The Genius Heiress They Tried To Break

Twenty minutes later, I dragged myself into the living room, leaving a glistening trail of water on the Persian rugs. My jaw ached from the violence of my chattering teeth; I thought they might crack.

The family was gathered by the fireplace, bathed in warmth. They were laughing. Sofia cradled a mug of hot cocoa, looking perfectly pristine.

When I entered, the laughter died.

"My ring!" Sofia gasped, clutching her chest the moment she saw me. "My diamond ring! It's gone!"

She looked at me, her eyes widening in mock horror. "It must have fallen off in the pool when she pushed me!"

Frank Russo stood up, his face darkening to a dangerous shade of purple. "That ring is a family heirloom. It’s worth fifty grand."

"I didn't push her," I said, my voice reduced to a hoarse croak. "And I don't have the ring."

"You threw it in there, didn't you?" Maria accused, stepping forward. "You spiteful little thief."

"I didn't!"

"Go get it," Frank ordered.

I looked at him, trembling uncontrollably. "I’m hypothermic, Frank," I managed, my lips numb and blue. "I can't go back in there."

"I said get it!"

Frank grabbed me by my wet hair and dragged me toward the patio doors. I screamed, clawing at his hand, but he was too strong.

He threw me out the door. I stumbled and fell hard onto the cold patio stones.

"Find the ring, Elena. Or don't come back inside."

I looked through the glass doors. I looked at Luca. He was standing by the fireplace, watching. He could stop this. He was the Underboss. One word from him, and Frank would back down.

Luca walked to the glass door. With a fluid motion, he opened it and stepped out into the cold.

I looked up at him, hope flaring in my chest. "Please, Luca."

He reached down. When he straightened, in his hand was a diving mask.

"You owe her this, Elena," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "If you find it quickly, you can come in and warm up."

He dropped the mask on the ground next to me.

I stared at the mask, then at him. The man I had loved for a decade. The man I had planned to marry.

He wasn't saving me. He was handing me the tool for my own torture.

Frank shoved me toward the water. "Get in!"

I put the mask on. I slid into the freezing water.

For five hours, I dove.

The pool lights were off. It was pitch black underwater. I had to feel the bottom with my numb fingers, inch by inch. Every time I surfaced for air, I saw them sitting on the heated patio, drinking wine, watching me.

Once, when I stayed on the surface too long to catch my breath, Dante poked me with the pool skimmer, pushing my head back under.

"Dive, rat," he laughed.

Somewhere around the third hour, my body stopped shivering. That was bad. That meant my core temperature was dropping dangerously low. My movements became sluggish, as if I was moving through gelatin.

I found it near the drain in the deep end. The glint of gold.

I grabbed it. I kicked to the surface, my lungs screaming. I swam to the edge and tossed the ring onto the concrete.

"Found it," I whispered.

Sofia squealed and ran over, snatching the ring. "Oh, thank God! It was my only comfort when I was kidnapped!"

She didn't look at me. She put the ring on and sauntered back to the warmth of the house.

Frank and Maria followed her.

I tried to pull myself out of the pool, but my arms wouldn't work. I had no strength left. I hooked my chin over the edge of the pool to keep from drowning.

Luca walked over. He looked down at me, his face unreadable in the shadows.

He didn't offer me a hand.

"Behave yourself from now on, Elena," he said quietly.

Then he turned and walked inside, locking the sliding glass door behind him.

I hung there in the water, alone in the dark, and felt the final thread connecting me to him snap. It didn't hurt. It was just... silence.