Gia Scala: The First Gia

Gabriel Russo had been born under a dark cloud. He knew his history like the back of his hand; his mother made sure of that. He knew what blood ran through his veins and what it meant. He also knew that there were some with that same blood who would kill him if they could. Born the product of a horrible act inflicted upon his mother by one of the Ricci brothers, now the adopted son of another very powerful family, he's the heir to two of the most powerful Familias in the West.The Life The Beginning is created by Jordan Silver, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Betrayed by her fiancé and left to burn alive in a lavish New York restaurant, Laura should have perished that night. Instead, she survives—faceless, broken, and reborn as Mia Carters, the cold, ruthless heiress everyone believed was dead. Now wearing the face of the city’s most hated woman, Laura steps into a world of obscene wealth, deadly secrets, and merciless power plays. Mia’s billions hold more than fortune; they conceal a flash drive capable of toppling empires—and every predator in the city wants it. Vincent Noir, the domineering head of the Noir family and Mia’s rumored fiancé, is the only man who knows the truth. Cold, possessive, and dangerously obsessed, he gave Laura a second chance at life… and a chance to finally make her his. But his protection comes with chains, and his touch ignites a fire she’s terrified to surrender to. As Laura hunts the people who destroyed her—starting with the man who set her ablaze—she must navigate a web of manipulation, stalking, and family betrayal. Old enemies wear smiling faces, new threats lurk in every shadow, and someone knows she’s an imposter. In a deadly game of revenge and desire, Laura will become everything Mia was and more. But when the real Mia returns and the ultimate betrayal is revealed, surviving her new life may cost her everything—including the heart she swore never to give. In a world where fortune is power and love is the ultimate weapon, one woman will rise from the ashes… and burn them all.

Scarpa sees. Scarpa wants. Scarpa hunts. Scarpa gets. It’s a chain of life for Torre Scarpa—the unspoken law of the Scarpa world. When Torre sets his eyes on Montana Rossi, his employee’s wife; a pale, soft-spoken foreign woman who gave herself to the wrong Italian man as husband, he doesn't just want her. He claims her by all bloodied means. Montana, left alone, humiliated by the powerful Rossi family after her husband's death, finds herself in Scarpa’s warm embrace. He pays off her debts. Gives her shelter. Offers her peace. Even lets her care for his troubled daughter. He is the savior she never expected. But Scarpa is no angel. Behind the tailored suits and steady gaze is a man who always gets what he wants—no matter the cost. And Montana? She's not free. Not really. Not anymore. As she falls for him, body and soul, she begins to wonder: Is this love? Or a beautiful trap? When the truth of Scarpa’s world comes to light—its secrets, its crimes, its bloodied roots—Montana must face what she’s become, and decide: Can she live with the devil who saved her? Or is it already too late? Because the Lord Scarpa doesn’t let go. He devours.

My name is Mia, and I am the middle child of Don and Donna Costa. I am also the black sheep of the family. Or the ugly duckling, as my mother would call me. My shift ended a few hours ago, but it takes me long to get home as I do not have a car like my brother, Leonardo, the oldest, or my sister, Amara, the beautiful one and youngest in the family. As you may gather from my story so far, my parents do not care about me. I walk into the house with a sigh. I have seen the cars in front of our home, and I know my family has friends over. "You have nothing I want! You stole from us, and today I will kill your whole family," I hear an angry voice. I wonder what my father has done this time to piss someone off. "Godfather, give me another chance. You can have my beautiful daughter as your wife," My father begs. Holy shit! My father stole from the godfather? I know the godfather is about thirty, and his name is Riccardo Marina. The Marina family is the most powerful in the American mafia. "I do not like blond blue-eyed sluts. I prefer women with dark hair. Besides, Everyone in town knows Amara Costa! She has been around the block," Riccardo says with disgust. I do not know what to do. Shall I hide? Not many people know my parents have another daughter. I am never invited to their parties as my family is ashamed of me. I do not care for my family, and they can die for all I care. "I have another daughter with dark hair. Maybe you will fancy her," My father begs again. I sigh. Typical!

Every Christmas Eve in Port Saint Giovanni, the Camerlano family hosts the Claiming Rite at Saint Giovanni Manor. Twelve girls stand in a line. Whoever receives the white-gold signet pin becomes the heir’s publicly acknowledged bride candidate. I am Grace Sorrento, the bastard daughter of the Sorrento family. If I do not receive that signet tonight, by sunrise I will be put on a plane to Chicago and married off to a Rizzo, a man rumored to have killed two former fiancées. Adrian Camerlano, the boy I grew up with, swore to me in blood three days ago that the signet would be mine. But when the moment came, his hand turned. With a smile, he pinned it on Lucia, the orphan his family had sponsored. Then he leaned close to my ear. "Let Lucia have her moment. No one has ever really looked at her before. Don’t worry. This is my estate. No one will dare arrange your marriage without my say." I grabbed his sleeve, but he removed my fingers one by one. "Lucia has no roots and no last name. Tonight is all she has. But you are a Sorrento. Even without the signet, no one will touch you." That phrase, no last name, drew every gaze in the ballroom toward me, full of pity and quiet mockery. The next morning, I boarded a flight to Chicago. When Adrian heard, he made one call to Port Saint Giovanni Air Control. "Ground every plane. Nothing leaves today!"

When I took a bullet for Theo Moretti, the bullet grazed my temple, compressing the optic nerve and causing blindness in both my eyes. He kneeled by my hospital bed, pressed the family crest to his chest, and swore: “Sophie, I will be your eyes for life. If I break this oath, may I die a horrendous death.” I believed him. However, the day my sight returned, I saw Theo through the bedroom door, naked on our marital bed with the maid, Isabella. He gripped her waist and thrust violently, his voice hoarse in a way I had never heard, growling, “Bella… you really are the most seductive woman in all of Sicily…” “Theo, who else besides me could satisfy you like this in bed? Divorce that blind woman already!” Isabella nibbled his earlobe. “After all, I’m the one who truly understands you.” “Wait a little longer,” Theo panted. “I need time… Don Lucas just handed me control of the docks. If I divorce now, I’ll be left with nothing.” Rare snowflakes rained down outside. I walked barefoot out of the estate in a thin nightgown and sent an encrypted message to my father. “Father, send someone to pick me up in three days. I’m coming home.” Don Lucas, my father, never expected that the boss he had personally promoted would dare betray his daughter. He replied with a single sentence: “For daring to betray you, Theo’s dead.” What I did not know was that this message would ignite a storm that would sweep across all of Sicily. In three days, Theo Moretti, the man I had risked my life for and I had personally helped rise to power, would lose everything he held dear, including me.