On the night of our anniversary, I had prepared a new set of lingerie for my Mafia husband Joey, but he had prepared divorce papers for me instead.

A Cuban cigar was clamped between his teeth, a look of pure entitlement on his face.

"Adriana, we need to divorce. Vivian's father is a capo. If I marry her, my future's set."

"Look, sweetheart, you're just a broken family's leftover daughter. You should be grateful I kept you around this long."

"Once I have the family ring, maybe I'll throw you a few scraps, let you be my little side piece."

Everyone expected the daughter of a fallen family to step aside for his ambition, to be the loyal dog I'd been for the past seven years.

But that night, I made a deal with the devil.

I accepted a match arranged by my family and married the true king of New York's underworld.

I vanished from Joey's world completely.

Three years later, I returned to New York on my husband's arm.

We were there on family business. Dante was called away for something urgent, leaving me to wait for him at his private club.

I never expected to run into Joey, the man I hadn't seen in three years.

"That's enough, Adriana. Stop with the childish tantrums."

"Our son Angelo's almost six. He needs care. I'm being generous, offering you a position as his nanny."

I laughed. What was this idiot talking about?

He was calling the most feared and revered Donna in all of New York a nanny?

On the night of our anniversary, I had prepared a new set of lingerie for my Mafia husband Joey, but he had prepared divorce papers for me instead.

A Cuban cigar was clamped between his teeth, a look of pure entitlement on his face.

"Adriana, we need to divorce. Vivian's father is a capo. If I marry her, my future's set."

"Look, sweetheart, you're just a broken family's leftover daughter. You should be grateful I kept you around this long."

"Once I have the family ring, maybe I'll throw you a few scraps, let you be my little side piece."

Everyone expected the daughter of a fallen family to step aside for his ambition, to be the loyal dog I'd been for the past seven years.

But that night, I made a deal with the devil.

I accepted a match arranged by my family and married the true king of New York's underworld.

I vanished from Joey's world completely.

Three years later, I returned to New York on my husband's arm.

We were there on family business. Dante was called away for something urgent, leaving me to wait for him at his private club.

I never expected to run into Joey, the man I hadn't seen in three years.

"That's enough, Adriana. Stop with the childish tantrums."

"Our son Angelo's almost six. He needs care. I'm being generous, offering you a position as his nanny."

I laughed. What was this idiot talking about?

He was calling the most feared and revered Donna in all of New York a nanny?

...

A cluster of men in sharp suits loitered at the entrance to the underground club, their cigarettes glowing in the dark.

As I drew closer, a cold knot formed in my stomach. The man holding court was none other than my ex-husband, Joey.

He was flanked by Vivian and a few of his men. My three-year-old son, Angelo, was clinging tightly to Vivian's leg.

A guy with a jagged scar across his cheek spat his cigarette onto the pavement. "Hey, Boss, isn't that the broad you dumped?"

Joey's lips twisted into a cruel smirk.

"What'd I tell you? Knew she couldn't make it on her own. Look at her, crawling back with her tail between her legs."

His goons started chiming in.

"Adriana sure took off in a hurry. Now that the Boss is a made man, I bet she's kicking herself."

"Look at that pathetic outfit. Life must be rough without the Boss's money."

"Probably got chewed up and spit out by some schmuck. Now she thinks she can crawl back to a real man."

Just then, Angelo peeked out from behind Vivian and, in a voice mimicking the adults, asked me, "Are you the mean lady?"

He pointed at my flat shoes, his little brow furrowed. "Your clothes are ugly. Mama Vivian says only poor people dress like that."

Vivian stroked Angelo's head, smugness radiating from her. "Angelo is so smart. You can tell right away."

Angelo tilted his head back, his voice dripping with arrogance.

"Mama Vivian's shoes are so pretty! They have sparkly diamonds. Your shoes are old and ugly!"

He suddenly ran to Joey's side and tugged on his sleeve. "Daddy, why is she here? I don't want her in our house. She's dirty!"

Joey burst out laughing and squatted down to pick Angelo up. "Angelo's right, but from now on, she can be your maid. She'll wash your clothes and cook your meals."

Angelo clapped his little hands excitedly. "Great! I'll make her kneel and put my shoes on for me every day, like the servants on TV."

"And she has to call me 'sir'! Mama Vivian said all the servants on TV do that!"

Hearing those words from my own son, my own flesh and blood, felt like a blade twisting in my gut.

This was the child I had carried for ten months, now twisted into this cold, snobbish creature.

I thought back to how I used to be.

For every family gathering, every public event, I would don the most expensive gowns and the most magnificent jewels, all to present a perfect image that burnished Joey's reputation.

None of that was necessary anymore.

