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Chapter One

Raphael Giavanni knew he’d fucked up No one ever stole froh the head of the mafia was his fas or irl

A young girl with no name

Born into slavery

A few years ago, when he first noticed her, he’d asked her what her name was She didn’t have a name, not a real one She’d once told him her name was Useless, but he kneithout a doubt she had no name

Born into this life Given to Romeo Giavanni, his father

This girl, no, woman now, had no idea what life was like outside the boundaries of her prison Life with his father was a prison

She worked

That was all

No

Raphael had been surprised when his father didn’t sell her In their world, slave girls were kept for only a couple of purposes: sex and work

She wasn’t an ugly girl He knew she was a virgin, untested For a long time, she’d been in his father’s eirl

So ordered into the cold to help the gardener, he’d catch her with a glimpse of a smile on her lips It was so rare to see a sht it and found her completely beautiful

Now, he paced outside the room as the doctor he knew and trusted attended to her wounds One in the leg, another in the shoulder

What he’d done had been a mistake

Would his father notice her gone?

Would he care?

Running a hand down his face, he waited as Timothy did what he did best No one could rush him

After going over to his drinks table, he uncapped the whiskey and poured hienerous shot There was no reason for him to have a fancy decanter All he needed was the bottle and a glass to drink out of