Sold As Spare Parts: Claimed By Him

to marry Enzo, a notorious

carpet, hurling illicit photographs at my fa

was ruined, and pulled out my hidden, "p

sessively taking Sienna's hand and

o a soundproof room, his eyes scanning my

e horrifying truth: my mot

or for a procedure to restore his scarred childh

nd surrendered my youth to pay off

s just to drain my blood, only to hand me over to a m

on raided the estate, exposing the hidden underg

ng on her knees in the dirt days la

ned the

rm and got into the Don's car,

pte

nna

d in connection with the quiet, terrible things that happened t

hurled a stack of illicit photographs at my face, screaming to the armed guests that I w

of my silhouette leaving a notorious syndicate nightclub in the dead of night. A plac

les bore the faint, silvery trace of old teeth marks not to

le champagne flute, dropped by some unseen hand, chim

uits, their hands resting on concealed weapons, their thumbs stro

carried an aura of such dense stillness that the air around him seemed to thicken, to cool. His grip on my fingers did not lo

ver trays with a coordinated crash. They tore off their server vests, revealing themselves as a crew of low‑lev

k at her, trying to trap a high‑ranking Capo!" her voice pitched to carry, a thin, ree

ike dust. "Mother, be silent," I pleaded, my words a low hiss, a frantic attempt to staunch the wound be

. "I know precisely what I am doing, Gianna. I am saving this

zo. "She is a worn‑out plaything. She has been a fa

fore my eyes. For her, I had surrendered my education, my sleep, and my youth to keep a roof over her head. I had scrubbed floors and balanced

standing behind her. "Tell the Capo what she

ke of things a man could not know. He described my body in lurid, invented detail, reciting measurements no stranger

assed. A sour heat climbed the back of my throat, burning my esophagus. Rosa had given them my private medical informat

ed her arms, a triumphant tightening at the corners of he

is dark, hollow eyes were fixed intensely on my face. He was not looking at my body, nor at the photographs that littered t

voids. The muscles around his mouth tightened, not in a smile, but as if suppressing a reflex to bi

ate club. They said a Capo was searching for a woman with a very specific bone structure, a "perfect match" for s

He squeezed my hand so hard my knuckles ground together. "The wedding proceeds,