Chapter 1

Relying on memory, I made my way back to the estate where a party was already underway. However, the moment I appeared, everything went quiet for a moment.

Sophia Rossi stood in the center of the crowd and covered both her nose and mouth at the sight of me.

“Where did this beggar come from? We don’t feed scraps to dogs here.”

A beggar?

I lowered my eyes and glanced down at myself. My dress was covered in mud, and one of my legs held itself awkwardly behind me, a result of the “care” I had received from the cell boss in prison.

Yeah, no one would ever guess I had once been the underboss’ wife and that I used to be above everyone else.

I looked at Andrew Lorenzo sitting at the head of the table. He studied me with eyes that held nothing but disgust.

“She just got out of prison. Of course she smells.”

“Ella, go wash off at the fountain in the backyard before coming in. Don’t stink up the place for Sophia.”

Laughter rippled through the room. The soldati and associates who once treated me with absolute respect were mocking me.

I lowered my head and said nothing. “Fine.” I turned and headed toward the backyard.

I knew he was waiting for me to either cause a scene or question him, but I had nothing left to fight with. Even if it meant acting like a dog, I had to obey.

If Sophia wanted to see me humiliated, I had to give her exactly that.

Only if Sophia were satisfied would Andrew be satisfied.

Only if Andrew were pleased would I get the money I needed and a kidney donor.

The backyard fountain drew water from underground. At night, it was bitterly cold. I turned on the hose beside me and let the water pour over my head. Cold water ran down my back. My injured, lame leg throbbed, and I could barely stay on my feet.

A sudden commotion broke out in the entrance hall.

Andrew shouted anxiously, “Doctor! Call the family doctor now!”

I froze. A long time ago, he had panicked like that for me too.

But when my eyes focused, the hope I should not have had was crushed.

My husband, Andrew, was on one knee. He held Sophia’s hand carefully as he shouted at the doctor.

“Look! Sophia scraped her hand!”

The doctor looked at it again and again. He finally found a tiny red mark on the tip of her pale finger.

Sophia’s eyes were teary. She pouted. “It hurts so much, Don Lorenzo. Will I have a scar?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll have someone get the best scar cream right now.”

I leaned against the cold marble wall as darkness crept in. The difference between love and indifference was painfully clear. All this fuss over a single scraped finger. I had a lame leg, yet I had to shower in freezing rain.

Before I blacked out, I heard one of his men shout.

“Donna… Ella has fainted in the backyard!”

Then, I heard Andrew’s cold voice.

“She won’t die. I know she’s tough. Toss her in the storage room.”

Before I lost consciousness, I remembered the times we had together ten years ago, when we were at our poorest.

We lived in an attic in Booklyn.

Andrew once held me as I burned with fever, and sweat ran down his face from worry.

“Ella, when I take my place as Don, I’ll make you the most respected woman in New Yorke. Anyone who dares to disrespect you, I’ll kill without hesitation.”

At last, he had power.

No one in New Yorke, legal or street, dared cross Don Lorenzo.

But he had crushed me, the woman who had suffered alongside him through it all.

He made sure to trample me even more.

I finally realized the boy who loved me had died ten years ago, and that it was time for me to let go.