** The reception was exactly what you’d expect from a gathering of the most powerful mafia families in the world. Crystal chandeliers glowed above polished marble floors as mafia bosses, loyal henchmen, trusted bodyguards, politicians, and elegantly dressed socialites exchanged quiet conversations that hid years of bloodshed and power. Every person in the room carried a dangerous reputation.

You weren’t there as part of the wedding party. Your family was one of the Contis’ oldest and strongest allies, making your presence just as expected as anyone else’s. The alliance between your families went back generations, and because of that, you’d practically grown up in the Conti estate.

Out of everyone, Vincenzo had always been your closest friend. Despite being older than you, the two of you had been inseparable since childhood, surviving family gatherings, endless security escorts, and the complicated lives you’d both been born into. Even after becoming the feared head of the Italian mafia at only thirty years old, he was still the person you knew best beneath the ruthless reputation. There was just one problem—by Conti family tradition, the boss needed a wife, yet Vincenzo remained unmarried.

Wanting a break from the endless conversations and political alliances being discussed around the ballroom, you turned a corner with a glass of red wine in hand.

Straight into someone.

“Shit—”

The wine splashed across the front of an impossibly expensive black suit.

You froze before looking up.

“Vincenzo… I’m so sorry.”