Chapter 4

Actually, before I called Cassian, I looked at the keypad and thought about calling my law professor for help.

But I hung up immediately.

I didn't want to drag him into this mob mess.

I could only ask for help from the devil I had once misunderstood.

Panic made my whole body shake, so I bit my lower lip hard.

The taste of blood spread in my mouth, forcing me to stay awake.

Exactly ten minutes passed on the wall clock.

Click. The heavy steel door of the cell swung open.

The cop who was so arrogant just now was sweating bullets.

His hands shook as he handed my bloody admission paper back to me. He was practically groveling.

"Miss Valenti, this is all a misunderstanding. The Boss over in New York made a call... You are free to go."

I didn't waste a word. I snatched the paper and walked out of the station, dragging legs so weak I could barely feel them.

Free at last, I immediately went to withdraw my savings to fly to New York.

But the ATM screen flashed a glaring red "Account Frozen."

The Falcone family had blocked all my legal funds. Chicago was Julian's territory, and he had eyes on every airport and train station.

On the phone, Cassian had warned me it would take him exactly a week to bypass Falcone surveillance and coordinate a safe, off-the-books extraction route through neutral syndicates to avoid a full-blown mob war.

Until then, I was completely cut off and penniless. I needed to scrape together enough cash just to afford food and a secure underground safehouse for the next seven days.

The next morning.

To get the money, I dragged my sick body to the high-end Italian restaurant where Julian and I used to work.

I pushed open the kitchen doors and froze.

Julian was standing right there in a tailored suit.

Just to please Scarlett, and to completely cut off my escape, he had bought the entire commercial street. He was the new boss here.

Seeing me walk in wearing my shabby uniform, he frowned and sighed.

"Need cash?" He walked up to me. His voice was mild, but his words cut like knives. "Want a piece of the Falcone wealth? Fine, stay. But don't expect special treatment."

The next four days were pure hell.

Day one, Scarlett came to visit in a beautiful dress.

As she passed by, her hand "slipped," and she knocked over a whole tray of boiling hot soup.

The scalding broth splashed onto my hand, instantly turning the skin red and swollen.

"Oops, my bad." She covered her mouth, her eyes full of vicious amusement.

Julian walked over and didn't even look at my burn.

He gently wrapped his arm around Scarlett's waist, then turned to me with cold indifference. "If you can't even carry a plate, go mop the floors. Don't make a fool of yourself in front of the customers."

For the cash that would get me out of there, I swallowed my pride, got on my knees, and scrubbed the greasy floor inch by inch.

Day two, Julian brought his mob captains to "inspect" the kitchen.

He pointed at the hundreds of plates I had just washed and coldly spat two words: "Wash them again."

"These are perfectly clean," I said through gritted teeth.

"Standards have changed here." He looked down at me. "If you can't handle it, then drop your greedy delusions about things that don't belong to you."

Eager to suck up to the new boss, the kitchen manager rushed up and slapped me hard across the face.

"If the boss tells you to wash, you wash! Trash!"

My cheek swelled up instantly, my ears ringing.

Julian stood there, his brows twitching just slightly, but he said nothing, silently endorsing the abuse.

Day three, he found another excuse. He claimed it was time for inventory and locked me in the underground wine cellar.

It was the middle of summer, and the ventilation system "coincidentally" broke.

It felt like a sauna.

I was locked in there for three full hours. Even breathing burned my lungs.

By the time they let me out, I was almost passing out from dehydration. Julian only gave a cold snort of disappointment.

Day four.

The non-stop torment finally broke me.

My stomach felt like it was going through a meat grinder. Cold sweat instantly soaked my uniform.

I couldn't hold on anymore. I stumbled out the back door and leaned against the damp brick wall in the alley, gasping for air.

"What, playing the victim again?"

Scarlett held a slim cigarette, sneering at me.

Julian wasn't here, so she completely dropped her fake sweet act.

"Aurora, you're as disgusting as a sewer rat."

She stepped closer and blew a puff of smoke right in my face.

"You think Julian will remember you if you just stick around like a leech? Stop dreaming. He just thinks you're a greedy parasite now. He loves me!"

My stomach pain was so intense I didn't even have the energy to talk.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to deal with this mad dog.

My silence instantly pissed her off.

"Are you deaf? I'm talking to you!"

Scarlett's face twisted in rage. She suddenly raised her burning cigarette and pressed it hard into my forearm!

Sizzle—

The smell of burning flesh hit me along with a piercing pain.

"Ah!"

I jolted in agony and instinctively shoved her hand away hard.

"Get off me!"

During the struggle, my fingernail accidentally scratched her cheek.

A thin red line instantly appeared on her pale skin.

"Ahhh! My face!" Scarlett covered her face and screamed. "It hurts! Help!"

The back door banged open.

Julian rushed out. Several armed mobsters right behind him.

The moment he saw the red scratch on Scarlett's face, his eyes went bloodshot.

"Julian! She tried to ruin my face!" Scarlett threw herself into his arms, crying her eyes out.

Julian gently pushed her aside, turned around, and stared at me like I was a dead man.

He didn't ask a single question. Didn't even glance at the bleeding, charred burn mark on my arm.

"I gave you a chance, Aurora."