Chapter 1

After my father, the last Don of the Rinaldi family, passed away, Brenda, the illegitimate daughter he had with a family maid, immediately returned to Chicago to fight me for the family inheritance.

I was the sole legitimate heir, and I held the heirloom that symbolized our family's true heritage.

However, I still failed to protect the honor that should have been mine.

My fiancé, Griffin Callahan, a powerhouse in the Chicago underworld, was determined to help Brenda.

He stood protectively in front of Brenda's wheelchair and demanded impatiently, "The money I gave you could buy ten mansions like that. Have you no heart? Why are you fighting a disabled woman over this?"

I shot back, my voice trembling with disbelief.

"Fight? That mansion is the last piece of my mother's legacy."

In the end, Griffin used his power to help Brenda sway the arbitration council, composed of the Consigliere and several Capos.

His gaze faltered, a flicker of guilt in their depths. "Celeste, I'll make it right."

However, I knew then that there would be no future for us.

---

"I'll write you another check for twenty million dollars as compensation. Just give the mansion to Brenda."

"She was in a car accident overseas; she’ll be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Consider it charity. Take pity on her."

The casualness in Griffin's voice nearly drove me insane.

"Absolutely not! That mansion was my mother's dowry!"

"Her mother was just a maid in our house. A maid who climbed into my father's bed while my mother was pregnant. Then she had the gall to flaunt her pregnant belly in front of my mother. The heartbreak and exhaustion were too much. My mother fell gravely ill and died not long after I was born."

"You want me to pity her? Who's going to pity my mother, or me?"

I screamed at him through my tears, but Griffin just took off his gold-rimmed glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, shooting me an impatient glance.

"Celeste, stop making a scene. Fine. I'll raise the price. This is enough to buy any mansion in Chicago. You should be satisfied."

"Now, sign the asset transfer agreement."

I stared at the man before me, suddenly a stranger, as tears streamed down my face.

"Griffin, I'm your fiancée! How can you not help me? How can you side with an outsider against me?"

"What happened to 'till death do us part'? Was that just a lie when you proposed?"

He was silent for a long moment before his tone finally softened.

"I just feel sorry for her."

"Celeste, just sign it. I swear, from now on, it will only be you."

He pushed the agreement toward me again.

I didn't hesitate.

I ripped the document to shreds and flung the pieces in his face.

"Forget it. I'm not signing."

"The council meets tomorrow. If you insist on helping Brenda, we'll settle this before them."

I grabbed my bag and stood to leave.

His warning followed me out the door.

"Celeste, don't make me handle this like business."

I faltered for a half-step, but then my resolve hardened, and I strode away.

Suddenly, a violent scuffle erupted behind me.

A familiar, low growl cut through the air behind me. My heart plummeted. I spun around, the scene before me tearing a shriek from my lips. "Griffin, are you insane?!"

"You're using Bruno to threaten me?!"

Bruno was the Cane Corso we had raised together for five years; he was like our child.

Now, a heavy iron chain was cinched tightly around his neck. Two burly bodyguards pinned him to the ground, the cold muzzle of a gun pressed to his head. All it would take was a single order from Griffin.

That bullet would tear through Bruno's skull.

Griffin sighed, a look of feigned helplessness on his face.

"Celeste, you're forcing my hand."

"I've prepared another agreement. Sign it."

"You have three minutes. Whether Bruno lives or dies is up to you."

Seeing Bruno held hostage, I felt myself breaking.

I rushed forward, grabbing Griffin's sleeve and begging through my tears, "Griffin, that's Bruno. That's our boy! How could you hurt him? He's ten years old, Griffin. His body is already weak. The stress alone could kill him!"

My tears earned me nothing. He remained unmoved.