Chapter 1

Twenty-four hours had passed since Celeste Moreau was caught in the crossfire of a bloody ambush, yet the rumors only spread faster. What had begun as quiet speculation among soldiers and informants had, by morning, reached every major crime family in the city. In private lounges, gambling dens, and smoke-filled back rooms, people spoke of how Don Sebastian Vieri had abandoned his own affairs without hesitation to remain at Celeste's bedside. With every retelling, Elena's place as Mrs. Vieri seemed to disappear a little more.

If the gossip had survived this long, it was because Sebastian had never bothered to deny it.

The Vieri estate was unnaturally quiet. Seated alone before the unlit fireplace, Elena stared at the medical report trembling in her hands while the specialist's grave warning echoed relentlessly in her mind.

"Mrs. Vieri, the poison has already spread through your bloodstream. There is still a chance to stop it, but treatment cannot wait much longer. If it reaches your nervous system, you may lose your memories... your ability to recognize the people around you... perhaps even your life. You need your husband here. The procedure requires his authorization."

She had called Sebastian immediately. She never mentioned the diagnosis, asking only that he come to the estate as soon as possible. He agreed without hesitation and told her to wait.

So she did.

Hours passed, but he never came.

When her calls went unanswered, she contacted one of his captains instead. The man fell silent for a moment before answering with visible reluctance.

"Don Sebastian left before dawn, Mrs. Vieri."

"Where?"

He lowered his eyes.

"Miss Celeste Moreau was critically wounded during an attack by the Moretti family."

Elena did not need to hear anything else.

She slipped on her coat and walked out of the private clinic. The winter air stung her face, but it was nothing compared to the cold settling inside her chest. Her fingers hovered over her phone, tempted to call her older brother, Valentino Ravenwood, before she quietly locked the screen again. He was handling negotiations overseas, and the last thing she wanted was for him to abandon everything because of her.

By the time she returned to the estate, she had called Sebastian more times than she cared to count. Every attempt ended the same way—with silence.

She had never been the kind of wife who demanded his attention. As the head of the Vieri syndicate, Sebastian carried responsibilities that reached far beyond their home, and she had accepted that long ago. Yet for the first time since they married, she found herself wishing he would answer, even if only to tell her he was busy or to remind her that business came first. Anything would have been better than being ignored.

Instead, there was nothing.

Elena leaned back against the sofa and closed her eyes, exhaustion settling over her like lead.

The Ravenwood and Vieri families had shared an alliance for decades. She and Sebastian had grown up together, raised among bodyguards, strategy meetings, and blood-sworn promises. Their marriage had united two of the most powerful syndicates in the country, and everyone believed they were the perfect couple.

She had mistaken his quiet nature for the certainty of a man who no longer needed to prove his love.

Only now did she realize how wrong she had been.

For Celeste, Sebastian had crossed the city without a second thought.

For his own wife, he could not spare a single hour.

The shrill ring of her phone cut through the silence before despair could swallow her whole. She ignored it once... then twice. When it rang a third time, she finally glanced at the screen.

Mother-in-Law

Elena answered after a brief pause.

"Elena," Margaret Vieri said gently, "have you managed to get hold of Sebastian?"