ELENA POV
“Bianchi cartel?” I say shocked “Cartel, what do you mean cartel?” “Drango, stop the car and step outside,” he tells the driver and immediately in front of some house, the car comes to a stop and he pulls the door open heading outside in a flash. “What's happening? Why did he have to step out?” I turn to him a deep frown on my face to express my worry. “My family, we are not as simple as we turn out to be, I’m Alexander Binachi and I am the Don of the Mafia group Red Fang, the Binachi cartel” he pauses “My family started it years back and my marriage to you today, solidifies my inheritance and my claim as the Don” “And this is why we had to rush the wedding so fast?” shock courses through me, “have you.. have you killed someone?” I whisper leaning forward, interested in what his reply would be. His eyes fill with concern but he nods, “Yes, but I promise this to you Elena you will be safe forever in my care, even after the marriage contract ends, you will be highly protected” he grabs my fingers in his, assuring me. I sigh nodding but my mind is filled with questions, what are the expectations of me now that I'm married to him? What if I get hurt? And worse, what if I fall in love with him? “Drango will take us to our house now, there are a few people waiting for you there and then we can go and see my family, and introduce you to everyone that matters” he nods tapping on the car door. The driver pulls the door open and the car starts to move again. Soon we reach the largest mansion my eyes have seen, the pathway has a garden leading to a large Victorian-style door, and the walls are covered in algae and roses, like an old castle. “To your taste?” Alexander helps me out of the car, the day already cooling off “To my taste?? You have got to be kidding me, this is an upgrade from the hospital room and that uncomfortable bed” I share a smile with him as we walk in through the doors and into the foyer. There we meet a stylist with a row of dresses and a hair and makeup artist, “They will doll you up for the dinner, you have to look your best Bedda Mia” he places a shocking peck on my cheek, bidding goodbye to the three people and leaving me a hot fluttering mess. What was that name? I wonder what it means. Four hours later I'm standing in front of of another mansion, the most I've seen in a while “How do I look?” I turn to him, my makeup is done with a red lip, my black hair I decided to cut short into a bob, and the red dress the stylist handed me, fits like a glove. “You look beautiful, and I know you will love my family and they will love you” he nods at me, heading for the door at a stretch. I step into the dining room and it immediately falls silent, either at my arrival or at Alexander’s arrival. “Everyone this is Elena, My Wife” he introduces loudly, his voice booming across the room. A glass falls to the floor at that announcement and the room goes into murmurs and strange looks. A man with blonde hair and rectangle glasses walks forward to us, forehead in a deep scrunch, his eyes lit up with anger, a bit more and flames will be coming out from his ears. “You will not get away with this!” He points at Alex's shoulder but he remains sturdy “Are you really threatening the new Don at this moment Reed” he raises a brow at him, expression stoic and hard, I've known this man a few days and it's the first time I have seen him this way, hard and defensive. “You haven't signed the papers” The Reed guy continues, eyes turning to me and then back to Alex in anger “Mr. Chambers will you please hand everyone their copy of my transfer as the new Don please,” he says instead ignoring Reed “I will sir” An older man from the corner of the room stands up, handing out papers to everyone. Reed who I assume is his cousin, storms out a blonde-haired woman pursuing after him not before throwing me a dirty look. “How could you marry a woman without me, without my approval, a gold digger at that, what family does she come from” an older woman approaches us “Okay this is not the love I was promised” “Ma, this is not the time for this, and she is La Regina fella Famiglia now, and if u remember correctly, that position comes with Respect, it was given to you but she's Don's wife now, and she should be acquired the same, and I'm speaking to the entire room” he finishes turning back to his mother, her eyes burning with rage She turns to me, and it almost feels like she's about to hit me when a young lady, walks forward pulling me into a hug. “Sophia, show Elena her seat, I need to speak to Ma” he nods at the girl who has the same eyes as his. I can feel the tension in the room as the two move outside, a yelling match from his mother following. “Are they usually like that?” I turn to Sophia beside me, she places me on the seat next to the head, and everyone locks eyes with me, following my every move, but I've been stuck in a coma for four years with no memory of my life, I think It will take a lot more than stares to shake me off. “No in fact he's her favorite” She rolls her eyes and immediately downing a glass of wine, immediately I feel some sought of bad blood between her and Alex's mother “And you are?” I turn to her, the waiter handing me a drink “Sophia Bianchi, your sister-in-law and your best bet to survive this hell hole I call the Bianchi family” She sends me a smileELENA POV The next morning, Alex leave for an urgent meeting in another state, he will be traveling for a few hours and he leaves a kiss on my forehead as I pretend to sleep before he closes the door behind him quietly I wake up sluggishly and Sophia bursts into my room without knocking, hair in a messy braid, sunglasses perched on her head. “Get dressed,” she orders, tossing a linen dress onto my bed. “For what?” I mumble, still half asleep. “An antique market,” she says. “You need sunlight before you start looking like a haunted painting.” “Rude,” I mutter with a smile, but I drag myself out of bed anyway. By noon, we’re wandering narrow aisles between cluttered stalls downtown. The city smells like coffee and exhaust, and everything feels alive in a way the mansion never quite does. Sophia picks up a chipped porcelain teacup. “This looks like your resting face,” she teases. I roll my eyes, but I’m laughing. “You’re impossible.” “Yet here you are,” she grins.
