Page 239 of Merciless Daddy

“Dante inherited debt. Santo inherited a temper. Marco inherited a nightclub and the idea that smiling counts as strategy.” Her thumb moved once over the antique ring. “I inherited enough sense to get out before the building fell.”

“And Sal? Tonio? Pietro?”

Her gaze sharpened slightly.

“They made their choice. Pity about Serafina, though. I liked her.”

My chest hurt.

I imagined Sal in the townhouse bedroom with my notebook against his heart. I imagined him searching. I imagined him refusing sleep. I imagined his face when the fire door came down.

Donatella watched me too closely.

Anger bubbled up in me so strongly. I stood.

One of the guards moved at once.

Donatella’s voice cracked through the room.

“Sit down.”

I turned on her.

She pointed to my chair.

“If you expect any court to believe this transaction is voluntary, stop swaying like you’re drugged.”

“I was drugged.”

“Yes. And now you need to look like you weren’t.”

Gianni’s mouth curved.

Donatella crossed to me and caught my chin in her fingers. Her grip was cool and insulting.

“Eyes are clear,” she said. “Pupils normal.”

I knocked her hand away.

“Touch me again and you’ll lose a finger.”

“At least you sound awake. That’s good.”

She looked toward Gianni.

“Water. Food. Hairbrush. Her blouse is creased.”

“I am not a doll,” I said.

“No. You’re right. Dolls are easier—they do as they’re told. Sit straight.”

My face burned.

Not because she had frightened me.

Because I had begun to trust this family.

Marco’s smile. Dante’s measured voice. Tonio holding Kiryl’s shoulder. Angela across from me at the library table. Pietro at the window. Sal beside the water with his palm under my back.