“Say Your Last Words and Go,” the Mafia Boss’s Wife Told His Secretary—But She Wasn’t Prepared for Her Answer

Inside the freezing concrete tomb of the grain elevator, the end had arrived.

Camila Castellano stood in her pristine cashmere coat, watching her two hired men secure the heavy hemp rope around a rusted pulley over the open river chute.

"Say your last words and go, little secretary," Camila whispered softly into Josie’s ear.

Josie lay bound on the freezing floor, the cloth gag tight across her jaw. But her eyes remained fixed on Camila with an unyielding calm that deeply unnerved the older woman.

"Throw her down," Camila commanded flatly, stepping back.

The two men stepped forward, reaching down to grab Josie’s tied shoulders.

Suddenly, the heavy iron door at the end of the access tunnel was blown off its hinges with a deafening CRASH.

A flashbang grenade detonated in the corridor, blinding light and concussive sound echoing violently through the concrete silo.

Before the smoke could clear, three black-clad enforcers flooded the room, instantly tackling Camila’s two hitmen to the concrete floor, disarming them in seconds.

Camila screamed, backing away toward the river chute. "What is this?! Who is—"

Out of the black doorway walked Rafferty Castellano.

He wore no coat. His dark dress shirt was soaked in rain, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing the powerful forearms underneath. His dark eyes were completely consumed by an apocalyptic, murderous fury.

Behind him stood Sunny Falco and ten heavily armed bodyguards.

Camila’s voice faltered, her face turning pale as milk. "R-Rafe... what are you doing here? This girl... she was a traitor, she was trying to blackmail our family—"

Rafe didn't even look at her.

He dropped to his knees on the freezing concrete beside Josie.

His broad, scarred hands were trembling violently—hands that had never shown fear in front of armed mobsters—as he reached down to untie the tight cloth gag around her mouth.

"Josie," he whispered, his voice cracking with a raw, desperate emotion no one in his family had heard in seventeen years. "Josie, look at me."

The gag came off. Josie drew in a sharp, ragged breath of cold air, coughing weakly.

Rafe pulled a pocket knife and swiftly sliced through the heavy ropes binding her wrists and ankles.

As he freed her hands, Josie's left sleeve pulled back, exposing the thick, purple burn scars that covered her arm from wrist to elbow.

Rafe froze, his eyes catching the damaged skin. He gently touched the edge of the scar with his scarred right palm—the two wounded hands meeting in the dim light of the warehouse.

"You're safe," Rafe murmured softly, pulling her gently against his chest, wrapping his heavy arms around her shivering body to shield her from the freezing air. "I'm here, Josie. I'm here."

Josie leaned her head against his chest, listening to the frantic, heavy pounding of his heart.

"Juny..." she rasped out, her voice barely a whisper through her bruised throat. "My sister... is she safe?"

"She's safe," Rafe promised, his lips brushing against her dark hair. "Sunny brought her to my estate yesterday. She’s warm, she’s fed, and she’s waiting for you."

Standing near the river chute, Camila tried to edge toward the side exit.

"Rafferty!" Camila shouted, her polished voice turning shrill and hysterical. "You're ruining everything for a worthless, crippled servant! My father will pull every union contract! He will destroy your shipping lines by morning!"

Rafe stood up slowly, keeping one protective arm around Josie’s shoulders.

He turned his head to look at Camila. The look in his dark eyes was so icy, so utterly devoid of human mercy, that Camila instinctively took a step back, her heel catching on the edge of the river chute.

"Your father's union empire was dismantled two hours ago, Camila," Rafe said softly. "Federal agents are currently raiding your father’s estate with bank records I provided personally."

Camila gasped in horror. "You... you gave up the family businesses?!"

"You touched the one line you were never supposed to cross," Rafe whispered, stepping forward until he was inches from her face. "You touched an innocent woman. You threatened a child. You are no longer a Castellano."