Chapter 2

AURELIA

Twenty four hours later, Caterina was still nowhere to be found and the brothers were getting very, very impatient.

“Where is she?” Leone asked, as he bent another finger, slowly, deliberately, until the joint gave way with another horrible snap. Peter howled, jerking, but Leone held him still with one hand clamped against his shoulder.

“I do not know,” Peter choked out between screams. “I swear to God,  I do not know. She ran. She ran and no one has seen her since.”

“Lies.” Leone sounded unimpressed. He twisted the next finger, watching Peter writhe. “Your daughter cannot vanish without help. Someone knows where she is hiding, and you will tell me who.”

Peter shook his head violently, teeth gritted as he panted. “Please. I beg you…take Aurelia instead.”

I was stricken. There was no way I could sign my life away to these men, not when I was so close to everything I had worked for, so close to debuting as a model… I bit my cheeks so hard till I tasted blood, refusing to let my tears drop.

Leone scoffed, “Do you seriously think I would allow the Moretti name to be tainted by marrying a traitor’s daughter?” His hand twitched toward his jacket as if itching for the gun again. “Are you mocking us?”

“No,” Peter rasped, his broken hand clutched against his chest. “No, never. She is untouched. A virgin. She would do just fine in Caterina’s place.”

They were bartering me away like some sort of property, and I couldn’t even say a word. When I did look up, I found Rafael’s eyes on mine.

Rafael turned then, glancing back at his brother. “She will do.”

Leone’s jaw clenched, “Absolutely not. We will not be married to a traitor.”

“She is a Reed,” Rafael answered simply, his gaze still fixed on me. “That is all that matters. The alliance requires a bride, and she is here. Unless you plan to drag Caterina back from heaven knows where with your bare hands, we take what is given.”

Leone eyed me angrily, and I ducked my head in embarrassment. “We will take her,” he said,  “The wedding will be held tomorrow morning.”

Flora wasted no time once the brothers left. I was forced into a chair,  listening to her bark orders at the maids. 

“You cannot do this,” I said, tears welling in my eyes despite my best effort to be strong. “You cannot make me their bride. I have worked for years to get here, years, Flora. My debut is next week. One week from now I am supposed to step onto a runway in Milan.” 

Flora snapped at me, her hand raised as if she wanted to hit me. “Enough with the delusions. You are the daughter of traitors. You were not supposed to have a life at all, and Peter only took you in because blood bound him to, and now your duty has finally caught up with you. You are lucky. Lucky that you will marry men like the Moretti twins instead of being left to rot alone.”

My parents had been executed when I was a child, branded as traitors to the Outfit. No one ever told me what they did, only that their sins had forever made me unworthy in the eyes of Cosa Nostra. 

Now, with Caterina vanished into the night, I could see that this was her parents' plan all along; to make me a substitute, and sacrifice me in her place to the devils at their door.

The night dragged on. I was poked and pulled at, needles biting into fabric while they tried to shape Caterina’s gown to my frame. The dress hung loose at the waist and chest, meant for her fuller figure, and had to be cut down until it pinched at my ribs. 

When they finally stepped back, I hardly recognized the girl staring out at me from the mirror.

I looked tired, but the makeup had been artfully done to cover up my dark circles, and my lips had been painted in a deep red that I wouldn’t have chosen myself.  My short, purple hair had been impossible to style so they had simply pinned a veil over it in a way that hid the flyaways and highlighted the mismatched blue and green of my eyes. 

 I would not be the docile bride they wanted to dress me up as. I had spent my whole life clawing toward freedom, toward the one dream that I had. And when the first chance came, I would take it. 

The rest of the ceremony passed like a blur, as if I wasn’t even inside my body. I was walked down the aisle by Peter, who looked like he had aged ten years overnight, and I tried not to stumble in Caterina’s gown as it pulled at my ribs with every shallow breath. Rings were slipped onto fingers, the one meant for Caterina slightly too large for me. I hardly heard the priest until he announced the kiss.

The only time I snapped back into myself was when it was time to kiss the groom or grooms, in my case.

Rafael was first. His hair was dark, almost black, and his blue eyes stared into mine as he leaned down. His mouth pressed to mine and before I could react, his tongue parted my lips, sliding against mine.

Then Leone. Dark hair too, though his was a touch longer, less carefully kept. His eyes were storm-grey, and when he kissed me it was nothing like his brother. His mouth crashed into mine, hard, he kissed like he wanted to own me, to devour me, until I shoved weakly at his chest. The crowd behind us clapped and cheered as if this were a fairytale, and just like that, it was finished. I was no longer Aurelia Reed. I was Aurelia Moretti.

The brothers were soon swallowed up by guests  all eager to toast the new alliance. No one paid attention to the traitor’s daughter, just like I had expected. 

I slipped into the hallway, pulling out my phone. My hands were still shaking when I found the number I wanted. Kenric. He was a coworker who never missed a chance to flirt, the kind of man who’d do anything if it meant he might get me into his bed.

This was my last chance to escape. I had called Kenric earlier, and with a little flirting I had gotten him to wait around the area knowing I might need a getaway car. He didn’t know anything about the wedding, and I was going to keep it that way.

The call rang once before he answered, voice slurred from drink. “Aurelia?”

“Come get me. Hurry!”

To Kenric’s credit, he showed up faster than I expected. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would jump out of my ribs, but I slipped through the back doors anyway, keeping my head down as laughter and music blared from the hall.

Kenric’s eyes shot up when he saw me. He was leaning against his beat-up car, cigarette in hand, and it almost fell out of his mouth. “Why the fuck are you in a wedding dress?”

“Shut up,” I hissed, yanking the door open. “Just drive. Now.”

“Okay, okay,” he muttered, fumbling as he dropped the cigarette and slid into the driver’s seat. “Jesus, Aurelia…”

“Drive!”

He started the engine, hands clumsy on the wheel, but I could already taste freedom. I was actually doing it. I was getting out.

Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw him.

Rafael.

He was standing in the shadows near the back of the hall, half in the dark, half lit by the glow of a security light. His face was calm, but his blue eyes were fixed on me. 

Shit. He had fucking seen me.