Chapter 15

• •HAZEL SANTORO•
• I crossed my arms, my heartbeat still hammering from his word. The insult echoed in my head, slicing through me, raw and unshakable. I felt it everywhere, lodged in my throat, burning behind my eyes, tightening my chest. I refuse to let the tears fall. Not in front of him. Not after he called me a slut. I can't be weak.
• “You know what your problem is, Raffaele?” My voice was low, steady, but shaking at the edges, like a rope fraying under too much weight. “You act like you’re untouchable, like you’re the one pulling all the strings. But deep down?” I tilted my head, letting my gaze sweep over him, slow, unimpressed. “This whole mafia Don role you're playing is just a cover, a means to an end. You’re just another man who gets off on forcing obedience because that’s the only way you can have it.” I didn’t say it, but we both knew I was referencing the event in the playroom.