Her Husband Left Her to Die—Then the Mafia Boss Made Her His Untouchable Queen
Chapter 6
Elena began rebuilding her life.
She started helping Sofia with the family foundation.
Then she discovered she was good at it.
She understood ordinary people.
She understood fear.
She understood what it meant to need help and be ignored.
Luca noticed.
“You’re changing the foundation.”
“I hope so.”
“You fired three directors.”
“They were stealing.”
“They’ve worked for me for ten years.”
“Then they had ten years to get better.”
Luca laughed.
“You’re dangerous.”
“Maybe.”
Their relationship changed slowly.
Breakfast conversations.
Late-night tea.
Arguments.
Small jokes.
Silences that no longer felt uncomfortable.
Luca never touched her without permission.
He never pressured her.
He never asked her to forget Daniel.
One evening, Elena asked:
“Do you love anyone?”
Luca looked at her.
“No.”
“Ever?”
“Once.”
“What happened?”
“She chose someone else.”
Elena frowned.
“Who?”
“My best friend.”
“That sounds painful.”
“It was.”
“Did you forgive her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because love isn’t ownership.”
Elena stared at him.
For a mafia boss, the answer sounded strangely gentle.
Then Luca asked:
“What about you?”
“I loved Daniel.”
“Do you still?”
She took a long breath.
“I don’t know.”
Luca nodded.
“That’s honest.”
“I hate him.”
“You can hate someone and still mourn who you thought they were.”
Elena looked at him.
“Did you ever hate yourself?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“Surviving.”
She understood immediately.
Luca had survived things other people hadn’t.
And perhaps that was why he recognized the same wound in her.
That night, Elena dreamed about the crash.
She woke screaming.
Luca was outside her door within seconds.
He didn’t enter.
“May I?”
She nodded.
He sat beside the bed.
“I couldn’t breathe.”
“I know.”
“I was alone.”
“Not anymore.”
She looked at him.
“Promise?”
Luca’s voice was quiet.
“I don’t make promises lightly.”
He held her gaze.
“So when I make one, I keep it.”
Elena reached for his hand.
He let her.
Neither spoke.
For the first time since Daniel abandoned her, Elena felt safe.
And that frightened her more than anything.
Because she was beginning to care about the one man she should never have trusted.
