ella

oom into a suffocating tomb. The air was thick with the cloying scent of Hudson's cheap cologne mingling wit

etic man who believed he had successfully manipulated his naive wife. But beneath my calm exterior, t

hing he coveted. I would tear away the Falcone favor he had bought with my flesh. I would drain the wealth he had built upon my dowry. I w

eet daughter, Josie. For my mother, whose life was collateral damage in his greedy

, the execution

ough that he proudly escorted me to The Onyx Club. He wanted to parade his untouched, submi

s cold brass railings gleaming under the blinding light of massive crystal chandeliers. The thick red car

from the top

Falcone was

ed an aura of absolute, terrifying authority. Beside him walked Frederick 'Freddie' Solis, the Falcone family's Consigliere. Freddie was an older, sharp-

n their orbit. But as the distance between us closed, Damien didn't even g

we drew level on the marbl

fered him a smile I had practiced in the mirror until my facial muscles ached. It was a delic

Adela's

ually faltered, his footsteps coming to a dead halt on the stairs. The raw, obsessive hunger that

Don's distraction, my peripher

It was a subtle nod from the Consigliere, answered

on; it was a calculated conspiracy. Freddie Solis had orchestrated this trad

o crush the oxygen from the room. Hudson's smugness evaporated instantly. The sheer, terrifying

bead of cold sweat broke out on his te

Hudson hissed, hi

of any of the fake tenderness he had shown last night. He yanked me forward, dragging me down the rem

t, letting him pull me toward the exit, knowing tha