My Don’s Secretary Killed the Wrong Mother

I was on vacation with my mother at our country vineyard when a message arrived from Ava, my husband's personal secretary. He was the new Don of the Falcone family.

The photo showed a woman, bruised and naked, curled up on the floor of a cold cellar.

It was followed by a voice message, her tone arrogant:

"Helen, is this what you peasants do? Claw your way out of the mud just to leech off the Don?"

"Don Lorenzo just acquired this estate, and you have the nerve to let your blind, ill-mannered mother wander in here to freeload? As the Don's personal secretary, it's my job to uphold the Falcone family's dignity."

"This is the price for trespassing on the Don's estate!"

I froze, my eyes lifting to the other side of the long table where my mother was sipping her red wine, perfectly safe.

I zoomed in on the photo. The moment I saw the details, my heart seized.

On a pale hand was a familiar ring. It was the heirloom the Falcone Madre never took off.

I immediately dialed Ava's number. "Ava, are you insane? That's Lorenzo's mother!"

A careless, almost flirtatious laugh came from the other end of the line.

"The Don may consider you his property, but he never agreed to take in your dirt-poor family."

Ava, my husband's secretary, sent me a photo of a woman, beaten and naked.

The caption read: "Don Lorenzo just acquired this estate, and you have the nerve to let your blind, ill-mannered old mother come crawling here to freeload? As the Don's personal secretary, it's my job to uphold the Falcone family's dignity."

"This is the price for daring to trespass in the Don's home!"

I stared, stunned for a long moment. I looked at my mother drinking red wine across from me, then looked again at the photo, at the ancestral ring on the woman's hand that my mother-in-law never removed. I immediately called Ava.

"Ava, are you insane? That's Lorenzo's mother!"

The woman on the other end chuckled. "Oh, Donna, don't be dramatic. The Don was clear. Your mother is your problem, his mother is his. Don't get the two confused."

With another flippant laugh, Ava hung up.

I didn't dare waste a second. I ordered the housekeeper to have the private jet readied for New York and dialed Lorenzo's number.

"Lorenzo, something's happened! Mom was attacked by Ava at your new estate. You need to go right away..."

"Enough. I know what you're going to say."

Lorenzo cut me off coldly. "I think Ava did the right thing."

"She was upholding the family's rules."

My mind went blank. "Do you have any idea what you're saying?"

I could hear the rustle of his suit as he adjusted it. He sighed, his voice edged with impatience.

"Helen, you're my wife. I'd give you all the wealth and luxury in the world, but your mother needs to learn the rules. She can't just act like she owns