CHAPTER 1 Unaware the Man Beside Her Was a Mafia Boss I clutched my carry-
She Escaped an Abusive Marriage and Boarded a Flight—Unaware the Man Beside Her Was a Mafia Boss I clutched my carry-on bag tighter as I navigated the crowded terminal, flinching when someone brushed past me too quickly. Three days had passed since I left, and every sudden movement still felt like David’s hand coming to grab me. The bruises on my ribs had faded from angry purple to a sickly yellow, but they still ached with each breath. Freedom hurt almost as much as captivity. The final boarding call for flight 1762 to Chicago crackled through the speakers. My new life was waiting at the gate, but my feet felt leaden. What if he found me? What if it was all for nothing? The cash I had squirreled away over the past year would not last long. The cousin I had not spoken to in 5 years might turn me away when I showed up on her doorstep, but anything was better than 1 more night under his roof. I handed my boarding pass to the attendant, avoiding eye contact. David always said my eyes gave everything away, like reading a goddamn book. He would snarl that before the accusations began. I had learned to look down, to make myself smaller, invisible. The attendant wished me a nice flight, but I was already shuffling down the jetway. The plane was nearly full. I made my way down the narrow aisle, counting row numbers like heartbeats. Window seat 20A. There it was. My sanctuary for the next 2 hours. I stowed my bag and slid into my seat, immediately turning toward the window. Chicago. A fresh start. No one would know me there. No one would look at me with that awful mixture of pity and judgment I had grown accustomed to in our small Florida town. Why does she not just leave him? If it was that bad, she would go. They never understood how fear could become a prison with invisible bars stronger than steel. The cabin filled with the usual sounds: overhead compartments slamming shut, children whining, the steady hum of air conditioning that could not quite mask the stale smell of recycled air. I pressed my forehead against the cool window and closed my eyes. I had barely slept in days. A deep, quiet, controlled voice excused itself beside me. I startled, my heart instantly hammering against my ribs as I turned. My first impression was darkness. A dark suit, expertly tailored to broad shoulders. Dark hair touched with silver at the temples. Dark eyes that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. He stood in the aisle, 1 hand resting casually on the seat in front of mine, the other holding a phone that he slipped into his pocket as our eyes met. He said he believed he had the aisle seat, gesturing to 20C. I apologized and instinctively pressed myself closer to the window, making myself smaller. There was something about him, a stillness, a weight to his presence, that made the air feel suddenly thinner. He sat with the practiced ease of someone who spent a lot of time on planes. His cologne reached me, something expensive and subtle: sandalwood and something sharper beneath it, like the air before a storm. No wedding ring. A watch that probably cost more than everything I owned. He nodded once to me, a small courtesy, then turned his attention to the flight attendant approaching our row. The flight attendant addressed him as Mr. Moretti, her voice pitched low but unable to mask her deference. Everything was arranged as requested. Could she get him anything before takeoff? He thanked Diane by name and said no. He knew her name. Diane smiled and continued down the aisle, but not before giving me a curious glance. I shrank farther into my seat. The middle seat between us remained empty, a small mercy. As the safety demonstration began, I noticed more details about my row companion from the corner of my eye: the way other passengers seemed to instinctively avert their gaze when passing our row, the slight bulge beneath his jacket that might have been a gun, and the way his eyes constantly scanned the cabin, assessing and cataloging. I should have been terrified. Instead, I felt strangely calm. Whatever this man was, and he was definitely something, he was not looking at me. After years of being the focal point of someone’s rage, being invisible felt like a blessing. The plane began to move, taxiing toward the runway. I gripped the armrests, my knuckles whitening. I had flown only once before, years ago, before David, before I became a shadow. The man asked if it was my first time flying. His voice was still quiet, still controlled, but with a hint of something I could not identify. Not quite amusement. Interest, maybe. I shook my head, not trusting my voice. Afraid, then. It was not a question. I risked looking at him directly. His face gave nothing away. It might have been carved from stone, but those dark eyes watched me with an intensity that made me want to hide and step into the light simultaneously. I said finally, barely above a whisper, that I was not afraid of flying. Something shifted in his expression: a subtle tightening around the eyes, a slight narrowing of focus. For a long, uncomfortable moment, he studied me, and I had the distinct impression I was being read, analyzed, my secrets extracted and examined. Finally, he said good. Fear of the wrong things could get a person killed. The plane accelerated down the runway, pressing me back against my seat. As we lifted into the air, leaving Florida and David and my old life behind, I wondered whether I had just made another terrible mistake. For a brief, insane moment, I wanted to ask him what the right things to fear were. The seatbelt sign dinged off. Mr. Moretti unbuckled his seatbelt but made no move to stand. Instead, he reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a business card, plain white with only a name and number embossed in black. With long, steady fingers, he placed it on the empty middle seat between us
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