Fear rattled my bones. I had never felt so scared before. Not when my parents died, not when my husband pointed the gun to my head, not when Ella and I ran away in the dead of the night with nothing but the clothes on our back, fake passports, and ten thousand dollars in cash.
These men, my grandmother planned to hand us over to, would not be kind to Ella and I. They waited four long years for us, stocking their anger and thirst for vengeance. A shiver ran down my spine with fear of their plans. I had no doubt their plans for us were to inflict pain. Hit, beat, brand, rape… death would be more merciful than this.
“Get a move on, puttanas,” one of the guards snapped as he shoved both Ella and I forward.
My grandmother’s laugh chilled me to the bone.
“Don’t mind him, girls,” she chatted, in her raspy voice. Result of years of smoking. “Marco King is eager to have you, Grace. And Ella should fetch a nice price too.”
“Luciano Vitale will destroy you.” Ella hissed. “You nor Marco King were able to find us. Grace’s husband did. He will find her and kill-.”
Her threats were cut off by a slap on her face and a mocking laughter. I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her closer to me.
“That wasn’t necessary,” I scolded my grandmother. “I’d think you would want us to look our best for your human auction.”
“Move faster,” one of the guards barked.
I didn’t bother looking behind me to see who it was. It didn’t really matter. We started walking, or risked one of us getting another slap. I snaked my free hand under the slit of my dress to reach for the gun I tucked under there. Ella hid my movement with her body. Every inch and each second ticked loud in my ears, bringing us closer to the doom.
Suddenly, without a warning, I halted my step, Ella following my lead. I whipped around and met my grandmother’s gaze head on. The cruel, dark eyes on me without an ounce of regret for what she was about to do.
Can I end a life? My hand with the small gun hid behind me, pressed against the tall bush.
Above me, stars flickered over the horizon of the night sky. The moon shone over the dark sky, giving me a clear view of what I had to do.
She took two steps towards me. Her small frame shouldn’t have been threatening, but years of her dishing punishments, made my body instinctively stagger backwards.
“Stop delaying the inevitable, Grace. You’ll be put up for auction to the highest mobster bidder and Marco King will outbid them all. He has been waiting for you for a long time.”
Three.
Two.
One.
From the back, I brought my arm forward and raised it with a firm grip on the gun. Just like I was taught in our class.
Don’t hesitate.
Keep a firm handle.
Shoot.
Without delay or another thought, I pulled the trigger.
Click.
My grandmother’s piercing scream colored the night and she swayed, tumbling down onto her side; her face planted into the dirt. Very metaphorical! Before I could ponder on the morality of my actions, I pulled the trigger again, this time hitting one of the guards. And again.
I’ll think later about the fact I hurt someone. Right now, I was thirsty for revenge and driven by the need to survive.
I felt an arm wrap around me from behind. My eyes widened, panic surged through me, and I started kicking. I saw Ella doing the same from the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t twist my body enough to elbow kick him before I felt a prick in my neck.
My whole world turned black.
The silence and pitch blackness were the only thing that registered. My eyelids were stone heavy. I kept them shut, focusing on my breathing and listening for any other noise I could possibly zero in on. I felt weak, like I had been run over by a car.
The fog in my brain started clearing, and I heard a small whimper, like a one from a wounded animal. Is someone crying?
And then sounds of the waves crashing against the shore. Why did it smell different than our little villa? I couldn’t hear any Italian words carrying on the breeze like I usually could. The smell of the sea was vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place it. It wasn’t Italy.
I kept my eyes shut too long, my brain and thoughts distorted. What was the last thing I remembered? The haze in my head made it hard to recall the events before I went to sleep.
Finally mustering enough strength, I forced myself to peel my eyelids open. The second I did, a severe headache shot through my temples. Through a blanketed, cloudy haze, my vision slowly cleared.
Darkness clouded my sight and waves of nausea hit me. I closed my eyes, focused on my breathing and forced down the bile in my throat back.
Concentrate on your surroundings, the facts. Peeling my eyes open again, a glimmer of the moonlight peeking through the small window highlighted the outline of the room. I focused on the moonshine, waiting for my brain to clear the fog sloshing through my thinking process.
Every corner of the room was enveloped in darkness, the moonlight unable to reach them. The room was warm, too warm, and a metallic smell invaded my nostrils. A small part of me recognized it but my brain was too slow to register it.
