Maid To The Mafia

felt foreign, but suffocating. She had spent so much time convincing herself that she had built a life outside of this-one that didn't require bloodshed or manipulation-that to

ion of the game, testing her, trying to see where her loyalties lay. They had heard about her-heard about the woman who had once been an integral part of the family. And now they all wante

the exhaustion of it wore on her, gnawing at her resolve. She had hoped that helping Leonardo would be straightforward, that it would be a matter of ge

to be easy, but she hadn't expected them to be this complicated. The weight of it all was beginning to s

eavy curtains were drawn, and the only light in the room came from the fireplace, casting a warm

. "How did it go?" he asked, his voice smooth, but there was

it had affected her, how the manipulation and deceit of the mafia made her sick to her core. She kept her ex

urse. That's what we're dealing with. You're going to have to play them, Isabella. They respect pow

it made her uneasy. It was as if he had already resigned himself to the c

me to play their game. And what's in it for me, Leonardo? You say you

rifices to get here? To keep everything intact? This isn't just about the mafia, Isabella. It's about survival. If we do

the backstabbing, the families torn to pieces. She couldn't go through that again. But she also couldn't stand to see what

quietly. "But that doesn'

one who can help us bring this all back together. You've always known how to balance

im away, wanted to walk out of the room and leave it all behind. But the truth was, she coul

her voice steady now, "I

ebrow, his curiosity

t for me, but for the people I've left behind. I want guarantees tha

k behind his eyes. "You know I can't promise you that. The mafia doesn't wo

nough. I'm not walking into this fire without a guarantee that it won't consume everyone I care

voice calm but with an edge. "I can't promise you everything, Isabella. But I can promise you thi

ella considered it. She could leave. Walk out the door, take her ch

it or not. And no matter how much she wanted to walk away, she couldn't ignore

ng. "I'll help you. But I'll be the

t smile. "You're just like I remem

on't forget who you're dealing with, Leonar

w exactly what she meant. "I k

once flowed through her veins. The power to control the game. The power to manipulate the pieces,

ll. The reflection staring back at her was a woman shaped by the choices she had ma

not going to be a pawn in someone else's

e woul