Chapter 1

On his deathbed, in front of everyone present, Don Vittorio left his final will:

Whichever of his sons reached his bedside first would inherit the ring bearing the family crest, and would become the next Don of the Corleone family.

His second son, Damian, was all the way out in Sicily. My husband, Luca, was only ten minutes from the hospital.

It should have been a foregone conclusion.

But I called him until my phone nearly burned out, and Luca simply switched his off.

All because his first love, Sofia, was in a bad mood that night and wanted him to watch a fireworks show set off solely for her.

In my last life, I'd gone half-mad. I rounded up the family bodyguards, charged onto the pier, and dragged him off that yacht and back to the hospital by force.

He made it in time, took the ring, and was crowned the new Don.

But Sofia, left alone in the river wind for half an hour, caught a nasty cold and ran a high fever. She wept and cursed him for not caring about her, said she was through with him for good.

Luca's face never showed a thing.

But in his third month of total power, he tied heavy stones to my body with his own hands and threw me into the Atlantic.

"If it weren't for you — you greedy bitch with nothing in your head but family interests — Sofia wouldn't have gotten sick. The Don's seat was always going to be mine. Who asked you to meddle?"

After my rebirth, I came back to this exact moment — to Enzo, the consigliere, urgently pressing me to make the call.

I glanced down at Instagram. Luca had just posted an update.

A silhouette photo from the deck of a yacht, captioned:

*Even if the sky falls, I'll watch these fireworks with my princess to the end.*

Expressionless, I tapped the like button.

Then, calmly, I opened the DM window with my brother-in-law, Damian:

*Damian. Want to make a deal?*

...

"Mrs. Corleone, what are you waiting for? Call Master Luca, now!"

Beside me, the consigliere, Old Enzo, was so frantic he was nearly hopping in place, his graying beard trembling.

"The Don has left his will. Whoever walks into this room first, before he passes, and takes the ring from his hand — that man becomes the new head of the Corleone family."

"Ten minutes by car. If Master Luca leaves right this second, the family is his!"

I forced down the hatred boiling up in me, the kind that threatened to swallow me whole.

In front of the consigliere, the priest, the doctor, and the representatives of the Five Families, I dialed Luca's number.

The phone rang for a long, long time.

Long enough that Enzo's forehead beaded with cold sweat, and the priest began murmuring prayers under his breath. Then, finally, it picked up.

The deafening crackle of fireworks burst out of the receiver, along with Luca's deeply irritated voice:

"Vera, are you fucking done? How many times do I have to tell you — Sofia's in a bad mood tonight, and I'm watching the fireworks with her!"

I crushed down the urge to laugh in his face, my voice as flat as if I were reading off a balance sheet:

"Your father's been in a serious car accident. He's in the hospital, in critical condition. He said—"

Before I could even mention the will, a tearful, choking cough cut me off from the other end.

"Luca... are you going to leave me again...?"

Sofia must have taken the phone. Her voice was soft, laced with just the right amount of hurt.

"Vera, my heart's really not in a good place tonight. That's the only reason I begged Luca to come keep me company."

"You really don't need to make up lies like this to force him back. Do I have to get down on my knees and beg you before you'll let him stay with me a little longer?"

Luca's voice instantly shifted, soft enough to drip honey:

"Sofia, don't be scared. I'm not going anywhere. Nowhere."

Then he turned back to the receiver, and his tone went as cold as Arctic ice:

"You hear that? Sofia's already fragile, and now she's upset, and you're still calling to push her over the edge. Are you trying to drive her to her death? Is that what you want?"

Beside me, Enzo's temple veins were bulging. He snatched the phone right out of my hand:

"Master Luca, this is Enzo! Mrs. Corleone is not lying — the old Don really has been in an accident. He's at Mount Sinai right now."

"Please, you must be here within thirty minutes. The Don has left his final will—"

"Well, well, if it isn't Mr. Enzo himself?"

A lazy, mocking male voice cut in from the other end.

Luca's personal assistant — and Sofia's younger brother — Marco.

Marco's tone was insufferable.

"Vera, you really went all out tonight, huh? You even got the consigliere to play the part? Pity. You miscalculated one little thing."

"Luca, listen — I've got a friend working the ER at Mount Sinai tonight. The whole place is dead quiet. There's no Don, no accident, none of it exists!"

"Vera's just jealous. She paid people to put on this little show to trick you home!"

That was all it took. Luca exploded with fury.

"Vera Marino! You'd stoop low enough to use my father's life in your sick little games? You make me sick."

The line cut off without mercy.

Enzo stood frozen, the dead phone clutched in his hand, his lips trembling.

"How... how could Master Luca be this much of a fool?!"