Chapter 1 - THE CRASH ABOVE THE ATLANTIC
Elena Vale was thirty thousand feet above the Atlantic when the man she hated most unbuckled his seat belt to save her life. One minute earlier, she had been telling Luca Romano he had no heart, sitting across from him in cream leather silence while he read files like even the ocean below obeyed his contracts. To the public, Luca owned Romano Maritime, a polished shipping empire, but those who paid attention knew he was a cold mafia boss whose quiet authority was absolute. Elena had worked as his accounts coordinator for three years, knowing his schedules, his whiskey, and his cold looks, as well as remembering the night he told her "personal tragedy does not pause business" when her mother needed emergency surgery. Now, trapped together on his private jet as the right engine exploded and smoke filled the cabin, Luca ignored his guard's warnings, crossed the falling cabin, locked the seatbelt across her waist, and braced his body over hers as the ocean rushed up to meet them.
