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Chapter One
Veronica Romano’s battered white Toyota let out a sputtering noise. She gripped the steering wheel so tightly, her knuckles turned white.Please break down, Veronica thought. That would give her a reason to delay going home. Veronica could text her father, tell him she would be arriving a day or two late.
Then again, Arturo Romano would probably just send out a car with a driver for her. Her old man was used to getting what he wanted. She sighed. Engine trouble was the least of her worries.
When Veronica chose a university two states away from Ringsor City, where she was born and raised, she thought she finally had freedom in her grasp. Freedom from her complicated family, from her so-called duties. In the end, Veronica should have known better. She couldn’t escape her fate or her obligations. No matter how far she ran, she would always come crawling back to Ringsor City one way or another.
Veronica just graduated with a degree in accounting a month ago. Her father couldn’t attend her graduation because he had some important business meeting to attend. Veronica was just the tiniest bit disappointed, but in the end she was glad he couldn’t make it. After her high school graduation, her father wanted her close by. Arturo expected her to join the family business but she fought him until he caved.
She really thought she could be free of him, but then her father called her a few days ago, just as Veronica was about to go on her first job interview.
Arturo said he had lung cancer, that he didn’t have long to live, so he wanted to spend more time with her. It wasn’t a lie. He sent her his doctor’s note and his tests. Guilt made her return but Veronica knew coming back here came with a price.
The women born into the Romano Familia were bargaining chips to be traded away for a beneficial alliance, and she had a good feeling her father called her home for that sole reason. He had a marriage prospect in mind for her.
Veronica kept telling herself during this long drive home that she had to be strong. She had always been weak when facing her father. His enemies and allies called Arturo a formidable man. To them, he was both a shrewd businessman and a butcher who eliminated those foolish enough to get in his way.
Veronica had always known what her father truly was—a despicable and manipulative bastard who used and moved people like pieces on his personal chessboard. Still, she loved him despite his numerous flaws. It had always been just the two of them, especially after her mother and brothers died. They were killed in a “tragic car accident,” the papers called it, but Veronica found out later that a rival crime family had hired the truck driver who rammed into the black Subaru her mother was driving.
“It’s just the two of us against the world,” her father used to joke. Arturo had a good side, a soft spot for Veronica while she was growing up. Over time, her father had gotten worse—harder and meaner. Veronica barely recognized him the day she left Ringsor City to start college.
That had been four years ago. Veronica had been eighteen then. She was twenty-two now, and apparently still unable to make her own decisions. That had to change. Veronica would firmly tell her father she was here to spend time with him, but she still had no plans to be involved in the family business.
An hour later, Veronica arrived at her family estate, exhausted from driving all day. She got out of her car, not surprised to find Gibson, her father’s head butler, waiting for her. Before Veronica could get her own bags, two men in suits took them out of the trunk.
“Good evening, young miss. We have prepared your old room for you. Shall we?” Gibson asked.
“I won’t be staying long,” Veronica said. Gibson was a professional who normally didn’t give his emotions away, but judging by the raise of his eyebrow, even the old butler knew Veronica would be here for a while.
“Is my father home?” she asked, following Gibson inside the enormous mansion.
“He will be home late tonight,” Gibson said.“But hopes you can spare some time for him in his study later.”
“Fine,” she answered drily.
Usually, the old family house was a beehive of activity. Her father used their home as headquarters for the Familia. Veronica expected to see an uncle or one of her father’s lieutenants. Instead, Veronica found herself walking into an empty home filled with ghosts.
“Why is it so dark in here?” Veronica asked.
She had no fond memories of this large house. It never felt like home to her. Veronica knew all the secret spots to hide in this vast monstrous space. She spent most of her childhood hiding in her room or one of the hidden nooks and crannies in the house, her nose in a book. The daughter of a mob boss didn’t make friends or boyfriends easily at school. Those who approached her were opportunists who wanted to form a connection with her family. She learned that lesson the hard way after her first boyfriend admitted he only dated her because of her family name.
“The lights in the living room went out two hours ago. The electrician wouldonly be able to come tomorrow morning,” Gibson said.
They walked up the grand staircase. Her old room was the furthest door on the second floor. Veronica wasn’t surprised to find her bags already there.
“If you’ll excuse me, young miss, I have other errands to run. Just call for one of the maids if you need anything.” Gibson hovered by the door. Then he added, “Your father is looking forward to seeing you.”
“I doubt it,” Veronica mumbled after Gibson shut the door behind him.
She took a shower, then collapsed on her old princess bed and fell into a deep sleep.
****
Veronica woke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She thought it was her roommate Cassie, asking her what she wanted for dinner. When Veronica opened her eyes, she was looking at the frosted chandelier in her old room. The pop bands she used to love in high school still decorated the walls. If she opened her closet door, Veronica bet her old clothes would still be there.
“Who is it?” she asked when the knocking didn’t stop.
“It’s Gibson. Your father has returned. He’s decided dinner would be served in his study instead. Would that be fine with you?” Gibson asked.
