The Mafia Princess Asked for a Beautiful Ashes Box Chapter 04

The Mafia Princess Asked for a Beautiful Ashes Box Chapter 04

The last of my restraint shattered.

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” I screamed.

“Dante, if you won’t let me live in peace, then fine. I’ll die. Will that finally be enough for you? At least you won’t be able to control me once I’m in hell.”

My words seemed to enrage him. A vein pulsed violently at his temple.

“Even if you die, you’ll still owe me!”

He shoved me.

The push wasn’t particularly hard, but I still stumbled backward. My lower back struck the edge of the dining table, and pain ripped through my body.

My face went white. Cold sweat broke out across my skin.

Regret flashed through Dante’s eyes, but he turned away before I could be sure.

“Until Mom’s keepsake is back where it belongs, you don’t even have the right to die.”

Then he strode from the room.

I was in too much pain to stand.

Mia crossed her arms and looked down at me with a pleased smile.

“Just look at you, Nina. How pathetic.”

She crouched slightly. “How about this? Get on your knees and beg me, and maybe I’ll tell you who bought that worthless crystal figurine.”

I glared at her, rage burning so fiercely that I wanted to tear her apart.

But I knew I didn’t even have the strength to hit her.

I had lived without dignity for five years. Apparently, I wouldn’t be allowed any even as I approached death.

Dante’s words echoed in my ears.

“Until Mom’s keepsake is back where it belongs, you don’t even have the right to die.”

“Even if you die, you’ll still owe me.”

Fine.

Once I brought the keepsake back, he would finally let me die in peace, wouldn’t he?

I wiped the tears from my face and sank to my knees at Mia’s feet.

“Please,” I whispered. “Tell me where Mom’s keepsake is.”

Whenever Mia had schemed against me in the past, I had always fought back with everything I had.

But the last few times, I hadn’t said a single word in my own defense.

Perhaps she found that boring. She tossed a slip of paper at me.

“There’s the address. But getting it back won’t be as easy as you think.”

Numbly, I picked up the paper and called a cab.

The address led to a pawnshop in a remote suburb. When I explained why I had come, the owner said nothing. He simply brought out the crystal figurine.

Clearly, Mia had told him what to do when I showed up.

Numb to it all, I just wanted to return Mom’s keepsake to Dante so we could finally be done with each other.

But just as I reached for it, the pawnbroker released it too soon.

The figurine hit the floor and shattered.

I froze, all the blood draining from my face.

The pawnbroker cried out, “Why didn’t you catch it? That’s not my fault!”

“Nina!”

Dante’s furious voice rang out behind me.

I spun around and met Mia’s triumphant gaze.

It was a trap.

She clung to Dante’s arm.

“See? I told you, Dante. Nina did it on purpose! She smashed your mother’s figurine just to hurt you, and you’ve been thinking about forgiving her this whole time.”

Dante didn’t seem to hear her.

His gaze locked on the glittering shards as he approached with heavy steps.

His body rigid, he crouched and picked up the pieces one by one, closing them in his fist. Blood seeped between his fingers, but he didn’t seem to notice.

He looked utterly defeated, as if the last thing anchoring him to our mother had disappeared.

I understood what she meant to him. After our father was killed by a rival family, Mom had held the Russo family together on her own.

I missed her every bit as much as Dante did.

“Dante, it really wasn’t me. I didn’t smash it, and I wasn’t the one who sold it five years ago. Mia…”