3
- 6 days ago
- #drama
- #shortdrama
- #mafia
- #family
Dramastock.tv present
Title: Mafia Don's Forgotten Daughter
Episode: Full
Audio: English
Subtitle: English
#drama #shortdrama #mafia #family
Title: Mafia Don's Forgotten Daughter
Episode: Full
Audio: English
Subtitle: English
#drama #shortdrama #mafia #family
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00:02As the fourth daughter of the Moretti Mafia family, no one respected me.
00:00:07Unlike my three popular sisters, I didn't talk much.
00:00:12I spent my days in the garage taking apart old engines and guns my father locked in his safe.
00:00:19My fiancé broke off our engagement in public.
00:00:21My father called me an idiot.
00:00:23My mother wanted to marry me off to a crude, ugly widower.
00:00:26I said nothing.
00:00:27Until that night, our enemies stormed the estate.
00:00:31My father was tied up, forced to his knees.
00:00:34The enemy Capo pressed a gun to his forehead and...
00:00:37Don Morelli, heard you got four pretty daughters.
00:00:41You're all dying tonight.
00:00:42Let me pick one to be my mistress.
00:00:57Anyone else want a mistress?
00:01:02Don Moretti.
00:01:04I'm calling off the engagement with Val.
00:01:09What did you say?
00:01:10The families are shifting.
00:01:12The future Mrs. Castellano needs to stand beside me as an equal.
00:01:17Val won't even speak.
00:01:20Serena and I spent years together in Ashford.
00:01:22I'll double whatever the family's agreed on and marry her instead.
00:01:25The hall went quiet.
00:01:27Amelia and Bianca scoffed.
00:01:29Serena blushed.
00:01:33Val is still your fiancé.
00:01:34She has a good heart.
00:01:36A good heart doesn't run the Castellano Empire, ma'am.
00:01:40Dominic crossed the room, crouched in front of me.
00:01:45Val.
00:01:45I didn't look up.
00:01:46Twisted out another screw.
00:01:50This is imported, not a toy you can break.
00:01:59You have to know your place.
00:02:02Serena suits me.
00:02:03You don't.
00:02:06Be a good girl.
00:02:07Go play with your engines.
00:02:09I finally looked up at him.
00:02:10No hitting, no yelling, just polite words shredded my dignity.
00:02:15Val is an idiot.
00:02:16See a person and don't even say hello.
00:02:18She's not fit for the Castellones.
00:02:20Do as you wish.
00:02:22Thank you, Dawn.
00:02:26I picked up the screw, fit it back into the radio.
00:02:29None of them knew.
00:02:29I'd modified it to intercept every transmission the Mafia families sent.
00:02:33Dominic, what you threw away today was the last of my patients.
00:02:41The scandal passed fast.
00:02:43Nobody cared if the family idiot got hurt.
00:02:45Val, come here.
00:02:47My mother waved me over.
00:02:48Her eyes were still wet.
00:02:50I set down the gear I was polishing and walked over.
00:02:53Your father's right.
00:02:54You can't handle the Castellanos.
00:02:56This is Harold.
00:02:57Owns the casinos.
00:02:5850 years old.
00:02:59Has a daughter.
00:03:00But he's loaded.
00:03:02You can take apart the whole house and he won't care.
00:03:04I stared at the picture.
00:03:06The wrinkled face grinning back at me.
00:03:08The fourth daughter of the Moretti family.
00:03:11Married off to a crude, ugly widower.
00:03:14How ironic.
00:03:16Dominic walked in carrying a gift box.
00:03:19Serena was beside him.
00:03:21Golden couple.
00:03:23Ma'am, Harold sounds perfect for Val.
00:03:26Harold's got old gambling equipment lying around.
00:03:28She'll have plenty of things to take apart.
00:03:30Isn't that your favorite way to live, Val?
00:03:32Concerned tone.
00:03:34But every word was calling me useless trash.
00:03:36Dominic, stop teasing Val.
00:03:38The poor thing doesn't understand marriage anyway.
00:03:41He patted her hand, doting.
00:03:43I'm planning her future.
00:03:46Sweetheart, this is handcrafted by a master.
00:03:49Only one in the city.
00:03:50Open it.
00:03:53Serena tore off the wrap.
00:03:55Excited.
00:03:56Inside was a delicate music box.
00:03:58She reached for the winding key.
00:04:01Dominic caught her hand suddenly.
00:04:03Turned to me.
00:04:04Val.
00:04:05Stand back.
00:04:07This is fragile.
00:04:08If you break it, it's a nightmare to fix.
00:04:12Val.
00:04:13Go play in the back.
00:04:15Nothing here for you.
00:04:18I turned obediently.
00:04:20As I walked out, I heard the crisp music start.
00:04:24Along with Dominic and Serena's laughter.
00:04:31I went back to my garage.
00:04:34Piles of scrap metal.
00:04:35My kingdom.
00:04:43I dragged aside an old waterway.
00:04:46Underneath was a purple gun.
00:04:47I stole it from his safe long ago.
00:04:50Replaced it with a replica.
00:04:51I closed my eyes.
00:04:52In under ten seconds, I broke the whole gun down into loose parts.
00:04:56Then I pulled the slide back.
00:04:58Metal snapped into place.
00:04:59That sound was ten thousand times better than the music box.
00:05:03A sleeping wolf treated like a dog is still a wolf.
00:05:08A few days later, Serena sat on the couch.
00:05:11Eyes red with panic.
00:05:13The music box sat on the coffee table.
00:05:15Dead silent.
00:05:17What do I do?
00:05:19Dominic wants me to play this song at the gala tomorrow night.
00:05:22It's a broken tin can.
00:05:23The Castellanos are rich.
00:05:24He'll buy another one.
00:05:25You don't get it.
00:05:26This isn't just a music box.
00:05:28There's a letter inside from Dominic.
00:05:29It matters.
00:05:31Now it's jammed.
00:05:32I can't get it open.
00:05:34I saw the problem instantly.
00:05:36The spring was wound too tight.
00:05:38The hair spring had caught on the main gear.
00:05:44What are you staring at?
00:05:45Don't come over here.
00:05:47If you break it, we couldn't sell you for enough to cover it.
00:05:49I ignored her and walked over.
00:05:52Serena instinctively clutched the box to her chest.
00:05:55I was faster.
00:05:56Two fingers.
00:05:57I pressed hard on the base.
00:05:59At the same time, my thumb flicked the winding clasp on the side.
00:06:03Twice.
00:06:04The stuck lid popped open.
00:06:06The letter fell onto the carpet.
00:06:08Then the music started up again.
00:06:10The room froze.
00:06:12My two sisters stared at me, mouths open.
00:06:15At that moment, the door swung open.
00:06:29What happened?
00:06:30Dominic, it jammed.
00:06:32I nearly died.
00:06:33Precision mechanics like this.
00:06:35One wrong move, the whole thing is trash.
00:06:38You got lucky.
00:06:40Doesn't mean you'll get lucky next time.
00:06:46Sweetheart, lock things like this away.
00:06:49Some people don't know their limits.
00:06:52Yeah.
00:06:53You just pressed the right button by accident.
00:06:55Go back to your junkyard, Val.
00:06:57Stop embarrassing yourself.
00:07:02My five-year-old Nensun got bored of it.
00:07:04Take it.
00:07:06Stop touching your sister's things.
00:07:08Open humiliation.
00:07:10What?
00:07:11Don't like it?
00:07:14You have to accept your place.
00:07:16Things that aren't yours will never be yours.
00:07:18Even if you happen to open one.
00:07:19I looked at the ugly toy in my hand.
00:07:22My fingers tightened.
00:07:27Dominic stepped back, like he was afraid my blood would ruin his suit.
00:07:31Val, are you doing this for attention?
00:07:33It's childish.
00:07:35Sweetheart, let's go.
00:07:37Don't let this negativity get to you.
00:07:42I stared at the drop of blood on the carpet.
00:07:46Childish?
00:07:47You haven't seen real cruelty yet.
00:07:53Tonight was Dominic and Serena's official engagement.
00:07:56My father invited every important name in the city.
00:07:58Harold came too, with a fat offer for my father.
00:08:01Planning to lock in my marriage with my father after dinner.
00:08:04I wasn't in the hall.
00:08:06Dominic locked me in the garage.
00:08:08It'd be a shame if you embarrassed us in front of the guests.
00:08:11Rest out back.
00:08:45They're inside.
00:08:46We're under attack.
00:08:49This was a plan.
00:08:51I peered through a crack in the tall windows.
00:08:59Champagne and pastries smashed across the floor.
00:09:02Every powerful name was coward in the corners.
00:09:05Shaky.
00:09:06In the middle of the hall stood a dozen rough men.
00:09:09Guns in their hands.
00:09:11My father was pinned on the floor, hands zip-tied behind him.
00:09:24Don Moretti.
00:09:25Long time no see.
00:09:32You took three of my territories.
00:09:33Tonight I'm here to collect with interest.
00:09:37Vince.
00:09:38You touched my family.
00:09:40My allies will bury you.
00:09:45Don't talk to me about your allies.
00:09:47They're busy watching the north.
00:09:50Nobody's coming for you.
00:10:02Well, well.
00:10:04If it isn't the Castellano heir.
00:10:08If you don't hurt anyone, the Castellonis will pay a hundred grand.
00:10:12Shut up.
00:10:23Don.
00:10:24Heard you have four beautiful daughters.
