Chapter 3

When I woke up, I was lying in a private hospital room.

The door wasn't fully closed, and low voices drifted in from the hallway.

"Don Vieri, the signora took a bad hit this time. If she finds out about Ms. Mancini—"

It was Leone's private doctor, Ben Bruno.

He didn't get to finish before Leone's cold voice cut in. "Watch your mouth! Your job is to treat Anna. Stay out of everything else!

"Anna's been in the casino game for years. She's done every ruthless and dirty thing there is. Bliss isn't like her. She's clean, like a blank page. She wouldn't stand a chance against Anna."

He paused, his voice dropping even lower. "If Anna wakes up and starts acting up, bring Jason in and use him to threaten her. He's the only family she has. She won't look the other way."

My fingers clenched tight around the sheets. I bit my lip until it split, the taste of blood spreading across my tongue.

The night I helped Leone take Navarro's casinos, he'd looked me in the eye and said, "Anna, from now on, no one in Navarro will dare lay a finger on you."

The same vow he once made to me, he'd given to another woman.

He once protected me like I was priceless. But now, he saw me as a threat he needed to guard against.

When I heard footsteps approaching, I closed my eyes and pretended I had just woken up.

"You're awake? We found out who did it. It was that small-time punk who cheated in the casino last time. We broke his hand, remember?" Leone said.

Then, he tossed a document onto the bed in front of me.

"Sign this settlement, and the man who kidnapped you will hand over the East Pier."

The East Pier was the only clean piece of land left in the city. It sat by the sea, with no casinos and hardly any dirty business.

I remembered Leone telling Bliss, "I'll find somewhere quiet and build a resort for you..."

So, all the injuries on my body were just bargaining chips for him to build a gilded cage for his new lover.

I asked hoarsely, "Leone, when did you make this deal?"

Was it the moment he saw me being dragged away? Or long before that, when he decided to pave the way for Bliss with my blood?

Leone's brows pulled together. He clearly didn't like the question.

I tugged at the corner of my lips and let it go.

Whatever the answer was, it didn't matter anymore.

Maybe to soothe me, Leone stayed by my side for the next two days, handling family business from my room.

But his phone never left his hand. Even while we ate, he'd snap photos and send them to Bliss, wearing a soft smile I had never seen.

I watched his profile and suddenly thought of seven years ago.

The first time I met him wasn't in a casino. It had been in a dark alley.

He'd been caught cheating at cards. Several men with knives circled him, and he was one swing away from losing an arm.

I had just won a pile of cash, so I saved him on a whim. Later, I dragged him back to my apartment.

Not long after, my father, back home, owed money to loan sharks and was pushed into his grave by a drug dealer.

They'd grabbed me to pay off the debt. A cold needle had been pressed against my vein.

At the last second, Leone showed up with his men and rescued me.

Leone stayed by my bed day and night, taking care of me and never letting his guard down.

After that, I helped him build up a small casino. Then, I helped him take down casino after casino, wiping out one rival after another.

I knew my hands were already stained with blood that would never come clean. But even if the whole world thought I was dirty, Leone had no right to.