"Stand up!" The man holding me yanked me onto my feet.
They dragged me over to the Ferrari. As the window lowered farther, I saw the man who controlled this city.
Don Vito Lucchese was seated in the back. His light brown hair rested over his forehead, perfectly in place.
"What happened?" Vito asked, touching his firm jaw, where a faint scar marked his cheek.
"Boss, we caught this girl stealing from the pharmacy."
"Is that true?" Vito asked in a deep voice. His sharp, unreadable eyes studied me so closely that anyone would have struggled to meet his stare.
"Yes, sir," his henchman replied.
"Be quiet!" Vito snapped. "I want the girl to admit it herself."
I lowered my head and stared at my worn leather shoes.
"Did you steal?" Don Vito asked, louder this time.
I only nodded. I had tried to buy medicine for my mother, but the price was too high. While the pharmacist helped another customer, I tried to leave quietly with the medicine, but another employee caught me and held me there until Don Vito's men came.
"Why did you do it, girl?" Vito asked.
The sound of the Ferrari door opening reached my ears, and a cold shiver immediately ran through my body.
"Look at me!" the most feared man in the province instructed.
My heart hammered against my chest as a pair of polished black Oxford shoes came into view. Before I had the chance to raise my head, I felt his long fingers close around my face. His thumb and forefinger pressed against my jaw and forced my head up until I was looking directly into his eyes.
As frightened as I was, I didn't look away. Dressed in a light gray suit that fit him perfectly, the man drew attention without even trying. He didn't need to say a word for people to notice him. The slight lean of his body and the intimidating presence surrounding him made one thing obvious. He was a man who was completely in control.
---
Don Vito Lucchese's POV:
"My God..." I muttered as I looked into the girl's striking ice-blue eyes.
A delicate nose sat perfectly between her high cheekbones. Her black hair hung loose around her face.
"What did she steal?" I asked while studying her closely, trying to get to the truth.
"It was medicine, sir!"
"What was it for?"
"It was for my mother..." she replied with a stammer. "I couldn't afford the medicine."
"So you decided that stealing was acceptable?"
Her long dark lashes fluttered several times, but she didn't answer.
"Don't ever steal in my city again!" I said firmly as I tightened my hold on her face. "And I don't want to see you around here anymore. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
My fingers pressed more firmly against her pale skin while my eyes lingered on her well-shaped lips.
"Don Vito, we should make sure she learns her lesson," Ricardo suggested.
Damn it. Ruining a face like that would be a waste. I already had something else in mind for a girl with looks like hers.
"Enough!" I snapped. "Put her in the car." Then I let go of her chin and took a step back.
"No!" she cried out and struggled as Ricardo and Miguel dragged her away.
---
Juliette's POV:
Three weeks later...
The sound of footsteps creaking across the worn wooden floor told me he was coming. Each step landed with a heavy thud that echoed through the house like a warning of the nightmare waiting for me.
"The little rat is hiding in her hole again, isn't she?" Gaspar's voice was already thick with alcohol.
I didn't need to see the faint light slipping through the gap beneath the door to know he was outside. The cramped room was already filling with the smell of liquor mixed with stale cigarette smoke.
"Where are you, little rat?"
Curled up in a corner, I crawled farther across the room and tried to disappear into the shadows. Wrapping my arms around my knees, I made myself as small as possible. Fifteen days had passed since my mother died and left me alone with this horrible man. The medicine Don Vito had given us hadn't been enough to save her.
"Trying to hide from me?" Gaspar growled as he stumbled into the room and steadied himself against the wall. "Come over here to Daddy, little rat!"
My eyes drifted shut, and the only thing I could think about was a promise my mother had made years ago...
Back then, I was twelve years old and foolish enough to believe in a better future. I believed in the father who was supposed to take care of us in Italy. My mother had promised me happiness when she took me away from our quiet life in southern France. The years slipped by, and when I turned eighteen, illness took her from me. The groan of the door handle pulled me back to the reality I couldn't escape.
"I know you're here, little rat!" Gaspar called out as he moved through the room. His voice grew closer with every step. "You're eighteen now. It's time you learned what a man wants from a woman."
Fear tightened around me when his large hands grabbed me roughly and dragged me out from the shadows as if I weighed nothing.
No scream left my mouth, but panic rose inside me and made it hard to breathe.
All I could do was avoid looking at him. I fixed my eyes on the broken dresser or stared into empty space, hoping everything would be over quickly.
"Please..."
I knew begging wouldn't change anything, but I still held on to the smallest hope that some trace of humanity remained in the man my mother once believed in. A cruel smile spread across his face, and the sight of it made my stomach turn.
Without any care, Gaspar threw me onto the mattress and held me down with his weight. "You worthless little whore! You're just as cold and useless as your mother!" he hissed, dragging her memory into it. "But you're going to pay for it, girl. You'll pay me back for everything I've spent taking care of you all these years!" His hands tugged roughly at my blouse while the cold air brushed against my skin.
"No, I don't want this!" I responded, shaking my head as I squeezed my eyes shut. "Help!" I screamed.
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