00:10:27You're all dead tonight anyway.
00:10:30Let me pick one to be my mistress.
00:10:33Don't touch my girls.
00:10:35I'll give you whatever you want.
00:10:40Dominic stayed on the floor.
00:10:41Didn't even lift his head.
00:10:43That's when I stepped to the corner of the staircase.
00:10:47Cleared my point.
00:10:48Every hug turned out.
00:10:50Sweetheart.
00:10:51You're gonna scare me with that little...
00:11:13Anyone else?
00:11:15Want a mistress?
00:11:19Every one of his men froze.
00:11:21They couldn't wrap their heads around it.
00:11:24A soft little Don's daughter.
00:11:26Firing a gun.
00:11:27And killing a man with one shot.
00:11:31Boss!
00:11:32Boss is dead!
00:11:35You bitch!
00:11:36I'll kill you!
00:11:37He didn't get to close a trigger.
00:11:39My second shot cracked.
00:11:41The bullet ripped through his wrist.
00:11:43His gun hit the floor with a dull thud.
00:11:45I didn't stop.
00:11:47Three shots.
00:11:47Fast.
00:11:48Three more of Vince's men went down.
00:11:51Kneecaps.
00:11:52Shoulders.
00:11:54Spread out!
00:11:55Take cover!
00:11:56The rest finally came to.
00:11:58Scrambled behind couches and pillars.
00:12:00The hall exploded into chaos again.
00:12:03The family below was frozen.
00:12:06Staring.
00:12:06Dominic clutched his stomach.
00:12:08Struggled to lift his head.
00:12:10Through his gold-rimmed glasses, he stared at me.
00:12:12His eyes were pure shock.
00:12:14Was this the idiot who played with scrap in the backyard?
00:12:17Was this the useless girl who took his insults to work?
00:12:20How many outside?
00:12:22At least.
00:12:24At least.
00:12:2820 or 30 more.
00:12:35My bullets were limited.
00:12:36A firefight wasn't going to work.
00:12:38I glanced at an enemy nearby.
00:12:40He was inching his head out, trying to spot me.
00:12:44I picked up a shard of glass, flung it hard at the opposite wall.
00:12:48The sound pulled his attention.
00:12:50I leaned out.
00:12:51One...
00:12:52Halt.
00:12:53Clean.
00:12:53No hesitation.
00:12:56Serena called my name.
00:12:57Tremble.
00:12:58Blood streaked her face.
00:12:59Not hers.
00:13:00Her eyes were full of fear.
00:13:01Not just fear of the enemies.
00:13:03Fear of me.
00:13:04I didn't look at her.
00:13:05Stayed low.
00:13:06Moved fast to the electrical panel on the sidewalk.
00:13:09I threw the main breaker.
00:13:10The whole hall went pitchfork.
00:13:13The women screamed at me.
00:13:14Shut up!
00:13:16Scream and you die!
00:13:17My voice cut through the dark.
00:13:19Cold.
00:13:19Sharp.
00:13:20Every mouth snapped shut.
00:13:21Light!
00:13:22Get alive!
00:13:23Someone in Vinci's crew shouted.
00:13:25One of them had struck a match.
00:13:26She was stupid.
00:13:28In the dark, any light is a target.
00:13:30I didn't even need to look.
00:13:32Raised my hand and fired.
00:13:34No lights!
00:13:35She can see us!
00:13:36They panicked.
00:13:37Started blind firing toward my position.
00:13:39I used their muzzle flashes.
00:13:41Mapped their positions.
00:13:43Then I felt something in the room.
00:13:45A pocket punch.
00:13:46I'd taken it apart earlier that day.
00:13:49Put it back together loose.
00:13:50I'd removed the stop mechanism.
00:13:52The mainspring was wound to the edge.
00:13:54I hurled it toward the tightest cluster of them.
00:13:58What the?
00:14:00One of them caught it on reflex.
00:14:02The watch ticked loud in the dark.
00:14:04It's a bomb!
00:14:04Throw it!
00:14:08The unknown mechanical sound.
00:14:09Shut the fuck up!
00:14:10They screamed and scattered.
00:14:12I moved between the cover like a ghost.
00:14:15Every shot dropped a moment.
00:14:17Under five minutes.
00:14:18The hall was left with the stench of blood.
00:14:21I threw the breaker back up.
00:14:23The lights burned bright again.
00:14:25I stood in the middle of the corpses.
00:14:27Spinning the empty pistol in my hand.
00:14:29Not a drop of blood on my clothes.
00:14:32I walked to my father.
00:14:34Cut the rope on his wrists with a blade.
00:14:37Father.
00:14:38You must have been shaken.
00:14:40Flat voice.
00:14:41Like I'd just swept a few leaves off the terrace.
00:14:43Val.
00:14:44I turned.
00:14:45You.
00:14:46You.
00:14:47His gold-rimmed glasses hung crooked on his face.
00:14:50I walked over to him.
00:14:51Mr. Castellano.
00:14:54Now.
00:14:55Do you still think I need to marry Harold and take apart his old gambling accliments?
00:15:00Dominic's face shifted.
00:15:01Who the hell are you?
00:15:02Harold crawled out for me.
00:15:03Don Morelli!
00:15:05This...
00:15:05This is Val?
00:15:08My father finally came back to himself.
00:15:11He looked at the bodies, then looked at me.
00:15:14Something complicated flickered in his eyes.
00:15:16Val.
00:15:18Where did you learn to shoot?
00:15:19I didn't answer, because I heard the noise outside.
00:15:22Vince's death hadn't scared them out.
00:15:24It had made them worse.
00:15:25Boss is dead!
00:15:26Boys, get in there!
00:15:27Take them out!
00:15:28We let their gunfire hit them in the gate.
00:15:30Our line was breaking fast.
00:15:31They're coming in!
00:15:33The women in the hall started sobbing again, hopeless.
00:15:36My mother stumbled over, threw her arms around me.
00:15:40Val.
00:15:41Where did you find that kind of courage?
00:15:43Her tears smeared onto my shirt.
00:15:45Mother.
00:15:46Not now.
00:15:47I turned.
00:15:49Don Morelli.
00:15:50He took a breath.
00:15:51The firepower out there is too heavy.
00:15:53We can't just sit here.
00:15:55I suggest we send someone out to negotiate.
00:15:59The Castellanos are willing to pay for peace.
00:16:02That sickening calm crept back into his voice.
00:16:05Shut up!
00:16:08I didn't look up.
00:16:09I was pressing bullets into a fresh magazine.
00:16:12Fast.
00:16:13He stared at me, like I'd insulted him beyond words.
00:16:17Val.
00:16:19I know you did something impressive just now.
00:16:21That doesn't mean you can act reckless.
00:16:24They came from money and women.
00:16:26You killed their boss.
00:16:28Now they've got nothing to lose.
00:16:32You got lucky and killed a few.
00:16:33You really think you can take out all 30 of them?
00:16:39Put the gun down.
00:16:40Listen to me.
00:16:41That's the smart move.
00:16:42He reached out.
00:16:44He tried to take the gun from my hand.
00:16:47Give me the gun.
00:16:49It's too dangerous.
00:16:50I stopped moving.
00:16:52I slowly looked up at his outstretched hand.
00:17:01Mr. Castellanos, if your brain's leaking, I don't mind drilling a hole to let it out.
00:17:07Negotiate with a bunch of pissed off killers.
00:17:10You really think your money fixes everything?
00:17:14What they want right now is to chop us up and feed us to the dogs.
00:17:23I ignored the look on his face, turned to my father.
00:17:26Father, how many men can still fight?
00:17:30There's a dozen in the inner wing.
00:17:32Good enough.
00:17:35I tossed two of the scavenged pistols to a nearby guard.
00:17:41The front is lost.
00:17:42Move them to the second floor hallway.
00:17:44Set the second line at the top of the stairs.
00:17:47But.
00:17:48No but.
00:17:49I cut him off.
00:17:50But.
00:17:51Absolute.
00:17:51The main house walls are brick and mortar.
00:17:53Rifles won't punch through.
00:17:55Give up the garage.
00:17:56Let them come inside.
00:17:57I glanced at the radio I'd taken apart earlier.
00:18:00I walked over.
00:18:01What are you doing?
00:18:02I didn't answer.
00:18:03I stripped the fuses out of a few dead grenades.
00:18:05Strung them together with the copper wire.
00:18:07Something I'd built in the backyard when I was born.
00:18:09Junk metal and scraps.
00:18:10Now it had a use.
00:18:11Are you insane?
00:18:13What do you think you're doing with that trash?
00:18:16This is war, not playtime.
00:18:17I didn't even spare him a glance.
00:18:19I set the trip wire.
00:18:22Simple.
00:18:23Clean.
00:18:23Then I picked up my gun.
00:18:25Started up the stairs.
00:18:26Didn't look back.
00:18:29Anyone who wants to live, shut up.
00:18:31Get to the basement.
00:18:36As for Mr. Castellano.
00:18:37I stopped.
00:18:38Turned my head slightly.
00:18:40The corner of my mouth curved.
00:18:42Mocking.
00:18:43If you think negotiating works,
00:18:46feel free to walk out there.
00:18:50Let's see if they take your cash.
00:18:52Or your head.
00:19:00The hall went dead quiet.
00:19:03Nobody dared question me.
00:19:05Nobody dared walk out to negotiate.
00:19:07Even Dominic.
00:19:08His face went white.
00:19:10He followed Harold and the women down into the basement.
