Chapter 4

They sent me back to the house.

As I walked in, one of his men said to me, "Mrs. Valeri, the Don wants you to hand over the family ledgers. From now on, the Donna will keep them."

Mrs. Valeri.

I'd barely walked out of that meeting, and already they'd stopped calling me Donna.

I shoved the ledgers into his hands.

"Tell Niccolo to leave me out of family business from now on. His new wife can handle it."

Once he was gone, I started clearing out my things.

I scraped Leo's drawings off the walls, one by one.

Last of all, I poured Leo's ashes into a small cloth bag and tucked it inside my coat.

It wasn't until I zipped it shut that I realized six years of my life had fit into one suitcase.

I wheeled it out the front door.

The night wind slipped through my collar. The wheels rattled over the gravel. Clack, clack.

As if they were counting down the last seconds of those six years.

Then I heard footsteps behind me.

Before I could turn around, something slammed into the back of my head.

And then everything went black.

...

When I came to, there was a gag in my mouth, and I was tied up in an abandoned warehouse.

My hands were tied behind the chair, the rough rope digging into my wrists.

I blinked a few times and caught sight of Aria tied to the chair next to me.

She was gagged too. Half her hair had come loose and was plastered to her sweaty face.

That was when I realized we'd been kidnapped, just as I was about to leave.

Crash!

Someone kicked the steel door open, and Niccolo burst through.

He was breathing hard, his eyes fixed on me.

"Elena!"

I looked up at him, and my clenched fingers loosened a little.

Then something scraped across the concrete floor, and a few men emerged from the back of the warehouse.

The man in front was tall and skinny, twirling a lighter between his fingers.

"Easy, Don Valeri. What's the rush?"

Niccolo spoke through gritted teeth. "Luca. So you're not dead after all. I came alone like you said, so you'd better stick to the deal!"

Luca Santoro laughed, showing a row of yellow teeth.

"Of course it's me. You didn't manage to kill me three years ago. Bet you never saw this day coming, huh?"

He pulled two switchblades from the back of his waistband and flicked them open. He held one against my throat and the other against Aria's.

"Look at these two. One's your wife, and the other one's carrying your kid.

"Wouldn't it be fun to watch them both die right in front of you?"

Niccolo's breathing turned ragged.

"Let them go!"

Luca pressed the knife harder against my throat. Blood trickled down my neck.

"Luca, you're insane!"

Niccolo lunged forward a step.

Luca waved a hand, and one of his men hauled Aria up out of her chair.

"Let's start with the side piece. Do it."

The man's big hand clamped around Aria's throat. She kicked and thrashed.

"Niccolo... our baby!"

Niccolo flinched.

"Wait!"

The man ignored him. The veins stood out on the back of his hand, and Aria's face turned purple.

"Take Elena instead..."

Niccolo clenched his jaw and slowly pointed at me.

My heart skipped a beat.

"Luca, let her go. Take Elena instead. I'll pay whatever price you demand.

"If you refuse, the whole Valeri family will make sure you don't live through the night."

Luca glanced at me and gave a harsh laugh. He lowered the knife from my throat and signaled to his men.

Aria crumpled to the floor, then scrambled toward Niccolo on her hands and knees.

Niccolo bent down and scooped her up. Then he turned to me, his voice low and strained.

"Elena, she's carrying my child. You have to understand.

"I'll be right back for you."

He left me with that and never looked back.

I watched him disappear through the rusted steel doorway.

I stared at the closed door. Even with my life hanging in the balance, I couldn't help letting out a bitter laugh.

I laughed as tears began falling to the floor.

I laughed at myself. Just a moment ago, I'd still had a little hope.

Two men grabbed me under the arms and dragged me deeper into the warehouse.

One of my shoes came off. The gravel tore up the bottom of my foot.

A steel door swung shut behind us with a dull thud.

It was dark in there.

I closed my eyes.