Chapter 6

Not only had she skimmed our heirlooms and bled the Family from within, but she had dared to lay hands on Sofia. I would make sure she rotted in the Joint until the walls forgot her name.

Then I gave the order to my lieutenant. "Arrange the finest cruise the harbor can offer. For Sofia's sixth birthday, I want her to be the most beautiful little principessa the city has ever seen."

Once every detail was settled, I drove Sofia myself to Ocean World to watch the sharks and the dolphin show.

Sitting in the stands, away from the soldiers who trailed us at a respectful distance, I watched my daughter's face slowly light up with pure, innocent joy, and I couldn't help but smile too.

My little treasure, no one who ever hurt you would walk away clean. Mommy would make them pay twice over.

The next day, I meant to take Sofia to the kindergarten myself. But the moment she heard the word, her whole body trembled. She shrank into the corner of the bed, curling up into a ball.

"Mom, I don't want to go to kindergarten..."

Seeing her resist so fiercely, my heart tightened. I crouched down and gently stroked her little head. "Sofia, tell Mommy... did something happen at that place?"

But Sofia just shook her head frantically, both her little hands twisting into the hem of my sleeve, her big eyes swimming with terrified tears. "No... no..."

My eyes froze, yet my voice stayed gentle. "All right. Mommy will take you out of there."

At the kindergarten, I sat Sofia on a hallway bench with a small cake while I walked straight into the principal's office.

Facing me, a benefactor whose "donations" kept the doors of the place open, the principal grew anxious the moment he heard I wanted to withdraw my daughter.

"Ms. Vellano, please, calm down. I'll send for Gia Torrino at once to clarify. There must be some misunderstanding."

Then a sharp, piercing commotion erupted from the playground. "This dress costs more than your whole worthless life. How can a nothing brat wear it?"

"You wretched girl. Why didn't the men finish you off last time?"

"You got cake on my shoes? Do you know what these cost? Get on your knees and lick them clean."

Right after came my daughter's heart-wrenching scream.

Blood surged to my head in an instant.

I was out the door before I knew I'd moved. Several children had Sofia pinned to the ground. Marco, fat as a piglet, was grinding his cream-smeared shoe against my daughter's mouth, his little eyes filled with malice.

"Lick it, you wretched girl."

"Ha, she's like a little dog."

The other children cheered. Some yanked Sofia's hair and forced her head down onto the dirty shoe.

Her cries drowned under their wicked laughter.

I could not believe children so small could be so cruel.

"Get away from her."

I closed the distance and slapped Marco hard across the face, sending him tumbling like a ragdoll. He froze in shock, clutching his cheek, the clear print of my hand rising on his skin, tears welling in his eyes.

At that moment a stylish, seductive young woman swept into the crowd, flanked by two enforcers who moved with the practiced menace of hired muscle.

She looked somewhat familiar.

But what was more familiar still were the custom diamond necklace at her throat and the limited-edition Cartier on her wrist. Both were pieces I had brought back myself from my last trip abroad.

She scooped Marco off the ground with all the show of a devoted mother and glared at me. "How dare you strike my son? Do you even know who my husband is?"

The principal, breathless, hurried up. "It's a misunderstanding... it's all a misunderstanding..."

"Shut your mouth. Who gave you the right to speak?"

The woman spat the words at him with contempt. He paled and opened his mouth to answer, but a single look from me shut it for him, and he stepped back into silence.

"They're only children playing. And you, a grown woman, putting your hand on a child. Have you no shame?" Her fingers went to the necklace at her throat as she pointed at my face, her laugh climbing a note too high. "Now my son is hurt. He's the only heir in three generations of my family. Can you even afford what that's going to cost?"

She clearly had no idea who I was. Otherwise, with ten times the nerve, she would not have dared carry herself this way in front of me.

I smiled, cold and unhurried. When her little performance had run its course, I turned to the principal and gave him three words. "Call the police."

She seemed to think I'd just told the funniest joke in the world. She rolled her eyes. "Call the police? My husband runs the whole Family. Even the Captain gives him face. You're the one going to the Joint."

Several of the teachers had gathered too, murmuring their support behind her.

"We all saw it. This woman struck Marco first. And she wants to call the police?"

"Marco is the heir to the Vellano name. This school stands because of his family's money. Who do you and your daughter think you are?"

It seemed I had neglected my daughter's world so badly that even schoolteachers believed they could trample me.

Through the noise, I held a half-smile on the boy in front of me. "Heir to the Vellano name. Funny. I don't recall ever having a 'son' like you."

The woman's heart skipped. "What did you just say?"

Shame curdled into fury. She snapped at the muscle behind her. "Teach this wretched mother and daughter a lesson. Beat them until they don't get up. My husband will cover it."

Just as she bared her claws, her phone buzzed. Seeing the name "My husband" on the screen, she shot me one more arrogant glance, then answered, her voice turning suddenly sweet and wounded.

"Honey, come to the kindergarten, quickly. Some shrew is bullying our son..."

The next moment the color drained from her face, pale as paper, her eyes bulging as if they might burst. "What? The police... they took my mother?"

At the same time, my phone rang.