Chapter 3

I had deliberately missed every vital organ. I would not give her such an easy death.

I would make each of them pay for what they had done to Cecily, one debt at a time.

The sight sent the guests into an uproar.

Hearing the commotion, Selwyn came running.

First, he saw Helena clutching her head and screaming.

Then he saw his fiancée lying in a pool of blood. His expression darkened.

"Get a doctor! Now!"

After the physician took both women away, Selwyn charged at me and grabbed my wrist.

He had trained in fencing, and he was much stronger than me.

When he squeezed my wrist, blood seeped from the wound where I had cut away my tattoo.

Sharp pain shot through me, and my strength gave out.

My dagger fell from my hand and hit the floor.

Selwyn glared at me. "Cecily, what the hell is wrong with you now? Wasn't being tied up and left to starve by the sea for three days and nights enough to teach you a lesson? Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you climbed into my bed while I was drunk. Iliana is my fiancée."

I met his stare. "Did Cecily climb into your bed, or did you get drunk, let your lust take over, and rape her?"

He flinched. For a moment, he couldn't meet my eyes.

But he recovered quickly. "You were the slut who wanted my power. You seduced me."

He spoke with such certainty that the guests believed him and began to whisper.

"I never would have guessed she was so calculating."

"Shameless. Going after a man who was already promised to someone else."

Their accusations closed in around me, but then Marta stepped forward.

"Selwyn, stop lying and hurting Ms. Cecily. I... I have proof of what you did."

My eyes lit up.

Thank God. With evidence, Cecily would not be slandered even in death as a slut who had seduced another woman's man.

Marta continued to defend Cecily. "Your marriage to Ms. Cecily was promised by your mother. The truth is..."

A gunshot cut her off.

Selwyn had shot Marta in front of everyone to keep her quiet.

"Marta!"

I screamed as I watched my friend of more than 30 years collapse before me.

She held on long enough to whisper, "Donna, I know it's you... I recognized you."

With the last of her strength, Marta pressed her phone into my hand.

Then she closed her eyes and never opened them again.

What Marta had said, along with Selwyn's attempt to silence her, made the guests suspicious.

Desperate to distract them, Selwyn stepped forward.

"Today should be a celebration of my engagement to Iliana. These women came here to cause trouble because they want to ruin our engagement and destroy me. Since we're all gathered, there's something I've decided to reveal."

My heart sank.

Sure enough, Selwyn revealed Cecily's true identity.

He pointed at me. "As you can all see, this woman is Cecily Moretti, the only daughter of Grace Moretti, the Mafia Donna who once ruled the West Coast."