Chapter 2

“Aurelio!”

My grandfather stormed into the room, leaning on a silver-plated cane. My uncle and several Sorrento guards followed close behind.

“Have you forgotten that the Sorrento family still exists? How dare you treat Leah this way while I’m still alive?”

My father rose from the sofa and calmly set down his glass of whiskey.

His gaze moved over my grandfather and uncle, a faint smile on his lips.

“Now that everyone is here, some matters would be better discussed in the chapel.”

With that, he turned and headed toward the underground chapel.

My grandfather gave a cold laugh and started after him.

My uncle caught his arm.

“Father, let me go in first and see what this is about. You stay here. If anything happens, you’ll be able to intervene.”

My grandfather frowned and studied him for a moment before slowly nodding.

My uncle followed my father and disappeared down the stairs, leaving my grandfather and me alone in the hall.

My grandfather gently touched the wound on my forehead.

“Does it hurt? I’ve already made arrangements. Someone will take you away tonight. The farther you go, the better.”

I was about to answer when footsteps echoed from the bottom of the stairs.

My uncle emerged from the chapel, his face ashen.

I knew the look in his eyes far too well.

For ten years, every man who had walked back through that door—every one of my fiancés—had looked at me the same way.

There was fear and disgust in his eyes, as though I were a venomous snake that had to be destroyed.

“Uncle?” I called cautiously.

He didn’t answer.

The next second, he suddenly struck at me.

I twisted aside. My trained body reacted faster than my mind.

“Uncle, snap out of it! It’s me, Leah!”

He didn’t seem to hear me. Instead, he reached for my grandfather’s silver cane and tried to wrench it from his hand.

My grandfather seized his wrist.

“Stop! What do you think you’re doing?”

My uncle went still.

Then he leaned close to my grandfather and whispered a few words into his ear.

My grandfather’s fingers tightened one by one around the handle of his cane.

When he looked at me again, I saw shock in his eyes, followed by fear and, for one terrible instant, the unmistakable urge to kill me.

The silver cane slowly rose in his hand.

I didn’t move.

A few seconds later, he lowered it again.

“I’ll investigate what happened inside that chapel myself,” he said hoarsely.

My father stood some distance away, looking so calm that it frightened me.

“If you don’t trust me, you’re welcome to investigate for as long as you wish. But under Moretti Family rules, Leah must remain on the estate tonight and face punishment.”

As soon as he finished speaking, members of the Family silently closed in around us.

My grandfather stared at me for a long time, his expression darkening before he finally gave a slow nod.

In the end, he said nothing more.

He left the estate with my uncle and the guards who had accompanied them.

That night, I was taken away to receive what they called Family punishment.

When it was over, I walked back to the main house alone.

I had thought about escaping many times over the years.

But the Family had eyes everywhere in Sicily. There was nowhere I could go.

After my third fiancé came out of the chapel a completely different man, I went to the police for help.

When the officers arrived, everyone on the estate gave them exactly the same story.

“Leah has suffered from psychological problems for years.”

“She can’t accept it when a man leaves her.”

“The other two daughters in this Family are perfectly normal. Why is Leah the only one constantly causing trouble?”

They even produced what they claimed were complete psychiatric records.

Of course the police believed them.

No one believed me.

Afterward, I was locked in the basement beneath the estate for an entire week to “reflect on my behavior.”

When I was finally allowed back into the house, my two sisters smashed my encrypted phone and laptop in front of me.

“Leah, stop struggling. It’s pointless.”

Just like that, they cut off every way I had of reaching the outside world.

That was when I finally lost control.

I shoved past them and ran straight to my father’s study.

I burst through the door and screamed at him.

“If you never intended to let me have a normal life, you could have told me from the beginning! Why do you have to destroy everyone I love? How much longer do you expect me to obey you?”

My father’s expression darkened.

He seized my shoulder and slammed me onto the floor.

Gritting my teeth, I reached into my pocket and pressed the emergency button on the tiny backup locator I had hidden there.

It wasn’t long before police sirens sounded outside the estate.

The local officers had no choice but to respond.

When they entered, they carried none of the authority expected of the police. Their eyes held nothing but fear of the Don.

As they went through the motions of questioning him, my father barely looked up.

He slowly brushed the dust from his clothes.

“This is how things are done in Sicily. Under Moretti rules, every man who wishes to marry into this Family must enter the underground chapel and undergo a loyalty test. They all agreed to go inside willingly.”

He paused, his expression perfectly composed.

“Whatever happens in there is beyond our control.”

“It’s fate.”