Iris
My stepsister Victoria had fastened my sapphire cufflink to her bracelet and was about to become the Donna of the Corleone family when the most feared Don in Europe called a halt to the wedding.
His voice was cold and low. "You're not the one I'm marrying. How could I ever fail to recognize the person who saved my life? The moment I first laid eyes on her, everything about her was burned into my memory."
"Victoria, who are you really?"
An uproar swept through the hall of European elites.
Victoria tightened her grip on the sapphire cufflink, fighting to keep her trembling voice steady.
"Caine, are you sure you haven't made a mistake?"
Of course she hoped he was wrong.
Ten years ago, in that suffocating cellar, the person who pulled him out of the grip of his claustrophobia and saved his life was me.
The person who smashed the lock open until my hands were covered in blood was me.
The person whose hand he'd pressed that sapphire cufflink into, the one he'd made the focus of his lifelong devotion, was me too.
But just days ago, my stepmother Camilla had pinned me to the ground, ripped the cufflink away from me, and shoved it into Victoria's palm.
She told me.
"Elena, your sister is prettier and has a better personality. If she marries the Don, our Santini family can finally rise to power."
In my last life, I believed their lies. I was locked in a cramped servant's room, watching Victoria take credit for what I had done and become the most glamorous Donna in all of Europe.
Later, terrified the truth would come out, Victoria and my own father tied me up in the basement. Then she drove a knife straight through my heart.
As I drew my last breath, the sapphire cufflink that should have been mine was still glittering from the bracelet on her wrist.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the exact moment they stole my keepsake.
This time, I contacted that terrifying Mafia Don before anyone else could.
I swore to take back everything that belonged to me.