로그인Once things settled down, Orion took Diana and me to an auction.The auction assistant who'd given me the cold shoulder apologized, terrified.The socialite who'd bought the pink diamond necklace held it out to me. "Ms. Sorrentino, I misjudged you and disrespected you. Please accept this necklace as my apology."I signaled Orion to pay for it."Getting it for free is no fun. I want to spend Orion's money."After the auction, Diana trailed behind us, her arms loaded with all my shopping bags.Orion said gently, "I bought that estate you liked."I nodded. Perfect. That estate could hold everything I'd bought!"I don't get it. You're the Don's daughter. Why would you want to be Orion's girlfriend?" Diana muttered."Because I really hate dealing with all that stuff, and I don't want to be the Don's heir!"Diana raised an eyebrow at me. "Delilah, I think I'm starting to like you. You're quite a character."I waved her off. "Don't bother. I'm not into women."Diana gave an exaggerated shudde
"Mr. Malik, don't forget that my father has always protected your shady businesses." I didn't need to spell it out. I figured Malik knew exactly what I meant.Without my father behind him, his businesses would grind to a halt. If his partners lost money as a result, they might even turn on him.Malik kept smiling, but I caught the way his grip tightened on his coffee cup."Even your father wouldn't dare pick a fight with us," he said.I didn't care about his threat at all. "My father is my father, and I'm me. He's older now and far more cautious than he used to be. He's not like us younger people."Malik started to say something else, but I'd already pulled out the family crest.Whoever held it had the right to speak for the Sorrentino family.I smiled. "Since you're tired of years of peace and want to start trouble, I'll take over the money-laundering and distribution network you control."Malik slammed the table. "You've lost your mind! That would disrupt your own shipments too!"Of
I pulled out a card and tossed it down in front of the bosses. "Wire the compensation to this account."They hurried to pick it up, handling it gingerly. "Yes. Of course..."It was no small sum.But Orion only looked at me, his eyes full of concern.He showed no interest in power or money. He simply wiped a spot of blood from my face. "Does the smell bother you? Are you feeling sick?"I shook my head and pouted. "It's just that my dress is dirty. A designer made it for me, and I've barely worn it."Orion smiled. "I'll buy you a new one."That was the answer I wanted, and I gave him a dazzling smile.Diana watched all this, her expression conflicted.Before tonight, she'd always thought I was a useless trophy girlfriend who did nothing but pout until Orion gave in.But now, here I was, the daughter of a feared mafia Don, calmly negotiating with a pack of gang bosses and forcing them to submit.Once everything was handled, I got in the car with Orion and Diana to head back.Orion was bad
I pulled out the bloody knife and looked at my father. "You're here."My father rarely appeared in person, so Rhys didn't recognize him at first. Instead, he hurried over to Malik with a fawning smile.But right in front of him, Malik addressed me with deep respect. "Ms. Sorrentino."Everyone there froze, including Orion.Rhys stepped forward. "Mr. Malik, this bitch is just Orion's little girlfriend. You..."Before he could finish, Malik kicked him to the ground."You forced the Don to come here himself. Do you have a death wish? Ms. Sorrentino is the Don's daughter!" Malik snapped.Every man who'd just come at me with knives and guns instinctively took a step back.Diana looked at Orion. "She's really... really the East Coast Don's daughter?"Orion didn't say anything. He'd only just found out too.Malik glared at Rhys. "You dared lay a hand on Ms. Sorrentino! Apologize right now!"The other bosses traded uneasy looks. Afraid of my father's power, they stood before me with their heads
Several mob bosses got out of the cars, all of them furious.One of them threw an anonymous letter he'd received right in Rhys's face. Rhys tore it open in a panic. Inside were pages of investigative reports proving that he'd been skimming their cargo and reselling it."Rhys, we trusted you. We were willing to team up with you. And this is how you treat us?" the man demanded.Their men surrounded Rhys's crew.Rhys went white.But he calmed down fast and decided to pin it all on me. "Don't listen to her garbage. Orion and this bitch faked every bit of this to tear us apart from the inside!"Join me and take Orion down. I won't touch a cent of his assets. You can split all of it. And Orion's woman here, you can do whatever you want with her!"Rhys knew exactly how these men thought. Dangle something big enough in front of them, and they'd switch to his side.Sure enough, greed and lust gleamed in the bosses' eyes.One of them couldn't help himself. "Rhys has a point. We can sort out our
The entire port fell silent for a moment after I spoke.Then Rhys burst out laughing. "The Sorrentino family? The one headed by the Don who controls the entire East Coast? You think throwing that name around will scare me?"His men laughed along with him.I ignored the nobodies and stepped forward, my expression cold."Rhys, three years ago, you poisoned a gang boss and pinned the murder on a man already on death row."A year ago, you got your own men killed so you could pocket the money from a smuggling run, then caused a shipwreck to cover it up."Six months ago, you pretended to partner with someone and stole two of their shipping routes..."Rhys's eyes went wide, and for a second he looked guilty.His men exchanged glances, suspicion creeping in.But Rhys pulled himself together fast and glared at me. "Don't think a little gossip is going to bring me down. Ask anyone. I pay my men well! As long as the money keeps coming, they'll stay loyal!"Listening to him boast, I almost laughed







