Rising From Ashes: The Don's Lost Queen

As I climbed the stairs, the uninvited images of Tess replayed in my mind.

The first time was late at night. The estate security told me over the intercom that she was at the gate. Tess stood in the pouring rain, clothes soaked, eyes red, claiming she’d left a mission report in Dante’s car and feared the Capos’ punishment. Dante didn't just hand her the report; he escorted her back to the safe house himself. I waited up until 3:00 AM.

Two weeks later, I found a deep red lipstick under the seat of his SUV. I placed it on Dante’s desk. He looked at it, his expression placid. "Tess lost it while running errands." He tucked the lipstick into his pocket instead of throwing it away.

Three nights later, Tess appeared again. She walked straight into the hall, ignoring me entirely, and walked up to Dante. "Boss, where’s my lipstick?"

Dante pulled it from his pocket and handed it to her. "Be more careful next time," he said, his voice tinged with a faint indulgence.

Tess made a face at the most feared man in the Syndicate.

I froze in the doorway. In the Mafia, no one dared to be so disrespectful to Dante. Men had lost fingers for less. Yet her behavior was that of a spoiled child, and he was the father who indulged her.

We had our first real fight that night. I screamed, I shattered glasses, I demanded to know why she was allowed to cross every boundary.

Dante stood there, expressionless. "Your head is full of irrational thoughts. Tess is a valuable asset to this family. She is brave and loyal."

He looked at me as if I were a screaming stranger.

Then he turned his back on me and walked out of the room, leaving me alone with the shattered glass.