The ridiculous outfit they were mocking was a matching cartoon set. Dante's precious three-year-old had begged me to wear it with him.

Though it might not look fashionable, the fabric was made by a top designer that Dante had specifically commissioned for me and our little boy.

Listening to their jeers, I finally understood. They had no idea I was the guest of honor they were all waiting for.

Angelo suddenly wriggled out of Joey's arms and ran up to me. "You know what? My daddy is a big shot now, and Mama Vivian's daddy is a capo!"

"And you're nothing! Even our dog is more important than you!"

Mimicking an adult, he pulled a crumpled ten-dollar bill from his pocket and threw it at my feet. "Here. Mama Vivian says poor people will do anything for money."

The men around them erupted in coarse laughter, and Vivian was practically shrieking with delight.

Seeing my silence, one of the men, who looked slightly more polished than the rest, tried to smooth things over. "Truth is, Adriana... Joey's missed you these past three years."

The smug look on Joey's face vanished, replaced by a feigned indifference. "Angelo needs to start learning the family rules. You'll be in charge of teaching him, doing the laundry, and cooking. It's your duty."

It was the same condescending tone he always used.

But I was no longer the pathetic creature who revolved around him.

All I felt now was a deep disgust. Unwilling to waste another second, I was about to reveal my identity when Vivian cut in.

"Adriana, don't misunderstand Joey's kindness. This arrangement is for your own good. You disappeared for three years. Who knows what kind of dirty work you've been up to?"

"Look at you. I wouldn't even hire you to shine my shoes."

"Just focus on raising the boy. At least you'll have a roof over your head and food to eat. It beats walking the streets."

Three years, and Vivian was still just as venomous, just as adept at making my stomach turn.

Neither of them had changed a bit. A match made in heaven, truly.

A wave of nausea hit me, and I frowned.

Joey, however, mistook my expression for jealousy and anger. A flicker of satisfaction crossed his face.

"Drop the act, Adriana. You can play the wounded queen all you want, but we all see the truth. The world ate you alive, didn't it?"

"So here's the deal: you'll be Angelo's nanny. It's that or the gutter. You should be on your knees thanking me."

"Don't worry, the servant's room is just how you left it. Cozy, right?"

His words were followed by a chorus of malicious laughter.

"The Boss is being a gentleman, offering you a way out."

"He's just asking you to look after the kid. It's a damn sight better than whatever shithole you crawled out of."

Vivian toyed with the diamond bracelet on her wrist, her voice dripping with false sincerity.

"Don't worry, Adriana. If Angelo gives you any trouble, I'll handle him for you. After all, he listens to me more than anyone now."

Joey shot me a cold, dismissive glance. "What's she got to complain about? She took off over some stupid little thing, and now that she's hit rock bottom, she's back. She deserves to be taught a lesson."

His words sent a chill through me.

Even now, he thought betraying our marriage, our vows was just some stupid little thing.

I should have realized it long ago. The Joey I once loved was truly dead.

He was no longer the boy who had gritted his teeth and carried me through a hail of bullets after being slashed by rivals.

He was no longer the penniless kid who swore to give me the world, and was no longer the man who had nothing, but whose eyes were filled with only me.

It didn't matter. It was all in the past, not worth another thought.

Besides, the genius child who would one day inherit this empire… he was already mine.

I looked at the pathetic clowns peacocking in front of me and felt my patience wearing thin.

"I have no interest in being a nanny." I met Joey's gaze.

"Joey, you don't seem to understand. The guidance I provide for a child's upbringing is a privilege. It has a price, and it's far beyond what you could ever afford."

For a moment, there was dead silence. Then, the air erupted with coarse, derisive laughter.

Joey's men howled, slapping each other on the back as if I'd told the funniest joke they'd ever heard.

"Did you hear that, Boss?" the scar-faced goon sputtered through his guffaws. "She thinks she's some kind of goddamn kingmaker!"

Vivian shrieked with mirth, wiping a tear from her eye. "Oh, Adriana, you're priceless! Who do you think you are, the Donna of the Moretti family?" She looped her arm through Joey's.

Angelo clapped his hands beside her. "Yes! Mama Vivian is right! Poor ladies love to daydream!"

Vivian patted Angelo's head proudly, then turned to me with a look of triumph. "In case you've been living under a rock, we answer to the most powerful Don in New York now."

The scar-faced goon chimed in, showing off his pitiful knowledge. "She's the wife of Don Dante Moretti himself. The Donna of the most powerful of the Five Families."

"The Don runs everything from Brooklyn to Manhattan, arms, drugs, casinos, it's all his call. But he's crazy about his Donna."

"The word on the street is simple: you don't touch the Donna. You mess with her, you mess with the Don. He'll have your hide for it."

