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Chapter 2

Author: Bruce
The next morning, I was in the estate's study as usual, going over the Caruso family's accounts from last quarter.

The door pushed open. Damian's right-hand man, Locke, walked in, carefully carrying a dark green velvet box.

"Donna, this is a gift from the Don. He said yesterday's wedding put you through too much."

I didn't look up. My pen kept moving steadily across the ledger. "Leave it."

I knew what was in the box.

An antique brooch engraved with the Caruso family crest, the thornbird. The symbol of the Don's wife through every generation.

Damian had promised me he'd pin it on me himself the day after our wedding.

I set down my pen and was about to open the box when my phone lit up.

A message from Bella. A selfie.

In the photo, she was wearing a men's shirt I recognized instantly. Her face was pale, but pinned right there on her collar was the thornbird brooch. The Caruso Donna's brooch.

[Viola, Damian said wearing the family crest makes her feel safe. You're already the recognized future Donna. You won't mind lending it to me for a few days, right? Just as a good-luck charm.]

I froze. Then I reached over and flipped the lock on the velvet box.

The lid popped open. Empty.

So the box Locke delivered was empty.

The real brooch had already been pinned by Damian's own hands onto another woman's chest.

I closed the box, picked up my phone, and called Damian.

"Damian, using an empty box as your so-called 'compensation.' Is that the Caruso family's new humor, or the last bit of respect you have for me?"

Silence on the other end for a beat. Then Damian sighed.

"Viola, let me explain. Bella got into an accident yesterday. She's on the verge of a breakdown. She saw me holding the brooch and said the crest made her feel safe. I figured you weren't in a rush to wear it, so I lent it to her for a few days. I forgot to tell Locke I'd already taken it out. I wasn't trying to provoke you."

I looked out the window at the bare oak trees, and something desolate took root in my chest.

"But that's the symbol of every Donna before me."

"Viola, you're already the recognized next Donna. You don't need a piece of jewelry to prove that."

Damian's voice dropped, slipping into that familiar script.

"A real Donna's true symbol is her grace. Don't nitpick over something this small. Show me some magnanimity, alright? I'll have Locke pick you up a better diamond necklace from Bulgari."

I went quiet.

Seven years. He always did this. Taking what was mine to soothe Bella, then dressing it up as the bigger picture a Donna should have.

Because in his eyes, I was strong enough. So I didn't need to be favored.

"Alright."

I said it softly.

"That's my girl."

Damian let out a breath, his tone gentle again.

"Wait for me. We'll have dinner tonight."

After I hung up, I let out a long breath.

This time, it felt like what I'd given up wasn't just a brooch.
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  • The Last Bell at St. Patrick's   Chapter 10

    Half a year later, I'd firmly established myself in the Gambino family.I'd doubled the South Side's profits and taken over the family's core accounting network.Lucien handed more and more of the business over to me.I bought a spacious apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side.One early summer afternoon, I was sitting on my terrace with a cup of coffee.My assistant brought me an international package.Three months earlier, after driving Bella out, Damian had voluntarily stepped down from the Don's seat and handed the family's mess to old Anthony.He'd taken a few trusted men to Sicily, Italy, and hadn't come back to New York since.I tore the seal off the package. Inside was an old tin box.I opened it. On top was a yellowed photograph.Seven years ago, me and Damian on a train platform.In the photo, Damian had his arm around me, doting. I was smiling. Both of us had nothing but tenderness for each other in our eyes.I flipped the photo over. A line was written on the back.The han

  • The Last Bell at St. Patrick's   Chapter 9

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    On a weekend afternoon, I drove out to an old warehouse in Brooklyn to pick up my last personal belongings.The warehouse manager helped me haul two heavy cardboard boxes out to the curb.I'd just pulled out my phone to call a moving van when a familiar SUV slid up in front of me.The door opened and Damian got out.Without a word, he picked up the boxes from the ground and loaded them straight into the SUV's trunk."Put those down. I called a car."I stepped forward to stop him."Let me drive you. One last time."His voice was hoarse, with deep shadows under his eyes. He clearly hadn't slept properly in days.I looked at his back and stopped arguing. I opened the passenger door and got in.This was the last time we'd cross paths. I didn't want a pointless scene on the street.Damian started the car.The air in the cabin was suffocating. Softly, an old Italian song drifted from the speakers.It was my favorite song seven years ago.I used to play it every night in my apartment. He alwa

  • The Last Bell at St. Patrick's   Chapter 7

    Three weeks into joining the Gambino family, a serious accounting hole turned up in the South Side underground bank.I worked three straight days of overtime with my team. The cross-district finance meeting ran until ten at night.We traced every fund flow and pinned down the insider taking kickbacks.By the time it was handled, I was running on empty.At 10:07, my personal phone lit up.A message from Damian. [Your stomach's bad. Don't work late on an empty stomach.]I glanced at the screen.For the past seven years, this was the hour I waited for, no matter what. I'd cancel every social engagement just to wait for his call.If I had to work late, I'd make a point of telling him. Just to get one line of concern back.Now, reading the words on the screen, all I felt was exhaustion.I flipped the phone face down on the desk and didn't reply.After the meeting, I packed up my files and headed for the elevator.When I reached the ground floor lobby, the front desk security chief stopped m

  • The Last Bell at St. Patrick's   Chapter 6

    In the morning, the Gambino family's car was waiting downstairs at the hotel, right on time.Lucien kept his word.In the top-floor office of the Manhattan headquarters, he slid a letter of appointment bearing the family crest across the desk."Viola, as of today, you're the Gambino family's senior financial advisor. Your clearance matches what you had at the Caruso family."He leaned back in his leather chair, laying out the hard truth up front."The Gambino family doesn't do old loyalties. The Caruso family will come at you. You'd better prove you deserve this seat.""I handle the books and the money flow. Outside trouble is the Gambino security department's job."I signed my name and slid the document back."Within three months, I'll double the profits from the South Side port. That's my proof."My first day on the new books, I didn't have time to look up.The Gambino family's holdings were far more tangled than the Caruso family's.I rebuilt their funding channels for the past thre

  • The Last Bell at St. Patrick's   Chapter 5

    It was an execution order, signed by the Caruso family's former Don.It clearly recorded that Bella's father had sold out the Caruso family's arms shipment routes.The old Don had issued the order and personally executed the man who betrayed the family.Bella's father had never died saving Damian.For seven years, Damian had used that lie to force me to yield to that traitor's daughter, again and again."You see it now?"Lucien sat in the car, toying with a silver lighter."That's the reason he made you swallow everything for seven years. A complete and utter lie."I folded the paper and tucked it into my coat pocket.Seven years of grievance and compromise collapsed into an absurd joke in that one moment."How did the Gambino family get this document?"I turned to look at Lucien."There are divisions inside the Caruso family."Lucien leaned back against the seat."Some people aren't happy that Damian broke the rules for a woman. They need an opening to knock the young Don down a peg.

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