Chapter 30
THIRTY
A cold, gnawing terror fills me.
Sin doesn’t know I want him, need him. He doesn’t know!
I feel a piece of me die inside as I lean forward to try and jump into the passenger seat. Maxwell doesn’t look back; he doesn’t even look like he feels bad as he reaches his hand up to the ceiling. I watch in horror as the partition rises, blocking me from him.
“Maxwell?” I say quietly. Knocking on the partition. “Please.” My heartbeat thrums in my ears. I can feel it on every inch of my body.
No response.
I curse the bulletproof windows, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to escape. I shatter a bottle of liquor against it. The glass sprinkles around me as we make a turn onto the interstate, accelerating into the night.
Away from the man I love, the man who thinks I didn’t want to turn around. The letter told him not to come after me, and if Sin does anything in this world, it’s honor my wishes.
I don’t know how long the ride lasts, but it feels endless—like time has stretched into a cruel, dark eternity. The car eventually slows, taking a sharp turn onto a long, winding driveway. My mind is racing as I try to piece together what’s happening, where we’re going, but nothing makes sense.
The car pulls to a stop, and before I can do anything, Maxwell opens the door for me, his face as impassive as ever. “Come on, Magnolia,” he says, his voice soft, but there’s something in the way he says my name that sends a chill down my spine.
I don’t move. I can’t move. My mind is too full of questions, of the overwhelming feeling that something is terribly wrong.
“Get out,” he says again, firmer this time, his patience thinning.
With my heart racing in my chest, I slip out of the car, my legs shaky as I take in the towering estate before me. The mansion looms ahead, its dark windows like unblinking eyes staring down at me, its stone walls cold and imposing.
This place isn’t like Sin’s home—it’s different. Darker.
“Where am I?” I manage to ask, my voice barely a whisper.
Maxwell doesn’t answer. Instead, he walks ahead of me, leading me toward the entrance. The door opens before we even reach it, and I step into the foyer, the cold air inside sending a shiver down my spine.
“Magnolia.” I freeze at the sound of the voice. A woman’s voice, calm and calculating. I look up, my breath catching in my throat.
She’s standing at the top of the grand staircase, her figure silhouetted by the soft light behind her. The woman’s eyes meet mine, cold and piercing, but there’s something… familiar about them. Something in the shape of her face, in the angle of her jaw.
I open my mouth to say something, but the words stick in my throat as she descends the stairs, her gaze never leaving mine.
“Who are you?” I manage to choke out.
Tears are streaming down her cheeks. “I am Maria Rusco,” she says, the words like a bomb dropped into the tense air.
They’re going to fucking kill me.
Cameron walks out, standing beside the woman.
I stagger backward, my knees threatening to give out beneath me as her words echo in my mind. My heart races, confusion flooding every inch of my being. My mouth goes dry, and I feel like the ground beneath me is slipping away.
“I—I’m sorry,” I stammer. “What do you want with me? Please let me go.”
Maria’s smile falters for a moment, just long enough to show a flicker of something darker, before she steps closer to me. “You’re not the lost girl you think you are, Magnolia. Your real name is Magnolia Rusco.” She smiles. “And I’m your mother.”
A rush of dizziness overtakes me as her words sink in. My legs finally give way, and I fall to my knees, the truth crashing over me like a tidal wave. I’m not Magnolia Finley. I’m Magnolia Rusco, the daughter of the rival mafia family.
The world feels like it’s spinning out of control, and I don’t know where to go, what to think. How could I not have known? How could I have been so blind?
I look back at Maxwell, standing quietly at my side, his face unreadable. But I know now—he’s been part of this. Part of the lie.
And as the pieces of my life shatter around me, all I can do is stare at the woman who’s supposed to be my mother and wonder what happens now. The room is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I reach up to touch her face, the face of my mother. Her cheek is soft, and she leans into my palm. But just as quickly I retreat my hand as if it burns.
She gives me a sorrowful glance before sobbing, walking away into a different room as I stand in stunned silence.
Cameron carefully steps forward. “I’m your brother.”
I want to scream. I want to tell him he’s wrong. But his words are sinking in, twisting through my mind like vines, tightening around my heart.
Anger courses through me. “If I am one of you then why in the fuck was I raised by nuns?” I look around at the wealth, the opportunity that I was never afforded.
“You were never meant to grow up in an orphanage,” he continues, his voice firm, but there’s an edge of tenderness to it. “They kept you away from us because of the war between the families. But you’re home now. It’s time to come back.”
I don’t know how to react. My breath is shallow, my thoughts tangled in confusion and disbelief. My whole life, everything I thought I knew about myself, feels like it’s unraveling in front of me.
Cameron’s eyes soften as he watches me struggle, understanding written on his face. “I know this is hard to take in. But I’m not lying. Everything you’ve been told has been a lie. You’re not Magnolia Finley. You’re Magnolia Rusco. The daughter of the head of the Rusco family.”
I stumble back, my knees threatening to give way beneath me. The air feels thick, suffocating. The walls seem to close in around me as the truth starts to settle into my bones. I can feel it—this crushing weight pressing down on me.
“No,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. “No, this can’t be true. This isn’t real.”
But Cameron doesn’t back down. He doesn’t let me retreat into my disbelief. “It’s real, Magnolia,” he says, his voice quiet but insistent. “And you’re going to have to face it. You’re not the girl you thought you were. You’re a Rusco. And I’m here to make sure you’re safe.”
Safe? I don’t know if I’m safe or if I’m drowning. Every part of me wants to run, to get away from this nightmare, but the reality of it all is too much. I don’t know who I am anymore.
Cameron steps closer, his hand outstretched, but I pull away, my heart aching with a thousand conflicting emotions. “No,” I say again, this time louder, stronger. “I don’t belong here. I don’t belong with you.”
He falters, but his voice is still calm, still filled with that quiet certainty. “You do. You always have. And I’m not going to let them hurt you, Magnolia. I’ll protect you. You’re home now.”
The last shred of the life I thought I had is slipping away, and with it, I realize one thing: there’s no escaping this world. No escaping what I’m meant to be.
Then, a thought dawns on me. I could tell Sin; this could fix everything. I could be the key that unites these families together. “If we call Sin, we can explain. He loves me, we could end the rivalry.” I sigh in happiness; he could be safe. We could live a safe life, together.
Cameron shakes his head in disbelief. “Magnolia. Sin knew. That’s why he had you.” His words make my world stop turning. “You were coming here when you left the orphanage, to reunite with us,” he says quietly, “but Sin intercepted.”
They thought I was lost, and that loss is evident on all of their weary faces.
“Those Magnolias arched around his fucking palace weren’t put there as an ode to you, they were there to drive us mad! And your fucking car, my God.” He cries out, his fist shaking with rage towards the man I love.
“What… what about my car?”
He pulls a picture from his wallet, handing it to me. Maria – my mom- is leaning against a sleek black Mercedes, ten years younger, next to a handsome man that has my nose.”
“Do you see this?” he asks. “Does that car look familiar?” His anger isn’t directed at me. It’s the same exact model as mine, but older.
“That’s the same car that our father died in,” he exhales. “ The night the Donati family murdered him, Magnolia. He bought you that car on purpose.”