I had just closed a deal in Europe when Consigliere Stefano Abrams, who had been like a father to me, called. He told me he had arranged a marriage for me with the Giordano family. My intended was Don Vincenzo's son, Felice Giordano.

Felice was the acknowledged "prince" of the Chicago underworld. The Giordano family's entire communications network was dependent on Seraphim, the encrypted system I had single-handedly built.

After wrapping up my affairs, I slipped into a black velvet evening gown and hurried to the alliance dinner. I never expected to be stopped at the entrance of the Giordano family's private estate by Felice's mistress, Bianca Rossi.

She was poured into a provocative, sheer red gown, easily stealing the spotlight.

"If you know what's good for you, get lost," she sneered. "You're nothing but a nameless orphan. Take a good look at yourself. Do you really think you're worthy of the heir to the Giordano family?"

I asked, "Does Felice know you're speaking for him like this?"

She scoffed. "You only got this far on the fumes of that old man Stefano's reputation. How could you possibly understand how much I mean to Felice?"

As she spoke, a blush of obsession and arrogance colored her cheeks.

I studied her for a few seconds before dialing Felice's number. "If this is your idea of hospitality—letting your fiancée get barked at by your little pet at the gate—then I'll personally hand-deliver 'Seraphim' to the Volkov family and let you watch your empire burn. How does that sound?"

————————

1

I'm an orphan. I've only survived this world of bullets and betrayal—and become a world-class cryptographer—thanks to the protection of Consigliere Stefano Abrams.

He gave me everything and treated me as his own daughter. So, I was willing to extend a little patience to this arrogant man he’d chosen for me.

If Felice Giordano could handle her immediately and give me the explanation I deserved, I wouldn't mind giving him another chance for Stefano's sake.

"Cassia? What is it?"

It sounded noisy on Felice's end, filled with men's laughter and the clinking of glasses. He made a casual remark to someone on his end, clearly having missed every word I’d said before bringing the phone to his ear.

"Come get me and bring me inside. Your mistress is blocking the door—"

Before I could finish, he clicked his tongue, his voice dripping with impatience. "Who do you think you are, some Principessa? Don't you have legs? Can't you walk in yourself? I'm busy entertaining the Underbosses from all the major families. I don't have time for you women and your jealous squabbles. Get yourself in here."

With that, he hung up, leaving me with a dial tone.

Bianca covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, a mocking glint in her eyes. "Did you hear that? I'm just following Felice's instructions. If you want to go in, then go in—if you can."

I could crack the world’s most complex cryptosystems, but I swear, dealing with these illogical idiots was enough to give me a migraine.

"Miss Rossi, are you that confident in your position? Was blocking your master's fiancée at the entrance to the alliance dinner part of your plan to climb into his bed?" I asked.

"Too bad you've got such a sharp tongue. Compared to someone like me, who can actually help him with business and understand him, Felice despises a good-for-nothing bookworm like you who only knows how to fiddle with computers," she retorted, taking a step closer. "This is Giordano territory. No one is going to protect you here."

My gaze turned to ice. "Someone who understands him? A plaything who can't be seen in public? Does Felice know that his little toy in bed barks like a bitch at every woman who gets near him?"

My words struck a nerve. Her face flushed with a mixture of shame and anger. She raised her hand and swung at me.

I stepped back, dodging her attack. "You resort to violence when you can't win an argument? Do you slap people when a business deal goes south? Wow, you really are 'someone who understands him.'"

"Hold her down for me!" Humiliated, Bianca's voice was so sharp it cracked.

She gasped, glaring at me, and pointed a trembling finger at the family bodyguards standing by.

At her command, several Giordano family Soldati, who had been enjoying the show, began to advance on me.

"Are you going to be as foolish as Bianca? Do you know who you're about to lay your hands on?" I warned, my voice low and steady.

The Soldati exchanged glances. Then, the one in the lead spoke, his tone respectful but his eyes filled with mockery.

"Miss Thorne, we are only following orders. Please try to understand. Miss Rossi is a favorite of Felice's, and you... you're just a tool for an alliance. Unless your dead parents suddenly crawl out of their graves with some shocking pedigree, we can only say we're sorry."

My form-fitting gown and high heels weren't exactly designed for a brawl. I managed to dodge them twice, but they quickly used their numbers to overpower me, grabbing my arms and forcing me to my knees before Bianca.

She stared down at my face with a grim expression, then suddenly broke into a feral grin. She slowly pulled a sharp dagger from her tall boot, the meticulously polished blade glinting coldly under the lights.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my mind rapidly calculating the probability of escape.

"Stop!"

A low voice, thick with cold fury and a faint, hard-to-place Russian accent, cut through the tension. The tip of Bianca's dagger froze in mid-air.

The commotion had finally drawn him out: Felice.

He was tall and imposing, handsome as a dangerous black panther—far more intimidating than in his photos. He glanced at me with disdain, his gaze settling on me, crumpled and pathetic on the ground.

"This is our alliance dinner. What kind of disgraceful scene are you making out here?"

I struggled free from their grip and stood up, letting out a cold laugh. "Isn't the situation clear enough? Tell me, Felice. Is having your men rough me up at the entrance the Giordano family's way of treating guests? Do you have any idea that your mistress just tried to slash my face with a knife?"

Before I could finish, he cut me off with a frown. "Enough! Not only were you late, but you refused to come inside and started a scene at the door. Should my men not have restrained you? Should they have let you in to bite our distinguished guests like a mad dog?"

He stepped closer, his expensive cologne mixed with the strong scent of tobacco. "My time is valuable, and you just wasted it. You, a worthless orphan with no family to protect you. I have no idea why my father insists I marry a troublemaker like you. Is it just because you have a pretty face?"

