Chapter 1

Scarlett's POV

"Not so rough, Dr. Cole. God, it hurts!" The blonde on the examination table writhed, her legs trembling in the stirrups.

"Relax. The obstruction is lodged deep," I said, my voice professionally flat. As one of the top OB/GYNs in the country, I'd handled my fair share of bizarre ER cases.

The moment my metal forceps struck something hard, my pulse steadied.

Found it.

Holding my breath, I carefully extracted the object. It emerged slick with mucus and streaks of blood.

I looked down. In an instant, my blood ran cold.

It was a men's platinum wedding band. Engraved clearly on the inner curve was N & S. Forever.

It was my husband's wedding ring!

Just an hour ago, Nelson had texted me: [Happy Valentine's Day, baby. We've got an arms deal at the docks tonight, I can't get away. Love you, forever.]

And now, this ring had just been pulled out of another woman's body.

Click. The sound of a lighter flicking echoed through the crack of the clinic door, followed immediately by the raucous, brassy laughter of Nelson's thugs.

"Fuck it, Boss. You actually had the balls to bring Ivy here? Your wife's on shift tonight!" Lucas took a heavy drag of his cigar.

"Wife? Cut the bullshit!" another lackey scoffed, his voice booming with unapologetic malice. "She's nothing but another Don's leftovers. What kind of wife is that?"

"Exactly! Three years ago, she went in as a hostage and stayed with Sebastian for a whole damn year! God knows how many men took turns on her in that estate." Another chimed in. "The Boss is the youngest Mafia head in the States now. Keeping her in the manor instead of tossing her into the slums is practically an act of mercy!"

I stared blankly at the crack in the door.

The man standing in the hallway, draped in a black trench coat and biting down on a cigar, was my husband, Nelson Pierce.

He leaned against the wall, listening to his own men humiliate his wife with the most vitriolic, filthy words imaginable.

He didn't draw his gun. He didn't snap at them. He didn't even utter a single reprimand.

That silence was more deafening than any insult.

Three years ago, the Pierce family was betrayed. Nelson was crushed under the heel of his sworn enemy, half the bones in his body shattered, hovering on the brink of death.

It was me. I was the one who knelt alone in the freezing snow before the car of Sebastian Ashford, the supreme Mafia Godfather. I offered myself up as a pawn—just to buy Nelson's life.

A year later, Nelson rescued me from my house arrest. He pressed a searing kiss to my forehead. "Scarlett, you are my only salvation. I swear, from now on, I will give you the best of everything."

Lies. It was all a goddamn lie.

Bang!

The clinic door was kicked open. Nelson strode in.

When he saw the bloody wedding band sitting in the tray, a flash of panic and evasion crossed his eyes.

But he didn't look at me. He simply scooped the blonde on the exam table into his arms. "Ivy, baby, it's okay. I've got you."

His voice was so tender it could melt ice. His large hand stroked the girl's hair with sickening affection.

Ivy clung to his chest, weeping pitifully. "Nelson, it hurts so much. Dr. Cole was so rough. Does she... does she hate me?" Even as she sobbed, she shot me a triumphant, provocative glance from the corner of her eye.

Nelson snapped his head toward me. "Scarlett! What the hell is wrong with you?!" he roared. "You're a doctor! Where are your damn professional ethics? Why did you hurt her on purpose?!"

I stood frozen, feeling as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head.

Hurt her on purpose? My husband brought his mistress in with the physical evidence of his affair lodged inside her, and dared to accuse me of lacking ethics?

I was so furious I actually let out a hollow laugh. Picking up the cold metal tray, I walked toward him, step by agonizing step.

"Nelson. Care to explain why this wedding ring—the one engraved with our initials—was buried inside this woman?"

Nelson's jaw went taut. He stared me down, his eyes utterly devoid of guilt.

"Explain what?" he scoffed, his tone dripping with arrogant superiority. "Scarlett, I'm a man. More than that, I'm a Mafia boss. Did you think expanding our territory didn't require 'mingling'? Do you expect a man to eat the same meal every day for the rest of his life?"

He justified his betrayal with staggering audacity.

"So, losing your wedding ring inside her was your way of expanding territory?" My voice finally broke into an uncontrollable tremble.

Nelson's face darkened.

"Don't play the holy virgin with me, Scarlett," he sneered. "You think I don't know? You stayed with Sebastian for a whole year. You think I don't know exactly what you two did behind closed doors?"

I looked at him in sheer, heart-wrenching disbelief.

In fact, Sebastian just locked me up and didn't do anything to me.

"I did it to save you!" I screamed, the desperation finally tearing through. "If I hadn't offered myself up, you would've died in a sewer three years ago!"

"And that's why I kept you around! That's why I gave you the title of my wife!" Nelson violently shoved me aside.

He snatched a coat and draped it gently over Ivy's shivering shoulders.

Nestling into his chest like she'd won a prize, Ivy turned back to flash me one last smirk before the door slammed shut.

I was left alone in the cold silence of the examination room.

Two years of marriage. Ten years of history. Life and death.

In his eyes, our marriage had merely been a reluctant act of charity because he found me "dirty." He truly believed that the humiliation I endured to save his life was a stain of betrayal against him.

How pathetic. I ripped off my bloody gloves and hurled them into the trash. My tears didn't fall, they burned.

I pulled out my phone and dialed my private attorney, Marcus.

"Marcus," my voice was hoarse but resolute. "I want a divorce. Draft the papers immediately. I want Nelson Pierce to pay. I'm going after every single one of his casino shares."

Dead silence met me on the other end.

"Marcus? Are you there?" I frowned.

"Scarlett..." Marcus's voice was thin, trembling with panic. "Calm down for a second. I... I can't do that."

"What are you so afraid of?" I demanded. "With me backing you, Nelson wouldn't dare touch you!"

"No, it's not that," Marcus took a deep, shuddering breath. "Scarlett, I just had someone run a check on the federal marriage registry."

"You and Nelson can't get a divorce."

I froze. "What do you mean?"

Over the phone, Marcus dropped a bomb that plunged me into an icy abyss.

"Your marriage certificate is a fake. According to the state, you're already married to someone else."