00:19:14Like a beaten dog.
00:19:17I stepped over the wreckage.
00:19:19Went up to the second floor.
00:19:20Good sight lines from up here.
00:19:22Outside was on fire.
00:19:24Enemies were pouring into the garage like locusts.
00:19:27The dozen guards were pulled back to the top of the stairs.
00:19:29All of them were bleeding.
00:19:31All of them looked shaken.
00:19:32Clear as day.
00:19:33These guys had gotten soft.
00:19:35They'd never seen a real fight.
00:19:37Miss.
00:19:40Miss Val.
00:19:41He couldn't line up the girl in front of him,
00:19:43dripping in blood and death,
00:19:44with the Mafia family idiot.
00:19:46Set guns on the windows and the stairwell corner.
00:19:49I didn't waste words.
00:19:50I took command.
00:19:52Don't fire blind.
00:19:55Wait until they hit the entryway.
00:19:58But Don Morelli said...
00:19:59Right now, in this house, I give the orders.
00:20:02The weight in my eyes was pure command.
00:20:04He shut his mouth on reflex.
00:20:06Did what I said.
00:20:08Just as I predicted.
00:20:09They saw an empty garage and rushed to the main house.
00:20:12Screaming.
00:20:14They thought we'd given up.
00:20:15The first few in line kicked the front doors open.
00:20:18No hesitation.
00:20:19Get in!
00:20:20Kill the men!
00:20:21The women!
00:20:22He didn't finish his words.
00:20:24His foot caught on a thin copper wire.
00:20:28My rigged tripwire fired.
00:20:30The blast tore through the narrow entryway.
00:20:33Deafening.
00:20:34The shockwave carried the engines and shrapnel.
00:20:37Ripped the first five or six of them apart in seconds.
00:20:40The ones behind them froze.
00:20:42Terrified.
00:20:44They never expected mines inside the Don's house.
00:20:48Open fire.
00:20:50Pulled their triggers.
00:20:52Crossfire flooded the entryway.
00:20:56The men caught in the open dropped like meat under a sign.
00:21:00Dean!
00:21:00Dean!
00:21:00Shit!
00:21:01It's an ambush!
00:21:02Fall back!
00:21:03Fall back!
00:21:03Their captain was screaming outside.
00:21:06They left a dozen bodies.
00:21:08Fell back behind cover in the garage.
00:21:11Started firing blind to the second floor.
00:21:14I stayed to the side of the window.
00:21:16Cold.
00:21:17Counted their shots.
00:21:18Timed their reloads.
00:21:20Then I saw it.
00:21:21A man in the corner of the yard.
00:21:23Setting up a light machine gun.
00:21:28What is that?
00:21:30Light machine gun.
00:21:34If they pinned the second floor down,
00:21:36this house wouldn't last ten minutes.
00:21:40Pistols didn't have range.
00:21:42Wouldn't reach him.
00:21:43I looked down the hallway.
00:21:46At the end stood a six-foot suit of armor.
00:21:49A decorative piece.
00:21:50One of Dominic's engagement gifts to Serena.
00:21:53Great.
00:21:58Go.
00:21:58Rip that thing open.
00:21:59Bring me the long gun inside.
00:22:00Marco scrambled over.
00:22:02Pulled the ornamental hunting rifle out of the armor's hand.
00:22:05It was just decoration.
00:22:12But I waited in my hand.
00:22:14Old flintlock.
00:22:15But the barrel was thick.
00:22:17I broke the bolt open fast.
00:22:19Pulled a few of the heavier rounds from my pocket.
00:22:21Scavenged earlier.
00:22:22Poured out the powder.
00:22:24Reloaded it.
00:22:24Forced the firing mechanism to work with a different primer.
00:22:28Will...
00:22:28Will that even fire?
00:22:32Watch.
00:22:33I raised the modified rifle.
00:22:36Deep breath.
00:22:37Heart slowed.
00:22:38Sight lined up on the corner of the garage.
00:22:40On the man loading the machine gun.
00:22:44Wind brushed past.
00:22:46I pulled the trigger.
00:22:47The rifle roared.
00:22:48Deafening.
00:22:49The kick went through my shoulder like ice.
00:22:52His head burst like a melon hit with a hammer.
00:22:55Sniper!
00:22:56They've got a sniper!
00:22:59Fall back!
00:23:00Fall back!
00:23:01Fall back!
00:23:02Fall back!
00:23:02Fall back!
00:23:03Fall back!
00:23:03Fall back!
00:23:04Fall back!
00:23:05Without their mirrors, without cover from the dark, they shattered.
00:23:10They dropped their guns and ran, crawled, anything to get out of the estate.
00:23:19The gunfire faded.
00:23:21Only the occasional groan from the garage proved any of it had been real.
00:23:25I set down the hot rifle, rolled my sore shoulder.
00:23:28The crisis was over.
00:23:29The basement door creaked open.
00:23:31My father led the family out.
00:23:32When they saw the wrecked entryway, the blown apart hall, every one of them sucked in a sharp
00:23:38breath.
00:23:38Dominic was last.
00:23:39He looked up at me, standing at the top of the stairs, old rifle in my hand.
00:23:44For the first time, real panic hit his eyes, and something else.
00:23:48A shiver he couldn't name, because he finally understood.
00:23:51The useless girl he'd been controlling with pity and scraps.
00:23:54She was a monster who could really throw it out any time she wanted.
00:24:02Dawn came.
00:24:04The staff started cleaning the wreckage, hands shaking.
00:24:09My father sat in the study, watching me, something heavy in his eyes.
00:24:14He hadn't slept.
00:24:15My mother sat off to the side, didn't have the courage to look at me.
00:24:18My three sisters huddled together, awe and fear in their eyes.
00:24:22Like I was a stranger.
00:24:24My father finally spoke.
00:24:26Val, last night, those explosives, were those detonators?
00:24:32Parts I pulled out of old machines in the backyard, threw them together.
00:24:40I wasn't lying.
00:24:41I had thrown them together.
00:24:44But to my father, that word landed like lightning.
00:24:47He ran a crime syndicate.
00:24:49He'd seen everything.
00:24:51But he'd never heard of anyone building a mine from scrap metal that could kill five men.
00:24:57In that shooting.
00:25:00How much have you been hiding from us?
00:25:03I didn't answer.
00:25:04The study door opened.
00:25:06Dominic walked in.
00:25:07Fresh suit.
00:25:08Gold-rimmed glasses polished.
00:25:10Hair perfect.
00:25:11Like the coward who'd cowered in the basement wasn't him.
00:25:14He carried a small wooden case.
00:25:16Don Moretti.
00:25:17That gentle smile was back on his face.
00:25:20But this time there was something else in it.
00:25:22Careful.
00:25:22Testing.
00:25:23Val.
00:25:25Last night, I didn't handle things well.
00:25:28I underestimated you.
00:25:29You're braver than I thought.
00:25:32Newest model.
00:25:33Imported.
00:25:33For your protection.
00:25:37Dominic leaned down slightly.
00:25:39Watching me with something almost like affection.
00:25:41If you enjoy mechanics, I can teach you the science of shooting.
00:25:45We could study it together.
00:25:47I looked at him.
00:25:48The same man who'd shredded my dignity.
00:25:50And now that he'd discovered I had value, he'd swapped masks in seconds.
00:25:54What did he think I was?
00:25:56Some dog who'd wag her tail again if he tossed me a bone.
00:25:59Serena bit her lip.
00:26:00Something complicated in her eyes.
00:26:02The fiancé she'd been so proud of was groveling to the sister she'd spent months mocking.
00:26:09He thought I'd accepted his peace offer.
00:26:11Something like satisfaction flickered in Dominic's eyes.
00:26:15The recoil is low.
00:26:16Perfect for a woman.
00:26:18My thumb pressed.
00:26:19The magazine ejected.
00:26:20Then my hands moved.
00:26:21Fast.
00:26:22Under three seconds.
00:26:23The priceless handgun was a pile of scattered parts on the table.
00:26:27Dominic's smile froze.
00:26:28I picked up the silver barrel.
00:26:30Looked at it like it was garbage.
00:26:33Then, in front of him, I dropped the barrel into the trash bin.
00:26:41Your gun.
00:26:43Barrel rifling is off by two-tenths of a millimeter.
00:26:4630% jam rate.
00:26:47I brushed dust off my hands.
00:26:49You want to teach me with this junk?
00:26:50His prized knowledge.
00:26:51Stripped bare in front of my expert eye.
00:26:53Val.
00:26:54What kind of attitude is that?
00:26:56He tried to pull an older brother tone.
00:26:58Salvaged some pride.
00:26:59I brought you a gift and you...
00:27:00Mr. Castiano.
00:27:01I cut him off.
00:27:03No mercy.
00:27:03I've got a bad temper.
00:27:05No patience for your sermons.
00:27:08Last night, in front of the enemy, you didn't have the nerve to fart.
00:27:14Now the sun's up and suddenly you're a man again?
00:27:16I locked eyes with him.
00:27:17Every word was slow.
00:27:19Keep your disgusting pity.
00:27:21From today on, stay out of sight.
00:27:23The study went silent.
00:27:25My father didn't stop me.
00:27:26He barely breathed.
00:27:27That polished mask he wore.
00:27:29I'd finally torn it off.
00:27:31What was underneath was pure, ugly rage.
00:27:33Fine.
00:27:34Fine.
00:27:35He turned and walked out.
