I Was the Don's Only Wife but Not His Only Love

The night Luca Caruso became the most powerful Don, he slid a diamond ring onto my finger in front of the heads of the five major mafia families. "You'll be my only wife, Elena. No woman will ever take your place." I believed every word. I was the daughter of his strongest ally, and the woman who'd helped make him Don. For six years, I stood beside him through gunfights, betrayals, and assassination attempts. I even lost our first baby. The whole underworld envied me. They said Luca was cold to the rest of the world, but he would always give in to his wife. That lasted until the day before Luca's birthday, when I slipped away to Tuscany to surprise him. At the villa, I found Luca. He was supposed to be in a meeting with the heads of the other families. Instead, he was celebrating his birthday with another woman and a little boy. The woman was holding the cake, gazing tenderly at father and son. "Luca, what if Elena finds out? Is she going to make a scene?" Luca kissed her forehead. He sounded completely sure of himself. "She won't. Elena loves me. She'll put up with this for me." His next words crushed the last hope I had. "Besides, old man Moretti has known for ages. He'll keep his daughter in line. He needs his alliance with me too much." The woman leaned against his shoulder, her voice soft. "So who do you love more, Luca?" Luca didn't even hesitate. "When I put the wedding ring on Elena's finger, all I could think about was you." 1 I stumbled, and the sound gave me away. Luca whipped around. He blanched the moment he saw me in the doorway. "Elena?" He was on his feet and coming toward me before he'd even thought about it. He looked rattled. But before he could reach me, the little boy beside him grabbed his sleeve. "Daddy, who's that lady?" Luca stopped. The woman froze too, and her eyes went straight to Luca. The vast living room fell silent. Outside, late-autumn mist hung over the Tuscan vineyards. A fire roared in the fireplace. Champagne, red wine, and plates of beautifully prepared food covered the long table. A child-size chair stood beside it. This didn't look like a place where mafia families held secret meetings. It looked like an ordinary dad celebrating his birthday with his wife and kid. If that dad hadn't been my husband, I might have found the whole scene sweet. I looked at the boy, and my throat tightened. "How old are you?" He looked up at me, curious, and answered in a bright little voice. "I'm five." Five. Five years ago, I took a bullet meant for Luca, and I lost our first baby. Luca finally snapped out of it. "Go find your nanny, sweetheart, okay? Daddy has something to take care of." The boy wouldn't let go. "But you promised I could blow out the candles with you tonight." For a second, Luca's face softened. "I won't forget what I promised you." Then he signaled the bodyguard by the door to take the boy out. Only then did the boy leave, dragging his feet. As he passed me, he gave me a curious look, then turned back to Luca. "Daddy, is she here for your birthday party?" Nobody answered. I waited until his footsteps faded down the hall before I asked quietly, "What's his name?" Luca hesitated. "His name is Salvatore." Salvatore. The Caruso family had a tradition. Each new heir was named after the old Don. When I was pregnant, Luca had decided early on that our baby would be named after his own father: Salvatore. Then I lost that baby. And now another boy was walking around with that name. The woman jumped in right away. "Elena, if it bothers you, I can change his name." She was twisting the hem of her dress in her hands. On her wrist was a diamond bracelet that must have cost a fortune. I knew that bracelet. Last Christmas, Luca had asked me to pick out a gift for an important business partner. So the gift had never been for a business partner. I looked down at my own hand. In the firelight, the diamond on my ring finger glittered so brightly it hurt to look at. Six years ago, Luca had put this ring on my finger in front of the heads of the five families. He'd said I would be his only wife. Back then, he'd just come out of a two-year war with a rival family. I was the one who convinced my father to put our family's men and guns at Luca's command. I was the one who sat down face-to-face with the families who'd refused to recognize him. On our wedding day, Luca held my hand and made a vow in front of everyone. "From today on, you're my family. No matter what happens, I'll never let anyone hurt you." I believed him. After that, I poured everything I had into building his empire. "Elena, Salvatore has had that name his whole life. If we change it now, I'm worried it will upset him." Luca's voice pulled me back to the present. He came up to me and reached for my face. I pulled away without thinking. "How did you two meet?" His hand froze in midair. "Lia saved my life once. "Seven years ago, when I disappeared for those three months, Lia was the one who got me away from the people hunting me. "Elena, Lia has never asked for anything. All she wants is for Salvatore to have a father." I nodded. "Luca, I want a divorce." Luca took a deep breath, as if he were trying to hide his impatience. "I was going to tell you when the time was right. "To spare your feelings, Lia and the boy have never dared set foot in Palermo. "My