We meet Elena Abelli, the well-bred and rule-following daughter of a powerful New York mafia family. Outwardly, she's the perfect Italian princess—beautiful, obedient, poised. But there's tension beneath the surface. Elena once broke the rules in a way that still echoes around her family like an unspoken shame. She isn't the untouched, innocent girl everyone assumes her to be. And the mafia world, with its rigid codes and brutal consequences, doesn't forget.
She spends her days toeing the line: attending church with her mother, dining at family tables where secrets simmer just below the surface, and pretending she's content with the role that's been written for her. That image is maintained for everyone—everyone but herself.
Enter Nicolas Russo. He's her soon-to-be brother-in-law, betrothed to her younger sister. A man cloaked in shadows, powerful, emotionless, and dangerous. Elena knows to stay away. But when their eyes meet for the first time at a family dinner, it's not just sparks—it's a warning flare.
The chapter is steeped in atmosphere: lavish estates, whispered expectations, the cold glint of wealth and violence. Elena's voice is laced with sharp wit and quiet rebellion, hinting at a spirit that's anything but tamed. There's longing, unease, and a magnetic tension that foreshadows what's to come.