Chapter 1

"You're a weapon, Alessia. You're strong enough to survive this."

To save the family's cherished adopted daughter, Isabella, my fiancé Marco handed me over to our Russian rivals.

My own father, Don Falcone, saw my sacrifice as a small price for a truce.

My only hope was Luca, my childhood friend, who swore he'd bring me home.

He lied.

A week later, as I was being psychologically broken, I was forced to know a lavish party at the Falcone villa to celebrate Marco and Isabella’s engagement.

The Bratva leader saw it as an insult and left me to die in a fire.

But I was reborn from the ashes.

This time, when Marco knelt and begged me to go, I simply said, "Fine."

Now, five years later, Marco and Luca look at me with haunted eyes, begging for the girl I was.

"I’m not Alessia."

"And I’m already married."

My debt is paid.

Now, it's time to collect theirs.

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1

Marco Falcone knelt on the cold stone floor, his voice a low plea.

"Alessia, the truce is important. For the good of the Falcone family, we must see the bigger picture."

"Look at the power we could secure. Isabella is the daughter of the Don's late, beloved consigliere. She represents peace, a future away from this violence."

"You, on the other hand, were born in this world. You're a weapon, Alessia. You're strong enough to survive this. Trading you for her is our only move."

He laid out his cold, strategic analysis, a logic that completely erased my life from the equation.

Just then, a burner phone rang. It was Luca, his voice a tight wire of urgency.

"Don't break, Alessia. Just one week. I swear on my life, I will pull you out."

"You're smarter than any of their torturers. I trust you to handle this. I only trust you."

In my first life, I spit in their faces. I screamed at them.

"Is her life worth more than mine? You know the Bratva wants my head on a platter. If I go in there, I am not coming out alive!"

But my defiance only hardened Marco's resolve, his face twisting with disgust.

"Have you forgotten your oath? To protect this family, even at the cost of our own lives."

"Alessia, when I needed your loyalty, you chose to be selfish. You disappoint me."

Luca's voice echoed Marco's judgment through the phone:

"I know you resent her. You think she stole your place. But this is a critical moment. We can't afford your pride. This is an order from the Don. You must obey."

Even my own parents, the heads of the Falcone family, called from the villa to seal my fate.

"This is our burden to bear, not Isabella's. We raised her to be a lady, not a soldier like you. You two have had your differences, but she has a gentle heart. If you do this for the family, you will prove your worth and become the sister she never had."

I ignored them all, my silence a fortress.

Even when Marco used threats, a cold gun pressed to my temple, I fought him.

In the end, he knocked me unconscious. He handed me over to the Bratva himself.

Two days into my week-long ordeal, Luca called the safe house where I was being held.

But he didn't come to save me. He simply said:

"Alessia, the situation is more delicate than we thought. The Don needs more time to finalize the truce. I'm sorry. You'll have to hold on for a few more days."