Chapter 1
Mafia bosses never married commoners.
That was a rule written in blood by the Callahan family in Syraland.
Victor Callahan, the only son of mafia boss Ernest Callahan, was the sole heir to the family empire.
But he was madly in love with me, Everyn Zane.
His family punished him for it and forced us apart.
Because I was an orphan, with no one to rely on.
He walked away from the empire to be with me.
His father ordered him flogged, forcing him to his knees for three days and three nights.
Blood soaked through his shirt, yet he still smiled at me.
"Don't be afraid, Evelyn," he said. "You're everything I want."
In the end, his father finally gave in.
He agreed to let Victor take me away from Syraland.
But there was one condition.
Before we could leave, Victor was forced to father a child with the woman they chose for him.
From that day on, the words I heard most from Victor were, "Just wait a little longer."
The first time, he told me to wait while he went off to get another woman pregnant.
He slept with Gwen Archer, night after night, until she finally conceived.
The second time, he begged me to wait because the baby was a girl.
Ernest wanted a grandson.
So, Victor continued trying for an heir with Gwen until she got pregnant again.
When I thought the nightmare was finally over, they found cyanide in the baby's formula.
The whole family pinned it all on me.
When the guards threw me into the dungeon, Victor stood outside, his eyes bloodshot.
"I told you to wait," he said.
The look in his eyes sent a chill down my spine.
"Why did you poison my child?" he asked.
'My child?' I thought.
Those words cut deeper than any blade.
I dug my nails into my palms until blood seeped out.
When the dungeon door opened again, I'd already made up my mind.
This time, I wasn't waiting anymore.
I picked up the phone and dialed the number for Callahan Manor.
"I'm willing to leave Victor," I said calmly.
"But I have one condition. Send me somewhere he'll never be able to find me."
A satisfied chuckle came from the other end of the line.
"That's more like it," a female voice said.
It was Donna Callahan, Victor's mother.
"An orphan raised by a nun should've known her place from the start.
"What makes you think you're good enough to marry into the Callahan family?" she sneered.
"We'll have everything arranged within two weeks," Ernest said.
His tone dripped with undisguised contempt.
"Two weeks from now, you'll disappear from Victor's life for good," he added.
The call ended.
I leaned against the cold wall, noticing my fingers were trembling.
In the living room, Victor was holding his daughter and making her giggle.
Gwen rested her head on his shoulder, smiling softly.
They looked like a picture-perfect family of three.
I stood in the doorway, watching them, feeling like someone had ripped a piece of flesh out of my chest.
Gwen was the first to notice me. "Evelyn, you're back."
She immediately sat up straight, pulling her daughter behind her.
Victor was on his feet almost instantly.
He passed the baby to the maid, asking her to take the little one upstairs.
The look in their eyes stung worse than any punishment.
Hard to believe this was the same man who once swore to me, "The only child I'll ever acknowledge is the one you give me."
Now, he looked at me like I was a murderer.
He waited until the kid was out of sight before coming over to me.
He reached out to check the frostbite on my hand.
"You're back. Did you get hurt in the dungeon?" he asked.
As I looked at the man who once took a beating for me, bitter pain welled up in my heart.
I turned my head away, avoiding his touch.
He frowned and explained, "Evelyn, last night was different.
"The more I tried to shield you, the harsher they were with you.
"We'll be out of here soon. Don't make things worse. The baby is innocent. Why would you-"
"It wasn't me!" I cut him off.
My eyes were stung by tears.
"Cyanide is a deadly poison. Why would you think I'd use it to kill an innocent child?" I shot back.
My sudden outburst caught him off guard.
He stared at me for a while, and then his expression softened.
"Alright, it doesn't matter anymore," he said, his voice weary.
It didn't matter anymore.
Those words cut right through me, like a knife to the heart.
He still refused to believe me.
Seeing the tension between us, Gwen rested her hand on her belly and came over slowly.
Though she wasn't showing yet, everyone knew she was pregnant with her second child.
"Ms. Zane, I want to apologize to you.
"I was really scared back then. You don't have a child of your own. Maybe you can't understand what it's like for a mother to want to protect her kid," she said.
As she brushed her hair aside, an old necklace glinted at her neck.
The moment I saw it, my breath caught in my throat.
"Where did you get this necklace?" I demanded, grabbing her arm.
"She liked it, so I gave it to her," Victor said offhandedly, like it was nothing worth mentioning.
"It's an old necklace. I figured it could serve as an apology," he added.
"That was my mother's! It's the only thing she ever left me," I blurted out.
Margaret Cage, the nun who raised me, kept it for me for over ten years. She only gave it back when I finally came of age.
Victor knew how much this meant to me.
How could he hand it over to someone else like it was nothing?