CHAPTER 1

Amelia

I starred at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, and I could hardly recognize myself. It was as though a stranger was staring back at me. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with air and holdingit there, until my lungs started to burn, urging me to breathe out.  When I finally exhaled, instead of the calmness I was desperately seeking to wash over me, hot tears spilled out of my eyes, running down my cheeks, and my heart squeezed tight behind my ribcage.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to pull my hair. I wanted to do anything just to let out the frustration and despair that coursed through me. But I could not do any of that. I did not want to alarm anyone of the struggles I was going through. Not that anybody near me was going to care. And again, I did not want to ruin the braiding that the stylist had worked so tirelessly to perfect. 

Salvatore Conti had made it clear that I was expected to be nothing short of perfect. And my new role in life was following through each and  every command Salvatore gives with precision , unless I  wanted "something unfortunate to happen to my family." If I faltered, I could only imagine what he would do to my family. Salvatore had a reputation; I had no doubt he would kill my father without blinking.  And my little brother Ben, I did not even want to think of it.

So, instead of letting my emotions get the better of me, I let my head drop and hang below my shoulders and allowed a few more tears to rush out of my eyes, hoping they would dry out and enable me to walk out of  my refuge and eventually face my reality

"Amelia,"  a voice called out from behind the closed bathroom, followed by a loud knock on the door and a rattle of the doorknob.

The sudden interruption startled me and my heart skipped a beat.

"Amelia, it's time; you need to come out, right now!" the voice insisted, and that is when it registered in my head whose voice it was.

It was Calliope, one of Salvatore's minions, and she had been assigned to "take care of me," and by taking care of me, they meant making sure I looked exactly how Salvatore wanted me to look for the day. The woman had worked tirelessly, probably exceeding her job description, barking  and shouting orders at everyone.

I cleared my throat in an attempt to swallow the lump that sat there before I answered, "I will be out in a sec,"

"Be fast," she snapped, her impatience recking through the closed door. 

With a heavy sigh, I grabbed the paper towel and gently dabbed it on my face, carefully drying the tears on my face and making sure I did not rub off or smudge the make up on my face. Thanks to the expensive stuff that was used, it worked just fine, and nothing looked ruined. 

I looked at myself in the mirror one last time, and I looked perfect. I was the polished bride Salvatore had requested for. And inside? Inside, I was a kid clawing on the sand on her mother's grave. 

"Amelia!"  Calliope called out impatiently once more, and another jolted and immediately walked to the door to unlock it.

"I am sorry, I just wanted a few moments to myself," I explained once I was out of my hiding space.

Her gaze swept over me, her eyes inspecting every inch of me, from head to toe. She took a step towards me and fixed something in my hair before stepping back again.

"Perfect," she declared after she was satisfied with her art, "Now try not to look like it is the end of the world. You are marrying Salvatore Conti, one of the most powerful men in New York. Any girl would kill to be in your position."

It would have been better if it was the end of world, because then it will be the end of everything. Then I would not have had to sell myself to the devil himself. I was not any girl; I was Amelia Banks and I did not want to get married to this man but I dared not say that out loud. Calliope worked for Salvatore, and from the looks of it she was as cold hearted as her boss and she probably looked up to him. I had no doubt she was loyal to him, any mistake from me, she was going to run and tell her boss.

So, instead of protesting, I slowly nodded my head, as if I agreed with her.

"Now put a smile on that pretty face," she instructed and I moved my lips to make the said smile and she grimaced.

"You certainly can do better than that," she said, "If you are...,"

Just then, a knock interrupted her little speech.

"Yes, Come in!" she called out and a man in a black suit walked in. I recognized her as one of Salvatore's men.

"Enzo," Calliope said, "Is it time?"

The man nodded curtly, "Yes, bring her out now."

"Sure," Calliope responded and Enzo turned to leave.

"Forget about smiling, just stop looking so miserable," she ordered again and went on to help me with my dress as she ushered me out of the room.

