Chapter 1

My name is Marcus Costello, heir to the Costello crime family in New York.

My mother, Isabella, is the Donna, a woman of iron will.

She arranged everything for me, including my protection, a group of ten girls she called the "Guardian Angels."

Rescued from terrible places, trained since youth by our best enforcer.

They were to be my guards, and one, my future wife.

Today was the day I had to choose.

My mother sat across from me, a stack of photos on the polished mahogany table between us.

Ten faces, ten futures.

But I wasn't seeing the photos.

I was seeing a dim, dusty warehouse by the docks.

The smell of stale water and fear.

Blood, so much blood. My blood.

"Marcus?" My mother's voice, sharp, concerned.

I blinked, the images receding but the cold dread remained.

This was real. I was back.

Back before the betrayal.

In my first life, I had chosen Seraphina "Sera" Rossi, Angel One.

My childhood crush, beautiful, confident. The expected choice.

When rival bastards grabbed me, I called her. My wife, my top guard.

"Sera, help me. They have me at the old Gantry warehouse."

Her voice, impatient, dismissive. "Marcus, stop being dramatic. I know you're just trying to stop me from seeing Leo. I'm busy."

Leo Maxwell, son of our estate manager, handsome, ambitious, and the man Sera truly loved.

She didn't come.

They tortured me for hours before the bullet ended it.

The last thing I remembered from that life, besides the pain, was a desperate cry.

Winter "Winn" Hayes, Angel Ten.

She had found me somehow, fought like a demon, died trying to shield my already broken body.

Her loyalty, a stark contrast to Sera's treachery.

Now, I had a second chance.

My mother watched me, waiting. "Have you decided, son?"

I looked at the photos. Sera's image was on top, smiling, arrogant.

A wave of nausea hit me.

I pushed her photo aside, then another, and another.

My hand stopped on the last one.

Winter Hayes. Winn.

Quiet, observant, often overlooked.

The girl who died for me.

"This one," I said, my voice surprisingly steady.

I slid Winn's photo across the table.

Isabella picked it up, her perfectly sculpted eyebrows rising.

"Winter Hayes? Angel Ten?"

She looked from the photo to me, a flicker of surprise in her usually unreadable eyes.

"Are you certain, Marcus? Everyone expected Seraphina."

"I am certain, Mother," I said, meeting her gaze. "I choose Winter."

A new path. A different future.

This time, I would live.