FIONA

"Who is he?" My dad barked, but I pushed my ear closer to my bedroom door. When I was younger, my parents always fought, never shy to raise their voices, but tonight, I could hear the tremble in Dad's tone.

"Lionel, I didn't-" Mom protested.

"...Tell me the truth!" He shouted, cutting her off. I flinched from the echo. "How could you do this to me?!"

I couldn't hear what Mom was saying, but the footsteps in the hallway caused my heart to race. I quickly jumped on my bed and pretended to be asleep.

The door bursts open, and I jolted up as Dad storms inside. His face is red, and tears stream down from the corners of his eyes."Fiona, pack your bags!" He ordered. "You're going to boarding school."

I sat upright, trying to process the news. "What? Why? But... Daddy?"

He pointed a hard finger at me. "Be ready, because we're leaving tomorrow morning."

Tears fell down my cheeks as I struggled to catch my breath. I realized I was being sent away, and also because my mother didn't do anything about it.

We lived in a small town outside New York City; my folks were middle-class, but they could afford to keep me away at a prep school in Boston.

Going home felt like living in hell; I remembered my mom crying after my dad hurt her. He would grab her arm and scream at her until she cried. She didn't try to leave him. She called it love; I called it madness.

Twelve years passed; I'd just graduated from the culinary institute at Boston University and was working at a five-star restaurant in Boston.

"Table nine needs more wine!" The head chef, Donald, barked. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Flinching at the tone of his voice, I nearly dropped the tray of dirty dishes in my hands."I was just returning these." I said, giving the tray to the dishwasher.

Donald's face was red as he thrust the order slip at me. "Get the wine now, Higgins!"

I took the slip and hurried to the wine locker room, and my shoulders slumped in defeat; getting a job as a chef was tougher than I imagined. So I settled for being a waitress, working two jobs and struggling to pay my bills.

I snatched the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from the wine rack and hurried out of the kitchen. Tonight all the tables were filled with Boston's rich and famous chatting over dinner plates filled with vegetables and steaks; the good side was the generous tips.

The bad side, however...

"Unbelievable," one of the men at the table sneered. He had tried to cover his bald head with his hair. "The service here is so slow. I should leave a one-star review!"

I smiled sweetly as I uncorked the wine. "I'd leave your hairstylist the same review, because you aren't fooling anyone." I said innocently.

The look on his face was purely comical. His companions struggled not to laugh. The tables around us went silent. I filled the empty glasses with wine.

"Excuse me?" The man demanded in outrage.I set the bottle down with a feeling of satisfaction.

A man on the next table signaled for me.I walked towards him, my lips parted to speak, when he interrupted me.

"Is that any way to speak to a customer?" He asked, his deep blue eyes hinted with amusement. I couldn't help but notice he was attractive, with a well-cut jaw and broad shoulders from working out. I'd noticed him earlier; he'd looked at me too.

But men like him paid no attention to the help. His partner was an elegant blond woman adorned in a red dress with diamond earrings.I realized he was probably controlling when he ordered a three-course meal without asking what his date wanted.

I took a deep breath and ignored his question. "Is there anything else you'd like to order?"

"Just the bill." He replied, meanwhile his deep blue eyes drew lower. My uniform consisted of a skirt and black sheer pantyhose, so naturally, I felt disgusted by his look.

"What time do you get off your shift?" He asked. "I'll need extra company, but I think you'll probably be more exciting than her."

The blond woman drew her hand back and slapped him across the face. My jaw dropped open.

Heads swung in our direction.

"You sick bastard!" The woman hissed at Blue Eyes and charged out of the restaurant.

Blue Eyes remained calm and took out his wallet. "Bring the bill, please."A hand grabbed my arm, and I discovered it was Donald who flashed Blue Eyes a smile.

"Please excuse us." Donald practically dragged me into his office.

I drew my arm away. "Thanks for getting me out of there," I spoke. "You wouldn't believe what that guy-"

"You are incompetent, lazy, slow, and always bad-mouthing customers!" Donald spat at me.

"What? That guy tried to harass me."

"You're fired!"

"But Donald, I didn't do anything-"

"Twice you've been caught in the middle of trouble tonight, Fiona. You think you can just waltz your way into being a top chef? You are nothing!"

I flinched from his cold words.

"Leave your uniform and your ID behind and get the hell out of my restaurant!" Donald barked.He didn't even give me a chance to explain myself. My heart caught in my throat, tears formed in my eyes, but I brushed them away as I left through the back door.

Rain showers poured over my head, and I wrapped my arms around my belly to keep warm. My other job at the fast food restaurant paid even less.

