Chapter 1

I was in the middle of briefing my Capos on the week's operations when a message popped up in the Thornfield Elite Academy parent group chat.

Ms. Pearson, my daughter's teacher, called me out directly:

"Sophia's mother—your daughter has been expelled. Come pick her up immediately."

I frowned and typed back: "Why?"

A woman named Diana Lawson replied, dripping with arrogance:

"My son is a Benedetti. Your daughter refused to address him as 'Young Master.' Getting expelled is the least she deserves."

"My husband is the Godmother's own brother, Luca Benedetti. You got a problem with that?"

Before I could reply, Ms. Pearson immediately responded to Diana:

"Mrs. Lawson, I'm so sorry. When Ethan first hit Sophia, I was foolish enough to scold him for it."

"That was entirely my mistake. Tomorrow I'll be giving Ethan a special award in front of the whole class to commend him!"

The parent group chat exploded.

Everyone was falling over themselves to flatter Diana, calling her family humble yet powerful.

Then someone posted a photo and tagged me. My daughter Sophia—bruised, swollen, lip split open, her uniform torn to shreds.

The caption read: "Your kid should feel honored that the Godmother's nephew even looked at her. Don't be ungrateful."

My blood ran cold.

Luca was my brother, yes. But he'd been dead for ten years.

I grabbed my keys and headed for the door, firing off a message to my Consigliere, Enzo:

"Someone out there is impersonating Luca. Find out who. Every detail. Leave nothing out."

"And my daughter was attacked at school. Bring the legal team and a crew to Thornfield Elite Academy. These people are going to pay."

I got in the car—a black 2003 Lincoln Town Car. Luca's car. The last car he ever drove. I'd kept it running for a decade.

Not because I couldn't afford a new one, but because sitting behind this wheel was the closest I could still get to my brother.

I floored it.

When I pulled up to the school, I spotted Diana Lawson immediately. She was standing on the front steps, surrounded by a crowd of fawning parents.

"Diana, you're so modest! We had no idea your husband was the Godmother's own brother!"

"No wonder you always seemed different—that Benedetti aura, you just can't hide it!"

"We're here to support you. Ethan is basically royalty in this school. We can't have nobodies disrespecting him!"

"Exactly! I already told my son—stick close to Ethan, protect him. It's an honor to be his right-hand man!"

Even my daughter's teacher, Ms. Pearson, was bowing and scraping:

"Mrs. Lawson, Sophia had no sense of propriety. She deserved the beating and the expulsion. Ethan is wonderful at expressing his emotions—brave and assertive! I'm going to hold him up as a role model for the entire class!"

"Oh, and what are Ethan's favorite foods? Send me a list. From now on, the school cafeteria will design its menu around his preferences."

Diana soaked it all in, chin tilted high, basking in the flattery like a preening peacock.

My brother Luca had been nothing like this when he was alive.

He was kind, gentle, humble, and fiercely principled.

We were close. After our parents passed, we built the Benedetti empire together, side by side.

Then he worked himself to the bone and got sick. He never recovered.

I honored his last wish—kept things quiet, no spectacle, no public funeral. Then I poured all my grief into finishing what he started.

Ten years of work. Ten years of building.

All to fulfill Luca's dying wish—to make the Benedetti name the most powerful on the East Coast.

And now, everything I'd built had become bragging rights for some fraud and her brat, used to terrorize my daughter.

I was furious. And baffled.

Who the hell was impersonating my brother? Who was behind Diana's arrogance? And who had let my daughter be hurt like this?

The moment the parents saw me, their smiles vanished. They turned to glare at me with open disgust.

As if I were something rotten.