The Mafia King of Philadelphia: From witness to his doted wife

”You met my daughter in West Philly.” The Don did not raise his voice. He said like he was reading a line from a paper. ”You saw her with your own eyes. And you did not say one word to me.”

Carina kept her hands folded in front of her. She kept her back straight. Her heart was beating so hard she was sure he could hear it.

”Did you hide it on purpose?” He took a slow step around her. ”Were you afraid for your position? Tell me, Carina. I want the truth.” She said nothing yet. He kept walking.

”I raised you in my real daughter’s place. Everything you are, you are because of me. The name, the house, the power.” He stopped in front of her. ”But you are who you are. Do not forget it.” The words were soft, and they cut like glass.

Carina knew what he meant. She was adopted. She had always known it, even when he called her daughter in front of his men. She had known since the day she was small enough to be carried. She was only a warm place kept for someone else.

And she knew what would happen the moment the real daughter came home. There would be no room for her anymore. She lifted her eyes and held his.

”I did not know, Father.”

”No?”

”When I saw her, she was in the hospital. She had the virus. They kept her in isolation, behind glass. I never went near her.” Her voice stayed even. ”Also, Aliya was already pretending to be her. Everyone believed it. I had no reason to think anything else.”

It was a good answer, calm and clean. It was also a lie.

She had seen Sienna. She had stood close enough to see her face and to know exactly who she was. But the Don could never find out. Carina had been questioned by this man since she was a child, in this same hall, in this same soft voice. She had learned that the only way to survive his questions was to become better at lying than he was at listening.

So she stood very still and let him look. The Don studied her face for a long time. The hall was so quiet she could hear the clock on the wall.

Then, slowly, he nodded. ”Yes,” he said. ”Yes, you are right.” He turned away and pressed two fingers to his forehead.

”Those damn people. They made me almost kill my own daughter.” His jaw tightened. ”I gave the order. Do you understand that? I was ready to end her, and I did not know.” He let out a long breath. ”She would not have died from the virus anyway. But she is here now. That is what matters. Fate brought her back.”

”Yes, Father,” Carina said. He turned around again, and the warm face was back, as easy as putting on a coat.

”Now that she is home, I want you to stay with her. Be near her. Make her feel comfortable here, so she wants to stay.” He tilted his head. ”That is your task from now on. Do you understand?”

So I am not being thrown out, Carina thought. I am being turned into a guard. She swallowed hard. ”I understand.”

”Good. Go.” She bowed her head and walked out of the hall. She did not run. She kept her steps slow and small until the great doors shut behind her.

Only then did her hand begin to shake. Upstairs, the door of the guest room closed with a soft click. Sienna had barely stepped inside. She had not looked at the bed or the tall windows or the white curtains moving in the air. She had not even let go of Viktor’s hand.

Then the door opened again, and Helena walked in. She moved fast. She turned the lock behind her and pressed her back against the wood. For one second she just stood there, breathing, with her eyes shut.

When she opened them, the sweet, obedient wife was gone.

Her face was pale, and her eyes were wild. She crossed the room in three quick steps and took Sienna’s face in both her hands. Her fingers were ice cold.

”Listen to me, baby,” she said.

”I know you are angry with me,” Helena said. Her thumbs moved over Sienna’s cheeks, as if she could rub the anger away. ”But believe me, I have to play along with him.”

”Do you?” Sienna’s voice was low, and that made it worse. She did not shout. She stood very still, and every word came out cold and clear.

”He is your husband, isn’t he? So you don’t have to pretend with me.” Helena flinched. It was a small movement, but Sienna saw it.

”There are still so many things about the past that I have not told you,” Helena said. ”I know that. I know it is not fair.” She glanced at the door, then back. Her voice dropped to a whisper. ”But I need you to understand one thing. I had to fake losing my memory. All those years.”

Sienna’s eyes narrowed.

”I made him believe I forgot. I laughed at the wrong things. I asked the wrong questions. I let him think I was empty.” Helena’s mouth shook. ”Do you know why? So his guards would relax. So he would relax.”

”Relax?”

”He does not know, baby.” Her fingers tightened. ”He does not know. I remember everything. Every bad thing he did to me. Every bad thing he did to our family. How he became the owner of all this.” She looked up at the high white ceiling, and her eyes were full of something old and sour. ”How he built it. And what it was built on.”

The room was quiet. Behind Sienna, Viktor did not move. ”That was how we survived,” Helena said. ”It was the only way.”

Sienna said. ”Why walk into his house and smile at him?” Helena took a breath, and it came out broken.

”Because almost all the illegal things his organization does is in my name.” Sienna went still.