공유

Chapter 3

작가: Golden Altar
The safe in my study was more than half empty.

Confidential ledgers, maps of our hidden surveillance posts, access records for the legitimate businesses that concealed our finances: I'd sealed everything and passed it to the famiglia's chief accountant.

Vittorio came in while I was finishing.

His gaze swept over the half-cleared safe. Satisfaction flickered across his face.

"You should've done this years ago."

He came over and stroked the top of my head, his voice gentle and soothing.

"Why should a woman spend her days shooting people and poring over dirty accounts?

"Leave the blood and the ugly work to me. All you need to do is stay in the castle and enjoy being my Donna."

I lowered my eyes.

"The alliance's annual cruise is in international waters in three days," I said softly. "Do I really have to go?"

He adjusted his tie.

"Of course. Every major family will be there. It would look bad if you stayed home."

I didn't argue.

...

That night, aboard the cruise ship in international waters, Vittorio made a grand entrance with his arm around my waist.

"Don Vittorio still treats his wife like she's the center of his world."

"After all these years, too. She took bullets for him, and he's signed half his empire over to her. What a love story."

Compliments followed us across the ballroom.

Vittorio smiled graciously and adjusted my shawl with practiced tenderness.

I sipped champagne and fought the urge to be sick.

In the corridor outside the restroom, a young woman walked straight into me.

Champagne splashed over the hem of my designer dress.

She lowered her head. Her voice was sweet, but the challenge beneath it was unmistakable.

"Oh, Donna, you're so intimidating. You startled me so badly my hand shook.

"No wonder he says being at home feels like being in prison. He says he can barely breathe around you."

I looked at her.

She was in her early twenties, round-faced, with wide eyes. The crest on her dress belonged to one of the family's minor branches.

A cloying sweet perfume drifted off her.

I didn't answer.

Hurried footsteps sounded from the other end of the corridor.

Vittorio appeared and pulled her away from me. The girl stumbled back two steps, her eyes reddening.

He ignored her and turned to me, suddenly all tenderness.

"Your dress is ruined. Come on. I'll take you to a cabin where you can change."

But the moment we reached the private cabin, he let go of my hand.

"I left a work discussion unfinished when I came after you. Get changed and wait here. I'll come back as soon as I'm done."

He kissed my cheek and hurried out.

I followed quietly.

The service passage was narrow and dim. From around the corner came two hushed voices.

"Why did you come here and cause trouble? Didn't I tell you to stay home?"

Vittorio sounded irritated.

The girl's sobs were muffled against his chest, broken and halting.

"I was just insanely jealous...

"I wanted to see for myself how dazzling the woman you love really is..."

For a few seconds, there was silence.

Then came the rustle of fabric and a dull thud as he pressed her against the bulkhead. In the cramped passage, the sound of their kissing seemed impossibly loud.

Before long, a cabin door opened and closed, and the corridor went quiet again.

I leaned against the wall and shut my eyes.

A burst of gunfire erupted on deck.

An enemy family had struck while our leaders were gathered in international waters. Guests screamed and ran. Within moments, the ship had become chaos.

I was trapped at the stairwell leading to the lower deck when two armed attackers came around the corner.

I called Vittorio on our secure line. In the background, I could hear a woman's stifled panting and sobs.

Vittorio answered, his breathing unsteady.

"Don't panic," he said quietly. "I've sent men to you. Nothing's going to happen to you in the next few minutes.

"There are guns on deck. Lead the men and hold out a little longer. I'll be right there."

The call ended.

I stared at the shadows closing in from the end of the passage, and felt something inside me go cold.

Just as I lowered the phone, the men he'd sent arrived. Fighting alongside them, I finally managed to take down both killers.

By the time it was over, pain burned through the nerves of my injured hand. My dress was soaked with sweat.

Later, I stood outside in the cold night wind, watching the black sea surge beneath the ship.

"One last day, Vittorio," I whispered.

