Boston’s most lethal underworld king had made an unbelievable vow: whoever could help his four-year-old son speak again would receive half of his criminal empire—and become his wife.

The grand dining room was transformed into a war room. Thirty of the most dangerous men in New England sat around the mahogany table. The air was thick with cigar smoke and tension.

I stood in the hallway, wearing a sleek black dress Ms. Sterling had practically forced me into. The diamond on my finger felt like an anvil.

Julian stood beside me. He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear. “Keep your head up. Show no fear. You are the Queen of Boston now.”

He took my arm, and the double doors swung open.

The room fell dead silent as we walked to the head of the table. Julian pulled out a chair for me to his right—the seat of the underboss.

“Gentlemen,” Julian’s voice boomed, authoritative and lethal. “My son has found his voice. I am fulfilling my vow. Meet Maya Vance. My future wife, and the new co-head of the Thorne syndicate.”

A low murmur of discontent rippled through the room.

A grizzled man named Carmine, the head of the southern docks, slammed his hand on the table. “With all due respect, Julian, this is madness. A vow is a vow, but giving half the empire to a civilian? A speech therapist? The Italians in New York will laugh at us. They’ll see us as weak.”

Julian’s hand dropped to the pistol holstered at his waist. The room held its breath.

Before Julian could draw, I stood up. I placed my hand gently over his, stopping him. The men stared at me in shock.

“I may be a civilian, Carmine,” I said, my voice steady, projecting across the room. “But I just achieved what five million dollars and nineteen specialists couldn't do. I don't break under pressure. And I don't scare easily.”

Carmine sneered. “You think you know how this world works, sweetheart? You think you can handle the blood?”

“I survived a husband who left me to die, a daughter who died in my arms, and a debt to Silas Vance,” I shot back, locking eyes with him. “I know what it means to survive. And I know what it means to protect what is mine. If you challenge Julian’s decision, you challenge me. And I suggest you don't.”

The room went completely still. Julian looked at me, a slow, terrifying smile spreading across his face.