Package Delivered Safe, Wife Left Behind

04:00 AM. JFK International Airport.

I switched off airplane mode, and my phone lit up.

The first notification was an Instagram story from my husband, Donovan Valentino, Don of the Valentino family, posted at 3:30 AM: a photo of Seraphina Moretti’s back, captioned, “Run 50 completed. Package delivered safe.”

An hour before that, my flight had hit catastrophic clear-air turbulence, dropping two thousand feet in seconds. I’d clung to my seatbelt until my knuckles turned white, the crumpled threat letter from a rival crew pressed like a blade against my ribs.

In those blind, falling seconds, one thought burned through the panic: If I live through this—if Donovan is waiting at arrivals—I’ll tear up my transfer papers to Dubai and stay.

But there were no missed calls. No messages.

He’d been too busy collecting Seraphina. He knew my flight details. He just didn’t care.

Four years of marriage. 50 fully armed security details for Seraphina. For my 112 long-haul flights over those same four years? The most I ever got was a driver in an unmarked sedan.

Even the night Gambino’s crew tailed me from Manhattan, and I spent six hours locked in a diner bathroom.

He didn’t pick up until dawn, after the twelfth try.

My transfer to Dubai was confirmed. The signed divorce settlement was in my bag.

This was the last time I’d ever come back for him.

“Evening, Donna. The Don got back about half an hour ago.”

The gate guard nodded as he swiped the access card. I nodded back, silent.

The front door swung open before I could turn the handle. Donovan stood in the doorway.

“You’re back,” he said, surprise in his voice.

“Yep.”

“What time did you land?”

“Three-forty.”

His brow lifted. “I thought you were coming tomorrow.”

I held his gaze, slow and steady. “I sent you the flight details.”

“Did you?” He frowned slightly. “Things have been crazy. Must’ve missed it.”

“Crazy with what?”

“Sera’s Vegas book got hit with a fine. She was upset. I stayed to smooth things over.”

He took my carry-on and set it against the wall, then turned back toward the living room. “I would’ve picked you up if I’d known.”

“You were busy picking up Seraphina.”

“That’s different.” He took a sip of bourbon, his tone easy.

“Sera’s young. Doesn’t know how to handle pressure from rival crews. You’re experienced, Vi. You always make it home.”

Ironic.

Seraphina alone was unsafe. But me, the Donna of the Valentino family, I was “fine.”

“Trip go okay?” he asked, offhand.

The plane had nearly torn apart in the sky. I didn’t have the energy to tell him.

“Fine.”

I walked into the master bath and froze.

On the marble counter sat a tube of custom foundation. Next to it, a small, matte-black pistol.

“Donovan,” I said. “Whose things are these?”

“Sera’s. She left them here last week when she stopped by to sign some papers.”

“She stops by often?”

“Only for work.” He leaned in the