Blood.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I forced myself to remember how I got here. Anything from before…
Ella and I left the house, Luciano arguing with me about my outfit. Cassio was there too. They both wore tuxedos. The gala!
We went to my grandmother’s fundraiser. I played the piano and my uncle showed up. He threatened to have Roberto blow up Luciano’s mansion with his father in it unless I went with him and Grandma quietly. He didn’t mention Matteo, but my grandmother hinted to my little family. They knew about Matteo. I had no choice but to go with him or risk Matteo and his grandfather being killed.
Memories flooded back in a rush, and the choking fear was the only emotion lingering in my veins. Ella and I were hustled through the maze. I pulled the trigger on my grandmother. I killed her.
I think. I hope so.
Man’s hands around my throat, against my mouth, sharp prick into my neck. The pain. Ella’s screams. We were trapped – like a moth against the blinding light. Except this light would kill us.
Ella and I have been living on borrowed time.
Hushed murmurs penetrated my brain. I tried to move, but my body felt too heavy. Like I had been drugged. My heart thundered painfully, my skin felt clammy and cold, my head pounded.
Soft murmur and a whimper. A painful grunt escaped my lips, and I twisted my neck in the direction of the soft voices.
“Grace.” A soft whisper. Gabriella.
I blinked back my tears and forced myself to keep my racing heart together. She is alive.
Frantically, I searched out for the familiar face. I could hear her, but couldn’t see her. I scanned the darkness, and that’s when I spotted her. Ella’s small body slumped in the corner, her arms around her knees, her face pale and cheek bruised with long messy blonde hair surrounding it.
My chest squeezed. Ella was here; she was still breathing. Although right now, I wished both of us were dead. What awaited us was worse than death. I squeezed my eyes shut again, my body tired. Maybe this is a nightmare.
“Grace, please wake up,” a whimpered voice. I forced my eyelids open and found Ella’s honey gaze on me. We had to be strong. “Oh my gosh,” she cried softly. “I was so scared. You’ve been out for so long.”
I opened my mouth to comfort her but my throat was so dry, no words came out.
“Here, take a drink.” She crawled over to me, twisted and reached out to a single table in this prison of ours. Bringing a glass of water to my lips, she whispered, “Open your mouth.”
I did as she requested and sipped down some water. “Where are we?” I rasped the question.
“Benito King’s men got us. Do you remember?”
I closed my eyes again. Yes, I remembered but wished I didn’t. We were so stupid, made ourselves wide open for my family’s taking. My temples pounded so hard, making this headache unbearable. At least my grandmother was dead. Too bad we didn’t kill my uncle too, but he stayed behind when we pushed through the maze.
“I heard them say that your uncle is dead,” she whispered as if she heard my thoughts. “Luciano killed him.”
Relief. My uncle was dead and my husband finally got his revenge. And hopefully, my aim was deadly when I shot my grandmother. If only Ella and I didn’t have to pay with our own lives.
“More water, please,” I asked.
I took another gulp. And then another. Finally I sat up, ignoring my pounding headache. Slowly, the events that led us here cleared through my brain. Ella and I in the maze with my grandmother, me shooting her, the guard attacking. There were too many of them.
“Where are we?” I asked again.
“I don’t know.” Ella had an expression of fear. “One of the men put a needle into your neck. You lost consciousness. But we didn’t spend a lot of time in the car. I think we are still close to New York.”
I glanced around me. I had to find a way out of here. We would not spend the rest of our lives under any mobster’s thumb or as his income. We were in a closed room, a metal door locking us in.
One single window.
It was the only weakness in this room. My gaze slowly shifted back to Ella and as we stared at each other, I could only see them in my mind. My husband. My son.
I had to see them again. Life couldn’t be so cruel to end us this way.
“Could we escape through the window?”
Ella’s honey colored eyes lowered, and I followed her gaze. They stripped me down to my underwear and bra. My head snapped to Ella, and I just now noticed she was stripped down to her undergarments too.
“Besides, we are really high up,” she muttered.
All the years and Benito King’s men had finally gotten their dirty paws on us. Benito, just like my uncle, represented all that was evil. To me, he was the face of evil. He’d sell his soul to the devil, as long as he got what he wanted. These men didn’t care who they hurt in the process. How many women had these men hurt? How many daughters had they killed?