00:27:37Didn't even take the pile of gun parts with him.
00:27:39I turned around.
00:27:40Looked at my family.
00:27:42Every face was different.
00:27:45Father, from today on, the armory is mine.
00:27:52Taking the armory went smoother than I expected.
00:27:57After watching me strip a gun barehanded and build a mine from scraps, my father gave me everything I asked
00:28:03for.
00:28:04Or maybe he was afraid.
00:28:06The idiot they used to drag around had become the Moretti family's biggest card overnight.
00:28:12Only my mother was still stuck in her guilt.
00:28:16That evening, I'd just finished the armory inventory.
00:28:21She was waiting at the garage gate.
00:28:23A bowl in her hands.
00:28:25Val?
00:28:26She saw the grease on my hands.
00:28:28Her eyes went red instantly.
00:28:30She started to reach for a handkerchief.
00:28:32Halfway there, her hand jerked back.
00:28:34She was afraid I'd shut her down the same way I'd shut down Dominic.
00:28:37Mother, something wrong?
00:28:39You worked all day.
00:28:40I made you some soup.
00:28:41There was something almost pleading in her voice.
00:28:44About Harold.
00:28:46Your mother was foolish.
00:28:47She couldn't even meet my eyes.
00:28:51I was worried about your future.
00:28:53I didn't know he was that kind of man.
00:28:56I looked at how small she'd made herself.
00:28:58I didn't feel triumph, just tired.
00:29:01Good.
00:29:05You don't need to worry about my affairs anymore.
00:29:09It was a clear line.
00:29:11My mother's tears finally spilled over.
00:29:14She covered her mouth, turned, and ran.
00:29:17Bianca and Serena stood a few feet away.
00:29:19Neither dared to speak.
00:29:20Their entire view of me had been shattered.
00:29:23I ignored them, went back to my room.
00:29:26A hand-drawn mechanical schematic sat on my desk.
00:29:29The weapons here were outdated.
00:29:31Most were old service pistols.
00:29:33Against a crew like Vince's, armed with modern firepower,
00:29:37they were useless.
00:29:38I needed to use what I had.
00:29:41Retool the whole armory.
00:29:42The next two weeks, I practically lived in the armory.
00:29:48The scream of metal being cut.
00:29:51The smell of powder.
00:29:53That was my whole world.
00:29:55During those weeks, the Castellanos took a hit.
00:30:00Word spread across the city.
00:30:02Dominic cowered during the raid.
00:30:04Everyone knew.
00:30:05The businesses that had lined up to partner with the Castellanos pulled out.
00:30:09One by one.
00:30:10A man who couldn't protect his own fiancé.
00:30:12A man who almost begged on his knees.
00:30:15Nobody respected that.
00:30:16Castellanos' stock dropped through the floor.
00:30:18The Moretti family went the other way.
00:30:20With my weapon modifications, my father's men were twice as deadly.
00:30:24He wiped out the last of the Barone crew in one clean sweep.
00:30:28His name shook the whole city.
00:30:30Everyone knew.
00:30:31Don Moretti had an ace in the hole.
00:30:35And that ace was the fourth daughter he'd once tried to throw away.
00:30:42Two weeks later, afternoon.
00:30:45I was calibrating a heavy machine gun I'd just finished retooling.
00:30:48The thing had been scrapped because of a busted cooling system.
00:30:52I'd spent two days converting it to air-cooled.
00:30:55Cut the weight in half.
00:30:58Marco ran into the armory.
00:31:00Miss Bell!
00:31:00Sweating.
00:31:02His tone toward me had gone from mocking to pure respect.
00:31:06Old man Castellano.
00:31:08He's here.
00:31:09Brought Dominic with him.
00:31:10I stopped.
00:31:11Set down the wrench.
00:31:13What do they want?
00:31:14They...
00:31:15They said they came to apologize.
00:31:17Want to reopen the arrangement.
00:31:19Renew the engagement.
00:31:20Marco swallowed hard.
00:31:22And they were specific.
00:31:23They said the engagement...
00:31:25It's with you.
00:31:27Of course.
00:31:29Dominic had figured out that Serena was just a pretty face.
00:31:32And I was the real gold that could save his sinking family.
00:31:36So he dropped his pathetic pride.
00:31:38Came crawling back.
00:31:39Go to the front hall.
00:31:40I want to see just how thick Mr. Castellano's skin really is.
00:31:45The mood in the front hall was thick.
00:31:48Dominic wasn't in his usual chair.
00:31:50He stood in the middle of the room, head slightly down.
00:31:53His gold-rimmed glasses couldn't hide the exhaustion in his eyes.
00:31:57Old man Castellano sat in the guest seat, face gray, talking fast to my father.
00:32:02All three of my sisters were there.
00:32:04Serena especially.
00:32:05Her face was paper white.
00:32:07A few days ago, Dominic had been holding her hand, promising her everything.
00:32:16Every voice cut off the second I walked in.
00:32:19Val.
00:32:20He even stepped forward, reached for my hand.
00:32:23I sidestepped him.
00:32:25Walked to the main seat.
00:32:27Took an empty chair.
00:32:29Mr. Castellano.
00:32:31Your manners have slipped.
00:32:34You see a person and you don't even say hello?
00:32:36Dominic's expression froze.
00:32:37Miss Val, I came here to apologize.
00:32:40I was blind.
00:32:41I didn't see your talent.
00:32:43The Castellanos are in trouble.
00:32:45Our associates need new mechanical designs to trust us again.
00:32:49I know you understand these things.
00:32:51If you'll forgive me and honor our engagement,
00:32:54I'll hand you half of the Castellano operation to run yourself.
00:32:59I'll take care of Serena.
00:33:01She won't get in your way.
00:33:04Serena heard that last line, covered her face,
00:33:07ran out of the room, sobbing.
00:33:12I looked at Dominic.
00:33:13For a second, I actually felt sorry for him.
00:33:16He thought feelings and dignity were things you could trade in and swap out like used cars.
00:33:21Dominic.
00:33:21I didn't even bother looking at him.
00:33:23Did you think I was quiet before because I was stupid?
00:33:26He froze.
00:33:27Didn't know how to answer.
00:33:28I was quiet because talking to a man like you is a waste of my breath.
00:33:32I stood up, walked over to him.
00:33:36I like taking things apart because I love the pure logic of controlling a machine.
00:33:41To me, you're not even worth a rusted screw.
00:33:45At least a screw holds something in place.
00:33:47I leaned in, one word at a time.
00:33:49You belong in the trash.
00:33:51Dominic's body swayed.
00:33:53Every drop of color left his face.
00:33:55He looked worse than the corpses in our garage.
00:33:57That pride he'd worn like armor.
00:34:01I'd crushed it in front of everyone.
00:34:05Doors on the left?
00:34:07Get out.
00:34:10Or the next bullet goes right through your forehead.
00:34:14Old man Castellano knew when to fold.
00:34:17He grabbed his son, dragged him out of the estate.
00:34:20Fast.
00:34:20The hall was quiet again.
00:34:22My father looked at me.
00:34:23Something proud in his eyes.
00:34:25Something almost worshipful.
00:34:26Starting today, the Moretti family didn't have a forgotten fourth daughter anymore.
00:34:31My future was just starting.
00:34:34There was still a Maxim gun waiting for me in the armory.
00:34:37And I was ready.
00:34:38My father's footsteps echoed behind me in the empty room.
00:34:41He didn't walk toward the shiny new rifles.
00:34:44He just followed me.
00:34:47Val.
00:34:47His voice was rougher than I'd ever heard it.
00:34:50These guns are in here.
00:34:52Since the dealer's men left, nobody's been able to strip them down and clean them.
00:34:56I stopped.
00:34:57Picked up cloth from the shelf.
00:34:59Wiped the dust off a barrel.
00:35:01I turned.
00:35:02Looked at him.
00:35:03Stripping them isn't hard.
00:35:04Water jacket.
00:35:06The hard part is recalibrating the water jacket and the feed mechanism.
00:35:16Father, you're handing all this to me.
00:35:18Aren't you afraid I'll destroy the Moretti family's edge?
00:35:21My father let out a bitter laugh.
00:35:24He unhooked a heavy ring of keys from his belt.
00:35:27Held them out to me.
00:35:28Both hands.
00:35:32The Moretti family's edge was never in these dead things.
00:35:39It's you.
00:35:50Night fell.
00:35:51Torches lit up the whole estate.
00:35:53A dark tide of men flooded the front yard, surrounding the main house.
00:35:57Dominic stood in the middle of them.
00:35:59My father stood on the second floor balcony, veins popping on his gun hand.
00:36:03Dominic, you dared to hire marginaries to attack the Moretti family?
00:36:07Dominic looked up, raised a brass megaphone.
00:36:09Don Moretti, you misunderstanding.
00:36:12How could I attack your family?
00:36:14I came to bring my fiancé home.
00:36:16His eyes finally locked onto me, standing in the shadows.
00:36:19Val, it's cold out.
00:36:21His tone was soft.
00:36:22Stop being difficult.
00:36:24Come home with me.
00:36:25Just hand over mechanical skinaptics as your dowry.
00:36:28I promise every person in your family sees tomorrow's sunrise.
00:36:32Dominic, do you actually think now we're fish on the chopping block?
00:36:39Mr. Castigliano, have you ever seen a field being harvested?
00:36:44Let's see who will win.
00:36:46I took the keys from my father's hand.
00:36:49A transfer of power.
