An unwilling pawn in a game of survival, she must choose between the life she wants and the man she can’t resist.
Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Scandalized by Kelly Kilburn ahead of its release on January 20th 2026.
Taryn
I’m a New York mob princess, and every step of my life has been planned for me.
Where to go to school. Who to trust. Even who to marry.
St. Agnes, a college for America’s richest and most corrupt, is supposed to be giving me the world-class education I need to walk away. But when my father promises me to the heir of Chicago’s Irish mob, our marriage a key to a crucial alliance, my dream of a new life slips further out of reach.
When my defiance spirals into a scandal, suddenly I’m a problem the mob wants to erase.
I will be known as someone other than someone’s daughter. Or someone’s wife.
Even if I have to sacrifice everything to do it.
Liam
Everyone thinks I’m a playboy.
It’s true that I navigate life with an easy smile and a quick laugh. But I always get what I want.
And I want Taryn.
The first time she opened her sassy mouth, I was hooked. Now that her world is falling apart, there’s nothing I won’t do to save her.
Even if she doesn’t want saving from a man like me.
Even the most carefully constructed plans are nothing more than illusions of control. In the blink of an eye, everything you’ve worked for can be snatched away, leaving a hollow hole where certainty once lived. And when it happens? It’s disturbing. Confusing. Fucking infuriating.
“I don’t understand.” I mean, I hear the words, but they make no sense. Yet, my father is looking at me expectantly, as though he didn’t just stomp on my dreams with his polished oxfords. He and my mother sit across the table at this fancy restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, shifting uncomfortably in their chairs, drinks untouched in front of them.
“I know this is a shock,” he offers in what I’m sure is meant to be a soothing tone. “However, this is not a request that we can decline, Tare.”
“If we can’t decline, then it’s not a request,” I snip. “It’s a demand.”
My father’s lips purse and his shoulders straighten, bracing for the argument. “Semantics don’t change anything. Your marriage is needed.”
“I—But—We have never discussed anything like this,” I argue. The classy, quiet location makes sense now. My parents don’t want a scene. Hell, I put on a nice dress for this nonsense. I wanted to impress them with how professional I could look now that my college graduation is so close.
I planned to share news of my own, and I had put it off until the very last days of winter break. I practiced my speech. Over and over. Now, it’s blown up in my face before I can even utter a single rehearsed word. My universe has tilted on its axis and everything I’ve worked for is being erased as though my plans never existed at all.
“Honey, I know this isn’t something we’ve talked about, but—” My father shakes his head, trying to think of the right words. It’s an impossible task since he’ll never be able to explain the knife he’s thrust in my back. As usual, my mother takes over when his attempt at placating me becomes unbearable for her.
“Taryn.” Her tone is terse. “What your father isn’t telling you is that the new boss saved his life. Our lives.”
“Kate—” he tries to interrupt, but she’s on a roll.
“He can’t tell you the details, but we owe Rowan everything. Absolutely everything.” Her eyes sharpen on me and she continues, “And if Rowan says that you marrying the Chicago heir is necessary, then it is necessary. You are correct. This is a demand from your father and me, Taryn. You will marry Liam McGuiness just as Rowan has requested, so that our clan can have an alliance with Chicago.” Leave it to my mother to twist that knife.
This is crazy. Absolutely bonkers. I can’t process any of this. “But—I don’t—” I honestly don’t have the words. Okay, I so do, but “what the fuck?” might give both of my parents simultaneous aneurisms.
I am well aware that arranged marriages still occur within our “lifestyle” as my mother calls it. She would never be so crass as to call my father a mobster directly. Yet, never once have my parents indicated this was the path for me. In fact, my father always implied that I’d marry a nice New York Irish boy of my choosing “when the time was right.” I can say with absolute certainty that Liam is not from New York, nor is he a boy who I would ever choose. And, the time is definitely not right. Not for me. Not for my plans.
I clench my jaw. I had been working up the nerve to tell my parents that I’ve been accepted to Stanford Law. I’ve spent the past several years saving every penny so that I could afford graduate school on my own. Babysitting and tutoring jobs in high school. Writing papers for other students at St. Agnes University. Since the college caters to the corrupt elite, it was easy to set up a shop to cheat the system. Hell, the students there expect back channels to get pretty much anything done. With some smart investing, I have a nice little nest egg that is all mine. I’ve been capitalizing on my brain and my hustle with one goal in mind: find a life outside of New York. I had a plan to get away from the mob that wants to dictate my future.
Sure, I had predicted pushback at leaving my family and our hometown. But, I had not predicted this. My father has never been high enough up on the totem pole for me to worry about marrying for power. As a result, I never thought I’d be at the center of an alliance.
Of course, I knew I’d still be expected to marry within our traditions. Some day. All the more reason to move across the country to buy some time. The thought that I’d graduate from St. A’s and then somehow fall in love with a nice, local Irish boy? Get busy popping out future mobsters? Give me a break. I want to puke whenever I think of a life organizing church events and patching up my husband when he “gets hurt at work.” The brood of kids I’d need to take care of. The women’s lunches I’d attend. No thank you. I’ve had a front row seat to my mother’s life. She can keep it, because I want no part of being that subservient person.
There has been so much turmoil within New York’s Irish clan lately—with Rowan suddenly becoming the new boss following his father’s death—that I honestly thought it would be a great time to make my escape unnoticed. I hoped that my father would be too busy with all the changes since he had so recently risen in the ranks. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I had to try. I thought if I could get myself to California, I could be free. Out of sight, out of mind and all that. I could fall in love for real. Elope. Sure, they’d be mad when it happened, but they’d get over it eventually. They had to. At least, that was the plan.
