Are There Any Real-Life Mafia Families Today?

Due to an accident, my wife and I lost our lives in a massive fire. When we open our eyes again, we find ourselves back on the day we registered our marriage. In our last life, everyone thought we were the perfect couple. Little did they know that my wife, Queenie Lloyd, refused to consummate our marriage. Right before my death, I found out that I was nothing but a replacement for her first love. Queenie had intended to remain chaste for him for the rest of her life. After being reborn, neither of us speaks of the past. By an unspoken agreement, we get a divorce that very day and go on to live separate lives. Eight years later, she attends an industry summit holding her childhood sweetheart's arm. She's now a rising star in the business world. I am dressed in plain clothes. When she notices me, she walks over with a champagne glass in hand. "Mr. Lawrence! Even if you still have feelings for me, you didn't have to disguise yourself as a waiter just to approach me. Are you still trying to convince me to get back together with you?" she sneers. I ignore her and smile as I wave at someone nearby. My son runs over to me and tugs on the corner of my shirt. "Mommy said she's tired, Daddy. She wants to know when you're coming to pick us up," he tells me. Upon hearing this, Queenie's face stiffens immediately, and she almost drops her wine glass.

When I was young, I saved a fae—charming and extremely handsome. In return, he offered me one wish, and I, lost in romantic fantasies, asked for the strongest wolves to be obsessed with me. It sounded dreamy—until it wasn’t. Obsession, I learned, is a storm disguised as a dream. First up, my stepbrother—his obsession turned him into a tormentor. Life became unbearable, and I had to escape before a mating ceremony that felt more like a nightmare than a love story. But freedom was short-lived. The next wolf found me, nearly made me his dinner, and kidnapped me away to his kingdom, proclaiming I would be his Luna. He wasn’t as terrifying, but when he announced our wedding plans (against my will, obviously), his best friend appeared as competitor number three. “Great! Just what I needed,” I thought. This third wolf was sweet, gentle, and truly cared—but, alas, he wasn’t my type. Desperate, I tracked down the fae. “Please, undo my wish! I want out of this romantic disaster!” My heart raced; I really needed him to understand me. He just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry, you’re on your own. But I can help you pick the best one out of them!” How do I fix this mess? Facing three intense wolves: “Marry me, I’ll kill anyone who bothers you!” the first declared fiercely. “No, marry me! I’ll make you the happiest ever,” the second pleaded. “I’ll destroy every kingdom you walk into. You’re mine!” the third growled, eyes blazed. “Seriously, what have I gotten myself into?” A long sigh escaped my lips. Caught between a curse and a hard place, I really just wanted peace and quiet…but which one do I choose?

“Why would I reject you? We are mates. Tell me why.” he demanded to know. “I am an omega. They say my mother was banished. I have been an omega for as long as I can remember,” I told him and felt shame wash over me as I twiddled with my fingers. He let out a low growl and caused me to recoil into the corner of the bed. “Victoria, I assure you that I will do nothing. Those who have harmed you in any way will be dealt with accordingly. Mark my words,” he said, leaning over to kiss my forehead. Victoria is nineteen years old and unwanted in the Red Moon Pack. She’s just the Omega Girl that nobody wanted. Beaten and scolded daily, she sees no end to her pain and no way out. When she meets her future mate, she is sure he will reject her too. Most of the werewolves get their wolves when they hit eighteen, but here she is, 19 years old and still not got her wolf or shifted. Of course, the pack found it to be yet another reason to treat her like trash, beating and bullying her. Except she’s not just an omega girl. Victoria is about to find out who she really is, and things are about to change. Will Victoria realize her worth and see she is worthy to be loved? What will happen when her sworn enemy, Eliza, vows to take everything from Victoria?

On the day my dad, the Don of the Capone family, comes to the orphanage to take me home, I show up in a tactical helmet and a bulletproof vest. "I'm not going home with you. You're definitely doing this to trick me into getting married to a perverted old geezer in a marriage alliance. I bet my adopted sister has made preparations to start fake-crying anytime by loading up on her eyedrops." My dad is amused, to say the least. "Why would any of that happen? Silvia is nothing but welcoming you to our home! Also, our family isn't a lowly organization that deals with human trafficking." But I refuse to believe my dad at all. On the way home, I keep typing something on my phone. My mom, the Donna, leans over curiously. "Are you writing a diary entry?" "Nope. I'm writing tips on 'How to Survive the Mafia.'" 1) My food will definitely be poisoned. 2) If I get close to a staircase, I'll definitely get pushed down the stairs. 3) I'll get framed for something that I've never done before. My parents swear to me that none of the things I've written will ever happen. They tell me that my adopted sister, Silvia Capone, has a great personality, and things are amicable in the family. However, everything changes when Silvia brings me a glass of juice before lunchtime and insists on watching me drink it. Instead, I dump the juice into a nearby vase of flowers. Just as my parents are about to scold me for wasting the juice, smoke begins drifting from the flowers inside the vase. Then, they start wilting rapidly. I calmly leave a bright red checkmark behind the "poison" tip. As my parents stare at the dead flowers, they can feel color draining from their faces. "You should send the juice to a chem lab for analysis."

In the ninth year after I married Charlie Lockwood, he brings his first love, Cecilia Moore, back home. She is gentle, beautiful, and understanding. Everyone treasures her like she is some precious gem. Right under my nose, Charlie begins to develop feelings for her. The household gradually comes under her control. Even my two children, whom I cherish dearly, would rather have Cecilia as their mother. Just when I am completely disheartened, I discover my true identity. With how things are in the Lockwood household now, there is no longer anything here that is worth staying back for. Without hesitation, I file for divorce and return home to take over my family business.

On her 21st birthday, Elena's world shatters. Betrayed and discarded by her wealthy boyfriend, she stumbles into a bar to drown her sorrows, only to witness a masked man and his crew ruthlessly executing a traitor. Mistaking it for a film shoot, she brushes it off as a drunken hallucination. But the nightmare is only beginning. The next day, her gambling-addicted father sells her off like property, to none other than the infamous Mafia boss of the Velgrave Gang. The most dangerous man in the state. A billionaire. A killer. And her ex-boyfriend's uncle.