Chapter 2

The door to the secret room slammed shut behind me.

I leaned against the cold wall and slowly slid to the floor. When I put my hand on the floor, I felt a thick layer of sticky blood beneath my palm.

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

Eight years…

I had been by his side since I was eighteen years old, and I had taken three bullets for him.

When Louis took over the Cascino family at twenty-three, I was the one who placed the bloodstained Don's scepter in his hands.

We were married in a church basement with no guests. He had promised to make it up to me with the grandest wedding imaginable one day. However, he brought Jenny home instead.

It turned out I was just a steppingstone for Louis. Once he no longer needed me, he could throw me in the secret room and leave me to rot.

The guards were all loyal to Louis. In the past, they used to bow when they saw me and address me respectfully as Donna.

A guard pushed half a piece of blackened bread through the small opening at the bottom of the iron door.

"Out of all the people you could have crossed, you picked on Ms. Jenny. She's the one the Don cares about the most now. All those years fighting at the Don's side for nothing. Look where it got you."

I clamped my hands over my ears and pretended not to hear their taunts. However, I knew what they were saying was true.

I had no idea how long I had been there when the iron door finally opened. Blinding light poured in, and I raised a hand to shield my eyes.

"Shirley." Louis looked down at me as I curled on the floor.

I braced myself against the wall and tried to stand, but my limbs were numb. My knees struck the stone floor, sending a sharp pain through me.

"Apologize to Jenny," Louis demanded.

After all those days locked in there, those few words were all he had to say.

My lips were dry and cracked as I looked at him, my voice hoarse. "I haven't done anything wrong. Why should I apologize?"

That was all it took to anger Louis. He stepped forward, his boot splashing through the puddle on the floor.

"Even now, you still refuse to back down?"

He frowned, disappointment filling his eyes.

"Jenny nearly died because of you. Say you're sorry, and we'll put this behind us. You'll still be the Cascino family's Donna."

Jenny gently held Louis's arm and shook her head. "Don't force her. Maybe she didn't mean to do it. I don't blame her."

What she said only made me sound guilty.

The guards behind them lowered their heads, but I could still see contempt in their sidelong glances.

"Did you hear that? Even Jenny's willing to forgive you." Louis stared at me. "Lower your head and apologize."

I bit my lower lip, refusing to offer an insincere apology.

When Louis saw I still would not give in, his expression hardened as he left with Jenny.

"Then you can stay locked up in there. I'll let you out when you admit you were wrong."

The ordeal continued.

I developed a high fever and shivered uncontrollably, and I began to dream constantly.

My dreams took me back to the days Louis and I fought for our lives amid gunfire. Pursuits through alleys, conspiracies in basements, and contracts stained with blood. In my dreams, Louis was unfailingly loyal to me, but I knew none of it was real.

I had no idea how long I had been unconscious.

The guards seized me by both arms and dragged me out of the secret room.

Louis stood nearby. When he saw me struggling to stay on my feet, he gave me a mocking smile.

"What, you've learned to fake being sick to get sympathy?"

His gaze swept over my red, burning cheeks.

"Do you think being sick will make me feel sorry for you? That won't work on me."

I opened my mouth to explain, but my throat was so dry I could not even get out a full sentence.

He took me straight to the family council chamber without letting me catch my breath.

"If you're still going to hold the title of Donna, then fulfill your duties. Everyone's here for the meeting."

Every Cascino elder was seated in the solemn council chamber.

My face was red with fever, and my hair was a mess. I looked nothing like the decisive Donna I used to be.

Louis forced me into the Donna's seat, and whispers rippled through the room.

"So what we heard before was true."

"How did the Donna end up like this?"

Louis looked at me with a mocking smile. "You've always run these meetings. Let's see whether you've actually fulfilled your duties to the family."

The fever made my vision blur and darken. I forced myself to focus, but the words came out broken. I could barely make out my own words.

Louis smirked while the elders shook their heads and whispered among themselves, their eyes full of disappointment and contempt. "How is Shirley supposed to run a meeting like this?"

Just as the room erupted in whispers, Jenny came slowly through a side door.