What am I going to do now?

As I walked down the alley with my head bent low, someone brushed past me, causing me to drop my purse.

I swung around angrily.

"Watch it!" I snapped at the person.

It was nearly dark.

Lightning struck, and I realized it was the bald man from earlier. I started to walk away, but he grabbed me by my arm.

"You think you're really funny, huh?!" He growled.I struggled against him, pounding his chest with my fist, but he was too strong.

"Let me go!"

He pushed me against a wall. "Nobody makes fun of me and gets away with it!"

Helpless, he forces me to the ground, his hand clamped over my mouth as I scream. A hard fist lands on my cheek. A wave of pain washed through me, and I saw stars.

He struck me again, and I felt myself being pulled back to the past, to the memories of my dad hurting my mom.

"No!" I wailed through the hand covering my mouth.Then he pulled away. My vision was blurry, but I see another man fighting him off, and then darkness sweeps me away.

FIONA

"Oh, sweet merciful God!" I murmured as I slowly regained consciousness. A headache began to form, and my mouth was dry.

The sound of an EKG machine beeped in the corner.

Where the hell was I?

A hospital?

"Fee!" A voice wailed and grabbed me by my shoulders. "You're alive!"

I winced at my best friend Louise standing over me as she sobbed hard. I see my parents standing in the room.

Dad has his arms crossed, glaring at Louise, while my mother appears worried.

"Pull yourself together!" Dad hisses at Louise, who backs away, sniffing hard.

"Dad? Mom? What are you..." I struggled to speak and licked my dry lips.

"Have some of this." Louise brought a smoothie cup to my lips, and I gratefully drank the water inside, quenching my thirst.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Don't you remember?" Louise said. "A man assaulted you two days ago."

I shut my eyes, recalling everything.

"Well," Dad grunted. "It's all over the news. Do you realize how embarrassing this is for me? What did you do to piss him off?"

"Lionel!" Mom gasped in horror.

I should have realized he only visited to scold me.

Mom turned to me.

Lionel stepped towards me. "Don't get into more trouble. Goodbye."

I stared at him and never felt more disappointed as he stormed out of the room.

"We're glad you're okay, Fiona," she said. "But we have to get back to New York. Work gave me two days off, and your... Lionel has other matters to attend to. Louise will look after you."

Louise glared at her.

"Adelaide!" Fred barked from the hallway.Mom gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried out the door.

"Wow!" Louise hissed with anger and shot a middle finger at the door.

"Can you guess who's winning the worst parents of the year award?"

I drew a sigh. "At least they showed up, Lou."

Louise gave me a warm look. "Never settle for less, Fee."

I asked for a mirror, and she handed me her small compact one. I frowned at the slight reddish bruise on my cheek; I also had a black eye. I swore at my reflection.

"Hey" Lou squeezed my arm.

"They'll heal, I promise. What happened?"

I nodded and told her everything as I struggled not to cry. "I also lost my job."

Louise's eyes widened. "Really, I'm so sorry. Wow, I'm guessing that's why the management only sent in a free gift card."

Assholes. I thought.

From the corner of my eyes, I see a bouquet of yellow roses in a Chinese vase on the bedside table. Lou follows my gaze.

"Like them?" Lou asked. "The man who rescued you brought them yesterday."

My thoughts raced to the night at the alley again. "Omigod, who is he?"

Lou began to search her purse. "He said his name was Kane. He left a card, though, don't worry. As your BFF, I looked him up."

She winked at me and handed a glossy silver card to me. McGregor Industries logo was on it, along with a handwritten phone number.

"He's the vice president of the company and said to give him a call when you get better." Lou explained. "He's kind of cute, though."

I smiled. "Well, let me see a picture."

Knowing Lou, she probably saved a few. She held her iPhone to me, and I widened my eyes at the man on the screen.

No freaking way.

It was Blue Eyes.

* * * * * * * *

KANE

The boardroom was always intense, files kept being passed around, and the directors murmured the latest developments in the company.

Underneath the large oak desk. Kane was trying to ward off his latest catch from last week. He hated when women became clingy.

Stacy texted how badly she wanted him inside of her. He simply rolled his eyes and replied with a simple word: no.

"...Kane!" Someone hissed.

Kane quickly sat up straight. His father glared at him from the head of the table.

"Huh?" Kane asked.

"I was asking what you thought of the last quarter." Carl McGregor repeated.

Kane shrugged. "Er, the last quarter, huh? I remember a lot of sandy beaches, tequila, and don't get me started on the naked women-"

The middle-aged men and especially the women glared at Kane.

