My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 194

Chapter 194

Vincenzo might be the boss, but he didn’t see what I saw. He didn’t see the way Gianna’s face looked when her own mother hit her. He didn’t see the fire in her eyes when she claimed her father’s name.

There’s a story there. And I don’t buy for a second that a man like Toricelli just wants nothing to do with his only daughter.

Gianna

I lay face-down on the bed, the fabric damp and cold against my cheek from the stream of tears. My face felt swollen, the heat of the slap still humming under my skin.

I wanted to stay here forever. I wanted to let the darkness of the room swallow me whole until I didn’t have to be a Capone or a Toricelli or anything at all.

Then, the red numbers on the bedside clock flickered.

9:15 PM.

I sat up so fast the world tilted. My heart suddenly kicked into a panicked gallop.

Cole Mercer.

The money.

Morgan.

Midnight was the deadline. If I didn’t get that payment through, we’d lose Morgan.

Every ounce of self-pity evaporated. It didn’t matter that my mother had turned into a stranger. It didn’t matter that Salvatore wanted to cage me. Nothing in my messy, broken life was more important than making sure Morgan was safe.

I’d let them slap me a thousand times, I’d let them chain me to the floor, as long as it meant she was okay.

I scrambled off the bed, wiping my eyes with the heels of my hands. I needed a phone, and I needed it now.

A soft, hesitant knock came from the door. It was the same one I’d been ignoring every half hour for the last ten hours.

“Gianna?” a tiny voice whispered. “Please, open the door.”

I rushed to the door, unlocked it, and yanked the small figure inside. I clicked the lock shut before she could even breathe.

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