Chapter 1

“Valeria, you have to save your sister!”

I had just finished the minestrone. My mother burst into the kitchen, sobbing.

I was so startled, I dropped the bowl.

It shattered on the counter. Hot soup and ceramic shards went everywhere. It barely missed my feet.

“Careful!” she screamed. She yanked me back by the arm. “Don’t move. Don’t step on the glass. What if you cut your foot?”

Seeing the raw panic in her eyes, my heart ached.

A mother’s instinct. She did care about me.

When I was ten, a rival family kidnapped me. I ended up in a basement in Sicily. The shock almost killed my mother. She tried to end it, more than once. To save her, my father adopted Bianca. An orphan who looked a little like me.

It took me ten years to fight my way back home.

I’ll never forget that day. My mother held me and cried until she passed out. She swore she’d never let me suffer again.

Her next words sent me straight to hell.

“Bianca’s in terrible trouble! She spilled hot coffee into the Vitiello girl’s eyes!” My mother was shaking. Tears ruined her perfect makeup. “That Don is out for blood. He wants a Costa daughter as a hostage. We have to give him one!”

I just stared at her. My throat went tight.

That fancy charity dinner. They told me not to go. They were afraid I didn’t have the right manners. That I’d embarrass them.

And now they wanted me to take the fall?

“Bianca didn’t mean it, she’s terrified!” My mother’s eyes pleaded with me, but her tone was matter-of-fact. “Valeria, you’re the older sister. Help her, please? You just have to stay at the Don’s estate for a few days. I promise, I’ll come get you.”

The kitchen door was thrown open.

My twin brother, Dominic, stormed in. He looked pissed.

I remembered when I first came back. Some rich kid mocked me for my worn-out clothes. Dominic beat him so badly he broke three ribs. He told everyone, his eyes red with rage, that I was his only sister.

But now, he was on her side.

“The Don gave his ultimatum.” Dominic looked at me, unapologetic. “The man’s a savage, Valeria. Bianca is too fragile. The shock would kill her.”

I looked at my own brother.

A bitter taste filled my mouth. My eyes burned.

“And if I go? Will I make it out alive?” My voice trembled with a hurt so deep it shook my bones. “Are you sending me back to another hell?”

“You’re not like her,” Dominic blurted out. “You survived Sicily. A place that eats people alive. You’re tougher than she is!”

A survivor. Bulletproof.

What a pathetic excuse.

Because I survived underground fights and starvation, I was supposed to be immune to pain?

Eight years away, and my adopted sister had replaced me. She was their golden child.

Because I was quiet, they decided I was easy to ignore.

They bought me expensive things sometimes. They smiled at me.

I thought it was love.

Now I knew the truth. When it came to life or death, they would always sacrifice me to protect Bianca.

“So you think because I’m strong, I deserve to be the sacrificial lamb?” I stared at them. The tears finally fell. “I’m your daughter, too!”

A flash of guilt crossed my mother’s face. She covered it by raising her voice. “Have we been anything but good to you? The family is facing a crisis! Are you just going to stand there and watch your sister walk to her death?”

“Stop being dramatic!” Dominic scowled. “How can you be so selfish? If you don’t go, we all pay the price for what she did!”

Exhaustion and despair washed over me.

Looking at the mess on the floor, I suddenly felt so tired.

The stupid, childish hope that I could earn their love if I just tried hard enough… it snapped.

I didn’t blame them anymore. I didn’t want to fight for it.

“Fine. I’ll go,” I said. My voice was flat.

My mother let out a sharp breath of relief. She smiled. She reached out to hug me. “I knew you were the sensible one…”

I stepped aside. Dodged her touch.

Her hand froze in mid-air.

I untied my apron. I walked past them, toward the door.

If my strength was their excuse to hurt me, then I didn’t want their love. I was done.