Chapter 4

Victor sent men with more painkillers twice, but he never came himself.

My father's bodyguards stopped them at the iron gate both times.

The report that reached Victor was always the same.

"Ms. Coppola has come around. She's very calm."

On the morning of the fifth day, the whole Coppola estate had been decorated for the celebration.

My father stood outside my bedroom door and gave me an ultimatum. "You're going to Carl's place in the South District this morning.

"Once the Don's wedding goes off without a hitch, Luca will officially take over the shipping routes. Then we'll have nothing to worry about."

He'd already told Carl two days earlier that I'd agreed.

He'd also had my entire floor sealed off and every line of communication to the outside cut.

Fighting back nausea, I changed into the black dress they'd laid out. Then Eva and I pushed open the bathroom's ventilation window.

She'd just climbed out onto the fire escape when Luca and his men kicked in the bathroom door.

I grabbed a perfume bottle from the sink, threw it at the bodyguard in front, and clung to the doorframe with both hands.

"I never agreed to this pact.

"You're sending me to Carl against my will and hiding that from him. That's not a marriage. That's kidnapping."

"Once you're in Carl's territory, the Don will see that this family keeps its word.

"Give her a shot. We can't let the convoy leave late."

Luca pried my fingers off the frame.

Two bodyguards wrenched my hands behind my back and tied them tight with thick rope.

Then someone injected a muscle relaxant into my vein.

A bodyguard stuffed gauze into my mouth and taped my lips shut.

I shook my head desperately, but all I could manage was a weak whimper.

The rope across my chest tightened whenever I struggled.

Amy covered her mouth and stepped back.

"She really doesn't look right. Maybe we should take the tape off her mouth?"

Selena came down the hallway, crossed her arms, and laughed scornfully.

"Take it off, and she'll bite her tongue or scream for help.

"Once she gets to Carl's place, someone will take it off for her."

Amy's hand stopped in midair, and in the end she pulled it back.

Selena glanced at the bodyguards escorting me.

"Monica is angry right now.

"Don't let her start screaming on the way and spoil my mood before my wedding."

As they shoved me into the back of the armored car, word reached Victor's estate.

"Ms. Coppola got into the car willingly. She'll arrive at Mr. Lombardi's villa on time. The Don has nothing to worry about."

"She got in the car by herself?"

The messenger couldn't quite meet his eyes.

"Mr. Coppola talked her into it himself. It all went smoothly."

The intelligence officer beside Victor spoke up quietly. "Don, Ms. Coppola was so set against it just a few days ago. Should we send someone to check along the way?"

Inside the church, the prelude had already started playing, and Selena was fixing her veil.

Victor frowned and thought for a few seconds.

"Send the Hound to Carl's territory to keep watch.

"Have him report back as soon as she arrives safely."

Once the armored car started moving, I began slamming my shoulder into the heavy door.

Once.

Then again.

"Save your strength, Miss Monica."

The bodyguard in the passenger seat turned around and snapped, "The more you thrash around, the faster the drug takes effect and the stiffer you'll get."

I didn't stop.

A few more dull thuds echoed through the car.

Each one weaker than the last.

At last, I couldn't even lift my shoulder. Black spots swam across my vision.

"If you'd just behaved like this from the start, you wouldn't have had to suffer at all."

The car went dead silent.

Half an hour later, the armored car pulled up in front of Carl's villa in the South District.

A bodyguard eagerly opened the door.

"Mr. Lombardi, Ms. Coppola has been delivered."

There was no movement inside the car.

Carl took one look at me slumped motionless across the seat and hurried over.

"Monica?"

Still no answer.

He leaned into the car.

I lay crumpled in the corner between the seat and the door, my eyes half-open.

Tape covered my mouth, and the rope around my wrists had cut deep, bloody grooves into my skin.

He pulled out a knife, cut the rope, and ripped the gauze out of my mouth.

"Monica!"

My body was still a little warm, but my head hung limp against my shoulder.

Carl pressed two fingers to the side of my neck, then froze.

He turned and roared at the men behind him. "Get a doctor!

"Get the emergency team over here now!"