mother, your father, even your brother. They all knew, and they all understood that Lia could never threaten your position. So why can't you just let this go?!" His words hurt more than any excuse could have. I looked at him and suddenly wanted to know how long he'd planned to keep this secret. Until the boy grows up? Until he has no more use for me and kicks me to the curb? Or until I'm lying in a pool of my own blood for him again? Luca's voice softened. "Elena, you will always be the Donna of the Caruso family. "You can raise the boy yourself, too. He'll call you Mom. Wouldn't that be nice?" Lia stepped up beside Luca and took his arm. "Luca, forget it." Her voice was soft, almost timid. "Elena will never accept us. Salvatore and I can leave. Just don't let us wreck your marriage." Luca turned to her at once and took her by the shoulders. "What are you talking about? Nobody's sending you away." I slowly slid off my wedding ring and set it on the table beside me. Luca's eyes landed on the ring, and alarm crossed his face. "Elena, what are you doing?" "Nothing." I looked up and smiled. "It just hit me that this ring doesn't really suit me." I turned and walked out the door. Behind me, I heard Lia ask anxiously, "Now that Elena knows, is this going to cause problems for you?" Luca didn't sound worried at all. "No. Elena is the last person in the world who would ever leave me." The night wind carried their voices away. I never once looked back. 2 I crossed the cold marble floor one step at a time and walked out of the villa. I couldn't even remember when the five families had moved their secret meetings to Tuscany. All I remembered was that I'd wanted to go with Luca three times. And every time, Luca had happily agreed. But right before the first trip, Luca's mother, Rosa Caruso, had a sudden heart attack, and I had to stay behind to take care of her. The second time, I was already in the car when word came that my brother had gone missing. The third time, someone sent an anonymous tip about a Caruso family business we'd already made legitimate. Once again, I had to stay and clean up the mess. Looking back, every one of those moments had been perfectly timed. I got back to Palermo that same night. "Mara, I need you to look into something for me." Mara Greco and I grew up together. She was my right hand, the person I trusted most. By four in the morning, Mara had found everything I needed, and I drove to the Caruso estate. I'd lived there for six years. But that morning, for the first time, the place felt so unfamiliar it scared me. When I reached the study on the second floor, Rosa, my father, and my brother were all there. They stopped talking the moment I pushed the door open. They must have already heard from Luca. I threw the files down in front of them. "You all knew Luca had someone else, didn't you?" My father was quiet for a moment before he finally spoke. "Yes." "When did you find out?" "Seven years ago." Seven years. His answer tore through what was left of my heart. The whole way there, I'd kept telling myself that my father and brother had only kept quiet to spare my feelings. It never crossed my mind that my father had known about Lia before Luca and I were even married. I'd thought I still had my family, people who loved me. That at least someone would take my side when everyone else was lying to me. But it turned out they were in on it too. "So for six years, you watched me handle Caruso family business for Luca. You watched me give up my own life for him, and you kept his secret anyway?" My father and brother said nothing. Rosa's voice was calm. "Lia and the boy don't change anything. You're still the Donna of the Caruso family. "Salvatore will even call you Mom someday." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You think all I care about is my position?" "Elena, you have to understand. You didn't marry Luca just for love." My father stood up, and his voice turned hard. "You're the one who talked us into throwing in with the Caruso family. Whether Luca won was a matter of life and death for all of us. "If a rival family had found out back then, they could have used it to weaken Luca. The alliance between our families could have fallen apart." "So you covered for him?" "I was protecting you." I looked at him, and suddenly I laughed. "Protecting me?" I picked the files back up and flipped to the last page. It was a prenuptial agreement. "Then tell me why this agreement says, in black and white, that you'll make sure I never harm Lia Bianchi?" My father didn't answer. "Because you all knew from the start that Luca would never give her up." I said it slowly, making sure every word landed. "You weren't protecting me. You just needed me to stay Luca's wife and keep the alliance in one piece." My father's face hardened. "You're a Moretti. You should know better than anyone that we can't let feelings decide everything." "Of course I know." I nodded. "That's exactly why I never doubted him, no matter where he was or how busy he got. For six years, I cleaned up his messes and kept his allies on his side. Even after we lost our baby, I was the one comforting him." My voice finally started to shake. "And what about all of you? "Every single one of you knew he had another woman out there. And a son. "I was the only one who didn't know. You all treated me like a fool." My father