Chapter 2

I pressed my emotions back down and looked at Ryan, my voice flat.

"Aren't you here to pick me up? Let's go."

A beat of silence. A few of them exchanged glances, then burst into raucous laughter.

Camilla scoffed, her voice ice-cold.

"Wait for you? You think you're worth waiting for?"

She jabbed a finger at the code name on the sign. "Read it clearly. We're waiting for the Godfather's wife—the Donna of the Volkov family."

That was my code name. I was perfectly aware.

"The Godfather rules the underworld with an iron fist—ruthless, untouchable—but for his wife alone, he's utterly devoted. They say he refused to marry for years, just to wait for her."

"Everyone in the circle knows: if you want to win the Godfather's favor, you're better off winning over the Godmother first. She's the one he cares about most."

Listening to them chatter, the corners of my mouth lifted involuntarily.

Three years of marriage, and Gregor's influence had only grown. His reputation as a man obsessively devoted to his wife had spread through every corner of the underworld.

And Camilla would never pass up an opportunity to show off in front of me.

"To win the Donna's heart, the Godfather bid on a 'Heart of the Ocean' necklace at a world auction. Thirty million dollars."

She paused, and her gaze suddenly locked onto my neck. Her voice shot up an octave.

"That's the exact same one!"

The room went silent.

Every pair of eyes dropped in unison to the deep blue stone resting against my collarbone.

Ryan seized my shoulder, glanced down at the necklace, then let out a derisive laugh.

"Decent knock-off, I'll give it that. Which broke loser bought you this flea-market junk? Gifting a fake—how embarrassing."

"Let go."

I shook off his hand, my fingertips lightly tracing the pendant.

Remembering the night Gregor gave it to me as his proposal gift—the reverence and adoration in his eyes—I still felt a rush of sweetness.

Seeing the happy smile spread across my face, Ryan's pupils contracted sharply.

"Smiling over garbage. How cheap can you get?"

Before I could react, he reached up, clamped his fingers around the chain, and ripped the necklace off me.

I hadn't expected him to do that. I didn't have time to stop it.

Camilla was already striding forward, taking the necklace from his hand, turning it over and over beneath the light.

"Even more convincing than my replica. Though I'd never actually wear mine out—too humiliating."

Then she laughed, fixing me with a look full of insinuation.

"Unless—Elina, are you the legendary Volkov Donna?"

The moment those words landed, the group around her howled with laughter.

"Are you joking? The Godfather's woman? Her? Three years ago Ryan kicked her out of their own wedding."

To them, the idea was utterly absurd.

Gregor Volkov was an underground emperor whose reach spanned continents, feared by both sides of the law. And three years ago, I'd still been part of their circle—publicly discarded by Ryan.

There was no conceivable way I could be connected to Gregor.

Camilla dangled the chain.

"Elina, let me have this necklace. I'll pay you double."

Terrified she'd let it slip and shatter, I reached out instinctively.

"Give it back. Gregor gave me that—"

Before I could finish, a slap cracked across my face with enough force to snap my head sideways. Blood seeped from the corner of my mouth.

"Shut up!"