My fingers pressed hard against the inside of my left wrist, against the bare skin where my mother's bracelet once sat. I held them there until the shaking stopped.
The next morning, my phone buzzed urgently.
A message.
"Aunty Seraphina, help us. We have been kidnapped."
My heart stopped.
Another message followed.
"They took us to the forest behind the estate. Do not tell Nonno or Daddy. They will kill us if you do."
My hands trembled.
After everything they had done to me, after all the pain they caused, they were still children.
Six lives. Six heirs to the Montecarlo bloodline.
I could not ignore it.
I grabbed my keys and ran.
The forest beyond the estate's perimeter wall was dense and quiet. The path was unclear, the trees towering above me. The security cameras didn't reach this far. No one patrolled past the old stone boundary.
The location led me to a cliff.
"Kids?" I called out, breathless. "Gianna? Matteo?"
There was a rustling sound.
Then laughter.
Cold and cruel.
"You actually came," Gianna said, stepping out. Her chin was up, tilted to the left.
One by one, they appeared from behind the trees.
Dressed in black.
Holding crossbows.
My heart dropped.
They surrounded me from all sides.