finally wavered. "Elena, I know this is hard to accept right now. But you and Luca still care about each other, and he's never treated you badly." I looked at him and suddenly felt more tired than I'd ever been. "Whether he's treated me badly isn't for you to decide." I turned and left the Caruso estate. Mara was still waiting for me out front. "What are you going to do?" I stopped. "I'm divorcing Luca." Mara frowned. "But your marriage to Luca is an alliance between two families. The divorce papers have to carry both the Caruso seal and the Moretti seal. "Neither Luca nor your father will ever agree to it." She was right. They'd never agree. So I had no plans to tell them. "When they bring the boy into the Caruso family, there'll be a mountain of paperwork to stamp. "Luca's used to relying on me. All of it will end up on my desk. "This time, I'll use their overconfidence to set myself free." 3 Three days later, Luca brought Lia and Salvatore back to Palermo. When I got there, Rosa was standing at the front door, waiting. She was Luca's mother, the widow of the previous Don. For six years, she'd seen me as the perfect daughter-in-law. At least, that's what I'd believed, right up until I found out the secret. Now she was holding Salvatore close and fussing over him. "Let me get a good look at you, sweetheart. You look more like your father every day." Lia stood off to the side, her eyes wet. "Thank you so much. If you hadn't insisted on bringing us back, I honestly don't know what I would have done." Rosa took her hand. "After everything you've done for Luca, of course there's a place for you here." I stood across the entryway and listened. Not one of them thought they owed me an explanation. Then Luca turned around. He spotted me and hurried over. "Elena." He reached for my hand out of habit, but I stepped aside. Luca froze, his hand still out. "Still mad at me?" I didn't answer. Luca frowned slightly, but he quickly composed himself. "I know you need time to get used to this. Once Salvatore's settled in, let's go to Lake Como for a few days." He paused, a hint of tenderness in his voice. "Haven't you always wanted to go? No meetings this time, nobody bothering us. Just the two of us." I remembered how Caruso family business had once buried me so deep I could barely breathe. Luca had held me and made me a promise. He'd said that every year, he'd take me somewhere that was only ours. No family business, nothing else. Just the two of us. After that, he pushed it back again and again. And again and again, I told myself to just wait a little longer. Even now, he thought a trip would make me forget what he'd done. "Okay," I said softly. Luca was clearly caught off guard. He probably hadn't expected me to say yes so easily. His face relaxed at last. "I knew it. You could never really bring yourself to walk away from me." As he said it, he took my hand. I didn't pull away. I just watched Lia on the other side of the hall. She was holding Salvatore's hand while Rosa introduced them around. A few Caruso elders crowded close, wearing polite, satisfied smiles. As if they'd been waiting a long, long time for this boy to come home. That afternoon, Luca called a Caruso family meeting in the private conference room on the estate. Besides the inner circle of the Caruso family, there were two lawyers and representatives from the other families. I sat to Luca's right. I'd sat in that seat for six years. That day, he slid a document across the table to me. "I intend to formally acknowledge Salvatore as my son." His tone was calm, as if this were just another routine decision. "Starting today, he'll carry the Caruso name. When he's older, I'll have him trained as heir to the Caruso family." Then he handed me another document. It was a long-term support agreement for Lia Bianchi and Salvatore. It also stated that Lia would have no role in running the Caruso family. She would hold no power beyond what the agreement allowed, and she would never threaten my position. I stared at it. The whole thing was absurd. Luca had already decided everything I was supposed to accept, and he hadn't even talked to me first. "Elena, I want you to handle this." He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. "I don't trust anyone else with it." A laugh slipped out of me. Of course. Even now, he assumed I'd back every decision he made. He could bring another woman and her child into the Caruso family. He could openly admit he'd betrayed our marriage. He could even demand that everyone go along with it. And I was still supposed to keep up appearances for him. "Fine." I picked up the documents. "I'll take care of it." Luca was visibly relieved. He bent down and kissed the back of my hand. "I knew you'd understand." After the meeting, I didn't leave right away. Because that was when Lia and Salvatore came in. Salvatore wore a little navy suit and a neatly knotted tie. Luca went over and crouched down to straighten it for him. "From today on, you get to use Daddy's last name, and you don't have to hide it from anybody." Salvatore lit up. "So I can live here now too?" Luca ruffled his hair. "Of course." Lia lowered her head, tears shining in her eyes. "Thank you, Luca." Luca took her hand. "It's only right." I stood a few steps away and watched them without a word. Once, I'd dreamed of a moment like this too. If our baby had lived, would Luca have fixed his collar like that? Would he have stood before the whole Caruso family and proudly called him his son? But I'd never know. Because that baby was long gone. And Luca had already given another child everything he'd once promised ours. The name. The future. Even a father. 