Chapter 1

The Daughter Nobody Wanted

The doctor’s office was silent.

Too silent.

Meline Rossi sat frozen in the white examination room as the specialist folded his hands together and delivered the words that would destroy her future.

“You’ll never be able to carry a child.”

Three seconds.

That was all it took.

Three seconds for her world to collapse.

Her chest tightened.

Her ears rang.

And somewhere in the distance, she could still hear the doctor talking about endometriosis, medical complications, and rare abnormalities.

None of it mattered.

Only one sentence remained.

You can never have children.

Tears burned behind her eyes.

Not because she dreamed of becoming a mother.

But because she knew exactly what her family would do when they found out.

In the Rossi family, women weren’t daughters.

They were investments.

And investments that couldn’t produce heirs had no value.

None.

By the time Meline returned to the family estate, she already knew her fate.

What she didn’t expect was how quickly her father would prove her right.

Frank Rossi stood beside the fireplace holding the medical report.

He didn’t ask if she was okay.

Didn’t ask if she was scared.

Didn’t ask if she needed a hug.

Instead—

He threw a crystal glass against the wall.

The explosion of shattered glass echoed through the room.

“Worthless!”

Meline flinched.

Frank’s face twisted with fury.

“Twenty-three years! Twenty-three years of raising you, feeding you, protecting you!”

His finger pointed directly at her.

“And you can’t even give me grandchildren!”

The words struck harder than any slap.

Across the room, her mother remained silent.

Cold.

Expressionless.

Watching.

Not defending her.

Not comforting her.

Nothing.

Meline suddenly realized something terrifying.

She wasn’t losing her future.

She had never had one.

Everything her parents had ever done had been for themselves.

The wedding.

The education.

The expensive dresses.

The etiquette lessons.

Everything had been preparation for a profitable marriage.

And now that she couldn’t produce heirs—

She was useless.

Disposable.

Forgotten.

Within two weeks, her engagement was canceled.

Within three weeks, her father stopped speaking to her.

Within four weeks…

He sold her.

Literally.

Sold her.

Like property.

Like livestock.

Like she wasn’t even human.

The rain hammered against the warehouse roof as Meline stood beside her father in a black dress.

Across the table sat Arban Hoxha.

A monster wearing a human face.

His scarred fingers grabbed her chin.

He turned her face left and right as though inspecting merchandise.

“Pretty,” he muttered.

Frank laughed nervously.

“She’s yours.”

Meline closed her eyes.

This was it.

This was the end.

No one was coming.

No one cared.

Then—

The warehouse doors exploded open.

Every conversation stopped.

Every head turned.

Every man in the room immediately looked afraid.

Dominic Romano had arrived.

The undisputed king of New York’s underworld.

The widowed mafia boss everyone feared.

The man whose enemies disappeared without a trace.

His footsteps echoed across the concrete floor.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Deadly.

He approached the table.

Looked at Arban.

Looked at Frank.

Then looked at Meline.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Something passed between them.

Recognition.

Not of identity.

But of pain.

Because Dominic knew exactly what it looked like when someone had lost everything.

He had buried his wife.

She had just buried her future.

“The girl comes with me.”

The room froze.

Arban laughed nervously.

“With respect, Romano—”

“I wasn’t asking.”

Silence.

Terrifying silence.

Even the hardened criminals looked away.

Because everyone knew one thing.

When Dominic Romano spoke in that voice—

The discussion was over.

Five minutes later, Meline was sitting inside an armored SUV.

Wrapped in Dominic’s expensive jacket.

Trying to understand why she was still alive.

Finally she gathered enough courage to ask.

“Why?”

Dominic stared out the rain-covered window.

“My children need a mother.”

Meline blinked.

“You know I can’t have children.”

His gaze met hers.

For the first time all night, something gentle appeared in his eyes.

“I know.”

He paused.

Then added quietly.

“That’s exactly why I chose you.”

Meline stared at him.

Confused.

Dominic continued.

“I already have four children.”

His voice softened.

“They lost their mother.”

Pain flashed across his face.

A pain so deep it seemed carved into his soul.

“Every woman around me wants to give me another heir.”

He shook his head.

“But my children don’t need another heir.”

His jaw tightened.

“They need someone who will choose them.”

The words hit her harder than anything else.

Choose them.

Nobody had ever chosen Meline.

Not her father.

Not her mother.

Not her fiancé.

No one.

But somehow…

This dangerous man had.

And for the first time since leaving the hospital—

Hope appeared.

Small.

Fragile.

Terrifying.

But real.

Neither of them knew it yet.

But that night wasn’t the end of Meline’s story.

It was the beginning.

The beginning of a family.

The beginning of love.

And the beginning of a war that would force her to risk everything for four children who would soon become her entire world.