They were talking about me. Of course, I knew.

In the three years since our marriage, Dante's iron-fisted rule over the underworld had only solidified, and his reputation as a fiercely protective husband had spread throughout the mafia.

Vivian took a drag from her cigarette. "I heard that to show his love for his wife, the Don had her initial tattooed over his heart. Right next to the family crest. A big 'E'."

"Every woman in New York would kill to be that 'E'." She gestured over her own heart as she spoke. "That's real love. Something a cast-off like you wouldn't understand."

She leaned in closer, her voice dripping with envy. "And I heard she gave him the most brilliant son, a boy destined to be a formidable Don himself."

Angelo, ever the center of his own universe, puffed out his chest. "Better than me? Daddy, am I going to be a Don and inherit the empire?"

Joey's face clouded over for a second before he forced a laugh. "That's enough, son. Grown-ups are talking."

But I knew the truth. Dante's three-year-old son was indeed a genius, one I had personally raised and educated.

Countless mafia wives had begged me to share my methods, desperate to know how I had raised such a loving and exceptional child.

A cold smile touched my lips.

I wondered what their faces would look like when they found out the "revered Donna" they were gossiping about was the same woman they were trying to humiliate.

Just then, my phone screen lit up.

Vivian suddenly shrieked, pointing at my lock screen. "Wait... that photo..." She paused, her voice laced with disbelief. "Isn't that the Don's private estate?"

She snatched the phone from my hand, her eyes glued to the screen.

In the photo, Dante had his arm around me as we stood before the rose bushes in his garden.

His shirt was slightly unbuttoned, revealing the family crest on his chest, a black eagle, and right next to it, an ornate 'E'.

He had it tattooed there, just for me.

The air froze for a few seconds. The color drained from Vivian's face.

Joey ripped the phone from her grasp. His eyes narrowed at the screen before he let out a harsh, sudden laugh.

"Nice Photoshop job. Which two-bit grifter taught you that trick? You have the nerve to use the Don's private estate as a background?"

He leaned in close, his voice a low hiss in my ear. "Are you trying to get us all killed?"

With a snarl, he slammed my phone onto the pavement.

The screen shattered with a sickening crunch.

I dropped to my knees, scrambling to salvage the pieces, a surge of panic rising in me. "Dante had that done for me..."

The phone not only contained the files for all the businesses I was here to inspect, but also every precious memory Dante and I had made together.

Before I could finish, Joey's hand whipped across my face.

CRACK!

Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

"Shut your mouth, you psycho bitch!"

Joey's eyes were wild, a frantic mix of fury and raw fear. "Adriana! You dare say the Don's name? And you have the gall to invent a relationship with him? Are you trying to get our whole family thrown into the Hudson River?"

Several of his men immediately closed in, their hands on their pieces.

The scar-faced soldato's voice trembled. "Adriana, do you have any fucking idea what Joey had to do to get us on this detail tonight?"

"Joey answers to the Don now! We're only alive on this block because we're under the Moretti family's protection!"

"If you're here impersonating the Donna and word gets back to the Don, he'll have us all skinned alive!"

Another man pulled a gun, the black muzzle pressing against my temple. "Maybe I should just put a bullet in your head right now. End this before you get us all clipped."

Angelo was jumping up and down with excitement. "Good one! Hit her again! Mama Vivian, look how pathetic she is!"

I slowly wiped the blood from my lip and lifted my head, sweeping my coldest glare over every single person there.

In that instant, all of them, including Joey, took an involuntary step back.

Seeing the color drain from Joey's face, Vivian pointed a vicious finger at me. "Adriana, Joey was merciful enough to offer you a place, and this is how you repay him, with these insane lies!"

"I think you've really lost your mind. Trying to latch onto the Don? Looking like that?"

"Even if you hate Joey, you can't try to ruin him like this! Do you want him to die?"

Her words felt like a scene from that nightmare three years ago.

No matter what I did, Vivian could always twist the truth, always convince Joey that I was the villain.

In the beginning, Joey would defend me. Later, he started taking her side.

Just like now. Joey gave me a long, hard look and uttered two words: "Crazy bitch."

But this time, he didn't continue to humiliate me. After a moment of silence, he pulled a thick wad of hundred-dollar bills from his suit pocket.

He threw the cash in my face, the green bills fluttering to the ground around me. "Take the money. Buy yourself some decent clothes. And if you don't want to look after Angelo, I can set you up in the club. Turning tricks."

The condescending charity in his gesture made me sick.

This pathetic excuse for a man... no wonder he was still a bottom-rung gangster.

I got to my feet, kicking the scattered bills aside. Then, I bent down and picked up the shattered remains of my phone. I met his gaze, my voice dropping to a low, cold whisper.

