Page 95 of Mafia Daddy's Christmas Bride

But can I trust her?

Elena is Dominic's cousin, part of La Corona by blood. Her loyalty would naturally lie with the families, not with me, the woman who betrayed them all.

Yet what choice do I have? Isolated in this apartment with only Roman's suspicion and Angelica's resentment for company, I’ll drown. Elena offers a lifeline, tenuous though it may be.

"I'd like that," I say. "Very much." I wonder if Roman would allow it. Even more so, I wonder if I could make an escape from one of these outings.

Maybe the FBI would approach me again and I’d have a new lifeline to cling to.

17

ROMAN

I freeze in the hallway, hearing Isabella's voice drift from the living room.

”There was a moment when something passed between us that felt… real."

My breath catches. She thought she could love me? How is that possible considering how much she’s lied and hidden from me? Is she putting on a show for Elena?

"He controls every aspect of my existence. Roman makes sure I know that he's the enforcer and my life exists now only because he allows it."

Fuck. Heat rises to my face.

Embarrassment, shame.

I've spent decades cultivating fear, making it my currency. Now, hearing Isabella say those words makes me feel like garbage.

I run a hand over my face. This isn't how it was supposed to go. I wanted her afraid enough to be honest, compliant enough to keep us all safe and yes, help with the investigation.

But hearing her speak about me like I'm some monster…

The worst part? It was what I wanted.

I remember the terror in her eyes when I confronted her last night. I remember thinking it was necessary, justified.

My mind flashes to Angelica playing with Isabella, to Isabella's small smile when I brought her sewing supplies, to the way she trusted me with her body.

Then to her defeated expression when she handed over the phone.

"I'm already dead," she'd said last night.

Part of me wants to storm in there, tell Elena to mind her own business, remind Isabella that I'm keeping her alive. The enforcer in me says fear is good. It keeps people in line, keeps my family safe.

But another part, the part that remembers what it was like to be loved by Emilia, aches at what I've done.

I've become exactly what Isabella believes me to be.

And somehow, despite everything, she once thought she could love me anyway.

Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, I stride to my office. I collapse into my office chair, loosening my tie.

The day's been a fucking nightmare. One fire after another. Marco called me at 5 AM about a shipment issue at the docks.

Three hours of negotiations with the port authority later, I had to break up a territory dispute between two captains who should know better.

Then Marco needed me at a sit-down with the Russians that resulted in nothing. And the day has barely started.

My phone buzzes again. I ignore it. Five minutes of peace is all I'm asking for.