The Don’s Secret Wife Chapter 01

The Don’s Secret Wife Chapter 01

After five years of busking on the streets, I’d finally scraped together enough for a wedding, Joseph Maranzano’s and mine.

I was packing up for the night when a blonde woman in a red silk dress rushed over, asking me to play something.

“Hey, I’m having the worst night. Could you play something for me?”

She glanced at my leg, didn’t say another word, and dropped eight hundred dollars into my violin case.

“I know it’s late. I’m sorry. I just really need someone to talk to right now. Please?”

Eight hundred dollars stared up at me from the case. I nodded.

That kind of money meant Joseph wouldn’t have to scramble for rent anymore, wouldn’t have to break his back hauling freight at the docks in the pouring rain.

She started pouring her heart out.

“Five years into my marriage, and I just found out today I’m pregnant.”

“I was so excited to tell him, and then I found a diamond ring in his pocket!”

“He wouldn’t explain, no matter how hard I pushed. I stormed out. So tell me, is he cheating?”

I was still fumbling for something to say when her phone rang, a cheap burner phone.

She hit speaker, and the voice that came through was one I knew better than my own. Warm, amused, hopelessly in love.

“Ruby, that ring was custom-made for you. I was going to wait until your birthday, but somebody had to go snooping.”

“Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

My blood ran cold.

The name on her screen. Joseph.

…

“Well, how was I supposed to know? You should’ve just told me!” Ruby Mantle’s voice softened.

Joseph laughed softly. “All right, all right. My fault. Now will you tell me where you are? I’m coming to get you.”

Ruby rattled off the address, and his tone shifted instantly, tight with worry.

“That neighborhood isn’t safe for you at night. Stay put. I’m on my way.”

My stomach dropped.

Years. I spent years hauling my violin case through the city on a leg that barely worked, playing through fevers I couldn’t afford to rest through.

Cops chased me off. Drunks pawed at me. I played until my fingertips split open and bled onto the strings, all for a few dollar bills at a time.

And Joseph? All he ever did was hold me and whisper, “I’m sorry. You deserve better than this.”

Every bit of it had been a lie.

Ruby hung up and looked at me, something sheepish flickering in her blue eyes.

“God, I’m sorry. I totally overreacted… I had no idea it was something like this.”

“You must be single, right? No man who respects you would let you be out here alone this late.”

She didn’t wait for an answer, just sighed.

“Honestly? I kind of envy you. I mean, sure, you’ve got the whole bum leg situation, but at least you don’t have to deal with the headache of men.”

“And don’t even get me started on marrying young. My husband’s so overprotective. He insists on coming with his men to every single ultrasound. It’s suffocating!”

Since losing my leg, I’d had checkups every six months.

Joseph came with me sometimes, but mostly he was pulling double shifts as a bouncer at an underground club.

The sleek purr of an engine and a short honk cut through the air before I could say a word.

Ruby’s whole face lit up.

“You got here so fast!”

Joseph climbed out of a black armored Maybach and pulled Ruby close, one hand smoothing her hair.

“Couldn’t have my queen roaming unprotected, could I?”

Ruby gave a satisfied little hum and turned toward the passenger door.

Then she stopped, like she’d just remembered something, and ran back to me. She pulled a checkbook from her bag, scrawled something across it, and pressed the check into my hand.

“Don’t worry about it. My husband is the Don of the Maranzano family. Trust me, this is nothing to him.”

“Thanks for listening. Get home safe, okay?”

White noise filled my skull. I looked up at Joseph, and nothing made sense.

Seven years ago, Joseph’s family empire crumbled. He went from heir apparent of the syndicate to a man with a target on his back.

Days hauling meat at the packing plant. Nights working security at an underground casino.

I took to the streets with my violin to help carry the load, played and sang until my body gave out, until the bitter cold wrecked my vocal cords and I lost my voice entirely.

And this whole time, he’d already clawed his way back to the top of the underworld.

His eyes followed Ruby, and then landed on me. Something flickered there, just for a second. Surprise, maybe. Then it was gone, and his face hardened into an emotionless mask.

He leaned over and buckled Ruby’s seatbelt, as gently as ever. Then he looked at me, his gaze dead and empty, and told her, “We’re leaving.”

The Maybach’s engine growled as it pulled away.

My body moved before my brain caught up, lurching after the car. But my prosthetic caught on something, and I went down hard, slamming into the wet asphalt.

My phone buzzed. A text from Joseph.

[I’ll explain later. Ruby has nothing to do with this. Don’t make a scene.]

My prosthetic was jammed in a grate, and no matter how hard I pulled, it wouldn’t come free.

My vision blurred, tears burning at the edges, and then the sound of heavy footsteps approached. A hand appeared in front of me. A platinum Rolex glinting on the wrist.

It was Joseph.