Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 9

The first snow had fallen in Manhattan.The night before, unknown gunmen had broken into my estate.They broke the legs of two guards and dumped a bucket of pig's blood in the hallway outside my bedroom.The smell of blood made me pass out on the spot. It wasn't until morning that the IV fluids began to help.Before, even the slightest trouble at the estate would have Arthur flying back within two hours to take care of it for me, even if he was in Miami on business.Across the North American underworld, Arthur Cole's name alone made people tremble.But with me, he was always gentle.He used to report to me on every new block he'd taken.I'd eat macarons and stamp the seal without looking."You're not even going to look? Aren't you worried I'll hide something from you?""No. You're the only one I trust."When I was 16, my enemies kidnapped me during a power struggle in the family. It was Arthur who got me out.Later, when my father was killed and people came after the businesses in my n

My vision dimmed, and my knife hand wavered.Arthur knocked the knife out of my hand and shoved me to the floor."Arthur, you're finally here."He pulled Vivian into his arms without even glancing at Byrne, who lay near the door.Vivian huddled in his arms, playing the victim."I was only trying to help. I brought a doctor to check on her and talked to her about recovering in Mexico, and she tried to kill me!"Arthur looked furious."Carl, kick the knife away."Carl stepped forward and kicked the knife under the bed.I slumped by the bed and pointed at the agreement on the floor."Arthur, open your eyes and look at what she brought!"She forged a psychiatric evaluation to have me declared incompetent. She even wants to sell me to a Mexican drug trafficker!"I stared at him as tears filled my eyes."The family never deals with drug traffickers. Did you forget every rule my father set?"Arthur glanced at the torn papers on the floor. There was no guilt in his eyes, only disappointment."

The church fell silent.Smuggling records and tax-exemption approvals lay scattered across the floor. Every page bore my signature and seal.Arthur had believed he controlled everything for ten years. Now he was a laughingstock."So it was you behind it all along..."Arthur stared up at me in the Don's chair, his lips trembling. He couldn't get a full sentence out.Vivian, slumped beside the steps, was the first to snap out of it.She finally understood that Arthur had never been the Don. He'd only ever been a front man."Helena, no, Donna, this has nothing to do with me!"Vivian knelt on the floor and begged me for mercy, pointing at Arthur."He lied to me. He said you were an adopted orphan and the Corsini family was his. If I'd known the truth, I never would've dared to cross you!"Arthur gaped at Vivian."You're the one who suggested selling Helena to Juárez to cover the shortfall in your father's campaign fund!""Shut up! How dare you lie to a senator's family! You've ruined me!"

Third-person POV:An abandoned shipyard at Pier 14.Dozens of Mexican drug traffickers stood guard all around.Juárez, 62, sat on a couch, a knife scar across his face and a cigar clamped between his teeth.The wooden crate was set down in the open space in the middle.Vivian smiled and eagerly handed over the transfer agreement for the shipping company."With this, your ships can come and go through the Port of New York whenever you like."Juárez exhaled a cloud of smoke, took the papers, and skimmed them."Senator Miller sure raised a good daughter. You're a lot more useful than Arthur.""Then there's the rest of my father's payment. And our safety...""What's the rush? Let me check the merchandise first."Juárez stood up and clapped his hands.A calculating look crossed Vivian's face, and she leaned in close to Juárez's ear."Arthur used to be the Corsini family's acting Don. Keeping him around is dangerous. Why not take care of him while you're at it?"Juárez glanced at her, then b

A few days later, at a psychiatric hospital.Vivian lay strapped to a bed in a hospital gown.The miscarriage and her father's downfall had driven her mad.The door opened, and I walked in.Two male orderlies followed me.They were the same two Vivian had brought to my estate.When Vivian saw me, she shrank into the corner of the bed."Why are you here? You monster!"I took out a file and tossed it onto her bed.It was a psychiatric evaluation and a declaration that the patient lacked legal capacity.They were identical to the papers she'd once thrown onto my bed.But this time, the patient named in the report was Vivian Miller."Your father has already pleaded guilty. He put all the blame on you. He said you'd lost your mind and contacted the Mexican cartel on your own."I laid out the facts in a flat voice."He signed the psychiatric evaluation and gave up guardianship of you.""That's impossible. I'm his only daughter!"Vivian screamed and tried to break free of the restraints."Wit