She led me through the hallway until we got to the elevator that whisked us down to the lobby. She helped me lift my dress as we walked to the white Rolls-Royce that had been waiting for us.

Two men in black suits similar to the one Enzo had stood by the car and once we reached the car, the doors were opened and Calliope helped me in. She was acting as my maid of honor, and yet she came second on the list of the people I hated, right after her boss.

The drive to the reception was short since it was within the expansive grounds of the Conti Estate, and it did not give me much time to get myself together. Before I knew it, the car had come to a halt, and I was being ushered out of the car into the scorching sun of July. My father was standing in front of me, looking like he had actually taken a shower for a change.

"Amelia," he said, his eyes avoiding direct contact with mine, looking everywhere else except my eyes.

He was the reason why we have gotten to that point, and deep down, I blamed him for every bit of our predicament.  If it had not been for his distracting habits and foolish decisions, we would not have gotten there. Ever since my mother died, he changed into a completely different man I did not recognized. I was sixteen at that time, and my little brother was only two years old. I was just a teenager who wanted the only parent she had left with to be there for her and comfort her through the misery. Instead I had found myself stuck with a father who drowned his sorrow in the bottle, leaving me to look after my little brother and assure him everything was going to be alright with our mother gone.

I had hoped that our father was merely a phase of grieving since he had loved our mother to the marrow and I had hoped that he was eventually going come around. But that never happened. It only got worse. I had lost count of the times that I had to drag his drunk self out of The Shadow Lounge. What began as a drinking problem grew into a gambling addiction, and the gambling addiction turned into financial ruin, and the father I knew totally vanished. I was only left with the good memories I had of him to hold on to and those memories made me hang on the hope that one day I will get the loving father back and we will be a happy family again. But life never goes the way we plan for it to.

He had borrowed money from Salvatore and had blown it all out either on the gambling table or on a bottle of alcohol. The day Salvatore busted the doors to our rundown house, I had recognized him, and immediately I had known we were in trouble. I had seen him in one of the casinos run by the Red Vipers family, and I knew his reputation. He was not a nice man. A man who had made advances me on several occasions, but I had always found a way to walk away from him.

"Hello, angel," he had greeted me, and I coiled and stepped back, keeping my eyes on him. If I was not so worried about my father, I would have fled without hesitation. Instead, I stayed in the corner, clutching little my brother tightly in my arms.

Salvatore's attention turned to my father.

"Banks, I am sure you know what I am here for." 

My father, who was already shaking with fear, tried to answer but he could not make a coherent sentence.

"Where is my money, Banks?" Salvatore growled, his voice booming through out the room, making the thin walls of our house shake.

"I...I don't have it right now," my father stammered

"You don't have my money, Banks?"

"But I will have it soon, I promise,"

I knew my father had gotten himself in debt. I had paid some of them off myself when the lenders came banging on our door, but I had no idea he had borrowed from Salvatore Conti. If there is one thing I had learnt from living in this part of the town, it was never to borrow from the mafia. I had no idea how my father had become so stupid. 

"And how are you going to get my 3 million dollars soon?"

I grasped as I heard the amount he owed. I knew very well that there was no way my father could raise such an amount and there was no way I could make that much either, even if I worked around the clock. As it only two lousy jobs. One at the bar, and the other at the supermarket, and neither paid well.

My father opened and closed his mouth without saying a thing.

"If I can't have my 3 million, then maybe I can have something you have," Salvatore suggested and I wondered what my father had that he would want. We had nothing!

And when his gaze met mine, I knew exactly what he meant and I immediately shouted, "No!"

"No?" he echoed my word as if he had not heard me and nodded my head to confirm.

"Yes, no. You cannot have me,"

"Then would you rather I take your brother?" He proposed, a sinister smile on his face as he walked towards me.

In that moment, that is when I realized that I should have run away while I still could. I should not have waited for my father to come around; he never was going to.

If only I had left and taken my brother with me, I would not have had to sacrifice myself to the devil so I could save the ones I loved.