His Reluctant Mafia Bride

LIAM’S POV

“My wife is gone.”

The words felt foreign on my tongue as I spoke them into the phone. I stared at the lifeless form in my arms, my hands stained a dark, unforgiving red.

My father’s voice was heavy with disbelief. “What did you just say?”

“Isabella is dead.” My gaze was fixed on the ruins of our home, a place now forever tainted. “She’s gone.”

“Liam…”

“Noah and Olivia are at the hospital.” I swallowed hard, the truth a bitter pill. “Isabella tried to… She gave them the sleeping syrup. Please, call Samuel. Send a crew to clean this up. I can’t let the kids see this.”

**

There was no time for grief in my world. When a death happened like this, the rules were clear. A swift burial. A closed casket.

I stood at the graveside, watching the dark wood descend. I should have felt sorrow. A hollow ache. Instead, a cold, simmering rage was all that remained.

Six years of marriage. It ended on our anniversary. Not with a celebration, but with a coffin.

My father’s hand landed on my shoulder. His grip was firm. Was it for my support, or his own? His eyes met mine, lined with worry and age. I straightened my spine. The older he grew, the stronger I had to appear.

This was the life we chose. Vulnerability was a luxury we couldn’t afford. Not even when burying your wife.

The entire brotherhood was present. Even Samuel Romano, our Don, had made the journey with his wife. He was the only one who knew the full truth. I owed him that report.

Soon, the hollow condolences would start. The pats on the back. The whispered rumors already swirling like smoke.

“So young.”

“He did it.”

“They argued publicly just last night. How convenient.”

I was grateful my children were too young to understand. Noah, at five, grasped that his mother was gone, but not the permanence of it. Olivia… she would have no memory of her at all.

A fresh wave of fury threatened to surface. I forced it down. The men surrounding me were not friends. They were sharks, scenting for blood in the water. I was a young Underboss. Too young, in their eyes. But Samuel had entrusted Chicago to me. I would not show weakness. I would not fail.

After the service, the mansion filled with subdued voices and the clink of glasses. My mother took a sleeping Olivia from my arms. My sister, Charlotte, lifted a weary Noah.

They had offered to take the children. But my mother was not as strong as she once was, and Charlotte had her own family.

“You look exhausted,” my father said, leaning on his cane.

“I haven’t slept much,” I admitted. The children’s nights were restless since their mother’s death. I spent them pacing halls, chasing away nightmares that weren’t entirely theirs.

An image flashed behind my eyes. Isabella. The blood. I banished it.

“You need to find a mother for those children,” my father stated, his voice low.

“Benjamin!” My mother hissed, glancing around. “We buried her only hours ago.”

He ignored her, his eyes locked on me. He knew I felt no grief for Isabella. My personal desires were irrelevant. Only the rules mattered. The traditions.

“A man in your position cannot be alone. It’s a sign of instability. Your hold on Chicago will be questioned.”

“Isabella was never a wife to him,” Charlotte muttered, her face tight with old resentment.

“Enough, Charlotte,” I snapped.

She pressed her lips together but fell silent.

“I assume you already have someone in mind,” my mother said, her tone sharp.

“He doesn’t need to,” Charlotte interjected. “Every family with an unmarried daughter has likely already sent a proposal.”

She was right. The offers would have started flooding in the moment the news broke. A widowed Underboss was a prime target.

Samuel and his wife approached. “If you need time, Liam, say the word.”

“No.” My reply was instant. Time off was perceived as a crack in the armor. A weakness. Chicago was mine. I would not relinquish my grip, not even for a moment.

Samuel nodded, a glint of approval in his eyes. “I know the timing is poor. But my brother has approached me with a proposition.”

“Regarding what?” I asked, though I already knew.

“His daughter. She is… available. It would be a strong match. Uniting your territory with theirs would cement your authority permanently.”

My memory of Samuel’s brother was vague. An ineffective Underboss from a lesser city. His daughter was a complete blank.

“Why is she still unmarried?” If her father held rank, she should have been promised years ago. Unless there was a flaw.

“Her previous engagement was dissolved. The fiancé ran off with another woman. A working girl.”