The Don's Daughter Called Me a Stand-In and Lost Everything

"Oh, 'Supreme Leader,' is it? I bet he's just some guy you picked up in the red-light district."

Cecilia Malvezzi, the new Don's daughter, snatched my satellite phone and smashed it on the marble floor.

"What, your crippled husband can't satisfy you, so you've been collecting side pieces behind his back to fight your battles for you?"

I stared at the shattered phone on the floor and took a deep breath, fighting the urge to kill her.

"Ms. Malvezzi, I'll say this one last time.

"You have the wrong person.

"Take your assassins and get out now, and I'll pretend none of this ever happened."

Cecilia burst out laughing.

She turned to the Sicilian elite watching us.

"Did you all hear that? A fake from the slums is telling me to get out?"

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

"Lowlifes these days sure have some nerve, Ms. Malvezzi."

"Exactly. And she dragged along a cripple who's been stripped of his power, like that makes her somebody. She really doesn't know her place."

Cecilia came closer, her stilettos clicking on the marble.

She raised her hand, nearly jabbing her black-painted nails into my eyes.

"In Sicily, my father's rules are the law.

"Beat her to death!"

Several assassins wearing black gloves cracked their knuckles and lunged at me.

I shut my eyes on instinct.

But the blow never came.

Leon spun his wheelchair around and pulled me against his chest, shielding me with his body.

"Don't... touch Evelyn."

He'd once been the feared Don of the Santangelo family. Now he had no power and couldn't even stand.

All he knew was that he couldn't let me get hurt, so he kept me locked in his arms.

The assassins rained blows on his back with brass knuckles.

Thud!

Thud!

Each dull blow felt as if it landed on my heart.

"Leon!"

I fought to break free of his arms.

"Let me go! You were shot through the lung. You can't take a beating like this!"

Leon stubbornly shook his head.

His face went white, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but he didn't loosen his grip.

"Evelyn... it doesn't hurt.

"As long as I'm here, I won't let you get hurt."

Dark blood kept seeping from the corner of his mouth, yet he forced a smile to reassure me.

This idiot.

His whole body was convulsing with pain, and he was still worried about whether I was hurting!

"Stop! You animals, stop!"

Years ago, he'd taken a bullet through the lung to hold on to half of Sicily. A beating like this could kill him.

My eyes burned as I glared at Cecilia.

"Stop! If they keep this up, he'll die!"

The guests began whispering over their wineglasses.

"That looks like a couture silk gown. And she doesn't carry herself like someone from the slums."

"Shh, are you trying to get yourself killed? Ms. Malvezzi's furious. Do you want to end up as shark food?"

Ernesto, the Malvezzi family's butler, wiped sweat from his forehead and leaned in to warn Cecilia.

"Ms. Malvezzi, Mr. Santangelo used to be a Don, after all.

"If someone actually dies, and the Council looks into it..."

Cecilia backhanded Ernesto across the face.

"Shut up!

"He's a cripple with no real power. What's there to be afraid of?"

She pointed at Leon with contempt.

"Who cares about his worthless life? My father could pay for ten more just like it!

"Drag that filthy pair into the main hall!

"I want everyone in Sicily to see what happens to anyone who dares pretend to be my sister!"

The assassins seized Leon by the collar and dragged us into the main hall.

Leon was half-conscious from the pain, but he still clung to my hand. His fingers were ice-cold.

He was struggling to breathe, and blood kept running from his mouth.

I fought with everything I had, scraping my knees bloody on the marble floor.

"Don't touch him! You're going to kill him!"

Cecilia didn't even look back. Her voice was pure cruelty.

"Then let him die."