THE MAFIA’S ORPHAN WIFE

THE THREAT

The car was silent.

Too silent.

Adrian’s phone hadn’t stopped buzzing since we left the gala.

His jaw was tight. His knuckles white on the steering wheel.

"What happened?" I finally asked. "Who broke into the house?"

"Not a break in," he said, voice low. "They left something."

My stomach dropped. "What?"

He glanced at me. "A photo. Of you. Sleeping in my guest room. Taken last night."

Fear shot through me. "Someone was in the house?"

"Was," he corrected. "Not anymore."

We pulled into his mansion. The gates were already open. Guards everywhere.

Inside, the living room was spotless. Like nothing happened.

Until Adrian walked to the coffee table.

There was a single photo.

Me. Asleep. Hair messy. The blanket up to my chin.

And written across it in red: `SHE'S NOT SAFE WITH YOU.`

I picked it up with shaking hands. "Sarah?"

"Could be," Adrian said. "Could be James. Could be Victor. I have a lot of enemies, Lanny."

He took the photo from me gently. "Which is why you don’t leave this house. Alone. Ever."

"So I’m a prisoner again?"

"You’re protected," he said firmly. "Rule 3."

I wanted to argue. But the truth was... I was scared.

That night I barely slept. Every sound made me jump.

At 3am, my phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

Text: `I warned you. - S`

Sarah.

I blocked the number.

But 2 minutes later, another text came from a new number:

`You signed a contract with the devil. Did you think there would be no consequences?`

I threw the phone across the room.

The door opened. Adrian.

He was in black sweatpants and a shirt. No tie. He looked... human.

"Nightmare?" he asked.

I nodded.

He didn’t say anything. He just walked over, picked up my phone, and sat on the floor next to my bed.

"I’ll handle it," he said quietly. "You’re under my name now. No one touches you."

"Why do you care?" I whispered. "I’m just a transaction."

He looked at me. Really looked at me.

"Maybe I’m tired of transactions too."

Then he stood and left.

I stared at the ceiling for hours.

The devil was protecting me.

But who was going to protect me from him?