I looked at the pathetic clowns peacocking in front of me and felt my patience wearing thin. 

“I have no interest in being a nanny.” I met Joey’s gaze. 

“Joey, you don’t seem to understand. The guidance I provide for a child’s upbringing is a privilege. It has a price, and it’s far beyond what you could ever afford.” 

For a moment, there was dead silence. Then, the air erupted with coarse, derisive laughter. 

Joey’s men howled, slapping each other on the back as if I’d told the funniest joke they’d ever heard. 

“Did you hear that, Boss?” the scar-faced goon sputtered through his guffaws. “She thinks she’s some kind of goddamn kingmaker!” 

Vivian shrieked with mirth, wiping a tear from her eye. “Oh, Adriana, you’re priceless! Who do you think you are, the Donna of the Moretti family?” She looped her arm through Joey’s. 

Angelo clapped his hands beside her. “Yes! Mama Vivian is right! Poor ladies love to daydream!” 

Vivian patted Angelo’s head proudly, then turned to me with a look of triumph. “In case you’ve been living under a rock, we answer to the most powerful Don in New York now.” 

The scar-faced goon chimed in, showing off his pitiful knowledge. “She’s the wife of Don Dante Moretti himself. The Donna of the most powerful of the Five Families.” 

“The Don runs everything from Brooklyn to Manhattan, arms, drugs, casinos, it’s all his call. But he’s crazy about his Donna.” 

“The word on the street is simple: you don’t touch the Donna. You mess with her, you mess with the Don. He’ll have your hide for it.” 

They were talking about me. Of course, I knew. 

In the three years since our marriage, Dante’s iron-fisted rule over the underworld had only solidified, and his reputation as a fiercely protective husband had spread throughout the mafia.