Chapter 1

As soon as the men finished speaking, I fought through the excruciating pain and desperately dragged myself toward the door, straining my hoarse voice to call for help.

Mom and the others had only just swallowed the pills, and the poison hadn’t fully taken effect yet.

If they could get to a hospital in time, they could still be saved.

Perhaps my cries had reached someone, because I heard footsteps stop outside the door, followed by a slight rattle as someone tried to open it.

“Are you out of your mind?” a man shouted angrily. “The orders from above were crystal clear. No one is to open this door before Lucas returns.”

Another man sounded uneasy as he lowered his voice and asked, “But something doesn’t sound right in there. What if something’s happened?”

The first man let out a cold laugh, clearly convinced he was right. “Opening the door now and ruining the Don’s plan would be a real disaster. Just think about it. All it took was a word from Hailey, and the Don immediately got everyone involved in this whole charade. Besides, it’s only one night. What could possibly happen to a few women?”

His words drained the last of my strength. So it had all been a lie.

Lucas hadn’t been shot dead. My father and brother were still alive.

Yet because of Hailey’s prank, my mother, my sister-in-law, my niece, and I were now paying for it with our lives.

We could have spent a peaceful Christmas together. Why had everything turned out like this?

Just an hour ago, everyone had been laughing and talking, and now they lay motionless on the floor. Tears streamed down my face.

My brother Richard’s daughter, Mia, wasn’t even five years old.

Just moments ago, she had been clinging to my leg, pleading in her sweet little voice, “Fiona, your food smells so good! Can’t I have a taste before everyone else?”

I had smiled and promised her, “Not yet, sweetheart. You’ll get the first taste when it’s ready.”

Now dinner was ready, but she would never get the chance to taste it.

Mia had no idea what was happening. Even as she opened her mouth to take the pill, she looked at her mother in confusion and asked, “Mommy, this pill tastes so bitter, and I’m not even sick. Do I really have to take it?”

My sister-in-law, Jenny, fought back her tears and choked out, “Be good, Mia. It’s sweet, sweetheart. Once you take it, we’ll be able to see Daddy.”

Hearing her mother’s words, Mia happily swallowed the pill without another thought.

I was the last in line, but Mom, Catherine, didn’t give me one.

Instead, she quietly pulled me into a room and removed all the clothes from the closet, revealing a hidden compartment inside that was just large enough to conceal one person.

“This was prepared in case of an emergency,” she explained, urging me inside. “Fiona, hurry. You’re the Donna, and you’re smart. If you can stay hidden until this is over, you’ll survive.”

I shook my head frantically, refusing to go, but Mom insisted on pushing me into the compartment. She looked at me as if she couldn’t bear to say goodbye. “Someone has to survive to lay us to rest.”

That was her final wish, and I couldn’t bear to leave her with that regret, so I obediently hid inside.

But once I saw her close her eyes in peace, I climbed back out.

Everyone was gone, and being the only one left alive wasn’t a blessing; it was a torment I could no longer bear.

I took out the jeweled dagger Lucas had given me and ended my life.

I had thought we could at least be together in death.

Now even that hope was gone.

Outside, the men continued their conversation, still unaware of what had happened. “Fiona would raise hell if she found out the truth,” one of them remarked.

“She won’t stay mad at her husband forever. Once the Don comes back tomorrow, they’ll make up and everything will go back to normal.”

But there would be no tomorrow for me.