Chapter 20

• Ivy ran out of the room, her high heels clicking on the marble floor as she desperately sought escape from the horror she had just witnessed. She didn't stop until she reached the bar, where she grabbed a bottle of liquor from the table and made a swift exit.
• The cool night air hit her like a slap in the face, but she didn't slow down. She kept walking, the bottle clutching tightly in her hand, until she found herself alone in a deserted alleyway. It was there that she finally stopped, her back against the wall, and unscrewed the cap of the bottle.
• The liquor burned her throat as she drank, but she didn't care. She needed something, anything, to erase the image of that dead body from her mind. Born into a mafia family, Ivy had always been sheltered from the cruel realities of their world. Her brother and father had always kept her away from it, but now she had seen it up close and personal.