THE DON'S DAUGHER

as old enough to walk, her father, Don Giovanni DeSanto, had made sure she understood

and Rory had been groomed to one day take over the reins. She

undercurrents of the city without drawing attention. But despite all of that, Rory

g she had to worry about was her next art class or gallery opening, not

to suffocate her. And so, she kept her love for art hidden, carefully nurt

rld seemed furth

ather died, eve

evening when the new

est in a long line of bloody rivalries

though the ground beneath her feet had cracked open, and Rory was falling into a world she h

n the foundation

had been carefully trained for years to take her father's place, but this this was not somethi

. He was loyal to the family, and more than anyone else, he believed Rory was the one to conti

is tone grave. "We need to talk.

the staircase. His eyes, once so full of life and authority, now felt like they were watching her, silently demand

ce barely above a whisper. "I don't want t

don't have a choice. The family is counting on you. They trust you. You've earned thei

. I don't care about the power or the respect. I care about my freedom. I w

walk away from it, Rory. He built it to protect you, to make sure you had the power to

ad always told her that the mafia was about loyalty to the family,

so much from her-her freedom, her peace of mind. And now, it

g enough for this," she ad

this your whole life. You're ready." Marco's words were calm, but there was an edge of urgenc

simply groomed her to follow in his footsteps, to inherit his empire as t

hoes? Could she take up the mantle of Don, leading an empire built on fear and violence? Or wa

the familiar sound of footsteps approaching from beh

esence. It was Antonio, one of her father's most trusted enforce

r said everything: the family was watching. T

gacy was heavy, but the weight of her decisio

was low, respectful, but there was a trace of e

ory felt the full responsibility

was the heir to the DeSanto family. An

ened her back. She had a choice t

d the family, but not in the way my father did. I will find a way

ation. "Understood, Miss DeS

dn't run anymore. The life she had tried to escape ha

d the other in the brutal world her father had cre

ld rise or fall based

t how much those ch

CONTIN