Mafia Single Daddy's Stolen Bride

Lucia Clark‘s wedding day crumbles the moment she finds her fiancé Daniel with her best friend in a room just off the aisle. He tells her to walk down anyway, smile through the vows, because she has nowhere else to go. Before the ceremony can finish, armed men storm the church. Nico Romano, ruthless head of the Romano crime family, has come to collect two million in gambling debt from Daniel—and Daniel offers Lucia as payment. Nico looks her over with cold appraisal. A kindergarten teacher with a good body and a decent face, exactly what he needs. The priest is forced to officiate on the spot, and Lucia becomes Nico's wife before she can fully understand what has happened. At his mansion, he makes the terms clear: one year of marriage, total privacy, and she walks free. He warns her not to fall in love with him. Then he leads her inside and reveals why he needed a wife at all—a small, silent girl named Giana. Nico's niece hasn't spoken since her parents were murdered, and he needs a stable home to keep custody. The dozen highly qualified nannies waiting in the room are dismissed with a wave. Giana chooses Lucia with a single look, and just like that, the contract wife becomes the child's nanny too.

The cold mafia boss transforms around his niece. Lucia watches him kneel, speak softly, and draw a rare laugh from Giana, and the contradiction rattles her. She is drawn to him despite every warning. But the mansion is a fortress with enemies both outside and within. Bianca, a family friend who has known Nico since childhood, makes it clear that she intends to be the next Mrs. Romano once the contract expires. When Lucia follows Bianca's suggestion and takes Giana to a public park, members of the rival Morosti family attempt to kidnap the child. Nico arrives in time to stop them, then turns his fury on Lucia for leaving the compound. Bianca lies, claiming she never told Lucia to go, and accuses Lucia of being rough with Giana. With no one to corroborate her story, Lucia is dragged away. Nico tells her he is disappointed. She stands alone, certain she has been discarded. Then a small voice breaks through the silence. Giana speaks her name for the first time.