Chapter One
Sienna's POV
Four years ago, Giovanni dumped me in front of everyone at an upscale restaurant. Two weeks later, he was engaged to Rosanna. I made a fool of myself begging on his doorstep, became the laughingstock of Ferro City.
Four years later, he runs into me at Casa Valentino, assumes I'm destitute, and offers me a job as a cleaner for him.
What he doesn't know is that the plainly dressed woman standing before him is the wife of Don Alessandro Valentino—the man the entire underworld bows to.
A group of men in tailored suits were walking toward me. It wasn't until they got closer that I recognized the face leading them.
Giovanni. Underboss of the Fontana family. My ex-fiancé.
My mother-in-law Elena had just been laid to rest hours ago. Alessandro had left with his convoy to handle family business, and I'd stayed behind for a supplier contract that had been sitting unsigned for two weeks. Today was the deadline.
"Boss, isn't that Sienna?" Nico, one of Giovanni's men, spotted me instantly and clapped a hand on Giovanni's shoulder. "The one who got on her knees begging you not to leave her, four years ago."
Four years ago, it was Nico who'd dragged me out of Giovanni's villa. I'd hit my knees on the front steps. I still had the scar.
Giovanni's gaze found mine. He paused — just a beat — then curved his lips into a smile and walked straight toward me.
"Sienna?" He slid both hands into his pockets, looking me over from above. "This is the Don's private office. What exactly are you doing here?"
"Look at what she's wearing," Nico muttered. "Probably works here as a cleaner. Gets dumped by the boss, can't find a husband — ends up scrubbing floors."
"Bargain bin, head to toe." Dario, Giovanni's other man, let his eyes travel over me and clicked his tongue. "Not even a decent bag. Rough times."
I glanced down at my dress. Black silk, clean lines, no logo — I'd just come from a funeral. I wasn't going to show up in sequins. But to men like these, if it didn't have a logo, it didn't count.
Giovanni stepped closer, studying me the way you study something you used to own. "How about this — come clean my office instead. Ten thousand a month, meals and housing covered." He paused, flashing the smile he clearly thought was irresistible. "And the best part? You'd get to see me every day."
I was about to tell them all to get out when his phone rang.
He answered it. On speaker.
"Darling, have you seen the Valentino Don yet?" The voice on the other end was sharp and bright — Rosanna, Giovanni's fiancée. "I heard his wife is back in town. If I could get an introduction, it would be good for both our families. I have to find a way to get close to her—"
"Alessandro isn't here right now," I said, cutting her off. "And his wife has no interest in meeting someone like you."
Silence.
Then Rosanna's voice climbed an octave. "Who is this?! Who are you to speak for the Don's wife?!"
"Because I am the Don's—"
"Rosanna, ignore her." Giovanni cut me off, dropping his voice into the phone. "It's Sienna. She's lost her mind — works here as a cleaner now, doesn't know what she's saying."
"Sienna." Rosanna's tone sharpened into something that almost sounded like pity. "Well, Giovanni, you can't really blame her. You threw her over for me — the whole city knew. That kind of thing leaves a mark." A pause. "But since we go back, I'll be generous. She can come work in our house. At least she'd have a roof over her head."
"You can go now," I said quietly, and turned toward the office door.
Giovanni's hand closed around my wrist.
Hard. The kind of grip that leaves bruises. He yanked me back and leaned in close, his voice dropping to something barely above a whisper.
"What's the plan, Sienna? You gonna strut in there with a mop and broker a deal? Know your place."
"I have a contract to finish—"
The words barely left my mouth before he cut me off, his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle ticking beneath his skin.
"Consequences, Sienna. The Don hears a janitor's been making moves in his name? You're finished." He pulled me closer. "And us? Old news that people still talk about. So when you go down — I go down looking like the dumbass who couldn't control his ex."
