The widow

Valentina

Valentina POV

Eight Years Later...........

The name Valentina De Luca no longer reminded people of a grieving widow.

It reminded them of death.

In the eight years since Luca De Luca and her only son, Matteo, were murdered, the De Luca empire had not crumbled.

It had grown.

Bigger.

Richer.

More feared.

And far more ruthless.

The woman who once stood beside a king had become one herself.

No one dared call her weak anymore.

Not after what happened to the men who tried.

The underground meeting hall fell silent the moment she entered.

More than thirty mafia bosses from across the country were already seated around the long table.

No one stood.

No one greeted her.

They simply watched.

Valentina walked to the empty chair at the head of the table without acknowledging a single one of them.

Marco pulled out the chair.

She sat.

Only then did the meeting begin.

A middle-aged man cleared his throat.

"Mrs. De Luca, the shipment from the eastern port has been delayed."

Valentina didn't even look at him.

"Why?"

"Our men were intercepted."

"By who?"

"We're still investigating."

She finally raised her eyes.

"They stole from the De Luca family..."

The room became still.

"...and you came here without knowing who?"

The man lowered his head.

"My apologies."

She leaned back.

"How much was taken?"

"Five million dollars."

Several men exchanged nervous glances.

Five million was enough to start a war.

Valentina remained expressionless.

"Recover it."

"We're trying."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I wasn't giving you a suggestion."

The man's face turned pale.

"I... understand."

"You have forty-eight hours."

"And if we fail?"

Valentina's voice remained calm.

"You won't be alive long enough to apologize."

No one questioned whether she meant it.

Everyone in the room knew she did.

The meeting ended an hour later.

As the bosses filed out, none of them spoke above a whisper.

Fear had replaced respect years ago.

Marco followed Valentina into her office.

"You frightened them."

She removed her gloves.

"They should be frightened."

Marco hesitated.

"There was a time you would've given them another chance."

Valentina looked at him.

"That woman died eight years ago."

She wasn't exaggerating.

The woman who cried over Luca's coffin no longer existed.

Grief had carved something colder from her heart.

Mercy had become a luxury she could no longer afford.

Later that afternoon, Marco entered with another report.

"We found the men responsible for the robbery."

Valentina looked up from the documents on her desk.

"Alive?"

"Three of them."

"And the others?"

"Dead."

She closed the file.

"Bring the three to the warehouse."

Marco understood immediately.

He left without another word.

The warehouse was silent except for the sound of dripping water.

Three men knelt on the concrete floor.

Their hands were tied behind their backs.

One of them couldn't stop shaking.

Another kept looking toward the exit, praying someone would rescue them.

No one was coming.

Valentina entered without hurry.

The guards stepped aside.

One prisoner immediately began begging.

"Mrs. De Luca... please... we didn't know the shipment belonged to you."

She stopped in front of him.

"Is that supposed to comfort me?"

"We'll return everything."

"You can't."

"We can get the money."

"It isn't about the money."

She crouched until they were eye level.

"It's about what happens when people believe they can steal from me and survive."

The youngest of the three burst into tears.

"It wasn't our idea!"

"Whose idea was it?"

The man quickly gave a name.

Valentina remained silent.

She watched his face.

His breathing.

His eyes.

He was lying.

Marco noticed it too.

"He isn't telling the truth."

"I know."

She stood.

The three men looked at her with desperate hope.

One of them whispered, "Please..."

Valentina turned to Marco.

"Make sure the real mastermind hears what happened here."

Marco nodded once.

"What about them?"

She looked back at the prisoners.

Her face revealed nothing.

"They made their choice."

She walked toward the exit.

Behind her, the warehouse doors closed.

The terrified screams that followed echoed through the empty building.

Valentina never looked back.

That evening, she stood alone on the balcony of the De Luca mansion.

The city glittered beneath her.

Eight years.

Not a single day had passed without her thinking about Luca.

Or Matteo.

She remembered Matteo's laugh.

The way he used to race through the gardens.

The way Luca would pretend to lose every game they played together.

Those memories no longer brought comfort.

They fueled her.

Every empire she expanded.

Every enemy she crushed.

Every decision she made...

Was built on one promise.

She would find the people responsible.

Even if she had to burn the entire underworld to the ground.

Marco stepped onto the balcony.

"The regional bosses have accepted tomorrow's meeting."

Valentina didn't turn around.

"They didn't accept."

She looked out over the city.

"They obeyed."

A faint smile crossed Marco's face.

He couldn't argue with that.

Because everyone in the mafia world knew one truth.

Luca De Luca had ruled with respect.

Valentina De Luca ruled with fear.

And fear...

Lasted much longer.