Viola Dante Chiara Novel The Mafia Wife's Wicked Payback

I spent six months and a quarter million dollars to secure a week in Sicily. But when my husbands childhood obsession, Chiara, cried nostalgia into his ear, Dante didnt hesitate. He removed my name from the armored motorcade roster and replaced it with hers. He told me to take a commercial flight alone through rival family territorya route where three associates had disappeared last month. The entire famiglia supported Dantes decision without a single thought for my safety. So I changed my itinerary. I boarded a plane to Monaco instead of Palermo. I spent three months at the roulette tables, ignoring their frantic calls. That was when the famiglia started to bleed
Chapter 1
"Don't be dramatic, Viola. It's just a different mode of transport."
Dante, my husband, the Don of the Bellini famiglia, said the words with the weary dismissal he usually reserved for a botched shipment or a low-ranking Soldato's screw-up.
He was talking about my life.
It was unprecedented for Dante to leave New York during a territorial dispute, which was why Id planned this strategic retreat to Sicily. I was the famiglia's legitimate frontowner of six high-end boutique hotelsand I could easily afford it. My businesses cleared three hundred thousand dollars monthly, a clean sum he often needed to cover his volatile operations payroll.
I spent six months negotiating ceasefires with rival families, securing safe passage through their territories. Sicily was a minefield of old vendettas. Each district required separate tributes, some demanding fifty thousand dollars just for a thirty-minute drive.
Everyone elseDante's parents, Carla and Emilio, and his sister, Ginajust stood back while I handled the ceasefires, the permits, the safe houses, and the money. Theyd lived comfortably in our penthouse for a decade.
Emilio studied his whiskey. "Chiara is blood of our blood," he muttered, avoiding my gaze. "She played in these streets with us as kids. She couldnt handle the stress of navigating Naples alone."
Carla floated over with conciliatory hands. Tesoro, she cooed, using the false term of endearment. "Chiara and Dante shared a cradle. Their fathers were like brothers. Of course she should be with famiglia. Just take the later flight and meet us at the villa.
Gina, draped in the Valentino Id bought her last month, leaned in. "Viola, darling, Chiara is... fragile. Youre steel. Youll manage a commercial flight."
I laughed, the sound bitter and sharp.
"Fragile?" I asked. "Chiaras fragility is costing the famiglia an armored motorcade I secured and paid for. Her anxiety is putting me on a flight path where rival associates disappeared last month. She gets the shield, and I get the target on my back."
Dante stepped toward me, his voice a dangerous low rumble. "We can't make her travel unprotected, Viola. She's been through enough."
"And I haven't?" I shot back, meeting his black-ice eyes. "Who's really famiglia here? An outsider gets treated better than your banker, your shield, the one who actually owns the safe house youre flying into?"
My voice dropped to a cutting whisper that silenced the room.
"One would think Chiara was your Dons wife."
The penthouse elevator chimed then. Gina rushed to greet Chiara, who swept in wearing a couture dress that cost more than Dantes last weapons shipment.
"Chiara! God, Ive missed you! Come in!" Gina took Chiaras oversized Fendi luggage. "If only you hadnt left for Milan after the engagement fell throughyoud be my sister for real!"