Chapter 3

"Mmph—" My terrified scream was muffled by a warm palm.

I struggled desperately to break free, but the moment the hand was removed, I found myself staring into a pair of deep brown eyes.

"Salvatore, what are you doing here?!"

I looked in disbelief at the man in the driver's seat.

It was Salvatore Falcone, the new Don of the Falcone family. Alessandro's greatest rival. The man he wanted dead more than anyone.

"Hold on. Alessandro's men are right behind us," Salvatore said, wrenching the steering wheel as the tires shrieked against the pavement.

Before I could even buckle my seatbelt, the rearview mirror filled with a line of black, armored Cadillacs barreling toward us.

Just moments ago, I had been desperate to escape him, and I should have been terrified of him finding me, but my eyes were still drawn to the lead car.

As our vehicles passed each other, I couldn't help but look at the man in the window.

"Alessandro..." I whispered, a sharp pain piercing my heart.

But then I realized how wrong this was. "Stop the car! Let me out!"

My senses returned, and I shouted at Salvatore, "I can't be in your car! He'll never believe me now!"

"Celeste, use your head!" Salvatore floored the gas pedal, the car rocketing forward.

"He treats you like a piece of property he can buy and sell! If someone hadn't tipped me off, you'd be in a hotel room with those animals by now!"

"Someone from his circle told you? Who?" The urge to jump from the car vanished, my shock complete. Someone had betrayed Alessandro.

"His most trusted person. You'd never guess who. Celeste, come with me, or else..."

Before Salvatore could finish, the car jolted violently.

"Dammit!"

I whipped my head around in terror. Alessandro's lead car, like an out-of-control beast, was roaring up behind us.

He didn't care that we were in a busy downtown area. He slammed right into our rear bumper.

"Hold on!" Salvatore yelled.

The next second, the black Cadillac fishtailed, its tires screeching as it swerved to cut off our Lincoln.

CRASH!

The impact threw me against the airbag. The world spun, and a deafening ring filled my ears.

The car door was ripped open.

An icy hand seized my wrist, dragging me out of the Lincoln and onto the rough asphalt.

I looked up into a pair of bloodshot, violent eyes.

Alessandro stood against the light, his suit still impeccably smooth. He held a black Beretta, its muzzle pointed at Salvatore, who was still coughing in the car.

"Alessandro, are you insane? She's carrying your child!" Salvatore wiped a smear of blood from his lip. "Is this how the Santoros do business? Trying to kill your own wife?"

"My child?" Alessandro let out a short, derisive laugh. "I imagine that's just an excuse to protect your own bastard seed, Falcone."

"Don, I found it."

A Soldato pulled a black leather notebook from under Salvatore's car seat and respectfully handed it to Alessandro.

Alessandro took it. As his long fingers slowly flipped through the pages, his face grew terrifyingly dark.

I recognized it. It was the Santoro family's secret ledger, detailing all their smuggling routes and warehouse locations.

Why was it in Salvatore's car?

Before I could even try to explain, the heavy ledger was slammed into my face. The hard corner broke the skin on my forehead, and a warm liquid trickled down.

"Celeste, what do you have to say for yourself now?"

Alessandro crouched down, his powerful hand yanking my hair, forcing my head up.

"I loved you so much, I was so good to you, and you betray me again!"

"You stole the family's lifeblood for this man? Huh?"

"It wasn't me, I didn't!" I cried, shaking my head. Blood and tears mixed in my mouth, the taste bitter. "Alessandro, this is a trap..."

"Alessandro, what is wrong with you? I only saved Celeste because I couldn't stand to watch you..."

"Enough!" he roared, cutting Salvatore off. His fingers tightened. "Liliana, take Falcone to the basement. 'Entertain' him properly."

He stood, taking a handkerchief from Liliana and wiping his fingers with disgust, as if to clean my touch from them.

"As for her," he said, looking down at me, "take her to the lake house. Nail the windows shut. No one lets her out without my order."

"Alessandro! It's not true! Let me explain!"

I cried out in despair, my hands grasping at the air, only managing to catch the hem of his suit jacket before it was ruthlessly pulled away.

The black car door slammed shut, extinguishing all my light.

Late that night, in the top-floor office of the Santoro estate.

The lights were off. The room was thick with the heavy scent of whiskey.

Alessandro slumped on the sofa, his tie loosened, his normally decisive face now etched with pain and intoxication.

"Don, please stop drinking. It's bad for your stomach."

Liliana moved toward him in the moonlight, reaching for his glass, her body brushing intentionally against his chest.

In his drunken haze, Alessandro thought he caught the familiar scent of iris flowers.

"Celeste..." he whispered, instinctively wanting to embrace the warmth.

Liliana didn't hear him clearly. Overjoyed by what she thought was a show of affection, she leaned into his embrace.

But the next second, Alessandro's hand brushed against the warm tattoo on his chest, a blooming iris he had gotten for Celeste, in the spot closest to his heart.

The jolt of pain sobered him instantly.

"Get off!"

He shoved the woman away. The crystal glass in his hand smashed against the wall, sending shards flying.

"I'm a bastard! A goddamn fool!"

"She sent word that she wants to see me… and god help me, every time I hear it, I can't control the urge to go to her."

He gasped for air as the alcohol finally consumed him. He fell back onto the sofa, grabbing Liliana's wrist, his gaze unfocused. "Liliana..."

"I'm here, Don," Liliana said, hiding the pain from his tight grip as she leaned in.

"Arrange the meeting. I'm going to see her," Alessandro's voice was barely a whisper, filled with endless struggle. "Get the best doctor to the lake house. Don't let her die."

Liliana's expression changed, hatred flooding her eyes.

After saying this, Alessandro passed out.

He never expected that family business would consume him for the next few months.

And he would never know that his order to save her, once in Liliana's hands, had become her death warrant.