ELENA POV The morning after the beach, I half expect Alex to pull away. Maybe regret the kiss. Maybe remember why we kept our walls up in the first place. But he doesn’t. Instead, over breakfast, he asks almost too casually, if I want to come to a meeting with him at the docks. I’m still in my robe, hair damp from the shower, when I look up at him. “You mean actually come with you? As in, be there?” Alex sets down his coffee, lifts a brow. “That is what ‘come with me’ means, Elena.” My heart stutters, and I hate how obvious it must be on my face. “Yes,” I say, before I can second guess it. “Yes, okay.” We ride down together, windows tinted, Marco driving up front. The closer we get to the docks, the more Alex’s posture changes, a little straighter, a little harder around the edges. It should scare me, but it doesn’t. Somehow, I feel steadier beside him. Outside the car, the wind tastes of salt and diesel. A group of men in dark coats cluster near the containers, voices
ELENA POVAfter everything that happened, I should still be angry. After all the lies, after the secrets, after the night I overheard him say “I’m in love with her” when he thought I couldn’t hear, I should keep my distance but I simply can’t. For days, I keep seeing that moment in my head. The rough way he’d said it, like it hurt him to admit it. And I keep seeing Marco too, the suspicion in his eyes, the warning in his voice, like he knows in going to break his bosses heart. I tell myself it doesn’t matter. That it can’t. But each morning I wake up next to him, the wall I’ve built cracks just a little more and it scares me more than anything. One night, after he leaves for a meeting, I sit on the edge of our bed, staring at the dark window and fighting with myself. I want to test this feeling. To see if what we have is real or if it’ll shatter the second I reach for it. So I call Marco, my voice shaky as I ask him for help. “A beach?” Marco repeats, surprised. “Yes. S
ELENA POVI should be asleep but my thoughts won’t shut up, so I get out of bed and pad downstairs in nothing but an oversized shirt and bare feet, hoping cold water will help.The mansion feels too big at night, echoing hallways, polished marble that catches every sound. Somewhere in the dark, my heart still beats too fast from what happened earlier.Samantha’s desperacy, Alex saving me again.I’m almost at the kitchen when voices drift from the other side of the hall. The voices are Low, sharp. Angry and I freeze because I immediately recognize the voicesIt’s Alex and Samantha.I want to barge in there and ask whats she's doing at the mansion, especially at this time and right after she almost killed me again but I stay silent and creep furtherI know I shouldn’t listen, I should turn around, go upstairs, pretend I didn’t hear but my legs stay rooted to the spot, my breath caught somewhere in my throat.“I warned you,” Samantha spits out, voice high and brittle. “She’s ruining you
ELENA POV I should’ve known Samantha wouldn’t stay quiet for long. After everything that’s happened, I almost convince myself the worst has already happened. But the worst always has a way of finding me. The day starts normally enough. If you can call wearing designer silk around a mansion guarded by men with guns normal. Alex leaves early for meetings. He’s quiet, distracted, but kisses my forehead before he goes. The gesture is small, but it stays with me all morning. I sip coffee on the terrace, letting the sun warm my skin, trying not to replay the look in Rachel’s eyes yesterday outside Daemon’s office. Her Suspicion, possessiveness, fear because she knows she has something that doesn't belong to her.She knows something, or at least she suspects, But she doesn’t know everything and that’s my advantage. Sophia texts around noon, asking to go dress shopping again, but I decline. My mind is too restless, I decide instead to do something stupid.A drive.Marco insists on co
ELENA POV I should feel nothing after all this is a mission. A lie. A carefully spun game. But walking into Daemon’s office again, knowing what I’m about to do, still makes my pulse race. The receptionist watches me for the second time like I’ve grown two heads. Of course she does. I’m Alexander Bianchi’s wife. What business do I have coming here, especially after the last time I was here and bumping into Rachel in the elevator.The rumor mill must be spinning out of control, good I smirk at that thought Daemon stands by the window, back turned, sleeves rolled up, phone to his ear. The view of Manhattan sprawls behind him, but his gaze snaps to me the second I step inside. “Elena.” His voice drops an octave. Warm. Too warm. “Am I early?” I ask, feigning innocence. He hangs up. “Never too early for you.” I walk closer, careful, each step calculated. My dress clings to my hips, chosen for this moment. His gaze drags over me openly. “Interesting choice,” he murmurs, nodding at