4 That night, Luca came to my room. He'd brought a diamond necklace. He said it was to make up for everything he'd put me through the past few days. I looked at the necklace in its box and thought of the diamond bracelet on Lia's wrist. Same design. Just as extravagant. Mine had simply cost a little more. As if Luca thought that as long as my gift was better than hers, I ought to be satisfied. "Do you like it?" He wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder. "I remember how much you love sparkly things." I looked at the two of us in the mirror. "Does Lia love them too?" He went still for a second. "She doesn't matter." I didn't say anything. Luca sighed. "Elena, stop dwelling on this." He put the necklace back in its box, then turned me around to face him. "I know this has been hard on you, but I've done everything I can to make it right. No one is going to threaten your place in the Caruso family." He stroked my cheek. "You're still my wife. No one can replace you." I looked at him. "Then do you love me?" He clearly hadn't expected me to ask that out of nowhere. After a short silence, he leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Of course." "How much?" That was when he finally frowned. "Elena, we're not teenagers anymore. We don't have to say 'I love you' every day." I nodded. "I understand." I turned and closed the jewelry box. Luca seemed satisfied at last. He held me from behind again, and his voice went soft. "Once things settle down with Salvatore, we'll go to Lake Como. "This time, I won't let you down." I stared out the window into the pitch-black night. Six years ago, he'd said something like that too. Six years later, he still thought one more promise would keep me waiting. I closed my eyes. "Okay." The next day, I called the Caruso family lawyers. I reviewed the support agreement and arranged a private security team for Salvatore. I checked every document carefully. I confirmed every arrangement myself. I even wrote Luca's public statement formally introducing Salvatore to the top members of the five families. Luca was used to leaving all this to me. He trusted that I'd never let a single arrangement hurt his interests. This time was no different. The next afternoon, I brought every document that needed his signature to his private office. The thick stack came in two parts. The first part was the declaration recognizing Salvatore Caruso as Luca's son, plus the plans for his schooling and security. The second part was Lia's support agreement, along with the terms that spelled out exactly where her rights in the Caruso family ended. I'd tucked the last document at the very bottom, with only the spot for the seal showing. He came over to the desk and flipped through a few pages. When he saw how tired I looked, guilt crossed his face. "Thank you, Elena." For once, there was real gratitude in his voice. But I felt nothing. Then he picked up his pen and started signing and stamping wherever it was needed. One after another. I sat quietly across from him. I didn't hurry him, and I didn't point anything out. I just waited until the Caruso family seal came down on the very last page. Luca had finally stamped the seal that set me free. He'd done it himself. He set the Caruso seal back on the desk and reached for my hand. "There," he said. "When this is over, we'll go to Lake Como. We won't bring anyone. It'll just be us, living a life that's only ours." I looked up. "What about Lia and Salvatore?" Luca's smile faltered for a second. "Right. Salvatore's still little. I can't be away from him for long right now." I nodded. "Then we'll wait a little longer." He smiled, pleased. "I knew you'd understand." He didn't notice that I'd already slipped the documents into my own briefcase. He didn't notice that, for the first time, I didn't tell him to be safe when he left. Because this time, I wasn't going to wait for him. At nine that night, I left the Caruso estate. Mara was already waiting in the parking lot. She opened the car door for me, and her eyes went to the envelope in my hand. "Did he sign?" I nodded. "All done." Getting my family's seal hadn't been hard. I'd stamped it before I ever put the papers in front of Luca. Mara let out a long breath. As the car pulled away from the estate, I didn't look back. For six years, I'd believed I'd married the man who loved me most in the world. Only now could I admit the truth. Maybe he did love me. But he'd never put me first the way I always put him first. And I didn't want to spend the rest of my life proving I deserved to be loved. The next morning, Luca walked into the bedroom carrying a bouquet of my favorite lilies of the valley. He looked more relaxed than he had in a long time. "Elena?" No one answered. The first thing he noticed was the bed, perfectly made. Then he saw the wedding ring on the vanity. Under the ring lay a copy of the divorce agreement. On the last page was the Caruso family seal. He'd stamped it himself. Luca froze. The lilies of the valley, still wet with dew, slipped from his hand to the floor.