00:36:51Val, you've been at it all morning.
00:36:53Have something warm.
00:36:55Val, wipe your hands.
00:36:56The oil is bad for your skin.
00:36:57My eyes went to Serena.
00:36:59Serena, are you done crying?
00:37:03Val, I'm sorry.
00:37:04That man had me fooled, and I helped him tear you down.
00:37:07I am so stupid.
00:37:09Being stupid isn't the worst thing.
00:37:11The worst is knowing you're stupid and still leaning on someone else to think for you.
00:37:18Dominic traded me today for profit.
00:37:21Tomorrow he'd sell you off for a bigger one.
00:37:24You don't survive in this world through marriage.
00:37:28You survive by making people afraid of you.
00:37:38Don't die.
00:37:39Miss Val.
00:37:41We have a problem.
00:37:43We have a problem.
00:37:45My father's face went dark.
00:37:48Don't panic.
00:37:49Talk.
00:37:51The Castellanos cut our supply line.
00:37:555,000 rounds and 300 crates of fuel were supposed to arrive today.
00:37:59They're all held up at the docks.
00:38:03The Castellanos want us wiped out.
00:38:09That's not all.
00:38:10Our informant says Dominic teamed up with Silas Hawthorne.
00:38:14head of the commission.
00:38:15They paid double.
00:38:17Hired every gun for hire outside the city.
00:38:19Every one of the Black Hill crew.
00:38:21They're hitting us tonight.
00:38:29Dominic.
00:38:29That animal.
00:38:30He's going to finish us while we're weak.
00:38:33Val.
00:38:34Take your sisters.
00:38:35Use the tunnel.
00:38:36I'll take what men we have and go down fighting.
00:38:40Run?
00:38:42Why would we run?
00:38:45They've got over a thousand hired killers.
00:38:48We have less than a hundred men left.
00:38:50Ammo's low.
00:38:52We can't hold this place.
00:38:57Father.
00:39:00Have you ever been hunting?
00:39:03My father froze.
00:39:04I didn't wait for him to answer.
00:39:06If you want to catch a whole pack of wolves, you put out the fattest bait you have.
00:39:10Tell everyone.
00:39:12Tonight, leave the front gates wide open.
00:39:14Every man falls back to the second floor of the main house.
00:39:17Miss Val.
00:39:19That's letting the wolves into the house.
00:39:22That's what I want.
00:39:24They are getting in, not out.
00:39:27Tonight, Dominic should get used to blessing my guns.
00:39:31Night fell.
00:39:31Torches lit up the whole estate.
00:39:33The main gates stayed open.
00:39:35Just like I loved.
00:39:36A dark tide of men flooded the front yard.
00:39:38Surrounded the main roofs.
00:39:40Dominic stood in the middle of the house.
00:39:43Dominic.
00:39:44You dared to hire marginaries.
00:39:46To attack the Morelli family.
00:39:51Don Morelli.
00:39:53You misunderstand.
00:39:53You misunderstand.
00:39:56How could I attack your family?
00:39:58I came to bring my fiancé home.
00:40:02He gave a small, formal laugh.
00:40:05Silas Hawthorne heard your family's security had been struggling.
00:40:08He sent these men to protect you.
00:40:11He raised his hand.
00:40:12Scam to the second floor.
00:40:14Val.
00:40:15It's cold out.
00:40:17Stop being difficult.
00:40:18Come home with me.
00:40:20Just hand over the mechanical schematics as your dowry.
00:40:22I promise every person in your family sees tomorrow's sunrise.
00:40:26As for Serena, I'll find her a respectable position in the commission.
00:40:30That was Dominic.
00:40:32Even his threats had to sound loving and civilized.
00:40:35Mr. Castellano is a real negotiator.
00:40:37He wants schematics and the family's lifeblood.
00:40:40Val.
00:40:41This is a win-win.
00:40:43You've got maybe 50 guns left.
00:40:45Barely any bullets.
00:40:47You can't hold this place.
00:40:54You can't hold this place.
00:40:57Dominic.
00:40:57Do you actually think that you bought off Willy in the armory?
00:41:03Pulled the firing pins on those three guns.
00:41:08And now we're fish on the chopping block?
00:41:15Dominic's smile locked up.
00:41:16He clearly hadn't expected me to know that.
00:41:19If you know that, you should understand the situation.
00:41:21No firing pins.
00:41:23Those machine guns are scrap metal.
00:41:25Val.
00:41:25Smart people know when to fold.
00:41:30I turned around.
00:41:31Pulled the tarp off what was next to me.
00:41:33Three fully-capped heavy machine guns.
00:41:35Lined up.
00:41:36Black barrels pointed straight down at the crowd.
00:41:38You did buy off Willy.
00:41:39I stepped behind the middle gun.
00:41:41Gripped the wooden handles.
00:41:43But you might not know.
00:41:45Those three firing pins you pulled,
00:41:47I spent 30 minutes at the lathe this afternoon.
00:41:50Made three new ones.
00:41:52Tungsting steel.
00:41:53Better heat tolerance.
00:41:55Impossible.
00:41:57How do you know how to work a lathe?
00:42:03I don't just know laches.
00:42:05I know how to calculate bullet diversion.
00:42:08Mr. Castellano,
00:42:10have you ever seen a field being harvested?
00:42:12Dominic's face went ash gray.
00:42:14The open gates weren't surrender.
00:42:16They were snared.
00:42:17Fall back!
00:42:41Fuck you!
00:42:48Sorry. Turns out I won.
00:42:53By the time the guns went silent, the eastern sky was turning pale.
00:42:58Over half of the thousand mercenaries were on the ground.
00:43:05The rest were on their knees.
00:43:07Guns held over their heads, shaking.
00:43:11My father went down with the men to clear the field.
00:43:21The way he looked at me now was past worship.
00:43:24It was pure devotion.
00:43:29Silas Hawthorne came in person to sue for peace.
00:43:33Wooden crates were carried in, full of gold bars, deeds to commission properties.
00:43:39Behind Silas was Dominic, hands tied, mud and cuts all over his face.
00:43:45One lens in his gold-rimmed glasses had shattered.
00:43:48Miss Val, last night's mess was all Dominic.
00:43:51He deceived the commission.
00:43:53Everything in these crates is our apology.
00:43:57As for him...
00:44:01He's yours. Do what you want.
00:44:05Val, I was wrong.
00:44:10I really know I was wrong.
00:44:14He tried to crawl forward.
00:44:16My men pinned him down.
00:44:18For the sake of our two families' history...
00:44:22Spare my life.
00:44:24Every factory in my name, I'll sign them over to you.
00:44:28I'll be your dog.
00:44:29Handle your books.
00:44:32I took a sip of coffee.
00:44:34Sat the cup down.
00:44:37Dominic.
00:44:38Even now, you're still trying to make a deal.
00:44:41You really think I care about your scrap height factories?
00:44:44I stood, walked over to him, looked down.
00:44:49Your biggest mistake wasn't going after the Morettas.
00:44:53It was thinking every person alive has a price you can pay.
00:44:56I stared into his hopeless eyes.
00:44:58When you were stripping other people of their dignity, you did it so politely.
00:45:02Now that you're the dog, you sure figured out how to wag your tail fast.
00:45:06Dominic shook all over.
00:45:07Tears cut lines through the mud on his face.
00:45:10Please.
00:45:10He broke completely.
00:45:12Slammed his head on the stone floor.
00:45:14I don't want to die.
00:45:15I'm not going to kill you.
00:45:16His head snapped up.
00:45:17Wild hope in his eyes.
00:45:19My next line dragged him straight back to hell.
00:45:22Silas.
00:45:24This is commission business?
00:45:26Handle it the commission way.
00:45:29The Castellanos go bankrupt.
00:45:30All assets to the Morelli family.
00:45:34As for the air?
00:45:35Break his hands and feet.
00:45:38Ship him out of the city.
00:45:40I don't want to see his face again.
00:45:46Dominic let out a raw scream.
00:45:48My men shoved a rag in his mouth.
00:45:50Dragged him out like a dead dog.
00:45:52The screaming faded.
00:45:54You could hear a pin drop in the hall.
00:45:57Silas nodded fast.
00:45:59Backed out with his people.
00:46:01My father walked up.
00:46:02He didn't sit in the head chair.
00:46:04He stood behind me.
00:46:05To the side.
00:46:06Amelia, Serena and Bianca stood off to the side.
00:46:09Everyone waited for me to speak.
00:46:11I walked to the doorway.
00:46:12The morning sun poured gold across the garage.
00:46:14The blood had already been washed clean.
00:46:17The air smelled like rain on fresh earth.
00:46:20Serena.
00:46:22I didn't turn around.
00:46:23The book's coming over from the commission.
00:46:25You handle them from now on.
00:46:27Serena froze.
00:46:28Then bowed deep.
00:46:30Yes, Val.
00:46:31Amelia, Bianca.
00:46:33You two split the household operations.
00:46:36Both answered together.
00:46:38I turned.
00:46:39Looked at my father.
00:46:43Father.
00:46:45Start recruiting.
00:46:48The rules of this city.
00:46:50From now on, the Moretti family sets them.
00:46:53My father straightened his back.
00:46:55Snapped a sharp salute.
00:46:57I touched the gun at my hip.
00:46:58The one that had been with me for years.
00:47:01The barrel was still warm.
00:47:03The best of times.
00:47:04The worst of times.
00:47:06I wasn't a bystander anymore.
