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s deceased five years ago. Account legally closed." Those words, glaring from
usband, Dante, the Syndicate Don, rushed in with fake grief. My parents, who'd raised me a
g a flimsy excuse. My hacker skills led me to my secret trust account
him to reveal my death certificate. It stated "Accidental drowni
rged document to blackmail Dante, demanding to be taken to Leo, my counterattack already
pte
Vitiel
ch crawled up my nasal passages, violently
hing impact of the car crash, the taste of my own blood, and the terrifying sound of tearing met
a time. Blinding, synthetic white light stabbed into my dry corneas. My body instinctively rejected it, tears leaking from the cor
. I needed to assess my sur
f willpower into my fingers. A pathetic, barely visible twitch was all I managed. The severe muscle atrophy made my limbs feel like they belonged to a corpse. These wer
ital signs monitor next to my bed. The machin
eavy, soundproof door of the VIP
is Italian leather shoes squeaked harshly against the linoleum floor as he sprinted toward me. As the D
ight hand. My skin was freezing and covered in dark purple track marks from years
oulders shook violently. Hot, wet tears slipped
to his usual cold demeanor. "Elena," he choked out, his voice a raw, r
less mafia boss I married. It felt rehearsed. It felt incredibly forced. Instead of the warm flutter of relief
e hallway. My biological parents appeared in
ined of blood. He looked like he was going to vomit. They had raised me to be a pawn, teaching me from childhood that my only purpose was to
cked onto theirs, both of my parents flinched and immedia
. I opened my cracked lips, trying to form a word
inning me to the mattress. "Don't speak," he babbled, his words rushing out in a frantic
ld steady and locked my eyes directly onto his. My che
ay. Six Syndicate soldiers stood outside. They were armed with submachine guns under their coats.
assassins. They were standing with their backs to
otect me. They were her
e monitor beside my bed began to
ainst Dante's grip felt like trying to move a boulder, but I dragged my fingers
e mask of the grieving husband slipped. His facial muscles wen
od in my throat. I forced my vocal cords to grindk what year it was. The maternal instinct ove
nte's handsome, compl
ce dropping into a sickeningly sweet, ge
rgy to turn my head sharply to
ly. My father let out a nervous cough and actu
lid concrete. The smell of the ble
s and forced the raspy w
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