Poisoned Vows: Married To The Mafia King

The office was quiet. Too quiet.

Eva Scottish stood by the tall glass window of her high-rise suite, staring out at the city skyline as the morning sun crept across the steel towers. From this height, everything seemed orderly, distant, and almost peaceful. A cruel contrast to the storm unraveling inside her. She pressed a palm against her flat stomach, the one that had once held life. A life she hadn't even had time to protect.

Three weeks ago, she had been married not out of love but for convenience, for optics, for mutual benefit.

Xenon Enterprises demanded structure, and her board had begun raising questions about her single status. Being a young, powerful CEO with no family ties already made her a target, and so she had crafted the perfect illusion. A marriage contract with Liam, her childhood friend, the only person she had trusted left in the world.

She had thought it would be simple. Civil. Safe.

They had signed the contract in this very office. He'd worn a tired suit and a tired smile. She remembered laughing softly when he misspelled his name on the third page. He had always made her laugh when things got hard. That's why she picked him.

But something changed the moment they walked out as husband and wife. It was subtle at first, missed calls, curt conversation, his absence at company events, and then, that gala night.

She had told him she was pregnant over a candlelight dinner. She remembered her trembling as she pushed the glass of water towards him and whispered, "I'm carrying your child."

And Liam had laughed.

Not nervously, not in joy, but coldly.

"Are you sure it's mine?"

The word had hit her like glass shattering beneath her skin. She didn't remember how she got home that night. All she remembered was the pain that woke her at midnight, a deep, unrelenting ache that tore through her abdomen like fire. She had crawled to her phone and dialed 911, her blood staining the tiles of her pristine kitchen.

By morning, she had lost everything. The baby. The illusion. The friend.

No one came to visit, no family, no flowers, not even a message from Liam.

Just silence.

And yet, she returned to work as if nothing had happened. Her assistant, Jasmine, knew better than to ask. Eva wore her silence like armor, her tailored black suit like a second skin.

But today, something was different. The air felt charged.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said flatly.

Jasmine poked her head in. "There's someone here to see you. Says it's urgent. Wouldn't give a name."

Eva narrowed her eyes. "Security let them through?"

"They didn't have a choice. He...moved past them. Said you'd understand once you saw him."

Annoyed but curious, Eva nodded. "Fine. Send him in."

The door opened again, and a man stepped through.

He was tall, commanding, wth dark eyes that held storms and secrets. His presence filled the room like smoke, dangerous, intoxicating. His tailored black suit clung to a frame honed by discipline, and a ring gleamed ominously on his pinky finger.

Everything about it screamed power, Power, and warning.

"Eva Scottish," he said, his voice a low drawl, laced with something foreign-Italian.

"Who are you?" she asked, straightening her back, not missing a beat.

The man took a slow step forward, his gaze assessing her like a threat and a puzzle. "My name is Adrian Moretti."

Her breath caught.

She had heard that name before-whispers in boardrooms, murmurs over expensive wine. Adrian Moretti. CEO of Moretti Global. Billonaire businessman. And if the rumors were the King of an underground empire that stretched across three continents.

A Mafia king in a suit.

"Why are you here?" she asked, her voice cool.

"I don't do drop-ins," Eva said coolly, masking her sudden jolts of curiosity.

Adrian smirked, stepping closer. "You will for me."

Adrian's smile was calculated, he added, "Let's just say, I've been following your story. And I think we might be useful to each other."

Eva folded her arms. "I don't do business with men who barge into my office uninvited."

"And I don't make offers twice."

Their eyes locked in a silent war of wills. But beneath the tension, Eva felt something else, an old flicker in her chest, a tremble in her fingers she hadn't felt in weeks.

Alive.

He placed a single envelope on her desk and turned to leave.

"Read it. I'll come back for your response, bellissima."[Beautiful]

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Eva staring at the envelope like it might burn her fingers. Her heart was pounding.

Adrian Moretti.

A new name. A new threat. Or perhaps......a new beginning.

Whatever it was, the storm wasn't over.

It had only just begun.