The screams and cries echoed through the hollow hallway and both of us instantly tensed. My gaze shot to the locked door, watching it and praying it remained shut.
A shiver ran through me, whether from the cold or the terror I could hear in those high pitched screams, I didn’t know. I pulled Ella up next to me and we both cuddled up, sharing body heat.
“How long was I out for?” I whispered my question.
“A whole day.”
“Have screams-” I couldn’t finish my question.
“Yes, from the moment we arrived.” Ella looked weak and tired. “I didn’t want both of us to sleep, in case-” she swallowed. “In case someone came.”
I nodded. It was what we did those first few months when we roamed Europe all alone. We never slept at the same time, so we wouldn’t make ourselves vulnerable.
“Try to get some sleep now,” I whispered, pulling her arm around my waist and welcoming the extra heat. “You need the rest.”
She laid her head onto my lap and I sat like a statue, staring out the small window, a glimpse of the freedom so close but so far away. I wasn’t beyond crawling through it and running down the street in my underwear. If I had to choose between that or being sold, I’d pick the former.
Ella’s eyes shut and her breathing evened within five minutes. I waited, listening to her breathing while I stared at the dirty concrete walls, then the dirty ground. It was all dirty, like this whole transaction that my family participated in.
My parents were dead because they tried to protect me. They refused to hand over their daughter as some kind of fucked up sacrifice to the mobster gods. I had never been bloodthirsty, but now, I wanted to kill them all.
I killed a human being. How did someone move on from that? It stained your soul, whether you wanted it or not. It was the main reason why I only stuck to laundering money during our time in Europe. That was bad enough, but now I added killing to my repertoire.
It felt like the walls were closing in on me, making it hard to breathe. I didn’t want to die; I knew that for certain. Ella and I were thrown into this whole mess, not of our own choosing. We shouldn’t have to pay the ultimate sacrifice.
We have to survive somehow!
We ran away once, by sheer luck we escaped unscathed. It would be a miracle to get lucky again. My throat choked with the knowledge I wouldn’t see my son grow up. Or Luciano age.
I turned my gaze out the small window, the only illusion of freedom, and stared out at the full moon. The chill in the air made the room smell moldy, but I ignored it. Instead, I focused on the bright moon and the sounds of the night echoing throughout.
I recalled the similar reflection of the moon mere weeks ago while Ella and I sat on the balcony of our little villa. The reflection against the surface of the waves, the constant sound of the waves crashing into the world. It was so peaceful. We ignored all the problems so we could enjoy that little piece of heaven.
“Please keep him safe, Luciano,” I whispered to the moon.
That was the main thing that mattered to me now. My son would live to grow up into a good man. My uncle and grandmother were dead. There were no threats from my family anymore.
My eyes lowered to Ella and her curled up form. I wished she’d escaped, maybe stayed behind in Italy. It was her best chance at survival. We both knew the moment we stepped foot in the U.S. it was only a matter of time before the Romano family or the Kings got their hands on us.
As Ella slept, the only company left were my memories. I refused to think about the bad before we face the horrors. I would hang on to the good memories, both with Luciano and our son.
That moment Luciano and I crossed paths, my entire world shifted. Yes, the bastard pulled the gun on me, but I couldn’t even solely blame him. It was the result of grief after his own mother’s and sister’s untimely death. Maybe I should have shouted at him that I was pregnant, told him my family was out to get me and hurt me as much as him… but I didn’t. So maybe we both fell short. We created the most beautiful life, our Matteo, and all the pain was worth it. I just hoped Luciano got the letter I left with the lawyer by now.
I wish the window was bigger. I’d rather jump out of it with the slim chance of freedom than remain locked here and live.
This window to freedom was cruel. It was like tempting a thirsty man with a glass of water but keeping it out of his reach. My heart beat against my ribcage, each pump with Luciano in my blood and Matteo in each shuddering breath I took.
A night breeze swished through, the fresh air welcomed. It made Ella’s body shiver, but my skin felt hot, tight, too stretched. The wait was agonizing, not knowing what comes next was excruciating.
I gently shifted Ella’s body and covered her with the flimsy, dirty blanket. It would seem it was all we were good for. In two quick strides, I was at the window and the vast horizon stretched. And that’s when I saw it. The familiar scene. Grandfather Astor’s tower.