Carl gave a long sigh and blinked rapidly. "The report, Kane."

Kane's lips curled up a little, and he cleared his throat. "You need to lighten up."

"And you need to quit texting and get serious." Carl growled back.

"May I remind you that two weeks ago, one of our security guards spotted two suspicious men exchanging items at the harbor?"

Kane narrowed his eyes. "It could be just the average dealers selling fake AirPods or something. I'm not sure why we need to dwell on it."

"They were not the average salesmen, Mr. Kane." Pete, who was head of security, spoke up. "When the security guard confronted them, one of them revealed himself to be a goon for the Spinelli crime family."

Kane gripped his pen tightly till his knuckles turned white as he listened to Pete. The Spinellis were a notorious crime family, trying to infiltrate McGregor Industries for years. They seemed to think the McGregor port belonged to them.

"This is the final straw; I'm going to ensure our security guards are fully armed." Carl decided.

Murmurs arose.

Kane glanced at his father curiously. "We don't want to make things worse than they already are."

"And I don't want my harbor becoming a hellhole for those criminals to operate." Carl stated. "All in favor?"

Kane was skeptical about this; the Mafia was not a group to be messed with. All eight hands rose. His father watched him, hoping for support. Kane raised his hand.

As the meeting drew to a close, Kane gathered his things and made a move for the door. But his father's voice stopped him.

"Kane, can I have a word?" Carl asked.

Kane turned back, his eyes meeting his father's.

"Kane, how long do you wish to continue this?" Carl asked.

"Continue what?"

"Fooling around with women and breaking hearts."

"I don't fool around, and I make my intentions very clear."

"Which is?"

"Not to commit."

Carl shut his eyes with disbelief, and Kane could see a vein pop.

Carl lifted a brow. "What happened to your hand?"

Kane lifted his right hand, running a thumb over the dark bruise. "I...used a punching bag without gloves."

He didn't want to go into details and was glad Carl didn't press further.

His cellphone rang. "Excuse me, I need to take this." Kane slipped away to a corner and answered the call.

"Stacy, you have perfect timing-"

"Who's Stacy?" An unfamiliar voice asked.He frowned and looked at the number again.

He pushed the phone to his ear and asked. "Who are you?"

"Uhm, it's Fiona...Fiona Higgins.”

FIONA

"Oh God, oh God!" I cried as I walked down my old street; the rain poured down on me as I sobbed my heart out. Everything I knew was a lie. I'd been deceived all my life. My so-called parents had ruined me for good.

How do I even begin to live again?

I could see my misty breath as I wailed in pain and anguish. I heard a car drive past, but I didn't look up. Then someone approached. I tried to circle around them, but they grabbed me. I screamed in terror.

"No!" I cried out as a tall man dragged me towards an open black car. Not again! "Let me go, let me go, you idiot!"

He forced me into the backseat and shut the door as I struggled to escape.

"Go!" He yelled at the driver. "Aieee!"

He howled in pain when I bit his hand. He slapped me across the face, and the other man in the back seat held a cloth to my face, and I slowly felt darkness wash over me.

* * * * * * * *

I gasped awake and jolted upright. I realized I was in a bedroom, sitting on a queen-sized poster bed with pink lace. It definitely wasn't mine. I slipped off the bed and frowned at the gold-colored PJs I was wearing.

I had been kidnapped!

"Where the hell am I?" I rushed to the window and discovered a large compound below; several hard-faced-looking men in dark suits walked about. I jogged for the door. Luckily, it was unlocked. I ran into a hallway.

A youngish woman in a housekeeper uniform holding a tray of tea smiled at me. "Signora?"

I rushed past her.

"Wait!" The woman called after me.

I hurried down the stairs. I needed to get out of here!

"Ow!" I yelped. Someone caught me as soon as I got to the landing.

"Hold it!" A man growled.

"Hey, let go of me!" I screamed. "Let go, I'm calling the police!"

"There's no police saving you, sweetheart." He said viciously. So, I sunk my knee hard into his groin.

He swore and let go, but as soon as I turned to run. Another man caught me.

"Alright, fun's over." The other man, who had a scar slashed across his cheek, sneered at me. "Come with me quietly, and I won't let Bubba here nail you with a bullet."

I gasped, turning to look at the large, red-faced man flashing a gun at me.

I turned to Scarface in horror. It was no use resisting.

"Good girl." He smiled and took my hand, leading me down a hallway. My teeth clattered in fright.

"Who are you?" I managed.

"No one important." He replied.

"I don't have any money." I stated.

And he threw his head back and laughed at me.

