Chapter 2

Eliza kicked at the hem of my dress.

"Dressed like that, and you expect me to believe you're just a makeup artist? Don't tell me you use bridal appointments as an excuse to get close to other women's husbands."

My hand stopped over my makeup case.

For a moment, I wondered if I'd heard her correctly.

Outside this estate, I was the heiress to one of the most powerful Mafia families in Europe, and the legitimate beauty empire under my name was worth billions. I was also one of the most sought-after makeup artists in the fashion world.

Actresses, heiresses, and the wives of powerful men waited months for an appointment with me.

I had turned down Milan Fashion Week and flown back to New York to do Eliza's bridal makeup for one reason only.

She was marrying Maverick.

And now she was insulting my profession to my face.

When Eliza opened her mouth again, I finally looked up.

"You're pregnant before the wedding, yet you're obsessed with whether I'm a virgin?"

A laugh escaped me.

"Seriously? You?"

I glanced pointedly at her belly.

"And you have the nerve to call me dirty?"

Eliza clearly hadn't expected me to fight back. Her face flushed red.

"The baby I'm carrying is Maverick's! How is that the same thing?"

She instinctively covered her stomach.

"I gave my first time to the man I'm marrying today. That makes me clean."

Her eyes narrowed.

"But you? You showed up on my wedding day looking like this, carrying a case full of cheap makeup. What are you really here for?"

Before I could answer, my phone lit up.

Maverick was calling me on WhatsApp.

The instant Eliza saw his name and photo on my screen, her expression changed.

Then she lunged at me and grabbed my hair.

"So I was right!"

Pain shot across my scalp.

"You are trying to seduce my husband!"

"That's why you came here, isn't it?"

Her fingers tightened in my hair.

"I knew it. Women like you are all the same. You sleep around, then go after other women's men!"

She was nearly screaming now.

"Do you have any idea how many women want Maverick? You're just another one of them!"

Suddenly, everything made sense.

So this was never really about purity.

Eliza was jealous.

She had decided I was a threat the moment I walked through the door, and all that talk about being "unclean" was nothing more than an excuse to humiliate me.

The bridesmaids immediately rushed forward.

Two of them seized my arms, pinning me between them.

"Now it makes sense."

"She probably wanted to ruin Eliza's face with that cheap makeup, then make a move on the groom herself."

I tried to pull free, but their grip tightened.

For the first time, real panic flickered through me.

My hands were my career.

They couldn't be injured.

"Maverick is my brother," I said quickly. "If you don't believe me, call him and ask."

Eliza stared at me before letting out a contemptuous laugh.

"Your brother?"

She leaned closer.

"What kind of brother? The kind who pays your bills? Or the kind who shares your bed?"

Her spit nearly hit my face.

I instinctively turned away, but the women holding me wouldn't let me move.

Before I could say another word, Eliza raised her hand.

The slap landed hard across my face.

My head snapped to the side.

"I've been with Maverick long enough to know his family," she hissed. "He's never once told me he has a sister."

Her eyes swept over me with disgust.

"So stop playing the innocent victim. Whatever trick you're trying to pull on my husband, it won't work."

I went still.

She was right about one thing.

Maverick wasn't my biological brother.

He was my cousin.

His parents had been killed in a Family dispute when I was five. My parents took him in afterward, raised him under our roof, and treated him no differently from their own child.

To me, Maverick had always been my brother.

Years later, when my parents moved the center of our Family's operations overseas, Maverick chose to remain in New York.

He said he owed my parents everything and wanted to repay them by overseeing the Family's American territory and legitimate businesses.

I had never questioned it.

What I hadn't expected was that the woman he was about to marry didn't even know I existed.

Before I could think any further, Eliza's phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID.

Her entire expression brightened.

Then she deliberately turned the screen toward me.

Maverick.

"My husband must've heard what you did to me."

Smug satisfaction filled her face.

"Looks like he's coming to deal with you himself."

She tapped the speaker button.

The instant the call connected, her vicious expression disappeared.

Her voice became sweet and soft.

"Baby, when are you getting here?"

She shot me a triumphant look.

"You won't believe what happened."

She paused dramatically.

"The makeup artist they sent me isn't even a virgin."