Giuliana Ricci fled Sicily seven years ago, leaving behind betrayal, blood and a family that cast her aside. Now she’s back—powerful, untouchable and carrying a secret that could bring the Mafia to its knees. Her son, Giorgio, is not just her heir—he’s the hidden child of Domenico Salvatore, the most ruthless capo in the underworld who is also an enemy. But Domenico never knew and when the truth comes out, alliances will shatter, enemies will strike, and the man she once walked away from will stop at nothing to claim what’s his. Can Giuliana outmaneuver a world built to destroy her or will she finally met the one force she can’t escape?
View MoreThe house was not the same as I had left it.Seven years ago, I had walked out of the Leonetti estate as a disgraced daughter and exiled by whispers and betrayals. Now, I walked these marble floors as something far more dangerous—an outsider with the power to break them all.Francesca had spent years ruling this house in my absence. She had been wearing the mask of the perfect Donna, pulling the strings behind my father’s decisions and whispering into my grandfather’s ear. But masks were just that—thin and fragile things. And I thought them useless. I had never been one to play pretend. For that, Francesca despised me. She made her first move at breakfast.I was seated at the long dining table and reading through financial reports on my tablet while Giorgio sat beside me and stirred his espresso with the mannerism of a seasoned diplomat. Francesca looked at us and smiled. I could easily see that it was calculated because it didn’t reach her eyes."You must be exhausted from your tri
The Leonetti family dinners had always been more battlefield than tradition and this one was no different.The table was the same as I remembered—an ancient slab of mahogany that was large enough to seat two dozen and was polished to a mirror shine. The silverware gleamed under the chandelier’s glow while the heavy scent of truffle, wine and power sizzled thickly in the air.Everything seemed perfect but beneath the elegance and the bouquet at the table, tension simmered everywhere like an untended flame.I adjusted my napkin with movements that were slow and deliberate. As Giorgio sat beside me, his small hands were folded over his lap and his posture was impeccable as always. His custom-made suit, a deep navy that whispered of control, matched mine. His presence at the table alone unsettled the entire family even though none of these wolves would admit it.I smiled at that. I smiled even more as I felt their eyes on me while they waited and calculatedAlessandro struck first."You'
Some ghosts refused to stay buried.That was the thought that came to my head as I heard his footsteps before I saw him. The footsteps screamed of the blatant confidence of a man who had walked these halls his entire life…a man who had once walked beside me as if we were equals.Tht footsteps could only belong to Enzo Salvatore.He emerged from the shadows of the corridor as I walked down it and I could see that his presence was a deliberate obstacle in my path. The marble floors gleamed beneath us and the flickering sconces casted a warm glow on our bodies but there was nothing warm about this encounter. My son had gone ahead of me to our quarters and I was going to meet him there and now this…interference was happening."Giuliana."His voice had deepened since I last heard it. It was richer and rougher. It was the voice of a man who had tasted power and developed an appetite for more.Looking unimpressed, I let my gaze trail over him.He was dressed to project authority—he was weari
Power had a scent.It wasn’t just the cigars and aged whiskey that clung to the air like ghosts of old men nor was it the polished mahogany or the faintest trace of gunpowder embedded in the stone walls. It was something deeper and older and it was woven into the very foundation of the Leonetti compound.It smelled like blood in this place. Like betrayal. Like history.The gates groaned shut behind the Mercedes as it drove past it and seemed to seal my past and my future within these walls. The Leonetti estate stretched for thousand of acres and was a sprawling testament to generations of wealth that had been built on fear and respect. It hadn't changed much. The ivy still crawled up the stone walls, the vast terraces still overlooked the Sicilian coastline and the watchful eyes of soldati still tracked every movement with quiet menace.Despite its majestic beauty, I knew that the heart of the estate had long since rotted.When I stepped out of the car and held my son's right hand,
Seven years.Seven years since I had lain bleeding on the cold marble floor of the Leonetti villa while my father’s shadow loomed over me like the devil himself. Seven years since I had been branded a traitor, beaten and discarded like yesterday’s trash. Seven years since I had sworn through the blinding agony and salt searing my wounds that I would return—not as the naive daughter of an underboss but as something much, much more.And now, here I was.The jet’s door hissed open and the warm Sicilian air, thick with the scent of the sea,curled around me. The sun dipped toward the horizon and casted the tarmac in amber and gold. My Louboutins clicked against the concrete as I stepped down with steps that were deliberate, controlled and callculated.I had not come back as a girl seeking her family’s approval.I had come back as a woman they would learn to fear.A small hand which slid into mine grounded me immediately.It was that of Giorgio, my son.At six years old, he was already a
I tasted blood before I felt the pain. Metallic. Warm. Thick. It filled my mouth as I lay sprawled on the marble floor whose cold surface was slick with my own blood. My ribs ached and my vision blurred but I refused to cry out. I wouldn’t give them that. A shadow loomed over me.It was Alessandro Ricci, my father.His polished black shoes stopped inches from my face and sparkled despite the destruction he had just inflicted. When I was a child, I used to trace my fingers over those shoes, giggling as he soon lifted me onto his lap. Now, they stood as a silent reminder of his power—the kind of power that could snuff me out with a single word.“You embarrass me, Giuliana.” His voice was quiet as he spoke and made him sound more dangerous than if he’d been shouting. “You shame this family.”I swallowed the blood in my mouth. “I—”A sharp pain exploded in my side as he then kicked me again and sent me rolling onto my back. I gasped as the ceiling above me became blurred. The chande
I tasted blood before I felt the pain. Metallic. Warm. Thick. It filled my mouth as I lay sprawled on the marble floor whose cold surface was slick with my own blood. My ribs ached and my vision blurred but I refused to cry out. I wouldn’t give them that. A shadow loomed over me.It was Alessandro Ricci, my father.His polished black shoes stopped inches from my face and sparkled despite the destruction he had just inflicted. When I was a child, I used to trace my fingers over those shoes, giggling as he soon lifted me onto his lap. Now, they stood as a silent reminder of his power—the kind of power that could snuff me out with a single word.“You embarrass me, Giuliana.” His voice was quiet as he spoke and made him sound more dangerous than if he’d been shouting. “You shame this family.”I swallowed the blood in my mouth. “I—”A sharp pain exploded in my side as he then kicked me again and sent me rolling onto my back. I gasped as the ceiling above me became blurred. The chande...
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