GemNoir

“You need my help, Tesoro. You choose. A marriage with me or be torn apart by them” His voice was cool as though this wasn't a matter of life or death.

I didn't want this life. My father had gambled a lot and left me with a lot of enemies and now I needed the help of Don Vincenzo LaRosa who was my high school bully and now the Don of the most powerful mafia family in Italy if I was going to survive it.

It was just a marriage of convenience but I realized something. He wasn't helping me out of a good heart. I had been sold without my permission to him. I was the mafia's pawn.

Sold to the Capo

The first thing I noticed was the sterile scent of antiseptic. It clung to my senses, sharp and artificial, a stark contrast to the warmth of the bed beneath me. My head throbbed, a dull, insistent pain that pulsed at the base of my skull. My body felt sluggish, as if I had been sedated. I struggled to open my eyes, blinking against the harsh glow of fluorescent lights.

The rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor filled my ears, followed by the distant murmur of voices outside the room. The white walls, the IV in my arm—it all clicked into place. I was in a hospital.

A groggy exhale left my lips as I shifted slightly, my muscles aching with the effort. A shadow moved beside me and I flinched slightly, not expecting the sudden movement.

The voice was familiar, rough around the edges, yet laced with something softer—concern.

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