The Mafia's Lost Queen

The chandeliers sparkled, each light reflecting off the polished marble floors of the Grand Bellini Hall. I adjusted the strap of my dress, trying to steady the nerves coiling in my stomach. My family’s company was on the brink of collapse, and tonight was my chance to save it or watch everything we’d built crumble. Investors milled around, champagne flutes in hand, smiles that didn’t reach their eyes. I wasn’t here for the glamour. I was here to fight for survival.And then I saw him.Damiano Moretti.The moment our eyes met, I felt the air shift, thick and electric. He was taller than I remembered from the few news clips and rumors I’d seen, dark suit, darker eyes, a predator calm in every movement. My pulse spiked. I’d heard stories: ruthless, untouchable, untamed. And here he was, leaning casually against a balcony railing, scanning the room with a gaze that could strip you bare without touching you.I wanted to turn and vanish, to melt into the crowd and pretend I hadn’t seen him

AriaHe stabbed the dagger into the back of Ethan’s hand, the blade ripping through his skin.Ethan groaned in pain.“WAIT!” The word ripped out of me before I even understood I was the one screaming.Damiano’s hand paused, the dagger still on Ethan’s skin, a single breath away from sliced through bone.“Please…” my voice cracked, raw, desperate. “Stop. Please.”Damiano’s eyes lifted to mine. Cold. Unmoved. Calculative.“Your answer,” he said quietly. My chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe. Ethan trembled, biting back tears. Mom sobbed, Dad folded biting his fingers.If I say no, Ethan bleeds. If I say yes… I’m trapped with Damiano Forever.“I’ll do it.” I whispered, without thinking further. “I’ll marry you,” I forced out. “Just…just don’t hurt him.”Damiano pulled the dagger and Ethan groaned in pain. He wiped Ethan’s blood from the blade with a cloth one of his men handed him, then slid it back into his jacket as if nothing had happened.“Wise,” he murmured.The men released

Damiano Lorenzo didn’t bother knocking. He never did. The glass door swung open, and he stepped inside my office with the same irritated energy I felt toward him most days.“Why did you send Tony to my house?” he demanded, stopping in front of my desk.“Because you weren’t answering your calls.”“It was one missed call…”“It was seven,” I cut in sharply. “And my time isn’t something anyone wastes. Not even you.”Lorenzo exhaled sharply, biting back whatever insult he wanted to throw. He’d known me long enough to understand that when I needed someone to do something,I needed them immediately. “So?” I asked. “You’re here now. What do you want?”He shifted his weight. “I heard news about the Russo girl.”My jaw ticked. “Aria?.”“Who else?” he snapped.“Oh!”“Yeah, I heard people talking.” Lorenzo raised an eyebrow, “ And you didn’t tell me anything about it.” I closed the folder on my desk. “It’s final.”“Damiano…”“She is the repayment for her family’s debt, I don’t owe the Russos cha

AriaMrs. Moretti stopped a few steps away from me, her posture rigid, her eyes sharp with disdain.“What did you expect?” she asked coolly. “That you could simply walk out whenever you pleased?”My throat tightened. I said nothing. Isabella stood by the corner, a smirk on her face.My phone vibrated in my hand, messages piling up, but I kept it facedown, afraid even that small rebellion would be noticed.The silence stretched.Then Damiano spoke. “You’re grounded.”The word landed harder than a slap.I looked up, meeting his gaze. His eyes were dark, unreadable, unwavering.“No more coming downstairs for breakfast or dinner,” he continued calmly. “Everything you need will be brought to you. You stay in your room.”He turned to the guards. “Is that understood?”“Yes, sir,” they answered in unison.He didn’t look at me again. Instead, he motioned sharply. “Sofia.”The maid stepped forward immediately.“Take her upstairs.”Sofia avoided my eyes as she led me away. My chest felt tight,

DamianoThe phone vibrated against my palm, I glanced down at the screen.Lucas.The clang of steel and machinery echoed around me as workers shouted over one another at the construction site. The Sovereign building half finished behind me.I stepped away from the noise and answered.“What is it?” I said flatly.Lucas laughed on the other end of the phone. “Your wife fell down the stairs.”I stopped walking.“She’s at the hospital,” he continued, amusement shown in his voice. “Battling for her life. So I’d suggest you forget about producing an heir anytime soon.”My jaw tightened. Lucas had always known exactly where to press.“Which hospital?” I snapped.He went silent.Then, he replied, “Ask around yourself,” the line went dead.I stared at the phone for half a second before dialing another number.“Joel,” I said the moment he picked up. “Which hospital is she at?”“The Johns,” he answered immediately, I ended the call and turned on my heel.“Sir!” the engineer shouted after me. “We