That’s where we were! I hadn’t been back here since my parents were killed, but I’d recognize it anywhere. How did we end up here of all places? The cries of women traveled up the house, and I hated the fact that my grandfather’s home had been turned into something so vile. But it could play in our favor. I knew this house inside out and every single inch of the ten acre beach property.
The secret passage. It was our ticket out. If we can get out of this room, I could get Ella and me to the secret passage and we’d run.
My heart thundered in hope and excitement. I debated whether I should wake up Ella and tell her about it but then decided against it. Just in case the walls had ears.
As if on cue, the door of our prison cracked open.
“Welcome, my lovely ladies.” A man with pitch black hair and dark, soulless eyes entered the room along with a woman and three guards. I glared at all of them as I quickly strode to Ella and sheltered her with my body.
“Fuck you,” I spat at him. “This is the shittiest welcome I have ever seen.” He chuckled like I just gave him a compliment. “And who in the hell are you?”
I had a suspicion but needed to be sure.
“I’m Benito King, my darling,” he beamed with pride. “And you, my little bird, have been causing some serious trouble.”
“I’d say I’m sorry,” I muttered. “But my parents taught me not to lie.”
He grinned with malice. “Oh yes, my son Marco will have so much fun breaking you. There is fire in you that even makes my cock hard.”
Terror shot through my veins, but I made sure it didn’t show. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“I’m surprised at your age you can even get your cock hard,” I taunted. It was stupid, but it was my only weapon at this moment.
His cheeks colored red in ugly blotches. Good, I pissed him off.
The next instant, however, my cheek exploded in pain, as the guard’s hand struck across my face, hard. I staggered backwards, the back of my knees hitting the bed, and I fell next to Ella. She instantly jolted up and wrapped her hands around me. My cheek burned from the impact, and I felt like my entire face was in flames. My eyes stung, but I refused to let any tears fall, not for this motherfucker, not for his despicable son.
“I see we’ll have to teach you some manners,” Benito murmured, his eyes gawking over my almost naked body. I have never been so glad to have opted for full briefs underwear, instead of G-strings. My strapless bra was slightly lacking but it was better than nothing. “A word of advice, my little bird.” It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to fuck off; I wanted no advice from him. Instead, I held the words back. There was no sense in taunting him. We wouldn’t be able to run if they physically beat us, making our bodies too weak to move. And I had no doubt these men were not beyond that. “You are slightly damaged goods now. Both you and your friend here.” I sensed Ella’s distress without sparing her a glance. “Behave, and maybe you’ll get at least some pleasure from this whole ordeal.”
My body shivered in disgust. Ella stood behind me, her whole posture rigid. She was scared, and so was I, but both of us kept our composure. We had years of practice.
“What do you want?” I asked him angrily.
“Tonight, we are hosting a party.” He chuckled although I failed to see the humor. “Auction, really but it is a marvelous party for my men.” I wanted to spit into his evil face. “You two will be ushered to bathe,” he wrinkled his nose as if disgusted at our state of appearance, “to prepare you for the auction that starts in three hours. Make yourself presentable. Clothes will be brought in for you and your friend. ”
“What’s the point of making us presentable?” I questioned. “If you are only going to humiliate us.”
“Because if Marco is unwilling to marry you, you will become his whore to do as he pleases.” He smirked, a menacing smile on his face. “It is in your best interest to look your best so that he will marry you.”
“W-what? But I’m already married.”
“We have a way to fix that.”
I swallowed hard. What did that mean? I was scared to ask but I did it anyway.
“How?” My voice was breathless, every inch of my insides shaking with fear for Luciano.
“Divorce, my little bird. Well, more like annulment,” he drawled. “After all, I heard you and your husband are on your way to annul your little fling anyhow. Or we’ll just kill him.”
Annulment it is, I thought with my heart wrenching. I needed my husband alive to care and protect Matteo.
Without another word he turned around and left us with the woman and guards. The heavy silence enveloped the room, the meaning of his words a conviction that was written in my stars the moment I was born.
“Oh my God,” Ella whimpered under her breath, but the room was so eerily quiet the guards and woman could clearly hear it.
“It will be okay,” I told her. I was surprised my voice sounded stronger than I actually felt. The chances of escaping were slim, but I refused to lose hope. We wouldn’t stop fighting. Benito King had something coming to him if he thought we would just sit down and take whatever this fucked up world wanted to dish our way.
