The Bride of Marchetti

As a neurodivergent author, Maura-Ann Cairns delivers a gritty, emotional journey through the dark heart of the Marchetti empire.

They wanted collateral.

They chose his future wife.

Dakota Phillips never expected a business trip to Italy to end in a forced marriage to a man who despises her.

Lorenzo Marchetti is everything she should fear cold, powerful, and ruthless enough to inherit his father's criminal empire. To him, marriage is nothing more than leverage. Control. A solution to a problem.

But Dakota refuses to be obedient. And Lorenzo doesn't tolerate defiance.

Trapped inside Villa Marchetti, their marriage becomes a battlefield of power, resentment, and dangerous attraction. Every stolen glance is a challenge. Every touch a test of control. Because in Lorenzo's world, love is possession and monsters don't let go of what's theirs.

A dark mafia romance featuring forced proximity, power imbalance, enemies to lovers, and morally grey characters.