Chapter 5

A week later, they brought me "home."

If you call a fortress guarded by men with submachine guns home.

I was confined to a wheelchair, my body still refusing to heal. They put me in the sunroom, supposedly for the "fresh air," but it was really just a front-row seat to the Sienna Show.

Sienna was out on the lawn, wearing a sundress, tossing a ball for the family's Dobermans. She was running. Running with my heart, with my strength.

Lorenzo stood on the patio, cigar in hand, watching her with a pride he'd never shown me.

"Look at her," he muttered to Dominic. "A true Moretti. Strength, fire, life. It was worth every cent."

Dominic nodded, tapping his tablet. "The rejection suppressants I made are holding. She's a miracle, Pop."

I sat in the shadows, a ghost in a blanket.

Suddenly, Sienna "tripped."

She went down on the grass with a sharp cry. In a heartbeat, the entire family scrambled.

Lorenzo dropped his cigar. Isabella sprinted from the house.

Julian was the first to reach her, scooping her into his arms like she was made of glass.

"My chest!" Sienna sobbed, clutching at the spot where my heart lived.

"It hurts! It's Elena... I saw her looking at me from the window... her eyes were so mean... I got scared and lost my balance..."

Julian's head snapped toward the sunroom. The look he gave me was pure, unadulterated loathing.

He carried her inside, the whole parade following him. A few minutes later, Lorenzo walked into the sunroom.

He didn't say a word. He just backhanded me across the face.

Bang!

The force threw my head back, the wheelchair skidding on the marble floor. My lip split, the copper taste of blood filling my mouth.

"You ungrateful little bitch," the Don hissed. "We saved your life. We gave you the best care money can buy. And you're going to sit here and hex your little sister with your jealousy?"

"I didn't do anything," I whispered, my voice trembling.

"You exist. That's doing enough." He spat. "If I hear one more word about you upsetting Sienna, I'll put you back in the basement where we found you. Got it?"

I looked at my father—the man I'd once thought was a god—and I nodded.

"Good."

He left. I sat there in the dark, my face throbbing, the internal stitches in my chest pulling with every ragged breath.

I don't know how long I lay there. Then—a soft voice sounded.

Julian's voice. From Sienna's room. Just next door.

"Miss me?"

"Jules... stop," Sienna whispered, though she was giggling. "My heart is racing. Mom said I shouldn't get too excited."

"I can't help it," Julian's voice was low, hungry. "I've been stuck playing 'devoted husband' to that corpse in the other room all day. I need to feel something real."

"You still love her, don't you? The little princess?"

"Love her?" Julian smirked, and the sound cut deeper than Lorenzo's slap. "I married her because your father told me to. She was the backup. Now that you're healthy... she's useless."

"What about the fact that she can't have kids now?" Sienna purred. "You're the heir to the syndicate. You need a son."

"Then you'll give me one," Julian whispered.

Then came their muffled moans—Her breathy gasps. His eager growls. And...the wet slick sounds of him pushing into her...

I leaned my head against the cold wood of the doorframe.

I didn't cry. I just held the phone up, the camera lens peeking through the crack. I recorded every word. Every wet kiss. Every promise of my death.

Then the "Heartbreak Value" in my head dinged.

I was almost there.