Chapter 1

I woke up before the drug wore off, my head throbbing with a leaden weight. I looked up to find my wrists tied to the bed frame, the rope pulling tight against my skin. I could hear the ship's horn blaring continuously and feel the subtle swaying beneath me, indicating that the cruise ship had already set sail.

"You're in the clear, Gina! Edoardo's Consigliere is handling this thing personally, which means Edoardo's quite interested in Chiara!"

I could hear Giulia Farina, my stepmother, and Gina Russo, my stepsister, talking excitedly outside the door. I couldn't believe that they referred to me as a "thing"—not a human being.

I lacked the strength to even ball my hands into fists to strike someone since my limbs felt weak and my head was spinning.

Gina spoke up immediately after, her voice filled with urgency and excitement. "How long will it take for the money to be deposited into the account, Mamma? Those debt collectors only gave us two days, so we're running out of time already."

"What's the hurry? Your gambling debts will be the least of our concerns once Edoardo is hooked—he'll give us anything we want, Gina!"

Giulia's avaricious laughter cut through the gap in the door, piercing my chest. "Chiara has her late mother's face, so she should consider it an honor to have caught Edoardo's eye."

I nearly burst out laughing in sheer fury after hearing that. I was the one who took Edoardo Ariani when he was covered in filth and digging through dumpsters for a meal. I was the one who helped him snatch the title of Don of the Ariani Famiglia from his treacherous uncles back then.

It could be said that I had laid out the Ariani Famiglia's entire business network, each territory marked for Edoardo to conquer. Even his initial billion-dollar investment was drawn from my personal offshore account.

I felt exasperated that Giulia dared to say that being seen by Edoardo was my honor.

"You shouldn't get ahead of yourself first, Mamma," Gina said before she cleared her throat.

She then whispered, "Did you give her a high enough dose, Mamma? I mean, I don't want Chiara waking up halfway. I'm not interested in being punished alongside you if Don Ariani ends up having a bad time."

Giulia explained, "You can rest assured that the Consigliere said that the effects of the drug won't wear off for another hour, so there's still plenty of time. It'll keep her from waking up and causing trouble.

"She has always been a handful—she nearly poisoned you when she was only six years old. She should be grateful that we're giving her this way out. If she weren't so difficult, we wouldn't have had to drug her in the first place."

Giulia was bringing up that incident again.

Gina had grown up refusing vegetables and loving meat, so I gave her the biggest piece of meat from my plate. Gina ended up choking it back too fast and throwing it up, yet Giulia insisted I had tried to poison her.

I was forced to live on nothing but milk and cereal to "atone" for my crime for the next six years.

Giulia was now using that same ancient history as a justification to sell me off to another man.

I finally had enough control to clench my fingers fully, as about 70% of the drug's effect had dissipated.

Giulia and Gina had continued talking outside the door. Giulia had been instructing Gina on how to ingratiate herself with the Consigliere or the Underboss of the Ariani Famiglia, her tone sharp and calculating.

They were unaware that the Consigliere was aligned with me, though.

They also had no idea that Edoardo had spent seven years searching for me across 37 countries, nor did they know that the last man who had lingered two seconds too long on my photo in a bar had already been sent to hell by Edoardo.

Giulia was now treating me like a piece of trash to be thrown away, handing me over to Edoardo, that lunatic. She even had the nerve to think she could use me to get more money.

I closed my eyes, nearly unable to hold back the mocking smile on my lips.

It was then that the door suddenly opened, and Giulia entered with a smile spread across her face. "You're finally awake, Chiara. Edoardo will board in half an hour, so hurry up and change into your evening gown."

She threw the gown on top of me, eyeing me like household staff. "You'd better not blame me for being cruel, Chiara. After all, those debt collectors are breathing down our necks. I'll get you whatever you want once this is all settled."

"You want to sell me to someone else, then?" I asked, my eyes only partially open.

I was speaking in such a raspy voice that it was barely audible.

Giulia looked flustered for a split second before masking it. "How could you say that I sold you, Chiara? I'm doing this so that you can have a better life in the future. You ought to know that countless women would give anything to be in your shoes, board this cruise ship, and step onto Siceria, Chiara."

Giulia reached out and began unbuttoning my shirt after saying that, stripping it off me. She was trembling as she grazed her cold fingertips on my collarbone, but her greed outweighed her fear.

"I'm begging you, Chiara. Your sister was nearly killed by those debt collectors last time, and I can't stand the thought of living penniless anymore, so you should listen—"

"Hurry up and get her dressed already, Mamma. I'm going to go ask about the situation on Don Ariani's side," Gina interrupted Giulia as she checked the time on her phone.

She then sashayed out of the room after saying that, the rhythmic clicking of her heels echoing against the deck.

I stared at her retreating figure and counted her footsteps, noting that she took 17 steps in total to get from this room to the edge of the deck. I mused that by the time Edoardo boarded the cruise ship, Gina would realize that 17 steps was also the exact distance from the top deck to the water's surface.

I sat up and picked up the red evening gown, noting that it looked quite nice. I thought wearing it to meet Edoardo would add a sense of ceremony, given it had been seven years since we last met. I was certain that he was going to be ecstatic—or probably be driven mad by it.