All Chapters of When the Mafia Lord Falls: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

I was one inappropriate comment away from committing a felony.Hours ago, I’d caught my boyfriend – ex-boyfriend now – making out with his gym buddy in the coat closet at his brother's wedding. His brother's wedding. Do you know how humiliating it is to hear Bruno Mars’ Marry You playing faintly in the background while your boyfriend passionately explores another man's dental records?Yeah. It's soul-crushing.But instead of creating a scene or setting fire to his tuxedo, I did what any dignified woman would do. I booked the earliest flight out of that city and vowed to emotionally process this betrayal at 30,000 feet in the air with stale pretzels and overpriced airplane Wi-Fi.Which brings me to Gate 17A, with my overstuffed carry-on, puffy eyes, and the fiery determination of a woman scorned. I had two goals: get on this plane and cry silently into my tray table.But apparently, peace wasn’t on today’s itinerary.“Ma’am, can you please control your emotional support horse?” The gat

Did I drink too much already?For the first time since boarding this plane, I felt trapped. Because if that man was dead, then someone out there had tied up a loose end.My loose end.“Everything alright?” Elian asked, his voice softer now, his blue eyes sharper. As if he noticed the change in me.I forced a nod, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. “Yeah. Fine. Just... didn’t expect the plot twist.”But Elian’s piercing blue eyes stayed locked on me, unblinking, unrelenting. Like he was studying me under a microscope, looking for the crack in the glass. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”His words rattled something in me because, honestly? That’s exactly what it felt like.I cleared my throat, gripping my phone with white-knuckled fingers. “It’s nothing. Just… the news. You know how it is.”But Elian wasn’t buying it. His head tilted slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching like he was about to say something sharp, something clever.Thankfully, he didn’t. Instead, he ju

Elian let out a low whistle and didn’t answer my question. "Alright, Sherlock, color me impressed."“But I wasn’t done.” I gestured subtly toward his tattoo. "And the snake? That’s not just a trendy ink job. The way it coils on the back of your hand, if it’s ready to strike anyone in front of you? It’s not for show. People who get tattoos like that usually have a deeper meaning attached. Protection, maybe. A warning. Or a mark of affiliation."His grin faltered slightly, his sharp edges reappearing as if I’d pressed too close to something real.I leaned back triumphantly. "Got you, didn’t I?"He let out a soft chuckle, his voice dipping low. "Impressive. And here I thought I was the one holding the cards."I swirled the whiskey in my glass, eyeing Elian with a smirk that barely masked my suspicion. "If I had to guess your job, I’d say… disgraced ex-spy, charismatic arms dealer, or, wait for it… tech billionaire who pretends to care about endangered tree frogs for tax write-offs."Elia

The smirk he gave me could’ve been weaponized.“I just wanted to admire the view,” he said smoothly, eyes absolutely devouring me.Admire the view?Oh, I’ll give you more views.I spread my legs wider, an invitation, a neon sign, an entire billboard screaming, ‘Go forth and prosper.’The corner of Elian’s mouth twitched upward, and oh, he was enjoying this. He was enjoying this way too much.“You know what I like about you?” Elian murmured against my jaw, his voice all velvet and sin.I smirked. “Everything.”He laughed, low and husky, and yep, that sound went straight into the save for later folder in my brain. “That right there. You know exactly how sexy you are.”And then his mouth latched onto my pulse point with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for limited-time sales at luxury stores. His hand glided over my thigh, teasing higher and higher until I had to physically grab onto the silky sheet under me so I didn’t do something desperate.Like crying out in heat.His lips bru

“Do you really want me to guess?” I asked, keeping my tone light.“It’s the fallout from your article,” she hissed, her voice barely contained. “An entire correction notice for that so-called ‘investigative exposé’ you wrote, turned out to be riddled with inaccuracies. Do you have any idea how bad this makes us look?”“Okay, first of all, inaccuracies? I followed the facts,” I protested. “And second, the story needed to be told–”“Don’t.” Brenda raised a hand, cutting me off. “We’re supposed to be a beacon of credibility, Maeve. Instead, you’ve turned Compass Media into a punchline. Social media blowback has been a nightmare, and now the publisher wants your head on a platter. You’ve put us all at risk.”Her glare bore into me, sharp enough to flay skin. “Do you have any idea what kind of position you’ve put this paper in? If we can’t recover from this, we’re done. I’m done. And as for you…”She let the threat hang in the air like an axe over my neck.“Brenda, I can fix this,” I said