The woman that has been tasked with getting us prepared for the event watched us with pity. But there would be no help coming from her. From each breath she took, every movement and look, I could see she was a broken woman. She had probably endured a lifetime of abuse and wouldn’t risk getting more. Not on the account of Ella and I, not that I could blame her.
“Take them into the bathroom. They will need to bathe,” she ordered the men, and for the next few seconds, Ella and I stood watching guards as they came in and surrounded us, like we were hardcore criminals and a real threat. I watched them wearily, hoping they wouldn’t be the ones standing guard while we bathed.
“Just stay close to me,” I murmured under my breath, so only she could hear me. “You and I will probably be the last two to be put up for sale.” It was only speculation but my gut feeling was telling me that since we escaped and managed to slip through their fingers, they’d keep us for last. Either damaged goods or highlights of the show.
They walked us down the hallway and into the large bathroom where two large porcelain tubs, full of steaming water, waited for us. Both Ella and I stood frozen as we watched men walk in and out of the bathroom till there were only two left.
“Okay, you two ladies get in the bath” the woman instructed. I glanced behind me, glad to see her with us. She was less of a threat than these men. “And please don’t try anything. Otherwise, Julio here,” she pointed to the guard, “will make things really uncomfortable for you. And there are three other guards outside the door.”
There was no doubt that it wasn’t an empty threat.
“Can we keep our undergarments on while bathing?” I hated that we even had to ask, my pride rebelling at the idea of anyone having any kind of control over what I should or shouldn’t do.
The woman nodded but no sooner I felt the relief, the guardian interjected. “No! Boss wants them cleaned in detail, their pussy and all.”
“We are not cars,” I protested angrily. What kind of bullshit was this?
“Either you take it off and get in or I put you in myself,” he threatened and I was sure he meant it.
“Well, can you turn around? Or get the fuck out so we can do it in the privacy!” I retorted with a false bravado. “This isn’t a strip club.”
He growled and took a threatening step forward. Ella and I took one backwards.
“Enough!” The older woman intervened. “Julio, you turn around and send your other boy to keep watch outside the door. Benito won’t be happy if they are late.”
A shadow of fear crossed his face and that was more telling than anything else. They were all scared of the man. Following her demand, I waited for his fellow guard to leave and Julian to turn around.
Then sharing a look with Ella, we both stripped our undergarments, swung our legs tentatively over the tub edge and then lowered ourselves into the tub. I could also imagine two of us were having a spa day, if there only weren’t guards around us.
The door creaked open again and my head snapped in its direction. A young woman with midnight hair entered. She didn’t meet our gazes, her own eyes trained onto the floor. The bruise coloring her left cheek didn’t escape me.
“Wash their hair,” the elder woman instructed. “Start with the blonde one.”
“We can do it on our own,” I murmured but both women ignored me.
The young woman went straight to helping Ella duck and then lathering her hair with a scented shampoo. The conditioner followed. Her motions were efficient but gentle. It told me she did this many times. I wondered who she was. Whose debt was she paying? It hurt my heart to imagine what kind of horror she must have endured in this world to be stuck here.
After she was done with Ella, she efficiently moved to me and repeated the process. My eyes stung and burned. I wanted to stretch this moment forever but things were being done too efficiently. While the young woman washed my hair, I watched Ella being pulled out of the tub, patted dried and then dressed up. Like she was some kind of doll, to be put up for sale.
We are being put up for sale, I thought wryly.
Ella’s honey colored eyes were locked to mine, as if she drew strength from me. Or maybe I was drawing strength from her. I wasn’t quite sure.
The older woman handed her dry undergarments, while Ella gripped the towel tighter, keeping her body covered up. I caught the guard leering at her, enjoying the peep show and fury rose inside me. Wasn’t it enough we had to endure mobsters, now we had to put up with idiots like that?
“Can’t he turn around and offer us some privacy?” I asked in an exasperated tone. The old woman must hold some status because she nodded his way, and without a word, he turned back around and faced the door.
Ella quickly stripped down her wet towel and pulled on new undergarments. I stood up from the tub and in quick movements dried out with the help of the young woman and did the same. The moment dried undergarments were on, I quickly wrapped another dry towel around me waiting for Ella to be done.
And good thing, because no sooner had I secured it around me, the guard turned around. Asshole was hoping for a free show.