“I’m sorry, honey.” My father’s normally confident voice is quiet. “Your mother is right. I know none of us wanted this. We all thought you’d have more time to find an acceptable match. And, I know you wanted a choice. But, please believe me, there isn’t another way. We need Chicago’s support.” He lowers his voice. “Rowan is on fragile ground after his father’s death. Not all the men support him becoming the new boss. We’re facing new threats, and we need a show of support from Chicago. Among other things, their boss wants a wife for his son, Liam, so he can finally settle down.”
I scoff. Liam has the face of a god and the actions of a manwhore. He’s with a different girl every time I see him around campus. “Yeah, well, he probably has more STDs than an entire free clinic waiting room, so I get that. It’d be a shame for him to die of syphilis before he can take the reins in Chicago.”
“Taryn Kathleen,” my mother admonishes.
My father’s eyes widen. “They assured me he would be good to you. I won’t tolerate anything else.” When I scowl, he continues, “I know it’s a lot to take in. But, I think this can work out. It may help you settle down a little as well.”
I’m on my feet in a heartbeat. My chair tips, and miraculously, a server is in the right place to catch it before it can hit the ground. “Help me settle down?!” I’m drawing attention to our table.
“Sit. Down,” my mother hisses through clenched teeth. One thing she hates is any sense of impropriety. God forbid anyone thinks she’s not the perfect little wife and mother. Well, she probably should have chosen a different venue for this conversation then, because I’m just getting started.
“I am twenty-two years old. I don’t need to settle down.” The sheer audacity. “This is ridiculous. I’m not doing this.” My voice is high-pitched, certainly louder than what’s socially acceptable. I’ve actually crossed my arms and have to restrain myself from stomping my foot.
“Your mother told you to sit down,” my father clips out in an equally raised voice, his cheeks turning ruddy. I’ve heard him speak in that tone so few times that I can count them on one hand, and I was never the target of any of those instances. I obey without thinking, stunned. I’ve always been his little girl. He saves the rare intimidation tactics for my brothers.
“I love you, Taryn,” he says with forced calm. “And I’ve allowed you to enjoy more freedom than perhaps was wise as a result. Not once did it occur to me you would turn your back on your family.” His eyes are hard now, and I’d say he was intentionally gaslighting me if it wasn’t for the look of utter disappointment on his face.
“You are asking me to give up my life!” I throw my hands in the air. I can’t help it. It doesn’t matter that he was unaware of my plans. Arguing against any injustice is like breathing for me. It just happens.
“Yes, I am,” he says. “But you will have a life to live. You’ll ensure your brothers and sisters are safe as well. If we don’t form this alliance, Taryn, we’ll be eaten from within.”
Mentioning my siblings is a low blow. As much as they all get on my nerves, I love my brothers and sisters. That reminds me, “What did Raff and Nolan say about this? I mean, isn’t there a nice Chicago girl one of them can marry?”
Here I am, throwing my older brothers under the bus while simultaneously hoping they won’t stand for any of this. They drive me crazy with their protectiveness, but I’m hoping it comes in handy. There has to be another way. Raff still acts like I’m twelve, so I can’t picture him just handing me over to the campus fuckboy. He would literally show up at my high school dates. Restaurants. Movies. It didn’t matter. Suddenly, Raff just happened to be at the same venue.
I don’t understand why it has to be me. There are lots of us Irish. We’re good Catholics. We breed like bunnies. Raff can help me find someone else to serve as a sacrificial bride.
My father answers me slowly, as if I’m a child. “McGuiness only has sons. Liam’s the oldest, and a wife for him was one condition for an alliance. You are the one he requested, Taryn, so no, your brothers can’t help.” I’m about to protest the use of the word requested again when my father continues, “Normally, McGuiness would want someone from our clan’s head family, but that’s not possible. Rowan has two sisters. One is already promised, as you’re well aware, and the other is still a child. After Rowan’s family, we are now next in line from the New York clan.” Ah yes. My father’s new position as Rowan’s right hand. Terrific. I’m glad this is all working out. For him.
I notice he ignores the question about how my older brothers feel about this. It won’t be good. I decide instantly that will be the route I take. Raff won’t let this happen.
My mother must notice the look on my face. She’s always been too perceptive. I could sneak nothing past Katie Walsh. “Rafferty will not interfere, Taryn.” Again, I must make a face because she continues, “He understands what is at stake.”
“I’ll talk to Rowan directly,” I pronounce. His sister is a close friend of mine. I know she’ll be on my side with this one. Her brother only inherited their father’s leadership position recently. He obviously isn’t thinking this through.
“No,” my mother interrupts before my father can respond. “You will not embarrass your father that way.”
“This is my life!” I know I keep repeating that mantra. But, seriously, how are they missing this point? Unfortunately, my loud whining has drawn the attention of many of the other patrons, and I can see my mother’s color rising.
My father clears his throat. “We will attend a reception at the O’Tooles’ family home on Saturday evening. You will be there. The McGuinesses and a few other families will be in attendance. You will accept Liam’s proposal.” He looks me right in the eye as he voices these vile words as facts, and for the first time, I see the mobster come to life. This is an order.
I shrink back into my seat. This can’t be happening to me. I already have a boyfriend. Sort of. I definitely have a life plan that does not involve marrying a gangster and moving to Chicago. There has to be a way out.
