The Rival Don's Treasured Second Chance

My husband, the King of New York's underworld, declined my call for the ninety-ninth time just as my brother's heart monitor flatlined.

He claimed he was in a life-or-death sit-down with the Commission.

But moments after my brother took his last breath, I saw his mistress's Instagram post.

The "meeting" was an emergency C-section for her Persian cat.

My brother was dead because a mistress's pet needed the surgeon Dante had promised to send for him.

The betrayal didn't stop there.

When our car was T-boned days later, Dante didn't pull me from the wreckage.

He carried his mistress to safety, screaming for paramedics to save his "fiancée," leaving me trapped in the burning vehicle with crushed legs.

Miraculously, I survived.

Lying in the hospital bed, I waited for an apology. Instead, I got a threat.

"Without me, you are nothing," Dante sneered, throwing a box of chocolates at me like I was a dog.

But the final blow came from the County Clerk.

When I tried to file for divorce, they told me no record existed.

Seven years of loyalty. Seven years of standing by his side. And I wasn't even his wife. I was just a possession he had tricked into playing house.

I didn't cry. I didn't scream.

I picked up my phone and scrolled past Dante's name to the one man he feared most: his rival, Alessandro De Luca.

I typed three words.

I need extraction.

It was time to burn his kingdom to the ground.

Chapter 1

The steady rhythm of the heart monitor flatlined into a piercing shriek just as my husband, the most feared Boss of the Volkov crime family, declined my call for the ninety-ninth time.

"I am sorry, Mrs. Volkov," the nurse said, her voice trembling not out of sadness, but from the sheer terror of the name on the paperwork. "We do not have the equipment to stabilize him. His lungs... they are collapsing. We need the ECMO unit from the private clinic. We need Dr. Alistair."

I looked at Luca. My brother. My only blood. He was drowning in his own body, his skin the translucent grey of old parchment.

I dialed again.

Dante Volkov was a man who would torch a city block simply because someone looked at me sideways. He was the King of New York, a man whose name brought grown men to their knees. He had promised me, on the day we exchanged rings, that my family was his family. That we were untouchable.

The line clicked open.

"Elara." Dante's voice was deep, rough, and laced with cold irritation. "I told you. I am in a sit-down with the Commission. Do not call again."

"It's Luca," I choked out, gripping the cold metal of the bed rail until my knuckles turned white. "He's dying, Dante. The hospital can't handle it. I need Alistair. I need the transport. Please. You promised."

There was a pause. I heard the distinct clink of crystal glass in the background.

"I cannot leave," he said, his tone final. "Business comes first. You know the life, Elara. Stop being dramatic. I will wire funds in the morning."

"He doesn't need a check! He needs air!" I screamed.

"Enough," he snapped. "I have to go."

The line went dead.

I dropped the phone.

I grabbed Luca's hand. It was cold. Unnaturally cold.

"It's okay," I whispered, lying through my teeth. "Dante is coming. The doctor is coming."

Luca's eyes fluttered open. They were glassy, unseeing. He tried to speak, but only a wet rattle escaped his throat. He squeezed my fingers-a weak, fluttering pressure.

Then the squeezing stopped.

The screaming machine went silent.

The nurse turned it off.

The silence that followed was heavier than any noise. It crushed my ribs. It filled my throat with concrete.

I stood there for an hour. Maybe two. I didn't cry. I couldn't. I was just a hollow shell standing in a room that smelled of antiseptic and death.

My phone buzzed on the floor.

I picked it up, my movements robotic. A notification from Instagram.

Seraphina_G just posted a photo.

Seraphina Gallo. The woman who had made my high school years a living hell. The woman who was now the "social coordinator" for Dante's legitimate businesses.

I opened it.

The photo was 4K crispness. It showed a perfectly manicured hand scratching the ears of a white Persian cat. In the background, blurred but unmistakable, was Dr. Alistair. The Mob Doctor. The man who was supposed to be saving my brother.

The caption read: Emergency C-Section for Kitty! Thank god Dante flew the best surgeon in just for my baby. #Blessed #CatMom #Priorities.

I stared at the screen.

The "Commission meeting" was a cat.

The "Business" was Seraphina.

My brother was dead because a mistress's cat needed surgery.

I didn't scream. I didn't throw the phone.

I started to laugh.

It was a dry, broken sound that scraped my throat like shards of glass.

Dante Volkov didn't love me. He didn't respect me. I wasn't his wife. I was just a possession he had put on a shelf and forgot to dust.

I scrolled down my contacts. Past Dante. Past his Capos.

I stopped at a name I hadn't touched in seven years.

Alessandro De Luca.

The rival Don. The boy who had offered me a ride home in the rain when Dante was just a soldier bleeding on my floor. I had chosen loyalty then. I had chosen Dante.

I typed three words.

I need extraction.

The three dots appeared instantly.

CDG Airport. One month. I'll be waiting.

I looked at Luca's body one last time.

"I will burn them," I whispered to the silence, the promise tasting of ash and iron. "I will burn them all for you."