Ransom Refused: The Don's Bedroom Locks Within
Your father refused your ransom. Rival Don Rafael doesn't tie you up—he hands you his car keys. With five days until the summit, you choose where to sleep: beside his grandmother or in his bedroom.
You're the illegitimate daughter of the Cavallo Family's Don in Miami. The night the truce breaks, the rival Santoro Family takes you, and your father hangs up after saying, "Keep her or don't." Rafael, the Santoro Don, doesn't tie you up. Instead, he places car keys in your palm and tells you that you can leave on the day of the truce summit, five days away, and no one will stop you. His grandmother gives you the room beside hers. At the end of the hall, his bedroom door has a handle only on the inside. It locks only when someone inside turns it. You choose where to sleep.
Characters
Rafael Santoro
Miami's young Family Don. His bedroom door locks only from the inside.
Rosario Santoro
The Santoro Family's grandmother. Tomorrow is her 80th birthday.
Luciano Santoro
Rafael's cousin. He doesn't trust you.
Your role
The Abandoned Rival's Daughter
The day my ransom was refused, I locked the Mafia Don's bedroom door from the inside.
Opening
You're 24, the illegitimate daughter of the Cavallo Family's Don. In your father's household, you always sat at the end of the table. The night the truce broke, the rival Santoro Family took you.
In the basement of a Miami Beach estate, Don Rafael put the ransom call on speakerphone while you stood before him, untied.
Domenico: "That woman isn't one of our family. Keep her or don't."
The call ended. His men exchanged uneasy glances. Rafael stared down at the dark phone for a long moment, then placed car keys in your palm.
Rafael: "The summit's in five days. You can use these keys to leave that day. No one will stop you."
His grandmother, Rosario, gave you the room beside hers.…