The guests who had come out to watch the commotion were pointing at me and whispering. All those condescending looks made me feel like a clown on display.

He was right about one thing. My time had been wasted. I had spent so long preparing, even turning down a business deal—time that could have been spent implementing a new round of encryption upgrades for my "Seraphim" system.

"What a coincidence. I feel my time has been wasted, too. Since neither of us thinks much of the other, let's just cancel the alliance," I said calmly, my voice soft but perfectly clear.

Felice narrowed his eyes at me, clearly not expecting me to say that. "Are you threatening me? Wasn't making a scene in front of me enough, and now you want to stir up trouble by canceling the alliance? Do you think that will scare me?"

Seeing the look on his face, I suddenly felt at a loss for words. It was as if human language couldn't penetrate his brain.

Beside him, Bianca snuggled against him, her body as supple as a snake. "Felice, you see? She dares to cause such a scene at the alliance dinner. Imagine what she'll be like after you're married. She'll turn the world upside down!"

"A moment ago, as soon as she found out I was your woman and that I'm more attractive to you than she is, she was consumed by jealousy and tried to hit me. If it weren't for your men protecting me, she would have succeeded."

Felice stared at me in disbelief. "Bianca has been with me for two years and has handled countless private matters for me. Do you think she's some vapid ornament like you? What do you have to be jealous of?"

My lips curved into a smile that held no warmth. "I'm curious, why do you think I need to be jealous of a parasite who survives by pleasing men? It was she who..."

He interrupted me rudely again. "You expect me to believe a lunatic like you over Bianca?"

Bianca raised a hand to hide her triumphant smile. She blinked, tears welling in her eyes. "Felice, my heart aches for you. You're already the heir to the Giordano family, yet you're still under the thumb of your father, the Don, forced to marry a madwoman."

Felice had only been officially confirmed as the family's Underboss two years ago, and his father, Don Vincenzo Giordano, still held a firm grip on the family's power. Because of Vincenzo's dominance, Felice had accumulated a lot of anger and resentment, and the accusation that he was "controlled by his father" was the one thing guaranteed to make him lash out.

Her words hung in the air, tightening the tension.

Felice snarled, "You'd better kneel and apologize, Cassia. Otherwise, not even Stefano Abrams himself can save you. In Chicago, getting rid of someone is as easy as crushing an ant for me."

I understood now. Bianca was less Felice's woman and more of a shrewd manipulator who knew exactly how to provoke his pathetic pride.

He thought I was just a pretty face, probably because she had been whispering poison in his ear.

I pitied him. "How do you want me to compensate you?"

Felice sneered, adjusting his cuffs. "Call my father and tell him you're unworthy of the Giordano family and are voluntarily calling off the marriage."

I nodded readily, without a trace of hesitation. "Fine."

With that, I took out my phone and scrolled through my contacts.

Felice shot me a surprised glance, not expecting me to be so decisive, and pressed his lips together. "You'd better think this through. Once you make this call, the wealth and power of the Giordano family will be beyond your reach."

I didn't respond, immediately finding Vincenzo's private number and preparing to dial.

"That's not enough! I want her to kiss the tip of my shoe in front of everyone and apologize to me!" Bianca suddenly shrieked, seeing the tide turning in her favor and wanting to crush me completely. "Felice, I've given so much for you. I earned everything I have myself. I simply cannot accept the way she bullied and humiliated me just now. If she doesn't kneel and apologize, I will never forgive her!"

A bitter laugh bubbled in my throat. A group of fully armed Soldati were standing right there. Who was bullying whom?

I asked, "Bianca, do you think everyone here is stupid enough to believe your twisted version of the truth? You ordered them to hold me down and even tried to cut my face with a dagger, and now you're claiming I bullied you?"

Felice stepped forward, roughly grabbing my chin and forcing me to look up, shielding Bianca behind him. "You must have provoked Bianca first. She was just trying to protect herself. If you have any basic human decency, you should apologize to her immediately. If you refuse, I'll have no choice but to personally break your legs and teach you how to speak to my woman."

He glanced at the Soldati, who, upon receiving the command, moved their hands toward the guns at their waists, staring at me menacingly.

"Is this how the Giordano family treats its guests?"

A tall figure emerged from the crowd. The Don of the Volkov family, Nikolai Volkov.

He strode toward us, his expression unreadable as the crowd melted away before him. He came straight to me, shielding me behind him. His gray-blue eyes, cold as a winter sky, surveyed the scene before he spoke.

The Giordano family was the Italian Mafia, while the Volkov family was the Russian Bratva. They were arch-rivals in the Chicago underworld, having fought covertly for a decade over control of the docks and casinos.

Nikolai had taken over his family early on and was known for his ruthless methods—so ruthless that even Felice had always been wary of him, hoping to avoid a premature all-out war.

But because of my "Seraphim" system, the Giordano family's intelligence network had begun to surpass the Volkovs', which gave Felice a new sense of confidence.

Felice was surprised to see Nikolai on his turf. But he quickly regained his arrogance; after all, this was his home ground. He then frowned with displeasure and said, "Volkov, you must have too much time on your hands. Not only do you grace your arch-rival's alliance dinner with your presence, but you also want to meddle in my family affairs? What, here to scrounge for a drink?"

I stood there in equal shock. I stared at Nikolai's broad back, a solid wall standing between me and all the malice.

We had worked together before. I remembered a few years ago when he had made me witness a bloody execution and then appeared like a phantom in what I thought was my safest hideout.

Back then, I had been so terrified by the sheer danger and wildness in him that I fled the city overnight.

I never imagined that here, in the hostile Giordano estate, it would be this "monster" who once terrified me who would step up to protect me.