Condemned for Her Sake, Then Begged My Lifeless Body for Forgiveness

The healers in the slums had given me a death sentence, and my death would be the ultimate proof against the oblivious Don and the family that had condemned me. The moment the words left my mouth, the iron door of the dungeon was thrown open with a violent clang. Dante’s roar echoed off the damp stone walls. “Alessia! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I turned to see his dark eyes, once my entire world, burning with a cold fury. Behind him, Isabella hurried in, her face a perfectly crafted mask of tear-streaked concern. “Of all days, you had to pull this stunt today?” Dante stormed towards me, his long strides splashing through the ankle-deep water covering the floor. “Isabella was just recovered. The entire family is celebrating her safe return, and you choose now to stage this pathetic drama?” Without another word, he struck me. A sharp, brutal backhand cracked across my face. The force sent me stumbling back into the icy water, my cheek instantly swelling, a hot, throbbing pain spreading through my skull. It took me a few seconds to remember what day it was. Isabella’s celebration. Dante had specifically canceled a high-stakes negotiation with the Irish syndicate just to celebrate her return from a “kidnapping.” And I, his fiancée and the family’s Cleaner, was in the final stages of pulmonary fibrosis. My lungs were turning to scar tissue, and my only crime was reaching out to him, begging for help. Only for him to accuse me of faking an illness to cover my betrayal. Tears blurred my vision, but I fought to keep them from falling. I would not give him the satisfaction. I was about to speak when a violent coughing fit wracked my body, doubling me over. Droplets of blood splattered into the murky water, blooming like dark red flowers before dissipating. I struggled to steady myself, my voice a ragged whisper as I tried to explain, clinging to one last shred of hope. “Dante, I really didn’t…” Dante’s brow furrowed for a moment, perhaps at the sight of the blood on my lips, but he said nothing. Isabella’s delicate voice cut in at the perfect moment. “But, sister, the Don came all this way just for you, after everything you’ve done…” “I told you both to just leave her to rot. She’s nothing but trouble,” my adoptive father, Marco’s, voice came through the comms link in Dante’s ear, loud enough for me to hear. “She’s been pulling stunts like this for attention since she was a child. Does she really think we’ll fall for such a pathetic trick after she sold us out?” “Alessia, would you really poison yourself with street drugs just to lure me down here and ruin Isabella’s celebration?” Dante advanced on me, grabbing me by the collar of my drenched tunic. Isabella rushed to pull him back. Her eyes welled with tears as she looked at me, her voice a trembling plea. “I’m so sorry, sister. I shouldn’t have been so careless. It’s all my fault! Please, just stop hurting yourself! The Don is already worried sick about you. If you can truly repent, I swear I’ll never go outside the compound walls again!” Her words were daggers, each one stabbing me in the heart and making me out to be the villain. Marco’s tone instantly softened with affection over the comms. “Sweet girl, this isn’t your fault. You are so precious, you deserve to be protected.” Though I had seen this display of father-daughter affection countless times, each time it felt as if my heart were being carved out with a dull blade. It had been so long since I had felt the paternal love that was supposed to be mine. Now, it was all poured onto Isabella. But it didn’t matter anymore. When you’re dying, you tend to let go of many things. My heart was a barren wasteland. Another wave of metallic-tasting blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. Dante snatched the medical report from my hand. After a quick scan, he scoffed, “End-stage fibrosis? You can’t even come up with a believable lie.” The report was torn to shreds, the pieces of paper fluttering down into the filthy water around my feet. His gaze lingered for a second on my paper-white face. Meeting his eyes, I remembered the brilliant warmth that had once sparkled with wonder at my eighteenth birthday ceremony when he’d named me his Cleaner. Now, they were as dull and lifeless as the stagnant water I stood in. I raised a trembling hand to wipe away the blood, my body swaying as I turned back to the family’s consigliere, who stood silently by the door. “Please complete the disavowal. I want no delays when my body fails in three days.” Dante’s body jolted. He seized my wrist. “You’d drag the consigliere into this farce just to ruin Isabella’s night!” His voice was thick with fury. “This is absolutely absurd!” “Alessia, come back to your senses right now. Stop making a spectacle of yourself.” With an arm around Isabella’s waist, Dante turned and walked toward the door without a backward glance.