All Chapters of La Signora : The Divorced Mafia Queen's Revenge: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Elise's POVThe article never ran, but the damage was already crawling under my skin like poison.I sat at my father’s old desk at 4:17 a.m., the printed draft still open in front of me like a wound I couldn’t stop touching. My eyes were dry and burning. I hadn’t slept more than two hours at a time since he died. Every time I closed them I saw his face going slack, felt his hand go cold in mine. Now Adrian was trying to use that same grief to call me crazy in public.I read the headline again: **“Mafia Heiress Elise Vitale: From Devoted Wife to Unstable Crime Boss?”**The words blurred. Anonymous sources talking about my “violent outburst” in the hospital, how I “attacked” Jade, how I was “clearly cracking under the pressure” after losing the baby. They even dragged up old gala photos where I looked tired and called it “concerning signs of mental decline.”I wanted to scream. Instead I just sat there, fingers digging into the edge of the desk until my knuckles hurt.Marco had killed t

Elise's POVAnother one of our warehouses went up in flames before sunrise. I stood on the ridge with the wind whipping my coat, watching black smoke curl into the gray sky. My hands were shoved deep in my pockets so no one would see them shaking. This was the third hit in six days. Greco wasn’t playing games anymore. They were carving pieces out of us while I was still trying to figure out how to breathe without my father in the world.Nico stood beside me, jaw locked tight. His shoulder was still stiff but he refused to stay behind. “They knew the new route. Again.”I didn’t answer right away. The smoke stung my eyes. Or maybe that was just the exhaustion talking. I hadn’t slept more than three hours since the funeral. Every time I closed my eyes I saw my father’s face going slack. Or Adrian’s smug expression in my head, feeding them our secrets like it was nothing.“Bring me the man who was on watch,” I said finally. My voice sounded flat, almost dead. “I want to talk to him myself

Elise's POVI woke up with Nico’s hand between my legs. Not soft or teasing. His fingers were already moving, slow and sure, like he’d been waiting for me to stir. The room was still dark, just a thin line of moonlight cutting across the bed. I sucked in a sharp breath as he pressed deeper, thumb circling exactly where I needed it.“Morning,” he murmured against my neck, voice rough from sleep.I didn’t answer with words. I just arched into his hand, gasping when he added a second finger. My body was still sore from yesterday’s fight, but the ache mixed with the heat and made everything sharper. I turned my head and kissed him hard, biting his bottom lip. He groaned into my mouth and pushed me onto my back, settling between my thighs.No talking. No slow build. We were both too raw for that.He slid into me in one smooth thrust. I moaned loud enough that I bit my own arm to stay quiet. He felt so fucking good — thick, warm, alive. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him deep

Elise's POVThe capos were arguing again, voices rising over the long table like they thought yelling would make the problems reduce.I sat at the head, fingers pressed to my temple, trying to block out the noise. My head was pounding. I hadn’t slept more than an hour last night, and the grief was sitting on my chest like a bag of wet sand. Every time someone said my father’s name, it felt like a fresh cut.Roberto slammed his hand on the table. “We can’t keep losing warehouses like this. The men are talking. They say we’re playing defense while Greco laughs at us.”Salvatore shot back, “And what do you want her to do? Charge in blind and get more of us killed? She’s doing what she can.”I lifted my head slowly. The room went quiet.“Doing what I can?” I said, voice low. “That’s what you call it? I buried my father two weeks ago. I’m barely keeping my eyes open, and you’re sitting here complaining that I’m not hitting hard enough?”Roberto looked down. Salvatore shifted in his seat. N

Elise's POVCain’s words wouldn’t leave me alone.I kept hearing them on repeat while I walked the long hallway back to my room, boots echoing too loud on the wooden floor. “I’ve had feelings for you for years.” Simple words, but they sat in my chest like stones. I pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it behind me with my back. The room felt too big. Too quiet. My father’s absence was everywhere, even here.I sank onto the edge of the bed and stared at my hands. They were still shaking a little from the cold park air. Or maybe from everything else. Nico was probably still in the gym working out his frustration. I hadn’t told him about the meeting with Cain. Not yet. I didn’t know how.The truth was, I felt something for Cain too. Not the same fire I felt with Nico, but something quieter. Steadier. The kind of feeling that scared me more because it didn’t burn out fast. It just stayed there, warm and patient, waiting for me to decide.I hated it. I hated how my heart could