He Took My Ear,I Took His Empire

sband-the Don of the Falcone syndicate-handed me a blood-

rafted pageant designed to keep me compliant while he secretl

hter of the woman who destroyed his family, and told me to get the p

hed, shoved me into the path of his armored SUV, and left

m his top Capo, celebrating the end of the Don's five-ye

wounds eclipsed by the realization that my entire

nt and exactly how much of my body he had

ecrets to the world, and as the sirens wailed, I jumped

pte

nna

ning light sharp across the paper, my husband, the Don of the Falcone family, p

returns," he said, his voice a shard of

he scar where my ear used to be. I had given it to him thre

walk outside the Fa

ir felt like powder

the Capo dei capi of th

med soldiers, a man whose mere name made p

ed my forehead every morning and swore I was

image of our unborn child to the d

?" My voice was a dry

id not

en they looked at me, were now in

inner pocket of his

yndicate-sanctioned marriage cert

in heavy black ink. Lore

snagged in

rl I had pulled out of a human traffic

tion and gave her a

ference of a naturalist observing an insect. "I ha

embling so violently I dropp

antic desperation clawing at me. "We

, grating laugh fro

ng frame casting a shadow tha

ously forged pageant. A means to ensure your compliance-

casually it felt like a ph

begging him, "Please, Enzo, this has

e of my belly," I sobbed. "You wept, you wh

his arm away

t so pure it felt as if my li

tard," he spat. "And I would certainly never si

me like a vo

oser, his jaw t

o bedded my father and instigated the tragedy that left my own

ted lover," he mocked, "all to

that he would never truly m

roughly straightened

d of dirty, crumpled

on that butcher's

nthouse early. Carmela prefers her dinner serv

able to reconcile his features with the c

checked his he

ms in the penthouse last night. You'll need to purch

se in m

y made for me over the last five years-the times

ll a sta

reaching for him,

d got into the driver's

ehicle, my vision

k car accelerate

tal bumper c

ody striking the hard pavem

the street, leaving

suddenly buzzed

dicate communications channel Enzo had

t with shaking

with a message f

-year deep-cover performance with the mistress

aughed. The world kept spinning as if my universe hadn't just collapsed into ash. And in that moment, I m