No More the Don's Broken Doll

"Besides, Lily's death was an accident. If you hadn't been playing hide-and-seek with her, she wouldn't have fallen into the sea. And you have the nerve to blame Sofia?"

It was always like this.

No matter what happened, as long as his adopted sister was involved, Marco lost all reason and principle.

Once, Sofia was kidnapped by a rival family. To raise the ransom, Marco gave up an important deal that could have strengthened our family. When I questioned him about it, he came home that night, tore my clothes off, and pinned me against the cold table. He entered me forcefully from behind, thrusting into me as he roared in my ear.

"Sofia nearly died for this family! Would it fucking kill you to show some sympathy? Is that how a Donna is supposed to act?"

"Copy the Torrino family rules a hundred times! You're not getting off this bed until you're done!"

He tortured me until I nearly blacked out.

Incidents like this were countless. I was a fool to believe he would ever avenge our daughter.

I fell silent, finally managing to gnaw through the rope on my wrists.

But my hands were so numb that I fell to the floor, my knees instantly scraping raw and bloody.

Something shifted in Marco’s gaze. He started to rise, but then Sofia sighed, her voice laced with sorrow.

“I’m so envious of Anastasia. She’s only tied up. When those Russians kidnapped me, they shoved an electric baton inside me… It was excruciating.”

“Later, Marco saved me. I thought I would never be hurt again, but I never imagined…”

As she spoke, she managed to squeeze out a few tears.

As a child, Sofia had been kidnapped by the Torrino family’s rivals, the Russian Volkov family.

The thought of his sister’s ordeal, the bloody massacres, all at the hands of the Volkovs, made him think of me… of my Russian descent.

And just a few days ago, he’d been told there was more to my background than met the eye.

Marco’s expression grew even colder. He spoke.

“Anastasia, this is all your fault. You just had to say that and make Sofia relive her painful past.”

“Guards! Bring an electric baton! Let Anastasia have a taste of it, too!”

At his command, several of his Soldati pinned me to the ground. They tore open my nightgown, and the cold metal of a cattle prod touched my skin. An electric current shot through my body, the searing pain forcing a moan from my lips.

Seeing this, one of the Soldati grinned maliciously and shoved a wine bottle into my mouth. "Here, take a mouthful of this. Let's see you disrespect Sofia again!"

Sofia cooed, “Don't be so rough. If you damage Anastasia's throat, how will she be able to beg for mercy later?”

I choked, tears and snot streaming down my face, coughing so hard I felt like I would hack up a lung.

At her words, my fingers found a shard of broken glass nearby, and I hurled it in Sofia's direction.

“I don’t need your fake kindness, you murderer! You didn’t even spare a child! In the dead of night, you’d better watch for my daughter climbing into your bed to take your life!”

The distance was too great; the glass fell short, unable to harm her.

But Sofia immediately shrank back into Marco's arms, her expression a mask of distress.

“Marco, I can't believe Anastasia hates me this much. She cursed me, and she even tried to kill me. I'm so scared... It's all my fault. If only I had been able to grab Lily in time.”

“Anastasia, I think you've truly gone mad! Even now, you refuse to be broken, and you still try to harm Sofia?”

"Aren't you going to apologize to her?!" Marco soothed Sofia, his heart aching for her.

I ignored him, pushing myself up from the floor.

Seeing this, Marco's face turned to ice. He had dozens of cases of whiskey brought over.

"Anastasia likes to throw things, does she? Then I'll let her throw until she's had her fill!"

"Listen up! Starting now, anyone who hits her with a bottle gets a million dollars. No limit!"

The entire room was instantly abuzz with excitement. A million dollars a hit, no limit.