The Don's Wife Was Never Helpless

e most ruthless mafia Don in Los An

nded me from a steel beam and ordered

ter and I wore white dresses, a color exclus

d my little girl, forced her to jump off a concrete

't care. He kicked me down a flight o

ia, he even issued a Don's Command for

save my daughter's murderer, he allowed his doctors

d loyalty to his niece meant my

own life and dignity for the mons

made one fa

den name, Cole, as just a

ogical sister of Callan Cole, the terr

y mouth, I dialed my br

kill th

pte

inn

rrying the most formidable Don in Los Ang

lroom, handing a weighted cowhide strap to his men with a single order, its lack of inflection more t

ontested sovereign of t

s ago, in the ruinous aftermath of

a world that had grown teeth, and fastened a

essiveness for protecti

wrists. The steel beam they were tied to was

ing members of the Yale Syndicate, yet the

ood trembling in the center of the

te dresses to celebrate the r

sonal maid had delivered the white dresses to our rooms with a s

he air before it tore through the silk on my back. My bo

d indifference. He did not look at me. His dark eyes were fixe

Warm wetness began to s

g Hope. She was crying, her ti

apos. The massive man stepped toward Hop

t her cotton undergarments, trying to co

g sound of the leather strap. "Punish me! End

tective arm around Hazel's shoulders and announced, "Neither

ed until my dress w

errogation basement. Through a slit of vision, I watch

mmed shut, plunging me i

damp concrete floor, survivin

de a vow: I would

tle again. He picked me up, brushed grime from my face, and mentioned that Hope had been sent to

to fight. I let

grand staircase to

from behind a marble pillar, wearing a prist

he whispered. "I threw your precious brat

until my little girl jumped from a roof to

iumph. "Hudson's power protects me.

, clear voice in my head whispered: Survive. For