Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Vincent met my desperate pleas with a cruel twist of his lips.
To defend his “aunt,” my own son accused Mila of seducing the Don of the Torrino family and leaking our secrets.
I knelt on the floor and crawled on all fours toward the woman who destroyed my life.
Before I could process the thought, Tessa swept in from outside.
To save her, Vincent demanded a price: my mother’s signet ring—the last piece of her I had left—for his mistress.
My son glanced at the ring with a sneer. “Ugh, this ring is so ugly! I can’t believe Aunt Tessa even wants it.”
“Luke!”
The sight of Tessa instantly brightened my son’s mood. He rushed over, throwing himself into her arms. “You’re so late! I’ve been waiting forever…”
“I’m begging you, please, spare Mila. She’ll never dare to cross Tessa again…”
I’m on my knees on the cold concrete, begging my husband and son for mercy.
My head snapped up. I stared at him, my husband, in utter disbelief.
“That’s no way to give a gift. You have to kneel and crawl over, and put the ring on Auntie Tessa’s finger with your own hands!”
My son, Luke, scowled with impatience.
“She’ll die in there, Vincent! She’s going to die!”
“That’s the only thing my mother left me…”
Was Tessa’s charm really that powerful? So powerful it could corrupt my once sweet, sensible son and the husband who had once adored me?
I couldn’t understand it.
My son’s laughter echoed through the hall.
Wiping away my tears, I made a call.
If they didn’t let her out soon, she really was going to die.
A sob caught in my throat as I crawled toward Vincent.
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“I can spare her, but first, she must admit that she leaked our family’s secrets to the Torrino family.”
Three days without a drop of water. In a freezing cold locker…
I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood.
Across the room, my son was preening, eager to take credit.
Bile rose in my throat, a bitter mix of rage and humiliation.
Vincent walked over and ruffled his son’s hair. “Luke, Aunt Tessa has her gallery to manage. It’s normal for her to be a little late.”
“If you want her out,” he said, his voice devoid of warmth, “give Tessa your mother’s signet ring.”
Blinded by tears, I twisted the signet ring from my finger.
“Vincent, I’m begging you, please, just let her go!”
He shot a contemptuous whistle in my direction. “Hey, whore. Crawl over here and put the ring on Aunt Tessa.”
I took deep, shuddering breaths, chanting to myself: Mila is still in the cold storage. I have to endure this.
Tessa. This was her idea.
“Crawl over here. On your knees. And put it on Aunt Tessa’s hand yourself.”
“I’ll take your deal. But I want ten times what you offered.”
I forced myself to my feet, the ring digging into my palm, and started toward them.
I woke to learn my sister had frozen to death anyway.
1
“So, are you giving it to her or not?” he demanded. “If you don’t, Mila can just stay in there and freeze!”
“I’ll give it to you!”
Isabella! Endure it!
My vision blurred with tears as I slid the signet ring from my finger and held it out to my son.
The sight of the three of them, like a perfect little family, was a dagger to my heart.
A silent scream clawed at my throat as I sank to my knees. Holding the ring out like an offering, I crawled toward Tessa on all fours.
Mila would never do that. How could she admit to a lie?
My son kicked my hand away, his face twisted in disgust. “Who said you could stand?”
For three days, Mila has been chained in the cold storage of the family’s meatpacking plant.
But just as I was about to hand it over…
No mother could ever accept being called ‘whore’ by her own son. I was no exception.
“Luke, this is the only memento your grandmother left for me. You have to take good care of it…”
That night, they took a lobe of my lung and gave it to her.
Three days ago, my sister, Mila, got into a fight with Tessa, my husband’s mistress.
As punishment, my husband, Vincent, chained her in a cold storage for three days and nights.
“Aunt Tessa!”
Vincent shot me a cold glance. “She’s only been locked up for three days and three nights. She won’t die.”
“She really is like a dog!”
My sister was framed for seducing the Don of a rival family.
I had barely taken two steps when my son’s voice stopped me cold. “Who said you could stand?”
“Aunt Tessa, even though you were late, I got the signet ring for you!”
