't come to ask for my permission. They didn't need it.

No outsider knew about Dante and me.

As long as Dante went through with the wedding, no one would suspect a thing.

A few months from now, Bianca would give birth, and the Moretti family would have its heir.

And nobody would ever find out what had actually happened.

So why bother explaining any of this to me? Because I controlled the money.

From now on, they would never feel safe leaving the business in my hands.

Whatever power I had, they would strip away from me piece by piece.

By the time they were done, I would have nothing left, and they could do whatever they wanted with me.

I took out my phone and called Rafael.

I had met Rafael Ferraro three years earlier while negotiating a deal.

He had always respected my skills and had asked me more than once to join his family.

"Help me bring down the Moretti family. When it's done, I'll join your family and double its profits."

Rafael answered almost at once.

"Done. I've been waiting for you to join us."