Chapter 2

The chapel was so quiet I could hear the faint crackle of the candlewicks.

When Bruno saw I still had the nerve to look up, he ground his boot down harder.

"You dare look the Don in the eye? You really think you're some kind of lady now!"

He turned and waved to the gunmen in black behind him.

"Go get some thorny white roses and spread them over this broken glass.

"Make her crawl across it to entertain the Don."

Two bodyguards immediately carried over several large bunches of fresh white roses.

They tore off the petals, mixed the thorny stems with the broken glass, and spread it all over the marble in front of me.

Under the harsh lights, the thorns and glass glinted coldly.

On the screen, Olivia shook with laughter.

"Marcus, look at her. She looks so stupid, like some stray cat nobody wants on the streets of Milan."

Marcus lazily kissed her neck.

"She's just a cheap pet. The Don can do whatever he wants with her."

He raised his voice into the microphone.

"Claire, where's that cool, aloof act you always put on in front of me?

"Crawl over there. If you make Mr. Sartori laugh, maybe I'll have someone bring your ashes back to mainland Italy."

I didn't look at the screen. My eyes stayed locked on Valentino's face.

He didn't even turn his head my way.

He just picked up a small pair of silver scissors from the weapons crate and slowly snipped the loose thread on the bear's ear.

His detached indifference left a dull ache in my chest.

Ten years ago had been a cold night just like this one.

To save up for passage out of Naples, I'd scaled fish for the fishmongers on the docks.

To pay for the medicine for his injured leg, I'd run contraband drugs for a black-market boss and gotten beaten bloody by a rival gang in an alley.

Val had rushed in like a rabid dog, clutching a gutting knife he'd sharpened until it gleamed.

"Anyone who touches her, I'll cut their throat."

That was the first time he drew blood.

The thugs broke two of his ribs with iron bars. He didn't even flinch.

That night, under the bridge, I cried as I bandaged him with rags.

But he reached up with a bloody hand to wipe my face, his voice hoarse. "Claire, don't cry.

"Once I have power, I'll bring all of Italy to its knees. No one will ever make you bleed a single drop again."

Lies.

It had all been one big lie.

My split lips twisted into a bitter smile.

"Wipe that smile off your face!"

Bruno kicked me hard.

The blow knocked me over, and my right shoulder felt like it had cracked.

Two gunmen in black stepped up, one on each side, and grabbed my wrists.

They dragged me roughly onto a pile of spent shell casings.

"Kneel."

The bodyguard's voice was cold and mechanical.

I struggled hard, and a rifle butt immediately slammed into my back again.

My knees hit the floor hard before I could stop them.

The sharp rose thorns and shards of glass pierced the thin silk of my skirt.

The pain made me gasp.

Blood soaked through the gold silk and spread across the marble.

Marcus's voice came through the speakers at once.

"That's more like it.

"Claire, know your place. Without that stand-in role, you wouldn't even be fit to shine the Don's shoes.

"Crawl forward. Keep going until the Don's satisfied."

I clenched my teeth as cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

The thorns had sunk deep into my flesh. The slightest movement sent pain through my bones.

I lay on the floor and didn't move.

Bruno strode over, grabbed a fistful of my blond hair, and yanked me up.

Pain tore through my scalp, and I had no choice but to tip my head back.

"Mr. Galli told you to crawl. Are you deaf?"

Bruno turned to Valentino with a fawning look.

"Don, this little bitch is stubborn. Want me to grind her face into the thorns too?"

Valentino tossed the silver scissors back into the tin box.

The metal struck the box with a harsh clang.

He finally raised his eyes and looked straight at me.

It was the look you'd give a piece of trash before throwing it out.

"Marcus."

Valentino suddenly spoke. His tone was flat, but it made the man and woman on the screen hold their breath.

"You searched high and low, and this is the best you could find?"

He barely frowned, but cruelty stirred in his eyes.

"The woman I lost at sea would never have lain there like a dead fish and let someone carve her up.

"She was the best liar I ever knew. The best at stabbing people in the back."

He stared at me as if he could see through my skin to a ghost who'd sunk to the bottom of the sea.

"This fake is a poor imitation."

On the screen, Olivia panicked.

"Mr. Sartori, please don't be angry. Marcus only wanted to entertain you."

She shot me a venomous glare through the screen.

"Claire! Hurry up and beg for mercy! You're going to get us killed along with you!"

I looked up at Valentino's chiseled face. It was a stranger's face now.

He hates me?

He really hates me this much?

Ten years ago, during that storm at sea, our smuggling boat hit a reef and started taking on water. To lighten the load, the captain wanted to throw him overboard.

I strapped a stolen life jacket onto him and jumped into the freezing sea myself to draw the captain's attention.

I was ready to die for him, and now he's calling me a liar?

I fought through the pain in my knees and raised my voice.

Thirst had made it hoarse and ugly.

"What does the Don want to see?"

I met those gray-green eyes.

"Me wagging my tail and begging? Or me showing you how she sank into the sea to feed the fish?"