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  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 9

    Vittorio didn't die in the blizzard.A shelter van found him late that night, barely conscious, and brought him inside. The frostbite was so severe that the toes on both feet had to be amputated.For the next three months, the kill order his former men on the Meridian Coast had put out on him still stood. And no shelter in Nordvaal would keep a crippled man with blood on his hands.He drifted between the streets and temporary accommodation, beaten down each time he tried to start again.Eventually, he stopped trying.His mind had deteriorated, too.The once-feared Don became a confused beggar near the harbor, propping himself up on two broken walking sticks and wearing a foul-smelling coat he'd found somewhere.Most days he huddled beside the garbage bins at the docks.Yet even when he could barely remember where he was, one thing remained sewn to his chest: the silver pin with my name.His clothes were in tatters, but he polished that little piece of silver until it shone.O

  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 8

    I looked down at the scorched dagger by my feet.Then, to my own surprise, I laughed."Vittorio. Do you really still believe I'm going to forgive you?"He stared at me, tears freezing on his cheeks.I crouched and reached out with my right hand.The hand that once couldn't hold a spoon now gripped his chin with steady fingers. I tilted his face toward mine.His eyes widened when he noticed how firm my hand was."Your hand... Freya, it's better? The injury's really healing?""It is. Strange how much better I got once I left you and stopped cleaning up your filthy accounts."I tightened my grip just enough to hold his gaze.The sudden hope in his eyes faded."Did you think kneeling in the snow for a few hours and waving around a burned piece of metal would be enough? That you could stage one grand sacrifice and call yourself redeemed?""I'm not pretending," he whispered. "I swear I'm not."Tears started spilling down his cheeks again."Six months ago, when you were cheating

  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 7

    Six months later, Nordvaal was hit by one of the worst blizzards in memory.I was in my second-floor study reviewing the quarterly statements for my new shipping company when one of my guards called up from downstairs."Ma'am, there's a man kneeling outside the gate. He's been there nearly four hours."The guard hesitated."He's covered in injuries, and his left hand looks broken. We've told him to leave several times. He just stays there on his knees, begging to see you."I turned a page."Who is he?""He's wearing a silver pin. Your name is engraved on it."I stood and walked to the window.The snow was blowing almost sideways. Beyond the black iron gates, a dark shape knelt in the white wasteland.He was wearing a thin, torn suit, with snow piled across his shoulders.Once, Vittorio Cattaneo had traveled behind an escort of armored cars. Now he looked like a man who had nowhere left to sleep.I put on a cashmere coat, took a black umbrella, and went downstairs.The iron

  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 6

    Winter came to Nordvaal earlier than I'd expected.A fire blazed in the manor hearth. Pine logs snapped and settled, filling the air with a clean, resinous scent.My private doctor removed the bandage from my right hand and gently examined the damaged nerves."You're recovering better than expected," she said. "Without the constant stress, the spasms are becoming less frequent."I picked up a delicate porcelain teacup with my right hand.My wrist ached faintly, but not a drop of tea spilled."See?" I said. "Get away from the garbage, and even my hand heals faster."The doctor smiled, packed her instruments, and left me alone.Reports from my old intelligence network arrived every day.Without me managing the finances and coordinating the family's contacts, Vittorio's supposedly unstoppable empire was collapsing like a row of dominoes.The old-guard capos had turned on him as soon as they learned the master ledgers were gone.By the third day, rival families were tearing hole

  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 5

    The emails kept coming.First was the full security recording from the church. It showed Vittorio with Lucienne against the stone wall beside the altar, silver chalices scattered at their feet.Next came every photo from the anonymous account: Vittorio painting her nails, Lucienne posing with his obsidian signet ring, the sapphire necklace she'd discarded before he tried to give it to me.The third email contained a recording made by one of Freya's operatives. On the cruise, Vittorio had promised Lucienne a private island. She'd rejected it for being too far away.He sank to the floor and began to sob.Far out at sea, a speedboat cut a white trail through the dark water....Freya's POVI sat in the rear cabin, turning a palm-sized black communicator over in my hand. Its red indicator blinked insistently.The unit vibrated, connecting me to Silas Brandt's private line."Donna, Corvanna's in chaos," Silas reported. "The airports are shut down, the ports are on maximum alert, a

  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 4

    The next morning, our bedroom door opened.Vittorio came in wearing the same suit he'd worn on the cruise. A few faint scratches marked the side of his neck, mostly hidden by his collar. The cloying fruity perfume on him was nauseating.He found me closing a small suitcase.He rubbed his temples, looking exhausted."Still upset?"Last night was an emergency. I was only a little late getting to you. Besides, I sent men ahead to protect you. You used to handle a gun better than anyone I know. Between your skills and the guards, you were never really in danger. Don't be so petty."I zipped the case shut without looking at him.Vittorio sighed, took a gold-edged envelope from inside his jacket, and set it on my dressing table."All right. Take a look at this first."It's a private island off the Meridian Coast, with a transfer agreement that gives it to you outright. On our anniversary next week, I'll put the whole island in your name, and then I'll take you there myself for a mon

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