We got to a door, and Bubba pushed it open.

Behind a large oakwood desk was a man sitting in a high chair. His face was marked by age, his hair was silver-grey, and he had tan skin. He had to be Italian, and he wore a white shirt and tie. There was a chair in the middle of the room.

"Don, the little mouse is awake." Scarface announced.

The Don stared at me. I swallowed hard and glared back.

"Listen to me, you...assholes, if you think you can just kidnap me for no reason, there will be consequences!" I snapped.

Scarface gripped my arm tightly. "Show some respect, you little broad."

"Ow!" I hissed. "You're hurting me!"

"You deserve more for hurting my little brother." Scarface sneered.

I glanced at Bubba, who glared at me. I realized he was younger than I expected. He couldn't be more than twenty-one.

"Enough." The Don thundered.

I clenched my hands at my sides.

"Have a seat, my dear." The Don offered.

"No!" I declined.

"Yes!" Scarface forced me down on the chair.

I gripped my fingers. My thoughts raced to Crompton. Was he part of a gang or something? Had I messed with a Mafia member?

The Don stood and walked towards me. He studied me.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"You have my mother's eyes." The Don said softly.

My lips parted in surprise.

"You and Vinny have my nose." The Don continued, his eyes drifting to Scarface, who glared at me.

"What?" I whispered.

The Don cupped my jaw and glared at Bubba. "Please, you must forgive your brother for hitting you. Dante doesn't quite understand his strength with women."

Bubba, who happened to be Dante, scoffed defensively. "She bit me, and then she tried to crush my balls!"

"Hold on a minute!" I snapped. "What's this about? Who the hell touched my clothes? Eyes? My brother?!"

"Half-brothers." Vinny corrected.

I leveled my eyes at The Don.

"You see, Fiona." The Don spoke with a little cold smile, gesturing to the men. "I'm your father, and these are your brothers."

I widened my eyes. "No, no, it can't be-"

"Of course it is," the Don said. "I knew it from the moment I saw you, and believe me, I already did a DNA test; we're blood. You're a Spinelli."

"Spinelli?" I leaned back in my seat. "L...like, the Spinelli crime-"

"My dear child," the Don interrupted. "We're not criminals as the media says; we're merely business people."

I glared at him. "Tell that to all the people you've killed over the years."

The Don shrugged. "I call it liabilities."

I lifted my arms up in disbelief and stood. "I need to leave right now. I don't care if you say you're my father. I've never needed one!"

I turned around, and Dante aimed his gun at me.

"I have plans for you, Fiona," The Don placed his hands on my shoulders; a cold shiver ran down my spine. "Like all Spinellis, we have a strong loyalty to the family. To me."

"What the hell are you saying?" I pulled away and faced him with a bitter laugh. "You want me to join a bunch of criminals because we're related?"

"We're not criminals." Vinny corrected.

"I suppose I'll have to earn your trust along the way, but just to make this clear." The Don snapped his fingers.

The doors burst open. Three people were dragged in by goons, bags over their heads, and they were tied up. The goons forced them to kneel.

"I understand your pain," The Don began. "Betrayed by the people you loved."

The goons took off the bags. I gasped upon seeing my adopted parents and Crompton. Their mouths were gagged.

"Omigod." I muttered. Crompton was covered in blood and bruises. He stared at me with a defeated look.

How did he get out of jail?

"And I can take all the pain and misery away." The Don continued.

"What are you doing?" I demanded quietly. My feet were frozen to the floor.

"Nobody hurts a Spinelli and gets away with it." The Don hissed.

The sound of the gunshot caused me to jump. A neat bullet hole had pierced Compton's forehead; he fell with a thud, blood splattered across the floor.

I let out a shriek of horror and covered my lips.

Lionel and Donna struggled with groans and pleading eyes.

"I'm asking you to join us, Fiona." Don Spinelli said.

"You're insane!" I yelled in outrage.

"He abused you for years!" Don Spinelli pointed at Lionel. "He knew you weren't his blood, and she hid my child away from me for two decades; there are worse ways to hurt a man!"

I wiped my eyes. "Please let them go, I'm begging you."

"They don't deserve my forgiveness." Don Spinelli said.

The goons aimed their rifles at my adopted parents. A gunshot went off.

I fell to my knees and sobbed as I looked up at the cold man who was my father. I saw my adopted parents unhurt; the goons had missed the shot and were prepared to fire again.

"Please, I'll do anything!" I pleaded.

"Anything, my child?" Don Spinelli asked.

I nodded.

A cold smile slit across his face. "Welcome to the family."