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Chapter 4

Author: Jade
Just as I'd expected, word came that a weapons shipment had been seized. It had been sent along the route newly assigned to Franca.

"Franca was the one who entered that route into the system. That idiot bartender leaked family secrets. Under family law, she has to be executed!"

The atmosphere in the room turned grim. One of the Elders fixed Antonio with a thunderous glare.

Eighty million dollars' worth of cargo had been impounded, and he had lost nearly half his men. The Renzetti family had never taken a hit this hard in its entire history.

Franca had gone pale and was shaking hard.

Antonio looked at me instead. His expression shifted, but he spoke anyway. "Elena has always been responsible for that shipment. It has nothing to do with Franca."

Hearing him try to dress it up that way almost made me laugh, though none of it was funny.

Anyone with eyes knew I hadn't touched family business since that meeting. Antonio was lying through his teeth.

To protect Franca, he was even willing to pin the blame on me.

"Don, Elena had nothing to do with..."

Antonio cut the Elder off before he could finish.

"None of you need to deal with this. We're done here. We have a charity dinner to attend tonight."

Antonio gave me an apologetic look. I turned my head away.

After the meeting, he came to my room anyway and held out a couture gown.

"Elena, I'm sorry about earlier. But I did it to protect Franca. You understand, don't you?

"Put it on and come to the dinner with me. You'll be the most beautiful woman there tonight. All right?"

As I watched him apologize, I scoffed.

The dinner was at an expensive restaurant in the center of the city. Antonio kept Franca at his side the entire evening. I couldn't figure out why he'd brought me.

Maybe he'd brought me so people could laugh at my expense.

I checked my phone. The car my father had sent was half an hour away. In half an hour, I would be free.

Distracted, I turned toward a quiet corner just as every light in the room suddenly went out.

Then a burst of gunfire ripped into the middle of the room.

"Attack!" someone shouted from the crowd. I watched the crystal chandelier crash down from the ceiling. Then chaos erupted.

My knees still ached, so I could only limp along with the crowd. Someone slammed into me. My knees buckled, and I fell hard to my knees.

It was Antonio.

Franca had gone limp with fear nearby. Acting on instinct, Antonio rushed to her, pulled her tightly into his arms, and knocked me over to do it.

Bullets flew past us from both directions. Before I knew it, a stray round grazed my arm.

Antonio's hand froze on Franca's back. He saw the blood on my arm, and alarm flashed across his face, but Franca's sobs quickly drew his attention back to her.

Before he carried Franca out, he left me with only these words:

"The informant operation ends tomorrow. Nothing can happen to Franca before then. Elena, I'm sorry, but you'll have to go back on your own. There's a car waiting for you at the back door."

At some point, the shooting stopped. I watched him walk away, and the last of my feelings for him died.

I didn't go looking for that car at the back door. I walked out the front.

A black armored car was already at the curb. The man at the front rushed over and caught me before I fell.

"Princess! I'm taking you to the hospital!"

Leaning on him, I climbed into the back seat, then stopped him.

"No. The Cesari estate.

"Tell my father it's time for the Renzetti family to disappear from Sicily."
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  • I Stopped Waiting for the Don, and He Begged on His Knees   Chapter 9

    The day after the summit, I heard that the Renzetti family had declared bankruptcy.My father told me that all the property and accounts in Antonio's name had been seized and that the rival family had sent thirty professional killers after him."I hear he's hiding in a basement in the slums like a sewer rat." My father scoffed."Even that is letting him off lightly."Lorenzo, standing nearby, spoke up at just the right moment. "They say the bartender tried to run off with the money, and Antonio caught her in the act. They went at each other. Their faces were torn up."By the time our people arrived with the police, all they found were two bloody shapes on the floor."I tried to picture it, and it was more satisfying than it should have been.Under pressure from the Cesari family, Antonio and Franca both received life sentences and were sent to the maximum-security prison in the far north.No daylight. Two pieces of moldy bread a day. Nothing inside but the worst of the worst.None of w

