CHAPTER ONE
LILIANA
Snow flurries chased me into Stone Hall, the private fortress—because no one in Chicago’s Mafia, the Five Families, was going to stay in a dorm—on Central Elite University’s campus. I slammed the heavy steel door to the rear entrance behind me, shutting out the cold December air, glad to be done with classes for the day. My backpack slipped from my icy fingers and fell to the polished cement floor with a thud. I murmured a greeting to the guard posted by the door, nudged my bag to the side because I had no intention of doing homework, then flipped the lock.
Our luxury fortress, a massive two-story building, contained everything needed, including a shared gourmet kitchen, living room, loft, private bed- and bathrooms, bulletproof windows, and weapons room.
Snow had dusted my hair, and I shook out as much as possible then froze at the echo of loud voices from deeper within the building. A chill that wasn’t from the weather skated over my body. Quickly, I kicked off my boots, tossed my coat, hat, and scarf toward the hooks in the rear entryway, then followed the heated argument to the living room, where I found the source.
“Stop, Tony,” Marissa hissed. She turned her head back to glare at him. “I’m no one’s possession.”
I flinched at the anger in my roommate’s voice then shifted deeper into the living room. I stood in front of the stairs, which gave me a better angle to see what Tony had done this time. Most of us weren’t his biggest fan—only Marissa and my cousin Eva liked him. Even thinking about him made me scowl. We were not close. Eva’s judgment was faulty because she cared too much about partying. She rubbed me the wrong way, maybe because she was so extra and flirty, which made me wary and reserved around her.
I eased onto the balls of my feet, ready to step in if Marissa needed me. Then she shoved out from under his arm, her dark hair clinging with static to him before she jerked away another foot. I felt bad watching, but I couldn’t leave in case I needed to run interference.
She pivoted so they faced one another. He snorted, and his features twisted into a cruel mask as he leaned down and got into her face. “That’s not what your father said after I agreed to marry you.”
My stomach churned at the mention of marriage. I hated how tight our fathers kept our reins.
“I don’t care what he said.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared right back.
“You should.” Tony snaked an arm around her waist and drew her closer. “He told me to get control of you because you’re nothing but a disappointment.”
“Fuck you.” Marissa shoved off him again then headed to the second floor, yelling over her shoulder, “All you care about is power and what that’ll get you.”
I stepped aside, and Marissa stormed past me. I moved so that I blocked the way she’d gone. “Get out.” I held Tony’s dark stare.
He turned and strolled to the front door, grabbed his coat, and left with a resounding slam.
Screw him. I needed to check on Marissa.
I took the stairs at a jog, passed through the large loft at the top, then hung a right down the hallway to her room. As I rapped my knuckles on her door, another slammed downstairs, and Sofia’s and Emiliana’s laughing voices floated through the hallway.
“You guys here?” Sofia yelled.
“Upstairs!” I shouted as a muffled “go away” filtered through from the other side of the door.
Footsteps pounded on the stairs as a shriek and then a crash sounded behind Marissa’s door. I rattled the doorknob. “Come on, Marissa. Open the door!”
Sofia and Emiliana raced up the rest of the stairs, both with guns drawn. I rolled my eyes. “It’s only Marissa in there.”
“Oh,” Sofia said, tucking her gun into her purse.
Emiliana was slower to return her weapon. The hard gleam of the killer inside her was close to the surface, making retreat harder. She visibly shuddered then pounded on the door. “Marissa, it’s just us. Open the door.”
There was a click, and I twisted the knob then shoved the door wide. The three of us poured in to discover absolute chaos. Tears streaked Marissa’s face. Broken glass littered the floor. Clothes were everywhere, some still on hangers. She strode for the easel set up in the corner, her fingers stretching for the half-finished, Venetian-seascape oil painting as if to destroy it when Sofia lunged, grabbed it, then held it out of reach.
“What the hell happened?” Sofia’s eyes were wide as she whipped the canvas behind her back.
Marissa let out a frustrated scream then threw herself onto the bed and curled onto her side. A mass of long dark hair fanned across the pillow. She faced the wall, pulled her knees up, and wrapped her arms around them as silent, anguished sobs shook her thin frame.
I sat on the king-sized bed that dwarfed her then scooted so my back was to the wall and I could see a part of her tear-streaked face. Emiliana neared, and her gaze darkened with renewed fury.
“Hey,” Sofia said. “Talk to us.”
We exchanged glances, each of us as confused as the next about what to do. When Marissa didn’t answer, Emiliana and Sofia climbed onto the bed too.
Around us, Marissa would let her guard down and give in to her dramatic side. We were relatively safe in the fortress, where she could indulge her creative side. Her art gave her a way to voice to her emotions, and she was insanely talented at it. So was her sister, Camila—or she had been. Marissa’s father disapproved of everything she did. Back home, her mask would firmly snap back into place, and she would never let on that anything bothered her. I grabbed her hand, filled with unease. Our lives outside the university weren’t that different.