Claimed by the Sicilian Mafia

Chapter 1

Adalina

I gripped the window pane of the cathedral in a desperate attempt to keep my legs from buckling.

    "Breathe." I forced myself to inhale deeply.

In my distress, I felt like my body had forgotten how to do an involuntary response. I glanced out the window, trying to distract myself from the situation I was in.

The sky darkened just like my mood, and tiny, twinkling flakes fell from the heavens. I snorted to myself at the irony. I was in a grand Italian cathedral on the first Saturday in December. The church was decorated like a winter wonderland, and now it was snowing. To any other bride, this would be a dream come true, but to me, it was the beginning of a nightmare.

The door hinges squeaked, and I instantly tensed, relaxing when I saw my sister walk in. She was stunning in her bridesmaid dress and looked much older than sixteen in the red silk that clung to her developing curves.

    "Va Va Voom, well serve you on a platter."

I rolled my eyes at her. Gina's self-defense was humor in a bad situation, but she'd have to break out her entire comedic act to get me to smile this time.

I glanced at my reflection again in the elegant floor-length mirror. The dress that had been 'selected' for me was totally ridiculous and completely out of character for me.

The sleeves were long and completely useless as they provided no warmth or coverage. The entire top, from my waist up, was made of a sheer, delicate lace applique, and my pale skin peaked through the lace for all to see. The skirt was a beautiful A-line silk, but the slit that ran up my mid-thigh made my cheeks flare with shame.

    "What was uncle Vino thinking, choosing this dress?" Gina's eyes danced over my form.

"I am certain Uncle Vino had nothing to do with this dress."

    "Why do you say that?"

She ran her fingers through my hair. It had been left down and flowed down my back in big loose curls. Only a delicate crystal hair pin had been placed on one side of my head to tame some of the mass.

    "Because... he could not afford a 10,000 euro dress."

"That's the price of a car!"

Gina's mouth dropped, and I shrugged my shoulders. Apparently, the Salvatores had money to burn. Must be nice. With a huff, I sat down in front of the vanity.

The door opened again. I glanced at the reflection in the mirror, refusing to turn around to acknowledge my uncle's presence as priority would dim me to do so.

He smiled at my disrespect and withheld the outburst I had come to expect from him. He obviously reminded himself I was now worth billions as a tether connecting him to the Sicilian mafia.

He slithered next to me, his eyes roaming over my thigh, which was even more exposed by the slit in the dress when I was sitting down. Then they traveled up my collar bone and neck, which was exposed by the deep v-neck of the dress, and finally rested on my face.

    "Adalina, my little sparrow has turned into a dove." Bile burned the back of my throat as he rubbed his knuckles against my collar bone.

Every instinct in my body was yelling for me to slap his hand away or move away from his touch, but good sense demanded that I remain perfectly still.

Gina pressed herself further into the dark corner, trying desperately to get as far away from him as possible, but her sudden movement had the opposite effect and only caught his attention. He eyed her but turned his attention back to me, and for that, I was grateful.