00:47:12The wooden crates were still being carried in
00:47:14when the accountant's hand started shaking.
00:47:18Miss Val, there's a discrepancy.
00:47:21Serena leaned in beside me.
00:47:22Her eyes moved down the column faster than mine.
00:47:25Three shipments.
00:47:26Signed for.
00:47:27Never arrived.
00:47:28Whose signature?
00:47:30She hesitated.
00:47:31Yours.
00:47:32The room went quiet.
00:47:33I hadn't signed anything in three days.
00:47:35I'd been busy breaking Dominic.
00:47:36I closed the ledger.
00:47:37Set my coffee down.
00:47:38Which route?
00:47:38Northern warehouse?
00:47:40The one we took from the Castellanos.
00:47:43No.
00:47:44Don't call anyone.
00:47:46Whoever forged my name is still in this house.
00:47:48Marco went pale by the door.
00:47:50Amelia stopped pouring wine mid-glass.
00:47:52Serena.
00:47:53Keep the books open.
00:47:54Don't tell anyone what you found.
00:47:57Val.
00:47:59Anyone.
00:48:00That night, I walked back to my room alone.
00:48:03The hallway lights were dimmed the way I liked them.
00:48:05On my pillow, catching the lamplight, was a gold signet ring.
00:48:09Dominic's.
00:48:09Still warm.
00:48:13I didn't touch the ring.
00:48:15I photographed it.
00:48:16Bagged it.
00:48:16Sent Marco to check the man I'd shipped Dominic out with.
00:48:18Report came back in an hour.
00:48:20The transport driver had never returned.
00:48:21His truck was found empty outside the city.
00:48:23Someone had walked Dominic out of my grip.
00:48:25Or worse, someone had wanted me to think Dominic walked out.
00:48:28I let Serena spread a controlled leak the next morning.
00:48:31New schematics finished.
00:48:32Prototype moving to the eastern warehouse at midnight.
00:48:35Only four of them were told.
00:48:36Each a different night.
00:48:37By noon, I knew which lie had traveled.
00:48:39My uncle Rocco.
00:48:40My father's own mother.
00:48:41I set the trap for midnight.
00:48:43Rocco arrived on schedule with three men and a set of keys he shouldn't have had.
00:48:46We took them without firing a shot.
00:48:48I sat across from Rocco in the garage.
00:48:50Screw them to my hand.
00:48:52Not for him.
00:48:52For the machine gun on the bench.
00:48:56Uncle.
00:48:56Talk.
00:48:57His mouth opened.
00:49:01He was dead before he hit the front.
00:49:03Marco threw me to the floor.
00:49:05Glass rained down.
00:49:06I crawled to the shell casing that had come in with the bullet.
00:49:08Lifted it.
00:49:09Long.
00:49:09Steel jacketed.
00:49:10Foreign stamp on the base.
00:49:12Not a hire.
00:49:12Not local.
00:49:13Military.
00:49:17By morning, half the estate was on high alert.
00:49:20And the other half was pretending not to notice.
00:49:22Val.
00:49:23There's a car at the gate.
00:49:25Turn it away.
00:49:26I can't.
00:49:27Something in her voice made me look up.
00:49:28She was pale.
00:49:29Older than she'd been at breakfast.
00:49:30Who is it?
00:49:32Luca Rossi.
00:49:32The name meant nothing to me for exactly one second.
00:49:35Then a memory I hadn't touched in 15 years surfaced.
00:49:37A garden.
00:49:38A boy in a black suit.
00:49:39My mother pressed a ribbon into another woman's hand.
00:49:41You're joking.
00:49:44I meant to tell you.
00:49:46When?
00:49:47When did you mean to tell me?
00:49:49I had a betrothal?
00:49:51She didn't answer.
00:49:52I set the casing down and walked to the front hall myself.
00:49:56He was already inside.
00:49:57Tall, dark coat.
00:49:58Hands in his pocket like he owned the marble under his shoes.
00:50:01He didn't smile when he saw me.
00:50:02He looked at me the way a man looks at something he's been waiting for.
00:50:05Inside was a black brand iron.
00:50:07Cooled.
00:50:08The Castellano crest burnt into its face.
00:50:10I cleaned up your trash.
00:50:12You're welcome.
00:50:16The commission gallow was three nights later.
00:50:18I let my mother pick the dress.
00:50:20Black, sharp shoulders.
00:50:21Nothing that hid the holster on my thigh.
00:50:23Luca met me at the door.
00:50:24Didn't offer his arm.
00:50:25Just walked beside me like a wall.
00:50:27The hall quieted the moment we stepped in.
00:50:29A cousin of Silas Hawthorne raised his glass first.
00:50:33The mechanic bride.
00:50:34Somebody laughed.
00:50:35I kept walking.
00:50:36I heard she fixes toasters.
00:50:37Perfect for a Rossi kitchen.
00:50:39Luca stopped.
00:50:40He didn't raise his voice.
00:50:41He didn't have to.
00:50:43She's not marrying into my house.
00:50:44The room shifted.
00:50:46He's taking the Hawthorne seat on the commission.
00:50:48That seat is elected.
00:50:50It was elected this morning.
00:50:51Nine votes to three.
00:50:54Congratulations, Donna Moretti.
00:50:55I hadn't asked him to do it.
00:50:57He'd known I wouldn't have to.
00:50:58Then I saw my mother across the hall.
00:50:59Wine glass halfway to her lips.
00:51:01She swayed.
00:51:02The glass slipped.
00:51:03She hit the marble before anyone caught her.
00:51:05I was running before I heard myself scream.
00:51:10The poison was in the wine.
00:51:11The wine had been poured for me.
00:51:14My mother was breathing when we got her home.
00:51:16Barely.
00:51:16I sat by her bed until the doctor left.
00:51:19Then walked to the east wing alone.
00:51:21Amelia was already awake.
00:51:22Fully dressed.
00:51:23Sitting in her vanity like she'd been waiting.
00:51:25Which glass was mine, Amelia?
00:51:27She didn't turn around.
00:51:28The one on the left.
00:51:29You served it.
00:51:31Yes.
00:51:32I set a folder on her vanity.
00:51:34Photos.
00:51:34The pharmacist she'd visited twice this week.
00:51:37The maid she'd paid off.
00:51:38The bank transfer that landed the night before the gala.
00:51:41She finally looked at me in the mirror.
00:51:43She wasn't crying.
00:51:44She wasn't sorry.
00:51:46You took everything, Val.
00:51:47The seat.
00:51:48The name.
00:51:49Father's eyes.
00:51:50I was the eldest.
00:51:51I was raised for it.
00:51:52You were raised for it.
00:51:54You just weren't built for it.
00:51:56Get out tonight.
00:51:57No name.
00:51:58No accounts.
00:51:59No car.
00:51:59Walk.
00:52:00She stood up slowly.
00:52:01Didn't argue.
00:52:02At the door, she paused.
00:52:04He knelt for you, you know?
00:52:05Luca.
00:52:06In front of his father last week.
00:52:08An hour later, gunfire lit up the front gates.
00:52:12I was still in my gala dress when I hit the courtyard.
00:52:15Luca was already there.
00:52:17Shirt half-buttoned.
00:52:18Gun in each hand.
00:52:19He tossed me a rifle without looking.
00:52:21Front wall.
00:52:21Now.
00:52:22Who?
00:52:23Not ours, not theirs.
00:52:24We took the stairs two at a time.
00:52:25On the balcony where I'd killed a thousand men for Dominic, we crouched behind the stone.
00:52:31Below, the mercenaries moved in formation.
00:52:34Not a hired mob.
00:52:35Trained.
00:52:36Silent.
00:52:37Fanned out like a real army.
00:52:38I fired first.
00:52:40Dropped the point man.
00:52:41Luca fired second.
00:52:43Dropped the one who lifted his rifle at me.
00:52:45We didn't speak for the next twenty minutes.
00:52:47We didn't need to.
00:52:48He covered my left.
00:52:49I covered his right.
00:52:50When my magazine ran dry, his hand was already there with a fresh one.
00:52:54By dawn, the courtyard was still.
00:52:56I climbed down to check the point man.
00:52:58Rolled him over with my boot.
00:53:00His collar was torn.
00:53:02Something metallic caught the light underneath.
00:53:04A pin.
00:53:05Small.
00:53:06Enameled.
00:53:06The Moretti crest.
00:53:08But an older version.
00:53:09The one my Uncle Enzo had worn.
00:53:11The one buried with him fifteen years ago.
00:53:15I put the pin on my father's desk.
00:53:18He didn't touch it.
00:53:19He didn't move at all.
00:53:20He's dead, Val.
00:53:22You buried a casket.
00:53:23Not a body.
00:53:24There was a body.
00:53:25There was a burn victim.
00:53:26Same height.
00:53:27Same ring.
00:53:27You wanted him dead so badly you didn't ask questions.
00:53:30My father sank into the chair.
00:53:32Ten years older in ten seconds.
00:53:34He was my brother.
00:53:35He was the man who told everyone I was worthless.
00:53:37That got him to look up.
00:53:39Enzo?
00:53:40He paid off my first three tutors to fail me.
00:53:42He told Mother my hands were unstable.
00:53:44He rewrote my school reports.
00:53:46I found the letters in Rocco's safe last night.
00:53:49My phone buzzed.
00:53:50Unknown number.
00:53:51A single photo.
00:53:52My mother.
00:53:53Alive.
00:53:54Sitting in a garden I didn't recognize.
