Chapter 4

I stood there, frozen.

Mia was trembling on the floor, her head bowed, refusing to look at me.

Ten years. She had been with me for ten years.

I had saved her from human traffickers at the Chicago port when she was just a little girl.

When she called me Donna, her eyes used to shine.

"Mia."

I said her name softly. Her shoulders shook even more, her head sinking lower.

"Angelina," Maximus's voice was a cold weight from above. "What do you have to say for yourself now?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

When I opened them again, they were empty.

"If you have a witness," I said, "then do what you have to do."

Maximus clearly hadn't expected that answer.

He stared at me for a second, his brow furrowed.

Just then, his Underboss, Luca, rushed in and whispered something in his ear.

"The Morettis hit our shipment at the South Side docks," Maximus said, getting to his feet, a scowl on his face. "I have to go."

"Max," Camilla immediately purred, moving to his side. "You shouldn't have to deal with this kind of dirty work yourself. I'll handle things here."

She glanced at me, her eyes soft and deceptive.

"I know the family rules. I'll carry out the punishment for you. I won't be biased."

Maximus gave me one last look.

I didn't move. I didn't speak.

He looked at my face, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then turned and left without a word.

The moment Maximus was gone, the tears on Camilla's face vanished.

She walked up to me and yanked the necklace from my neck.

"You think you deserve to wear something this beautiful?"

The chain dug deep into my skin, and I stumbled forward.

"Camilla..." I couldn't get the words out, my throat constricted.

She gave it a hard pull, and the chain snapped. A red line of blood appeared on my neck.

"Take her downstairs," Camilla said, throwing the necklace on the floor. "To the interrogation room."

Two soldatos grabbed my arms and dragged me toward the basement.

It was the room Maximus used for traitors.

Soundproof, windowless, sealed.

I was thrown onto the cold concrete floor.

"Begin," Camilla said, crossing her legs as she sat in a chair.

The first punch landed in my gut.

I doubled over, my vision going black for a second.

The second punch hit my chest.

The third, my face. I tasted blood.

I don't know how long they hit me.

Then I heard the door being thrown open.

"Stop! Everybody stop!!"

A small figure rushed in and threw herself on top of me.

"Get off!" a soldato yelled, shoving her away.

Mia fell to the floor, but immediately scrambled back, shielding me with her body.

"Hit me!" she sobbed. "If you're going to hit someone, hit me! Don't hit the Donna!"

The next kick landed in her stomach.

She spat out blood, but she refused to move.

"Mia..." I reached for her.

"Donna, I'm sorry..." she looked back at me, her eyes filled with despair. "I'm so sorry..."

A soldato raised the butt of his gun and brought it down hard on her head.

"No!" I screamed.

Crack.

Mia's body went limp and fell to the side. Blood instantly pooled on the floor.

"Mia!" I crawled over and held her.

Her eyes were already losing focus.

"Donna... my brother... she has him... gambling debt... three million... if I didn't cooperate... he would die..."

"Mia, Mia, don't talk..."

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Her hand went slack, and her eyes slowly closed.

"Mia!"

I held her body, my vision blurred with tears.

Ten years. She had been with me for ten years.

I had treated her like the only family I had, and now she was dead in my arms.

"How boring," Camilla said with a yawn. "She's just a maid. Is all this drama necessary?"

She stepped over the necklace on the floor, the heel of her shoe landing right on the inscription.

"A&M, Forever."

Forever. What a joke.

I don't know how long I was unconscious.

When I woke up, my wounds had been bandaged.

Maximus was sitting by the bed, holding a glass of water.

"Drink some water," he said, his tone flat.

I turned my face away from him.

"Angel, a maid is just a maid," he said dismissively. "You don't need to be so upset."

I whipped my head around to look at him.

"She died trying to save me!"

"I know," Maximus sighed. "And I also know you didn't poison the baby."

My blood ran cold.

"You... knew?"

"Of course I knew," he said, placing the glass on the nightstand. "It's just a silly little game women play to get my attention. Camilla wants power, so she staged this whole thing."

"Then why did you..."

"Why didn't I stop it?" he looked at me, not a hint of guilt in his eyes. "Angel, if you had just apologized earlier, it wouldn't have gotten this far."

I stared at him, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"You wanted me to confess to a crime I didn't commit?"

"What's the difference?" he shrugged. "You apologize, it's over. And Mia wouldn't be dead."

My body started to shake.

He knew everything.

He knew I was framed, knew Camilla was lying, knew Mia was innocent.

But he did nothing.

He even thought it was all my fault.

Maximus pulled something from his pocket.

It was the necklace Camilla had stepped on.

The chain was fixed, and the dented charm had been hammered back into shape, but the inscription was now a blurry, unreadable mess.

He leaned over me and put the necklace back around my neck.

My body went rigid.

"I was wrong this time," he whispered in my ear, his tone like he was granting me some great mercy. "You were wronged, and I let you have the satisfaction of slapping Camilla—"

"What did you say?"

"A mistake for a mistake," he said, fastening the clasp and stepping back. "We're even now. Don't make a scene again."

He stood up and looked down on me.

"Angel, you're the Donna. Start acting like one."

The door closed.

I lay in bed, the necklace cold against my skin, like a snake wrapped around my throat.

I reached up and tore it off.

Clenched it in my fist.

The moon outside was bright.

Three days left. Then I would be gone from this place, and I would never come back.