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My fiancé left me standing alone at the podium during our rehearsal dinner to rush to the side of a woman whose only illness was a desperate need for attention. He humiliated me in front of the heads of the Five Families, abandoning our alliance to scoop his "dying" mistress off the floor. I didn't cry. I didn't run. I walked straight to the head table, to the most terrifying man in the city-his older brother, the Don. "The Woodward family owes me a husband," I declared calmly. An hour later, I was married to the Capo dei Capi. But my ex-fiancé didn't accept his demotion. He kidnapped me, strapping me to a chair in a soundproof basement. For three days, he drained my blood pint by pint to "save" his mistress, Jaidyn, who watched me fade while she casually ate an apple. "Take another bag," she ordered, smiling at my agony. "She still has too much fight in her." As the cold crept up my chest and my vision blurred, I realized I was going to die for a lie, drained dry by a madman. Then, the steel door detonated. Through the smoke and debris walked my husband, not with a ransom, but with a serrated knife and a promise to burn them alive.
Chapter 1
My fiancé left me standing alone at the podium during our rehearsal dinner to rush to the side of a woman whose only illness was a desperate need for attention.
He humiliated me in front of the heads of the Five Families, abandoning our alliance to scoop his "dying" mistress off the floor.
I didn't cry. I didn't run. I walked straight to the head table, to the most terrifying man in the city-his older brother, the Don.
"The Woodward family owes me a husband," I declared calmly.
An hour later, I was married to the Capo dei Capi. But my ex-fiancé didn't accept his demotion.
He kidnapped me, strapping me to a chair in a soundproof basement.
For three days, he drained my blood pint by pint to "save" his mistress, Jaidyn, who watched me fade while she casually ate an apple.
"Take another bag," she ordered, smiling at my agony. "She still has too much fight in her."
As the cold crept up my chest and my vision blurred, I realized I was going to die for a lie, drained dry by a madman.
Then, the steel door detonated.
Through the smoke and debris walked my husband, not with a ransom, but with a serrated knife and a promise to burn them alive.
Chapter 1
Eloise POV
My fiancé didn't just humiliate me at our rehearsal dinner; he signed his own death warrant.
He left the daughter of the Bowers family standing alone at the podium to rush to the side of a woman whose only illness was a desperate, clawing need for attention.
The crystal flute in my hand didn't shatter.
My hands didn't shake.
In the world of the Chicago Outfit, emotion is a weakness.
And weakness gets you killed.
I watched Holden Callahan, the man I was supposed to marry in twenty-four hours, scoop Jaidyn Albert off the floor.
Her theatrical collapse had been perfectly timed, executing right as the toast to our union began.
Her pale blue dress was fanned out around her like a martyr's shroud, and her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks in a performance worthy of an Academy Award.
"She's not breathing right!" Holden shouted, his voice cracking.
He looked pathetic.
A boy playing dress-up in a made man's suit.
"I have to get her to the car. The wedding... we have to wait. I can't do this while she's dying, Eloise."
The silence in the ballroom was heavier than lead.
Three hundred guests, including the heads of the Five Families, watched me.
They were waiting for the tears.
They were waiting for the Mafia Princess to crumble so they could tear my father's reputation apart over appetizers.
I took a slow, deliberate sip of champagne.
The bubbles burned my throat, but the cold liquid centered me.
"Go," I said.
My voice was low, steady, cutting through the murmurs like a serrated blade.
Holden looked at me, his eyes wide with a sick mix of relief and guilt.
He thought I was giving him permission.
He didn't realize I was giving him a severance package.
"I'm sorry, El," he stammered, hoisting Jaidyn into his arms.
She let out a soft, pitiful whimper that made my stomach turn.
"I'll call you from the ER."
He ran out the double doors, leaving a wake of scandal behind him.
My father, standing to my left, looked ready to draw his weapon.
His face was a mask of mottled fury.
This wasn't just a breakup; it was a breach of contract.
A violation of the peace treaty between the Bowers and the Woodwards.
I placed my glass on the table.
The sound of crystal hitting linen was the only noise in the room.
I turned my gaze to the head table.
Alphons Woodward sat there.
The Don.
The *Capo dei Capi*.
Holden's older brother.
He hadn't moved.
He hadn't spoken.
He was leaning back in his chair, a glass of whiskey resting on his knee, wearing a tuxedo that fit his broad shoulders like armor.
His dark eyes were fixed on me.
They were cold, devoid of pity, assessing the damage like a general surveying a battlefield.
He was the most terrifying man in the city.
He had killed men for looking at him wrong, and he had built an empire on blood and silence.
And he was the only card I had left to play.
I didn't run after my fiancé.
I didn't run to the bathroom to cry.
I walked straight to the head table.
The guards tensed, hands drifting to their jackets, but Alphons raised a single finger.
They froze.
I stopped in front of him.
I could smell his cologne-sandalwood, leather, and something metallic, like rain on hot pavement.
"Your brother has made a mistake," I said.
Alphons swirled his whiskey.
"He has."
"He has dishonored my family. He has broken the pact."
"He is emotional," Alphons said, his voice a deep rumble that vibrated in my chest.
"He believes he is saving a life."
"He is saving a parasite," I corrected.
"And in doing so, he has left the seat next to me empty. A seat that secures the alliance between our territories."
Alphons took a slow sip, his gaze never leaving mine.
"What are you suggesting, Eloise?"
I didn't blink.
"I am suggesting that the Woodward family owes me a husband."
"And since Holden is clearly unfit to lead, I expect the head of the family to clean up the mess."
The air left the room.
I had just proposed to the Devil.
Alphons stood up.
He towered over me, a wall of muscle and dark intent.
He reached out, his calloused fingers brushing a stray lock of hair from my cheek.
The touch was possessive, terrifying, and electric.
"Meet me at the courthouse in an hour," he said, loud enough for the entire room to hear.
"Bring your ID."
He downed the rest of his drink and walked out, not even looking at the doors where his brother had fled.
I turned back to the crowd.
I raised my chin.
The wedding was still on.
The groom had just been upgraded.
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