00:53:56Teacup in hand.
00:53:57Across from her.
00:53:58Older, grayer, but unmistakable.
00:54:01Enzo.
00:54:02She was smiling.
00:54:03When did that come?
00:54:05An hour ago.
00:54:06I didn't show my father the photo.
00:54:07I went to my mother's room myself.
00:54:09It was taken two years ago.
00:54:12Explain.
00:54:16She closed her eyes.
00:54:17He came to me when you were seven.
00:54:20He said you had a gift.
00:54:22He said the family would eat you alive before you could use it.
00:54:26He said if I hid you,
00:54:29if I made everyone believe you were slow, clumsy, useless,
00:54:33he would leave you alone until you were strong enough.
00:54:37You believed him.
00:54:39I bought us 15 years, Val.
00:54:41You let them call me trash for 15 years.
00:54:44I let you live for 15 years.
00:54:46I sat down slowly on the edge of the bed.
00:54:48For the first time in my adult life, I didn't have a sharp answer.
00:54:51She reached under her pillow, pulled out a leather ledger, handed it to me.
00:54:54His buyers?
00:54:56His roots?
00:54:56Every man who has ever paid Enzo for a Morelli secret?
00:54:59I opened the first page.
00:55:01Halfway down, in neat black ink, Rossi, Giancarlo.
00:55:05Six shipments, paid in full.
00:55:07Luca's father.
00:55:08I didn't confront Luca.
00:55:09I tested him.
00:55:10I told him I'd scheduled a private buyer meeting for the new prototype.
00:55:14Tuesday.
00:55:15Old textile mill.
00:55:16Two men only.
00:55:17His name on the guest list.
00:55:19He came to my room that night with two glasses of wine and didn't drink either.
00:55:23You set a trap for me.
00:55:28Yes.
00:55:28The buyer's fake?
00:55:30Yes.
00:55:31He sat down across from me.
00:55:33Didn't reach for the gun in his belt.
00:55:34Didn't reach for me.
00:55:36My father sent me here to marry you for the schematics.
00:55:40He's been paying Enzo for years.
00:55:42I found out three months ago.
00:55:44I've been feeding Enzo bad routes ever since.
00:55:47Why didn't you tell me?
00:55:48Because you would have tested me anyway.
00:55:50I almost smiled.
00:55:51He leaned forward.
00:55:52His hand landed next to mine on the table, not on top of it.
00:55:56Close enough that I felt the heat.
00:55:58Val.
00:55:58When this is Yenchenli the Tidman, Jihuyao each are over.
00:56:02Miss Val.
00:56:03Two cars at the gate.
00:56:06Rossi colors.
00:56:06Intercom crackled.
00:56:07He wasn't supposed to come until Friday.
00:56:11Who's with him?
00:56:12Marco's voice was tight.
00:56:13An older gentleman.
00:56:14Says his name is Enzo Moretti.
00:56:17I set the table for four.
00:56:18Wine, steak, the good silver.
00:56:20Enzo walked in first.
00:56:22Older than the photo.
00:56:23Same eyes as my father.
00:56:25Same eyes as me.
00:56:26Giancarlo Rossi followed.
00:56:28Silver-haired.
00:56:28Expensive.
00:56:29They sat.
00:56:30I poured.
00:56:31I set the ledger on the table between the plates.
00:56:33Enzo's face didn't change.
00:56:35Giancarlo's did.
00:56:37You've been busy, niece.
00:56:39I learned from family.
00:56:43Enzo took a sip of wine.
00:56:45You're going to hand me that book and the schematics and the Northern Warehouse.
00:56:51Then you're going to disappear the way your mother promised.
00:56:55My mother made that promise when I was seven.
00:56:57A Moretti keeps her word.
00:56:58I'm not that Moretti anymore.
00:57:00He moved fast for an old man.
00:57:01A blade came out of his sleeve aimed at my throat across the table.
00:57:05Luca shot him under the jaw before the tip cleared the wine glass.
00:57:08Giancarlo froze a fork halfway to his mouth.
00:57:11Luca turned the gun on his father without lowering it.
00:57:14Sign the assets over.
00:57:15All of them.
00:57:16Tonight.
00:57:17Son.
00:57:18Sign or join him.
00:57:19Giancarlo signed.
00:57:20At dawn, the remaining nine commission dons voted me Donna.
00:57:24Unanimous.
00:57:25My mother pulled me aside on the balcony.
00:57:27Her hand on my wrist.
00:57:28Her voice barely a whistle.
00:57:30Val.
00:57:30There's something I ever told your father.
00:57:32What?
00:57:34There's a fifth sister.
00:57:35Her name was Elena.
00:57:3624.
00:57:37Raised in Zurich.
00:57:38Trained by Enzo since she could walk.
00:57:40My mother had given birth to her in secret.
00:57:42Given her up on Enzo's promise the child would never be used against her.
00:57:46Enzo had lied about that too.
00:57:50She's coming, Val.
00:57:52He always told her the day he died she'd come home and...
00:57:55Oh, to who?
00:57:56To hers.
00:57:57I didn't rage.
00:57:58I didn't cry.
00:57:59I told the staff to prepare the West Wing.
00:58:01Fresh flowers.
00:58:02Fresh sheets.
00:58:03Her favorite tea.
00:58:04If we could find out what it was.
00:58:06Serena stared at me.
00:58:07You're welcoming her?
00:58:09I'm not going to hate.
00:58:09She thinks it's all hers.
00:58:11Luca watched me from the doorway.
00:58:12He didn't argue.
00:58:13He just checked his gun.
00:58:14She arrived at sunset.
00:58:16Blonde, where I was dark.
00:58:17Small, where I was tall.
00:58:19She came alone.
00:58:20One suitcase, one smile.
00:58:22She walked straight to me in the front hall.
00:58:24Set her suitcase down.
00:58:25Reached into her collar.
00:58:26Pulled out a locket.
00:58:27Gold.
00:58:28Chipped on one side.
00:58:29Mine.
00:58:30The one I'd lost when I was six.
00:58:31Hello, big sister.
00:58:32I've been waiting a long time to meet you.
00:58:34Elena was good.
00:58:35She laughed at Bianca's jokes.
00:58:37She let Serena teach her the accounts.
00:58:39She curtsied my father and called him uncle in a voice that made him blink back tears.
00:58:43Within a week, she was mimicking the way I held my coffee cup.
00:58:46Within two, Bianca was sitting next to her at meals instead of me.
00:58:50I let her.
00:58:54Luca cornered me in the workshop on the tenth night.
00:58:57You're letting her wrap this finger house around her finger.
00:59:00I'm letting her show me her hand.
00:59:03Val.
00:59:04She'll overreach.
00:59:06They always do.
00:59:07She did.
00:59:07Two days later.
00:59:08She called a family meeting.
00:59:10Stood at the head of the table with a folder in her hands.
00:59:12Slid it toward my father.
00:59:13I didn't want to bring this up.
00:59:15But Val should know I know.
00:59:18He opened it.
00:59:19His face changed.
00:59:20Schematics.
00:59:21My schematics.
00:59:22Dated 11 years before I'd drawn them.
00:59:24Signed by Enzo.
00:59:26I'm sorry, Val.
00:59:28He was going to tell Chiri you.
00:59:30He said you'd taken his early work and passed it off.
00:59:33Bianca gasped.
00:59:34Even Serena flinched.
00:59:36I didn't know.
00:59:36That's a serious accusation, Elena.
00:59:39I have witnesses.
00:59:40Two of his old engineers.
00:59:41They're already talking to the commission.
00:59:43The commission summons arrived the next morning.
00:59:46They convened in the old chamber.
00:59:47The one I'd burned records in.
00:59:49Nine dons.
00:59:50Full session.
00:59:51Luca barred from the floor because he was Rossi and I was Moretti.
00:59:55And this was a Moretti matter.
00:59:56Elena stood at the accuser's table in white.
00:59:59I stood at the defendants in black.
01:00:01The two engineers testified.
01:00:03Steady.
01:00:03Rehearsed.
01:00:04Convincing.
01:00:05Elena wept beautifully.
01:00:06The senior Don turned to me.
01:00:08Donna Moretti.
01:00:10Your defense.
01:00:11I set a leather tube on the table.
01:00:13May I?
01:00:16I unrolled the blueprint slowly.
01:00:19Yellowed.
01:00:19Cracked at the edges.
01:00:21The original schematic.
01:00:22Every line I'd ever taught myself, drawn in a child's careful hand.
01:00:26At the bottom corner, a red-brown smudge.
01:00:29Age 12.
01:00:30I cut my thumb on the compass.
01:00:33I signed in blood because I didn't that wouldn't smell.
01:00:36The lab across the river can date paper and blood in six hours.
01:00:39Enzo copied me, not the other way around.
01:00:42He needed a story to sell my work under his name.
01:00:45You'll find the receipts in the ledger you already, already have.
01:00:48The senior Don looked at Elena.
01:00:50Elena's hand went into her purse.
01:00:52The gun came out fast.
01:00:54Serena stepped in front of me before I could move.
01:00:56The shot took her to the shore.
01:00:57The chamber erupted.
01:00:59I caught Serena before she hit the floor.
01:01:01Blood soaked through my sleeve.
01:01:03Warm.
01:01:03Real.
01:01:04Elena had already turned the gun on herself.
01:01:06Luca kicked the doors open, ignored the guards, ignored the Dons, and put himself between the barrel and me in
01:01:12one motion.