"I don't want your money. It's tainted."

My words drove Joey into a rage, his face flushing a deep red.

I turned to leave, but he grabbed my wrist, his grip like a vise. "What did you say? My money's dirty?"

His fingers dug into my skin, and I winced in pain. "Adriana, don't push your luck!"

Vivian fanned the flames. "Joey, she's just putting on an act! She's obviously here with her tail between her legs, but she has to put on this holier-than-thou act!"

Joey stared into my eyes, and a self-satisfied smirk slowly spread across his face. "I get it."

He released my wrist and took a step back. "You're still mad at me, aren't you?"

"It's been three years, Adriana. You're still throwing a tantrum over that? It was nothing."

Angelo tugged on Vivian's skirt. "Mama Vivian, why is she mad at Daddy?"

Vivian crouched down, stroking Angelo's head gently. "Because she's jealous, sweetie. Jealous that Daddy has a better woman now."

"Jealous that you have a prettier new mommy."

Understanding dawned on Angelo's face. He pointed at me. "Oh, so she's jealous! No wonder she's acting so pathetic!"

Joey's ego swelled. He straightened his suit collar, adopting a magnanimous air. "Fine. Seeing as you're Angelo's birth mother, I'll give you a chance."

"In three days, the family is hosting a grand reception to welcome the Don. I can get you in as Angelo's nanny, so you can see how the other half lives."

"Joey is a goddamn saint!"

"Adriana, that's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! The entire New York high society will be there!"

"You'll never see a party of that caliber in your life!"

Joey looked down his nose at me. "Well? Isn't that generous enough for you?"

I stared at him coldly and said, one syllable at a time, "No. Thank. You."

The air crackled with tension. Everyone was stunned, as if they couldn't believe I would refuse such a "gracious" offer.

Joey's face turned thunderous. "What did you say?"

"I said, no thank you," I repeated. "We're divorced, Joey. A clean break is best. It prevents complications." I thought of my intensely jealous husband. Dante's possessiveness scared even me.

Being rejected again and again had finally pushed Joey over the edge. He pointed a finger at my nose and snarled, "Adriana! You ungrateful bitch!"

"I've been more than generous! What more could you possibly want?"

"Fine! Just fine!" He turned and wrapped his arm around Vivian's waist, his voice loud enough for the whole street to hear. "If that's how you want it, don't blame me for forgetting we had a history!"

"At the reception in three days, I'm going to walk in with Vivian and Angelo on my arm. I'll show the whole world who the real woman in my life is!"

Vivian leaned into Joey's embrace, her eyes locked on me in a triumphant challenge. "Adriana, when I'm Joey's wife, Angelo will be the prince of this family. And you? You'll be nothing but an outsider, looking in."

Angelo clapped his hands. "Yay! I'm going to wear my most handsome little suit! So everyone will know Vivian is my mommy!"

Watching their little family drama unfold, I felt nothing but profound disgust. But it was for the best. I only hoped they'd still be this arrogant in three days.

Three days later, the reception took place as scheduled.

The Moretti family's private club was a glittering palace of gold and crystal, filled with the elite of New York's underworld.

I wore light makeup and a black silk gown that Dante had chosen for me personally.

I wore no jewelry, and my hair was swept up in a simple, elegant knot.

The moment I stepped into the hall, I saw them.

Vivian was in a gown covered in rhinestones, a gaudy necklace around her neck, as if desperate for attention.

Angelo, stuffed into a tiny tuxedo, clutched her hand, playing the perfect little prince.

When Joey saw me, a flicker of confusion crossed his face.

He was probably wondering how the hell I got an invitation to an event of this caliber. He leaned over and whispered something to Vivian, who covered her mouth and giggled.

Angelo pointed at me and announced to the people around them, "See? That lady is my old mommy! She's my nanny now!"

Curious and judgmental glances shot my way from all directions.

"So, you couldn't stay away after all," Joey said, striding up to me with that familiar arrogance. "But if you're trying to win me back, at least show some class. An outfit like that is just embarrassing."

I ignored his baffling narcissism and walked past him toward my seat.

Joey, infuriated, grabbed my arm. "Adriana, I'm talking to you! Our seats are down there, where are you going?"

I shook his hand off. "Those are your seats, not mine."

I walked straight toward the back of the hall.

As I approached the head table, the seats reserved exclusively for the Don. The color drained from Joey's face.

"She's lost her mind," he muttered under his breath. "She's completely insane!"

Vivian saw where I was headed and let out a piercing shriek. "Joey! Look at that bitch! How dare she walk toward the Don's table?"

"Get her back here! She's going to get us all killed!"