Chapter 1 – The Morning Light
Aria woke to the sound of rain lashing against the reinforced glass of the master suite.
For a terrifying second, she didn’t know where she was. She reached blindly for the edge of the mattress, expecting the cold walls of her father’s townhouse. Instead, her fingers brushed against Egyptian cotton and the heavy silk of her discarded wedding veil.
The events of the previous night rushed back in a violent flood. The wedding. The bruises. Dante Rossi walking out the door.
She sat up, pulling the duvet to her chin. He had actually left her alone. In her twenty-two years, men with power had never kept their promises, yet the most dangerous man in Boston had surrendered his own bed because she had flinched.
A soft knock at the door made her gasp.
“Come in,” she managed to say, her voice hoarse.
The door opened, but it wasn’t Dante. It was a woman in her late twenties, dressed in a sharp black suit, her dark hair pulled into a severe bun. She carried a tray of coffee, fresh fruit, and pastries.
“Good morning, Mrs. Rossi,” the woman said, setting the tray on the glass table near the window. “My name is Sienna. I’m your personal detail.”
Aria blinked. “Detail? You mean a guard.”
“I mean a shadow,” Sienna corrected smoothly, though her eyes were surprisingly warm. “Mr. Rossi’s orders. I go where you go, and I answer only to you. He also requested I give you this.”
Sienna slid a sleek, black American Express card onto the tray.
“What is this for?” Aria asked.
“Your new wardrobe,” Sienna replied. “Mr. Rossi instructed me to take you shopping today. He specifically requested that you buy clothes with open necklines. V-necks. Scoop necks. Whatever you like.”
Aria’s hand drifted to her collarbone, where the yellowing bruises were still visible. “But… people will see.”
Sienna paused at the door, her expression turning fierce. “That’s exactly the point, ma’am. The Boss wants the whole world to see what they did to you. Because if anyone ever asks about them, they’ll also have to ask what Dante Rossi is going to do to the men responsible.”
Chapter 2 – The Senator’s Brunch
Two days later, the past came knocking.Senator Sterling, Aria’s father, arrived at the Rossi compound under the guise of a “celebratory brunch” to check on his new alliance. When Aria heard his booming, politician’s laugh echoing in the grand foyer, her lungs seized.
She was standing in the library, wearing one of her new dresses—a soft emerald green silk that dipped low, leaving her bruised neck entirely exposed. Dante stood by the fireplace, nursing a glass of bourbon. He hadn’t missed the way her hands started shaking the moment the doorbell rang.
“You don’t have to see him,” Dante said quietly, his voice a low rumble in the quiet room.
“If I hide, he’ll know I’m weak,” Aria whispered. “He’ll punish Julian for it.”
Dante’s eyes narrowed. “Julian? Your brother?”
Aria froze, realizing her slip. She had protected her brother’s secret out of pure survival instinct. Julian Sterling was the Senator’s attack dog—a vicious, volatile man who did the family’s dirty work behind the veil of political immunity. It was Julian who had choked her two days before the wedding when she tried to refuse the arrangement.
Before Dante could press the issue, the library doors swung open.
Senator Sterling strode in, flashing his million-dollar smile. “Dante, my boy! And Aria, my sweet—”
The Senator’s voice died in his throat. His eyes locked onto Aria’s exposed collarbone. The bruises were undeniable in the bright morning light.
“Aria,” her father hissed, his political mask slipping into something ugly. “What are you wearing? Where is your modesty?”
“She wears what she wants in my house, Senator,” Dante interrupted. He set his bourbon glass down. The gentle clink sounded like a gunshot. Dante closed the distance between himself and the Senator in three predatory strides.
“I… of course,” the Senator stammered, intimidated by the sheer physical dominance of the mafia boss. “I merely meant she should represent the Sterling name with dignity.”
Dante leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper that only the three of them could hear. “She doesn’t carry the Sterling name anymore. She is a Rossi. And in my world, if someone damages my property, I don’t hide it. I display the damage to justify the slaughter that follows.”
The Senator went pale. Dante turned back to Aria, his eyes softening a fraction. “Sienna is waiting in the garden, Aria. Go get some fresh air. Your father and I have business to discuss.”
