He pinned me against the wall like I was already his. Thumb circling my nipple until I arched. Fingers shoving under my dress, finding me soaked, pushing inside without asking. His mouth at my throat, voice low and rough: "You'll do." That was the deal. Marco De Luca needs an heir. His wife cannot give him one. Succession hangs by a thread, and every enemy in Sicily is waiting for him to fail. Aria Silvestri needs money. Enough to keep her dying mother alive and pull her family out of the debt her father buried them in. She's been invisible her whole life a maid in other people's houses, scrubbing floors, keeping her head down. Until the underboss of the most powerful family in Sicily takes her and decided she is useful. One year. One child. Walk away rich. No feelings. No exceptions. She signs. She moves into the De Luca estate a gilded cage of marble, secrets, and silent threats. The rules are clear: stay out of the way, deliver the heir, disappear when the year is over. But Marco doesn't follow his own rules. He watches her. Claims her in front of the family. Touches her like the contract is already burning. His wife, Isabella, has spent years protecting her place at his side. Aria's presence threatens everything she has built, and she will do whatever it takes to remove the threat. Meanwhile, Marco's uncle is circling, patient and ruthless, waiting for any weakness. And Aria is carrying a secret of her own one that could make her more dangerous to Marco than any enemy outside his walls. The contract has an expiration date. Their feelings do not. One year. One child. Then she's supposed to leave. Marco has no intention of letting her go.