Chapter 3

Mandy immediately rushed to complain. "Don Valenti, you're just in time! Lilith was kind enough to give me this pocket watch, but your wife snatched it right out of my hand. Then she tried to hit me!"

Arthur walked up to me, and his eyes fell on the jewelry box in my hands.

For a second, he froze.

"Lilith, this pocket watch is..."

Before Arthur could finish, Lilith put on a pitiful expression.

"Don, this pocket watch looks so much like my mother's favorite one."

"After my mother died saving yours, that watch was never found..."

"I just wanted something to remember my mother by."

He glanced back at me, and something flickered in his eyes too quickly for me to read.

Hurt? Or guilt?

"Give it back to Ms. Gambrelli."

I gripped the jewelry box tighter, my voice shaking. "This belonged to my father! Arthur, why does Lilith have it?"

Arthur hesitated, then said quietly, "After your father was arrested, everything he owned was seized and sold at auction. Lilith bought the watch there."

He paused and looked away from me. "It's her property now. Give it back and stop making a scene."

"Making a scene?" I stared at him, and the blood roared in my ears. "That watch is all I have left of my father!"

He didn't answer. He just stared at the watch.

After a few seconds of silence, he lowered his voice.

"Cecilia, I know how important the watch is to you. But right now, you have to give it back."

"I'll find a way to get it back for you, but not now, and not like this."

I looked at him and laughed until tears filled my eyes.

"You're always like this. One moment you're kind to me, and the next, you're hurting me in the worst possible way. Arthur, do you love me or hate me?"

Something shifted in his eyes, but he didn't answer.

Off to the side, Mandy folded her arms, clearly enjoying the show.

Lilith kept her head down and didn't say a word, but she couldn't quite hide her smile.

Scenes from the past flashed through my mind one after another.

I pictured my father wearing this watch every day, looking solemn. I saw his smile as he took my hand and kissed it. I closed my eyes, and a crushing exhaustion swept over me.

I raised my hand and smashed the antique watch onto the floor with all my strength.

The gold twisted, and the rubies set in it shattered across the floor.

Mandy shrieked. "You!"

I looked down at the broken stones scattered on the floor and said slowly and clearly, "Sorry, Ms. Gambrelli. The watch is ruined. I can't give it back now."

With that, I turned my back on them and refused to look at them again.

Arthur stared at the pieces on the floor, his brow knotted. A mix of emotions flashed in his eyes.

Just then, Lilith clutched her chest and went limp. "Ah... my chest hurts... I feel awful..."

Arthur tore his eyes away and caught her. "Lilith! I'm taking you to the hospital right now!"

Late that night, Arthur finally seemed to remember me. He sent someone to help me back to my room.

I'd barely lain down when the roar of sports car engines came from outside the estate, mixed with the noise of men and women partying.

The noise woke me, and I asked Daisy, "What's going on out there?"

Daisy looked furious. "It's Ms. Hayes. She said she was tired of being stuck in the hospital and wanted to have some fun. So the Don invited a bunch of his friends over. Now they're drinking champagne by the pool."

My mouth twisted, my eyes full of bitter mockery.

Arthur was obsessed with cleanliness and deeply paranoid. He never attended gatherings of more than five people, much less hosted parties at his own headquarters.

Once, when a rival gang threw a party in the middle of the night, he had his men clear out the whole house just so he could get some peace and quiet.

But now, for Lilith, he'd actually broken every rule he'd set for himself and crossed every line he'd drawn.

I closed my eyes and pulled the covers over my head to block out the noise.

At noon the next day, someone kicked my bedroom door open.

Lilith stood in the doorway with a group of young heirs from the city's mafia families who had attended last night's party. They were all bruised, their clothes torn.

Arthur stood to one side, his face grim and his eyes dark.

"Cecilia," he said, his voice ice-cold. "Did you send gunmen to crash the party?"

I glanced at them and frowned.

Lilith's eyes were red, and she sounded wounded. "Arthur saw I was feeling down, so he invited some friends over to cheer me up. If you had a problem with it, you could've just told me. Why did you have to cause trouble and hurt everyone..."

"It's my fault. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have overstayed my welcome at the estate. I'll pack my things and leave today, and I'll never be in your way again."

As she spoke, she wiped away her tears and turned to go.

Arthur pulled her back, then turned on me. "Cecilia! What the hell is wrong with you? Is this what your traitor father taught you to do?"

The color drained from my face, and my stomach churned.

"Arthur, you'll always believe her over me."

"If you've already decided it was me, then punish me under the family's code too!"

Lilith suddenly went limp and collapsed.

The whole estate was thrown into chaos.

Arthur scooped her up and strode out without so much as a glance at me.

Everyone left.

I stood there for a long time, then went back inside and lay down on the bed again.

No matter how I explained myself or how hard I fought, it would end the same way.

The next time Arthur came to my room, I'd just woken up and was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into space.

He pushed the door open and scoffed. "Must be nice, having time for a nap."

He seemed to be holding in his anger. He rubbed his brow wearily. "I've brought in a heart specialist and a blood specialist from Germany. They're staying here at the house. Once Lilith is stable, I'll send her to Switzerland to recover. After that, let's stop fighting about this and just live our lives, okay?"

My mouth twisted, but I didn't say anything.

Live our lives? After everything that's happened, is he really naive enough to think we can go back to the way things were?

He stepped closer and softened his voice. "Don't be mad at me anymore, okay? I promise, I'll take you to see your father soon. Then we can all sit down and talk things through as a family."

I closed my eyes, my long lashes trembling.

When he saw my blank expression, he assumed I was still angry with him. He turned toward the door and called out, "Get in here and draw my wife's blood."

My eyes flew open. "Draw what?"

Two burly women in nurses' scrubs rushed in and pinned me down on the bed.

"Arthur, are you insane? I just had a D&C!"

Arthur looked at me wearily. "It's only a little blood."

"Arthur, dream on!"

"I'd rather die than give it to her!"

"Do it."

The cold needle pierced my skin.

My whole body convulsed, and everything went black.