01:01:13Don't.
01:01:14I said to her.
01:01:15Not to him.
01:01:16Elena's hand shook.
01:01:17He promised me it would be mine.
01:01:18All of it.
01:01:19He said you stole my life.
01:01:24He stole yours to steal mine.
01:01:26That's what he did.
01:01:27To all of us.
01:01:29Her mouth trembled.
01:01:30I never had a sister.
01:01:32I had him.
01:01:33I held out my free hand.
01:01:35Serena's blood on my fingers.
01:01:36You have four now.
01:01:37She almost took it.
01:01:38The second gun in her other hand, the small one, the backup, came up instead.
01:01:43Luca fired.
01:01:43She dropped.
01:01:44I caught her too.
01:01:45My hands were full of sisters and neither of them was standing.
01:01:48Elena's eyes found mine, fading.
01:01:51He kept one more.
01:01:52A boy.
01:01:53Yours.
01:01:53Same face.
01:01:54What?
01:01:55Mateo.
01:01:55He's...
01:01:56Her eyes stopped moving.
01:01:57Serena's pulse was steady under my other hand.
01:02:00Alive.
01:02:01Breathing.
01:02:01I looked up at Luca.
01:02:02Get the doctor.
01:02:04Get every guard in this house.
01:02:05Now.
01:02:06Mateo arrived three days later.
01:02:08Two hundred men behind him.
01:02:09Trucks.
01:02:10Real hardware.
01:02:11He walked into my courtyard like he'd been born on the stones.
01:02:14I met him alone.
01:02:15He stopped six feet from me.
01:02:17Looked at my face like he was reading a mirror.
01:02:19Same jaw.
01:02:20Same eyes.
01:02:20Same small scar over the left brow where mine was on the right.
01:02:25So I'm told.
01:02:26He held up a document.
01:02:28Old law.
01:02:28Older than the commission.
01:02:30Male bloodline claimed to a Don's seat.
01:02:32Contestable only by combat or abdication.
01:02:35I don't want to fight you.
01:02:36Then don't.
01:02:37I have to.
01:02:39He tilted his head.
01:02:40Unless the current Don abdicates in my favor.
01:02:46My father came down the steps behind me.
01:02:49I turned to stop him.
01:02:50He held up a hand.
01:02:51He didn't speak to Mateo.
01:02:53He walked past him.
01:02:54To the stone bench by the fountain.
01:02:55Sat down slowly.
01:02:57Reached into his coat.
01:02:58Pulled out his sidearm.
01:02:59He held it out.
01:02:59The seat isn't a chair, Val.
01:03:02It's a weapon.
01:03:03It was always yours.
01:03:04I took the gun from my father's hand.
01:03:06Mateo's men filled the courtyard.
01:03:08Mine lined the balconies.
01:03:10One wrong breath and the marble would turn red.
01:03:12I walked down the steps alone.
01:03:14No guard.
01:03:15My father's gun tucked in my belt where everyone could see it.
01:03:1872 hours.
01:03:20You put the rifles down.
01:03:22I hear you out.
01:03:23If I still don't like your face, after, we finish this properly.
01:03:27You trust me that fast?
01:03:28I don't trust you at all.
01:03:30I just don't waste bullets before breakfast.
01:03:31A short laugh.
01:03:32He's thinking.
01:03:33Weapons low.
01:03:35Inside, he laid a photograph on the table.
01:03:37Two toddlers.
01:03:38A woman I almost remembered.
01:03:40Enzo standing behind them.
01:03:41Hand on Mateo's shoulder.
01:03:42He told me you were dead.
01:03:43Mateo said.
01:03:44For 20 years, he told everyone I was useless.
01:03:46Close enough.
01:03:47His jaw worked.
01:03:48I came to take the seat.
01:03:50Luca stepped in from the hall, quiet.
01:03:52Val.
01:03:52That's my brother.
01:03:53The one they buried eight years ago.
01:03:55We locked the four of us in the study.
01:03:57No guards.
01:03:58No phones.
01:03:59Mateo spread documents across the desk.
01:04:01Dante added more.
01:04:02Bank records.
01:04:02Shipping manifests.
01:04:04A commission sealed from 22 years ago.
01:04:06The same three signatures on every page.
01:04:08Enzo Giancarlo.
01:04:09They split our families on purpose.
01:04:11Weak heads.
01:04:12Divided houses.
01:04:13Easier to mill.
01:04:14Luca didn't look at the papers.
01:04:15He looked at me.
01:04:17They voted sunrise.
01:04:18Dissolution.
01:04:19Both houses.
01:04:20Access absorbed by the commission.
01:04:23Let them vote.
01:04:24Val.
01:04:24Luca stepped closer.
01:04:25Close enough that I felt the heat off his shirt.
01:04:27Marry me.
01:04:30I raised an eyebrow.
01:04:31Not for the ring.
01:04:32For the war.
01:04:33One house.
01:04:34One name.
01:04:35One target on our backs instead of two.
01:04:36They can't dissolve what's already merged.
01:04:39Romantic?
01:04:39Shut up.
01:04:40I held out my hand.
01:04:41Luca didn't shake it.
01:04:42He turned it over, pressed his mouth on my palm, and left it there a second too long.
01:04:46Sunrise.
01:04:46Behind us, the study door creaked.
01:04:48Bianca stood in the gap, pale.
01:04:50They moved the vote up.
01:04:51It's in an hour.
01:04:52We didn't go to the chamber.
01:04:53We went to the vault beneath it.
01:04:55Matteo blew the north door.
01:04:56Dante.
01:04:57Luca and I walked straight through the smoke to the ledger room, while the Dons argued
01:05:01upstairs about how to carve us.
01:05:03Load it off.
01:05:04Every dirty seat in the city, stacked on steel shafts.
01:05:07Guards were in the middle of the chair.
01:05:09Luca shoved me behind a shell and fired.
01:05:11Two down.
01:05:11A third came from the center.
01:05:13The blade was not from unclosed.
01:05:14Luca stepped aside.
01:05:15It wanted to adhere to the hood.
01:05:16He killed the man anyway.
01:05:17Then he used it.
01:05:19Val.
01:05:19Fled at the corner of his mouth.
01:05:21I told you I knew.
01:05:22I won't help you.
01:05:24I pressed both hands to the wound.
01:05:26Warm.
01:05:27Too warm.
01:05:28Don't you dare die.
01:05:29I love you.
01:05:30Quiet.
01:05:31Steady.
01:05:31I should have said it sooner.
01:05:32His head dropped against my shoulder.
01:05:34No pulse under my fingers.
01:05:35Upstairs, the Dons were laughing about our funeral.
01:05:38Matteo!
01:05:38I lifted my head and screamed for Matteo.
01:05:40I brought him back to the vault.
01:05:42Two minutes of chest compressions.
01:05:43A field kit from Dante.
01:05:45A shot of adrenaline straight into the heart.
01:05:48Luca's eyes flew open on a ragged, furious breath.
01:05:51Stay down.
01:05:52Kissed his forehead.
01:05:53I'm not done yet.
01:05:54I took the ledgers upstairs myself.
01:05:56The commission chamber went silent when the doors opened.
01:05:58Twelve Dons.
01:05:59Twelve faces that had voted to erase me.
01:06:02Vincente.
01:06:03Offshore accounts?
01:06:04Trafficking routes through Marseille?
01:06:05I dropped the second.
01:06:06Rinali.
01:06:07Three judges on payroll.
01:06:08Your wife knows about two.
01:06:09Thirteen.
01:06:10Four.
01:06:10Fifty.
01:06:11By the seventh, Adan was on his knees.
01:06:13By the tenth, the room was.
01:06:14I struck a match.
01:06:15The commission is dissolved.
01:06:16I let the flame touch the power.
01:06:18New council.
01:06:19Five seats.
01:06:20Eye chair.
01:06:21Serena handles the book.
01:06:22Anyone with an objection, they raise it now.
01:06:25Behind me, boots.
01:06:26Luca.
01:06:27Upright.
01:06:27Pale.
01:06:28She said no.
01:06:29We married on Moretti grounds at the end of spring.
01:06:31No cathedral.
01:06:32No press.
01:06:32My father walked me down.
01:06:34His hand shook once in my arm.
01:06:35He didn't apologize.
01:06:36He didn't eat.
01:06:37Mateo stood at my shoulder as set.
01:06:39Dante at Luca's.
01:06:39Serena and Bianca lined the aisle in black, armed under the silk.
01:06:43My guard.
01:06:43My sisters.
01:06:44Finally the same thing.
01:06:45Luca waited at the end.
01:06:47No smirks.
01:06:47No arrogance.
01:06:48Just him.
01:06:48Looking at me like I was the only light left on in the city.
01:06:51You sure?
01:06:52He murmured when I reached him.
01:06:53I run the city.
01:06:54I don't do sure.
01:06:55I do decide it.
01:06:56He laughed.
01:06:57Kissed me before the vows.
01:06:58Serena cleared her throat.
01:07:00There's an order to this.
01:07:02Not anymore.
01:07:03Later, after the toast.
01:07:04After Mateo tried to fight Dante over the last bottle.
01:07:07After my father actually smiled.
01:07:09I stood on the balcony where I'd once aimed three machine guns into the dark.
01:07:12Luca's arms came around me from behind.
01:07:14I looked out at the lights.
01:07:15I wasn't the forgotten daughter anymore.
01:07:17I was the city.