Valentina POV:
My work was my identity. I wasn’t a soldier, I didn’t carry a gun, but my mind was a weapon. I designed the secure communication networks the Lombardi family used. I built the financial architecture for three of their most profitable front businesses, turning them from flimsy covers into legitimate powerhouses. Marco’s entire reputation for being a sharp earner was built on my intelligence, my strategies.
I was the ghost in his machine.
And I had done it all for the promise of a name, a family. For him.
When Salvatore Conti had approached me the third time about the Chimera project, his gaze was serious. “Valentina, this is a chance to work directly for the Don. Dante Lombardi doesn’t make offers like this lightly. This is your chance to be at the center of the family, to have your name mean something.”
I had smiled politely and refused. “My place is with Marco, Salvatore. His success is my success.”
Salvatore had looked at me with an expression I now understood was pity. “Loyalty is a precious thing, child. Be sure it is given to someone who deserves it.”
The memory was a hot poker in my gut as I pushed through the doors of the grand hall where Marco’s celebration was being held. The air was thick with cigar smoke and the low hum of powerful men making deals. Soldiers in sharp suits lined the walls, their eyes scanning the room, their hands never far from the guns hidden beneath their jackets. At the head of the room, on a slightly raised dais, sat the Capos, the lieutenants of the Lombardi empire. And above them all, in a shadowed balcony, I could just make out the silhouette of a man, broad and still. Dante Lombardi. The Lion in his den, watching over his pride. His presence was a weight you could feel in the air, a constant reminder of who held the real power.
And there, in the center of the room, was Marco. He was laughing, a glass of champagne in his hand, his arm wrapped possessively around a woman’s waist.
Isabella Moretti.
She was exactly as I remembered from the old photos—delicate, beautiful, with wide, innocent eyes that were a complete lie. She leaned into him, whispering something in his ear that made him smile. A public smile. The kind he never gave me.
“We have to keep a low profile, Vally,” he’d always said. “No need to put a target on our backs until I’m untouchable. True power is quiet.”
Lies. All of it. The secrecy wasn’t for our protection. It was for his convenience. So he could erase me without leaving a trace.
My heart shattered all over again, the pieces grinding together with a pain so sharp it took my breath away.
Isabella looked up then, her eyes scanning the crowd, and they locked with mine. A slow, triumphant smile spread across her perfect lips. She knew. She had known all along.
That was it. The last thread of my control snapped.
I started walking toward them, my steps deliberate, my vision narrowing until they were the only two people in the room. The crowd parted before me, whispers following in my wake.
“Marco,” I said. My voice was quiet, but it cut through the noise.
He turned, his smile faltering when he saw me. Annoyance flickered in his eyes before he masked it. “Vally. What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” I said, my gaze fixed on his hand, still on Isabella’s waist. “Introducing your… colleague?”
Isabella’s eyes widened, her face a mask of confusion. She clung to Marco’s arm. “Mark, honey, who is this?”
“Vally, this isn’t the time or the place,” Marco hissed, his grip on Isabella tightening.
“Then when is the time, Marco?” I demanded, my voice rising. “When were you going to tell me you married the daughter of a rival family? After you moved her into our bed?”
A collective gasp rippled through the room. The music stopped. Every eye was on us. I could feel Dante Lombardi’s unseen gaze burning down from the balcony.
Isabella burst into tears, a dramatic, theatrical sob. “Married? Mark, what is she talking about? Is this the woman you told me about? The one who’s been… obsessed with you?”
“Shut up, Vally,” Marco snarled, his face turning a dark red. “You’re making a scene. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
“I’m embarrassing myself?” I laughed, a harsh, broken sound. “You bastard. You lying, cheating bastard. That woman is wearing the ring you promised me!”
A senior Capo stepped forward, his face grim. “Young lady, these are serious accusations. Do you have proof of this union you claim?”
My blood ran cold. Proof? My proof was three years of my life. My proof was the projects I’d bled for, the career I’d sacrificed. But I had nothing on paper. Marco had made sure of that.
“He… he tricked me,” I stammered, knowing how it sounded. “He had me sign papers. He told me it was family business.”
The onlookers exchanged pitying glances. I wasn’t a loyal partner being defended. I was a crazy ex-lover, a scorned woman making a scene.
Isabella took a shaky step toward me, her hand outstretched as if in comfort. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, her voice just loud enough for those nearby to hear. “I know this must be hard. Marco told me you were… unstable.”
She leaned in closer, her face hidden from the others, her eyes turning from innocent to venomous.
“He’s mine now,” she breathed, her voice a poisonous whisper in my ear. “And you’re nothing.”
Then, she stumbled backward, letting out a piercing shriek as she collapsed to the floor, clutching her stomach. “She pushed me! My baby!”
Marco rushed to her side, scooping her into his arms and glaring at me with pure hatred. “What did you do?” he roared, his voice echoing through the silent hall. “What the hell did you do?”
