ASHES AND WHISPERS
~SIMONE'S POV~
They say black is slimming. Nobody mentions it's also suffocating.
I stood before the full-length mirror in my prison bedroom, staring at a stranger.
The black dress Nicholas had provided hung perfectly on my frame...modest neckline, knee-length hem, sleeves that covered just enough.
Expensive but not flashy. Appropriate for mourning a father.
My father. Don Alejandro. Dead for ten days now.
The woman in the mirror looked organized, but inside my chest was a storm of rage and grief that threatened to tear me apart. I hadn't been allowed to see his body after the shooting.
Hadn't been allowed to arrange his funeral. My uncles had taken care of everything, just as they had apparently taken care of selling me to Nicholas Stravkos.
A knock on the d
