Chapter 1

"Sorry, boss's strict orders. No one is to disturb the top floor tonight."

The bodyguards blocked my way, their guns aimed right at me. I was Dante's wife, standing there holding the soup I'd made for his stomach, yet I was being treated like a trespasser.

I ignored them and forced my way in anyway. Through the crack in the door, I saw everything perfectly clear. Dante didn't draw his gun on the woman who had once kidnapped me. Instead, the notoriously cold-blooded crime boss was using his personal handkerchief to patiently bandage her bleeding palm.

——

Selena’s POV

“Ma’am, your car is still being serviced. Would you like me to arrange a driver for tonight?”

“No. I’ll take Dante’s black SUV.”

I declined the butler’s offer and headed straight for the garage.

The SUV usually sat untouched in the corner. Dante rarely ever drove it.

The only time he seemed to take it out was late every Friday night.

I placed the insulated food container on the passenger seat.

Dante had suffered severe stomach damage in a shootout years ago. Tonight, he’d said he would be interrogating a traitor at headquarters through the night. Worried his stomach might start acting up, I had made him a rich soup and planned to deliver it myself.

I slid into the driver’s seat and pressed the ignition.

The center console lit up, and the navigation system automatically displayed the most frequently visited recent destinations.

The location at the top wasn’t the docks.

It was Obsidian Estate.

Forty miles from our home.

At first, I assumed the location was a mistake. But the moment I opened the route history, every drop of blood in my body turned to ice.

For an entire year, this SUV, the one he supposedly drove “only on Fridays,” had arrived at that estate at exactly the same time every Friday night.

And before leaving, Dante had always given me the same excuse.

“A new shipment of weapons is coming into port. I need to inspect it myself. Go to bed early.”

I knew exactly who Obsidian Estate belonged to.

Valentina.

For the past ten years, she and Dante had fought viciously for control of the East Coast.

She had once ordered her men to abduct me and take me to an abandoned warehouse, where they nearly dumped me into the river.

Dante had stormed in alone to save me and personally put a bullet through Valentina’s knee.

That was why I had always believed, without question, that Dante felt nothing for that woman but hatred.

As I stared at the screen, my phone suddenly began vibrating violently.

Dante’s custom ringtone exploded through the silence of the car.

I jolted. My wrist jerked, and the phone slipped from my hand, falling into the gap between the seats.

It kept ringing as I bent down in a panic and reached into the gap.

But my fingertips didn’t find the phone.

They touched a small metal tube.

Pain stabbed through my chest.

I pulled it out and finally saw what it was.

A discontinued lipstick from an exclusive Italian luxury brand.

More than once, I had playfully begged Dante to find me this particular shade. Every time, he had brushed me off, claiming the brand no longer made it.

So it hadn’t been unavailable.

He had simply reserved that privilege for Valentina.

My hand trembled as I turned the tube over.

Two ornate initials were engraved on the bottom.

V & D.

V for Valentina.

D for Dante.

The ringing from between the seats stopped. A second later, another call came through.

I finally retrieved my phone. Staring at the name on the screen, I clutched the lipstick bearing their initials and answered.

His deep voice came through the receiver.

“Little Rose, why didn’t you answer? Things got bloody at the docks. It’s ugly here. Go to bed early. Don’t wait up for me.”

I stared at the words “Obsidian Estate” on the console. My throat tightened, but my voice remained perfectly calm.

“I was trying on some makeup. I dropped my phone. Understood.”

I ended the call without shedding a single tear.

Still gripping the lipstick, I slammed my foot on the gas and drove straight toward the casino headquarters where Dante actually was tonight.

The outside world knew Dante only as a ruthless crime boss.

Very few knew that I had surrendered half of my family’s territory to put him on the throne.

For the sake of his absolute security, I had willingly stepped into the shadows and never flaunted my status as the boss’s wife.

Carrying the insulated container, I walked straight toward the private elevator.

Before I could take another step, two unfamiliar bodyguards blocked my path with cold expressions.

“Sorry, ma’am. This elevator is reserved for the boss.”

I stopped.

Several senior dealers nearby were whispering among themselves.

“Valentina went straight up to the top floor with her people.”

“She’s the only one who dares act like that in front of the boss.”

“They’ve been fighting and obsessing over each other for years. Deep down, neither of them has room for anyone else. Valentina is the only one who gets that kind of privilege.”

Every word sliced through my pride like a knife.

I had risked everything to stand beside him and help him reach this position.

Now I couldn’t even bring him a meal without having guns pointed at me.

Yet Valentina could openly enjoy privileges that should have belonged to him alone.

I clenched my fist and looked at the guards.

“I need to see Dante. Let me through.”

One of them raised his chin arrogantly.

“The boss gave strict orders tonight. The top floor is receiving Valentina and no one else.”

The female assistant beside him chimed in, sounding completely certain.

“That’s right. The moment Ms. Valentina arrived, the boss canceled his international conference and cleared the entire top floor. No one is allowed to disturb them. You should leave before you embarrass yourself.”

My fingertips went numb.

Right in front of them, I called Dante’s private line.

He had once promised me that the number would be reserved for me alone.

But now the phone rang once, twice, three times...

The endless dial tone echoed through the lobby.

He never answered.

Laughter came from the men behind me.

“Who does she think she is, pretending to be the boss’s wife? If she really mattered that much, why won’t he even answer her call?”

I said nothing more.

Turning around, I threw the carefully prepared soup, container and all, into a nearby trash can with a heavy crash.

While everyone watched me as if I were a joke, I reached into a hidden compartment in my purse and took out the black card that represented the highest level of authority in the family.

I raised it to the scanner.

Beep.

The elevator doors opened at my command in front of everyone.

When the elevator reached the top floor, the doors slowly slid apart.

I was greeted by the piercing crash of porcelain shattering against a wall.

Then Valentina’s voice tore through the hallway.

“Dante! If you have the guts, point a gun at my head and kill me!”

“Otherwise, admit that you have feelings for me!”