𝗝𝗜𝗡𝗫

ONE

The rhythmic clicking of my Louboutins against the polished mall tiles was as intoxicating as the seven-figure splurge weighing down the boutique bags looped over my forearms. Retail therapy was a balm for any stresses high society could breed.

"Earth to Gia!" My best friend Lucia waved a perfume sample under my nose, snapping me from my materialistic daze. "You zoned out there for a second. Thinking about how many paparazzi shots of us will end up online tonight?"

I flashed her a conspiratorial grin. Courting that glitzy attention was half the fun of our indulgent escapades. "Well, they better get my good side if they want the money shot."

Lucia rolled her eyes indulgently at my tease before her phone buzzed with an incoming call. "Shoot, it's Paolo. I should take this." She stepped aside, leaving me to admire the glittering array of jewel-encrusted accessories.

The incessant trill of my own phone shattered my reverie moments later. A frown puckered my brow as I saw the caller - my brother Marco.

"Hello?" I answered uncertainly. Marco almost never reached out during conventional hours unless something significant was happening. 

"Gia," his gravelly voice greeted, dispensing with any warmth. "I need you to get home right away. We have a situation."

A lead weight materialized in my stomach at his clipped tone and coded language. A situation could only mean one thing - something relatedto the family business, the criminal underworld he'd inherited from our deceased father.

"Is everything okay? What's going on?"

There was a resigned sigh on the other end. "I'll explain when you get here, just come straight back." The line went dead, leaving me gripping the phone in sudden tension.

"Everything alright?" Lucia rejoined me, catching the worry etched on my features.

"I'm not sure," I murmured, already gathering my belonging. "That was Marco...he wants me home right away."

She arched one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "The big brother beckons, huh? Want me to have my driver swing by and pick you up?"

I managed a tight smile, pushing aside my rising unease. "It's okay, I'll just grab a car service. But thanks for the offer - and for dragging me out today. I clearly needed the distraction."

"Any time, babe." Lucia pulled me in for an air kiss against each tanned cheek before clicking off in her own skyscraper heels, paparazzi bulbs already flashing around us.

The entire ride back to my family's luxurious Upper East Side brownstone, I couldn't shake Marco's urgency from my mind. As the youngest -and only daughter - I was carefully sheltered from the unsavory realities of our crime family. I understood the overview, that our opulence was funded by decades of illegal enterprises and sworn omertà loyalty to La Cosa Nostra. But the inner workings were kept strictly off-limits to me.

Perhaps that was about to change, I realized with a shiver of trepidation.

My stomach continued churning as I swept through the lacquered front door bearing my family's crest. If this was serious enough for Marco to summon me so abruptly, how bad could it possibly be?

"Mom?" I called out, dropping my purchases by the stairs. "Are you here?"

"In the kitchen, sweetie!" her warm tone beckoned. I followed it back to the gleaming space where she stood rolling out pasta dough, apron tied primly over her pressed linen sheath dress as always.

"Have a nice day out with Lucia?" she asked, dusting flour off her hands before pulling me into a tight hug. But her smile faded as she took in my expression. "What's the matter? You look pale as a ghost."