  • I Stopped Waiting for the Don, and He Begged on His Knees   Chapter 8

    After the summit, my father stayed behind to speak with the families we work with. I headed for the Cesari family's private corridor and found Antonio already waiting there.I stopped and looked at how small he'd made himself. The sight amused me."Since when does the Don of the Renzetti family wait for me? That's a first."He saw me and dropped to his knees right there on the floor."Elena, I know how badly I messed up." His eyes were bloodshot."But our five years together weren't a lie. Franca blinded me, that's all. I swear, if you'll forgive me, I'll wait as long as you want."I didn't answer him. I turned to the bodyguard beside me. "Bring it out."He tipped a pile of broken porcelain out of a black case and spread the shards evenly across the floor between Antonio and me."Since you said the porcelain figure was just a cheap, lifeless object, crawl over it on your knees until you reach my feet, and I'll consider hearing you out."I looked down at him, my face impassive, as all t

  • I Stopped Waiting for the Don, and He Begged on His Knees   Chapter 7

    When I got to the Cesari estate, my father was waiting at the door. He saw the wound on my arm and the state I was in, and his face darkened.For the next half hour, the best private doctors and stylists in Sicily attended to me.My father handed me a black card and a custom-made phone."Elena, you've paid a steep price these past five years."I looked at the fine lines on his face, and my eyes stung. "Father, it was my fault. I didn't listen to you."He reached over and ruffled my hair. "Don't say that. You'll always be my most precious daughter. From now on, every resource the Cesari family has is yours to command."I know my daughter will be the best leader this family has ever had."I sat on a leather couch with my father beside me and met the senior members of the Cesari family one by one. Some of them had watched me grow up. Some had come into the family recently.I listened as they addressed me as Princess with genuine respect. Then I reviewed the Cesari accounts and turned to m

  • I Stopped Waiting for the Don, and He Begged on His Knees   Chapter 6

    Franca bit her lip and reluctantly backed out. Antonio sat in a chair in Elena's room and stared at the laptop, its system now wiped clean.His phone rang. One of his informants was on the line. "Don, we found it."For the past five years, whenever the Renzetti family had cash-flow problems, a huge sum would arrive from an anonymous overseas account. At first, we all assumed someone simply believed in the Renzetti family."But when we traced the transfers, every one of them led to the same place."Antonio's grip tightened around the phone, and his hand trembled. "Where?""The Cesari family." The informant paused, then continued."To be precise, Elena Cesari is the account holder. For five years, the Cesari family has quietly kept the Renzetti family afloat through every bad patch."Cesari?Antonio went rigid. In Sicily, the Cesari family sat at the top of the food chain. It was both secretive and powerful.But Elena, of all people, was a Cesari? And not just any Cesari, but a member of

  • I Stopped Waiting for the Don, and He Begged on His Knees   Chapter 5

    Antonio took Franca to the hospital the Renzetti family usually used. The doctor said she was only shaken up and needed rest.Only then did Antonio let out a breath. He dropped his bloodstained jacket onto a chair. Just as he was about to call Elena, his phone began ringing nonstop.The Renzetti family's advisor was on the line, speaking rapidly. "Don, the three private ports Elena managed personally were all shut down ten minutes ago."Two weapons shipments have been seized. We tried to negotiate, but they won't talk. All they'll say is that they're acting on orders."Antonio frowned and hung up. He pulled up Elena's number and called, only to hear a recorded message."The phone you are trying to reach is turned off."He sighed, opened his messages, and started typing.[Elena, stop throwing a tantrum. Tell the ports to let the shipments through immediately. Don't let your temper get in the way of business.]The message went through, but no reply came.Franca had just stepped out of th

  • I Stopped Waiting for the Don, and He Begged on His Knees   Chapter 4

    Just as I'd expected, word came that a weapons shipment had been seized. It had been sent along the route newly assigned to Franca."Franca was the one who entered that route into the system. That idiot bartender leaked family secrets. Under family law, she has to be executed!"The atmosphere in the room turned grim. One of the Elders fixed Antonio with a thunderous glare.Eighty million dollars' worth of cargo had been impounded, and he had lost nearly half his men. The Renzetti family had never taken a hit this hard in its entire history.Franca had gone pale and was shaking hard.Antonio looked at me instead. His expression shifted, but he spoke anyway. "Elena has always been responsible for that shipment. It has nothing to do with Franca."Hearing him try to dress it up that way almost made me laugh, though none of it was funny.Anyone with eyes knew I hadn't touched family business since that meeting. Antonio was lying through his teeth.To protect Franca, he was even willing to p

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