Some families are built on love. The Gionnas are built on blood.

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After a devastating fire steals everything she loves, Lexi Albright flees Missouri with nothing but a suitcase and a desperate need to disappear. Brooklyn is supposed to be a fresh start—a place where no one knows her name or the ghosts she carries.

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Then she walks through the doors of the Italian Villa Restaurant.

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Owned by the powerful and enigmatic Gionna family, the restaurant offers her more than a job. It offers belonging. But behind the warm smiles and family dinners lies a dangerous empire built on loyalty, secrets, and violence.

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Manny Gionna makes her laugh when she thought she never would again.

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Ira Gionna warns her to stay away.

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And Ezra Gionna—the quiet, watchful brother with haunted eyes—sees straight through the walls she's built around herself.

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Ezra has spent his life trapped by obligations he never chose. Lexi is the first thing that's ever made him want more. But in the Gionna world, love is weakness, trust is deadly, and outsiders who get too close don't simply walk away.

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As buried secrets surface and old enemies close in, Lexi must decide if she's willing to risk her heart for a man born into darkness… and Ezra must choose between the family he swore to protect and the woman who could finally set him free.

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Because in Brooklyn, blood isn't just thicker than water.

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It's an oath. And breaking it can get you killed.