A maroon ball gown cascaded down Ella’s body, accenting all her curves. She looked beautiful, her blonde hair and golden tone skin from our time in Italy, accented by the red colors.
“Red is reserved for courtesans.” The guard’s gleeful voice had my heart instantly sinking. I wasn’t sure if looking beautiful was the best thing right now. “Unless someone buys you for their own pleasure.”
“But she is not married,” I objected without even thinking. Not sure why I bothered. It wasn’t as if this damn event even made sense.
“She is not a virgin.” Jesus, neither was I. This was the twenty-first century. Someone should really educate these assholes on feminism. “Damaged goods,” he added.
He gave me a look that told me he considered both of us damaged goods. What. An. Asshole.
I’d love to punch him in the face. Not kill him, but freaking punch him and make him bleed. Maybe also kick his balls.
Turning my back to him, I looked at Ella. She was pale and shivering from fear, her eyes wide on the guard, all the while both women worked on her hair and makeup.
“Don’t listen to him,” I whispered, tugging her towards me. “It’s going to be okay.” I took her face between my hands and forced her to look at me. I portrayed calmness but it was thin ice, just a front that could easily crumble at any moment. One blast of heat and it’d be gone. But she needed it. I needed the illusion of it.
No amount of years could have ever prepared us for this. We knew the deal for years, since our first year of high school to be exact. In my case, this price was on my head before I was even born. But they were mistaken if they thought I’d take it lying down. I would fight them every single step of the way.
“Miss Romano, it is your turn.” The dressmaker lifted another gown and my heart stopped.
“I want a red gown. I’m damaged goods too,” I breathed out.
I would rather wear red than this. The silver elaborate gown was my mother’s. She wore it at her engagement party to my dad. The lavishly embroidered design from waist down made the gown unique. It was one of a kind. I still remembered the painting that hung in our family room. My mother and father looked like a fairytale couple at their engagement. I always begged her to let me wear it, and she promised that one day I would. For my own engagement party.
“I was instructed to have you wear this.”
“No,” I whispered. “Please, no.”
“Either you put it on, or I put it on you,” the guard chimed in, his tone threatening and cruel. There was no doubt he’d deliver the threat and enjoy it too.
I itched to get my hands on a weapon and just kill him. I was never a violent person, but I was quickly becoming one. I wanted to draw blood, make them pay for touching my mother’s stuff, for putting their filthy, blood infested hands on them. And on us.
“Please turn back around so I can get dressed in privacy.”
He glared at me, his black eyes full of detest and hate. “You think you are better than the rest of us. But soon you will find out.”
At least he did turn his back to me.
With the lead in the pit of my stomach and my heart squeezing in my chest, I dropped the towel onto the floor and stepped into the beautiful silver gown. I felt my bottom lip quiver, and I bit into it. Instead, I focused on Ella.
We can do this. We’ll survive this.
As if she knew what I was thinking, she nodded. Both ladies pulled up the elaborate gown up my body and one of them started buttoning the platinum buttons up my back. Never in a million years did I think I’d wear my mother’s dress to be sold off. Like some whore. To be property of a mobster.
“Bellissima.” The word uttered by the old woman was spoken softly but it hit wrong. I didn’t want to look beautiful. Not for these cruel men. Not for this cruel underworld.
She spoke something to the guard but words didn’t register. I just focused on Ella, my mind working through different scenarios on our escape plan. We just needed a short window, and we could take the secret path. Run and never look back.
Two guards came back with a large, heavy full size mirror. They placed it in front of me and suddenly the reflection stared back at me. My mother’s reflection. The bodice of the silver gown hugged my bust, the staples elaborate dress accenting my breasts and pale, slim neckline. The dress shimmered on me, even the poor lighting in this room couldn’t take away its sparkle. With her expert hands, the old woman pulled my hair into a loose bun with curly strands framing my face. No make up for me.
“Please bring the tiara from Mr. Romano. It has been in our safe for the past four years.” They really thought of everything. What a cruel, twisted mind my family has!
A short minute and my mother’s platinum tiara sparkling with diamonds rested on my head, like a heavy crown. I’d give it to these people. They managed to transform me into an innocent, fragile looking temptress.
For the Romano belle to fetch the highest price, I thought bitterly.
But I was neither innocent nor fragile. Not anymore!
