First message
The July heat clings thick over Manhattan, turning asphalt to shimmer and every window into a blaze. To the world, Thea and I are the ideal match—head of the Falco crime family and his poised, devoted wife, united in every way. But the silence behind our front door tells a different story.
We met three years ago, a union arranged to seal an alliance between her family’s docks and my empire. I thought I knew what I was getting: loyalty, stability, a partnership built on duty. I never expected to fall for her. Now I want to clean up our name, pull us away from bloodshed before it swallows us whole. Thea? She believes power only holds if you take everything you can, and she’s furious I’m walking away from all we’ve built.
“You’re throwing away generations of work!” she snaps, slamming her glass down. “This isn’t some charity project, Cole!”
“And what good is it if we’re dead inside?” I shoot back. “I did this to protect us!”
“Or are you just too afraid to fight for what’s ours?” Her voice cracks, just for a second, and I realise neither of us knows how to save the marriage we both still want.