nna

zo had stolen from my mother's pocket was another nail

difficulty was in keeping the tremor from a six-year-old's voice. When the words 'master suite' were spoken, I n

lvatore's expression

lost his

manding to know who had allowed a

was angry. A cornered rat alway

the theft of my moth

ed if Omertà protected thieves from ch

nd pulled out a crumpled S

signed and approved three days ago. The paper

own the steps and took

was enough to

o if he was truly siphoning Family funds un

o words came out. Nothing. The

ng blow while he was

pregnant could claim a martyr's stipend

ce again. The scrape of a guard's bo

topped their vic

ia world left no room for

an excuse, the heavy i

r burst

clutched the black wedding silk tightly

, leaving behind a pale, waxy sheen

scordant note against the cobblestones as her center of gravity shift

ic beat of her heart against my cheek. I buried my face in her shoulder.

esh blood running do

y I had never seen before. She looked like a

ice shaking with rage as she acc

e crystalline moment, I saw fear flash through his eyes-not fear of my mother, but fear of what her words represented. Carlo's blood. In