Chapter 1

For seven years, I was the architect of my fiancé's criminal empire and the strategist behind his every move. I was Dante Gallo's unofficial Consigliere, his partner in everything but name. Tomorrow, I was finally supposed to marry him and take my place as the queen to his throne.

But on the eve of our wedding, a single text message sent by mistake detonated my life. It was a photo from Dante, showing a platinum wedding band on his hand. The message read: "Married this morning. She's safe now."

My gaze fell to the engagement ring on my own finger. It was the identical band, just smaller. The engraved initials 'D.I.' didn't stand for Dante and I. They stood for Dante and Isabella-his childhood sweetheart. My entire relationship was a lie; I was just a shield to protect his one true love.

He dismissed my discovery as a "tantrum." Then, his new bride began taunting me, sending a picture of them tangled in bedsheets with the caption: "Loser." They expected me to break. They thought I would shatter.

They were about to find out just how wrong they were. I forwarded the picture to Isabella's fiancé, a man far more dangerous than Dante. "Your fiancée is in Suite 8808 at the Grand Hyatt," I told him. "I'll meet you downstairs. We're going to crash their party."

Chapter 1

Serafina's POV:

The phone in my hand felt colder than the engagement ring on my finger. It harbored an infuriating truth: my seven-year love story was a lie, and the man I was supposed to marry tomorrow already belonged to someone else.

For seven years, I had been the shadow behind Dante Gallo's throne.

He wasn't just the godfather of the Gallo family; he was more like a phantom haunting the city's underworld, a figure whose name was synonymous with both violence and absolute power.

His empire was built on blood and laundered through the legitimate front of Gallo Imports-an achievement that belonged just as much to me as it did to him.

I was the mastermind behind his legitimate success, the strategist behind his every move, and the unofficial consigliere who knew his inner workings better than he knew himself.

We were inseparable in everything but name.

Last month, he finally proposed.

The proposal was abrupt, feeling less like a romantic gesture and more like an afterthought, with the ceremony set for the Feast of the Assumption. I foolishly mistook it for a promise of our future. What a fool I had been.

That encrypted message was never meant for me.

Yet there it sat in my inbox, a digital bomb that obliterated the life I had so carefully constructed.

"Getting married tomorrow morning. She's safe now."

Attached was a photo. It showed a man's hand, unmistakably Dante's. I recognized the ring. Engraved on the inside were the letters: DI

My gaze fell to my own hand, to the engagement ring he had slipped onto my finger. It was exactly the same as the one in the photo, just a smaller size. The same platinum, the same diamonds, the same engraving.

DI

Not Dante and I.

Dante and Isabella.

Isabella Falcone. His childhood sweetheart.

The truth hit me like a bolt of lightning, knocking the wind right out of me.

He didn't propose to me out of love. He proposed because Isabella was about to marry into another family. And marrying me was nothing more than a twisted way to fulfill his vow to her.

My future was just a convenient cover-up for his pathetic obsession.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The door opened, and Dante walked in, shrugging off his coat. He saw me standing in the dark, my face illuminated only by the glow of my phone screen.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I looked up, meeting his eyes. The loving gaze I had seen this morning was gone, replaced by a chillingly sobering clarity. "We're done."

He scoffed, as if dismissing a petty tantrum. "Don't be dramatic, Sera." He walked toward me and reached for my phone. "What is it?"

I dodged his grasp with a fluid, precise movement. I held up the phone, shoving the screenshot right in his face.

His arrogant expression froze instantly. As he recognized the message and the ring, the color drained from his face. Then, just as quickly, his mask of cold indifference slipped back into place. "It's nothing."

"I'm not marrying you," I said, my tone flat, betraying none of the agonizing turmoil churning inside me. "We're done."

He clenched his jaw, his coldness melting into a dark, brooding anger.

He finally realized this wasn't a game.

We stared at each other, the seven years we shared stretching between us like an uncrossable chasm.

"Suit yourself," he growled, turning on his heel. The door slammed shut behind him, the sound echoing the finality of my decision. That was it.

I stood there, enveloped by a heavy silence, unable to settle my racing thoughts for a long time. Then, with steady steps, I walked into the kitchen. I pulled out the steaks and vegetables I had prepped for our anniversary dinner.

The steak hit the hot skillet with a loud sizzle, the rich aroma filling the air. I wasn't going to cry. I wasn't going to break.

Tonight, I was going to enjoy a great meal to celebrate my freedom.