Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

When your wife died, sadness and despair were the expected emotions, but I felt
only anger and resentment as I watched the coffin being lowered into her grave.
Gaia and I had been married for eight years. On the day of our anniversary,
death ended our marriage. A fitting end to a bond that had been doomed from the
very start. Maybe it was fate that today was the hottest day of the summer. Sweat
trickled down my forehead and temple, but the tears wouldn’t join in.
Father tightened his grip on my shoulder. Was it to steady himself or me? His
skin had been pale since his third heart attack, and Gaia’s death didn’t help
matters. He met my gaze, worried. Cataracts clouded his eyes. Each day that
passed had him fading away even more. The weaker he got, the stronger I
needed to be. If you appeared vulnerable, the mafia would eat you whole.
I gave him a small nod then turned back to the grave, my expression steel.
Every Underboss of the Famiglia was in attendance. Even Luca Vitiello, our
Capo, had come from New York with his wife. They all wore their solemn faces
—perfect masks, just like mine. They’d soon give me their condolences,
whispering fake words of reassurance, when rumors about my wife’s early death
were already making the rounds.
I was glad that neither Daniele nor Simona were old enough to understand
what was being said. They didn’t realize their mother was dead. Even Daniele, at
two years old, couldn’t grasp the finality of the word “dead.” And Simona… left
without a mother at only four months old.
A new wave of fury raced through my body, but I shoved it down. Few of the
men around me were friends; most of them were looking for a sign of weakness.
I was a young Underboss, too young in many eyes, but Luca trusted me to rule
over Philadelphia with an iron fist. I wouldn’t fail him or my father.
After the funeral, we gathered in my mansion for lunch. Sybil, my maid,