Chapter 1

"Scrub our identities. Mine and Leo's. Delete everything," I told Marco, my contact in the underground market.

"Sophia? Have you lost your mind? You’re the Family's Consigliere and their top hitman. Don Alexander will never let you go," Marco said, his voice thick with shock.

I stitched up the gunshot wound in my abdomen, my voice devoid of emotion.

"That's my business. I want no more Sophia and Leo in the world."

Silence hung on the line for a few seconds before Marco sighed. "Fine. Give me three days."

After Marco hung up, I leaned against the cold clinic wall and let out a bitter laugh.

Everyone envied my position. They saw me as Alexander's right hand, the Underboss in all but name.

They didn't know I had been his wife for five years. They didn't know about Leo.

For five years, he forbade our son from calling him Dad.

“It puts a target on your backs,” he always said. “It’s to keep you safe.”

I believed him. I stayed in the shadows, managing the Family's business, until his first love Bella came back to Sicily with a five-year-old boy —— Lucas.

He took Bella shopping in broad daylight. He bought Lucas toys. My Leo could only watch their paparazzi photos from the confinement of the estate.

I closed my eyes, the afternoon’s botched hit replaying in my mind.

Lucas wanted pizza from a popular spot in the city center, so Alexander took them. He didn't hesitate.

Their location leaked immediately. As we exited the restaurant, machine-gun fire rained down like a storm.

Alexander instinctively dove to cover Bella and Lucas, shielding them with his body.

I was left exposed. A bullet tore through my stomach.

Before I could even return fire, Alexander’s roar cut through the noise.

"Sophia! Cover us!"

"You're the only one who can hold them back! Buy us time!"

He retreated with Bella and her son, leaving me nothing but a cold, receding silhouette.

Clutching my bleeding side, I slaughtered my way out of the ambush.

When I dragged my broken body to the hospital, I found Alexander gently comforting Bella. She had a single, minor scratch.

"Alexander, I'm scared..." Bella whispered, leaning into his chest, playing the fragile victim perfectly.

"It's over. You're safe now," Alexander soothed her, stroking her hair.

Bella spotted me. She raised her voice, feigning concern. "Sophia won't be mad, will she? We did leave her behind in the ambush..."

Alexander didn't even look up.

"It’s fine. She’s strong; those men were no match for her." He paused, his voice turning frosty. "Besides, if she hadn't drugged me six years ago, you wouldn't have left the country in anger. You wouldn't have suffered. She owes you this."

That was the moment my heart went cold.

It was ridiculous. I was the one who saved him. Six years ago, Alexander was dosed with an aphrodisiac during a setup by a rival family.

I used my own body as the antidote and dragged him out of the encirclement.

Two months later, I was pregnant.

When Bella found out, she fled Sicily in a rage and married some random guy in the States.

I only learned the truth when she returned divorced six months ago—she had married an abuser and lived a miserable life.

Alexander married me to take responsibility. He treated Leo and me well enough, and never spoke of that night.

I thought he had learned to love our family. I didn't realize he still believed I had orchestrated the whole thing to trap him.

I finished dressing my wound and drove back to the estate. In the living room, Leo sat on the sofa in the little suit Alexander had bought him, swinging his legs, eyes bright with anticipation.

"Mom!" He jumped up. "When is Daddy coming back? He promised to take me to Disney!"

I thought of Alexander at the hospital, doting on Bella. He wasn't coming. I knew that.

But seeing the hope in Leo's eyes, knowing we were about to leave forever, I pulled out my phone and texted Alexander:

Today is Leo’s 5th birthday. You promised him Disney. Are you coming?

Surprisingly, a reply came instantly: Home in an hour.

Leo saw my expression and cheered.

"Daddy's coming, right? I knew he wouldn't forget!"

I nodded, a faint warmth rising in my chest.

Maybe... maybe I was wrong. Maybe he still cared about Leo.

Leo ran to the kitchen to get the cake, carefully placing the candles.

"Mom, let's wait for Daddy to light them, okay?"

One hour passed. No one came.

Two hours passed. Silence.

Leo lay on the windowsill, staring at the gate.

"Mom, is Daddy stuck in traffic?"

I was about to invent an excuse when my phone pinged.

A Facebook notification from Bella.

The photo showed Alexander at Disney World, carrying Lucas on his shoulders as fireworks exploded above them. Lucas was wearing a suit identical to Leo's.

The caption read: Thank you for the magical night. My two knights.