- 6 hours ago
The Maid Who Ran from the Don English Dub Short Series
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Short filmTranscript
00:00The ruthless mafia heir Alessandro had money, power, blood in his hands, but not one woman in his bed.
00:07The rumors said the future Dawn was either impotent or gay.
00:10The old matriarch worried about the Moretti bloodline, so she gave the order to me, the maid who sold herself
00:16because of the family debt.
00:18Strip down and climb into Alessandro's bed. Teach him desire. If you succeed, your family's debts will be cleared.
00:24If you fail...
00:25Her voice pressed down on me.
00:27Don't bother coming back alive.
00:30I'd heard that other failed models and celebrities disappeared without a trace after they failed.
00:35Let alone a girl like me, with nothing to my name.
00:39That night I crept into his room in nothing but a thin lace slip kneeling at the foot of his
00:43bed, shaking.
00:45Alessandro was on the bed, idly toying with a gun.
00:49Bianca, what are you doing?
00:50He didn't expect it, me.
00:53Your grandmother ordered it.
00:54I whispered.
00:55She said I'm to teach my master about... sex.
00:59He sat up against the headboard, dark silk pajamas loose at the collar.
01:03He tilted my chin up, his gaze lingering over my face.
01:07His voice was low and teasing.
01:09Teach me then.
01:10I swallowed and took out a sex manual his grandmother had prepared for me.
01:14Techniques, positions, all of it.
01:16I read the first page in a flat, steady voice, like a prayer.
01:20I tried my best to ignore the illustrations.
01:23Alessandro nodded slowly.
01:25Not one word wrong.
01:27Impressive.
01:28But what about the pictures?
01:30I looked up.
01:31What?
01:31He suddenly pulled me onto the bed and wrapped an arm around my waist.
01:36Then he pointed at the illustrations.
01:40If you don't explain the picture, how am I supposed to know what it means?
01:43My face burned hot.
01:45My ears going red instantly.
01:47His pajamas hung loose at the chest.
01:49His burning skin pressed against me.
01:51I looked down.
01:52The picture was...
01:53Explicit.
01:54I knew the rough idea.
01:56I had no idea two people could even bend that way.
01:59They're, um...
02:00They're together.
02:02Alessandro pressed my head toward him, his lips almost touching mine.
02:05He whispered...
02:06Couldn't follow.
02:07Be specific.
02:09The text on the page had been one thing.
02:11The heat of his breath against my face was another.
02:13My face went hot.
02:15I shoved the book at him and put some distance between us.
02:18I don't know how to describe it.
02:20Mr. Moretti can see for himself.
02:22He didn't take the book.
02:23His gaze stayed on me, soft and sly.
02:27You don't even know.
02:28How are you supposed to teach me?
02:30Go back and learn properly.
02:32Come back tomorrow.
02:33A quarter hour later, I was outside his door, sniffling.
02:37Day one.
02:38Failed.
02:40The next day, the matriarch found out I'd failed.
02:43She lost it.
02:45Stay here on your knees until you figure out how to seduce him.
02:49I was punished to kneel in the garden under the rain.
02:52The stone slabs scraped my knees and the heavy rain soaked me through.
02:56I'd been born to a poor family.
02:58My father had gambled away a fortune in debts, and my mother couldn't afford to raise both me and my
03:03younger brother.
03:04So when I was still a child, she sold me to the Moretti family.
03:07It was there I met Alessandro, 16, back then.
03:10I'd never known a man could be like that, handsome, intelligent, violent yet elegant.
03:16He'd pulled me out of the dirty and back-breaking kitchen and made me his only personal housemaid.
03:21Ten years had passed.
03:22I pressed his suits.
03:23I poured his wine.
03:26I organized his files for him while he was working.
03:28And somewhere in there, somewhere I shouldn't have, my heart had started leaning toward him.
03:33But I had never once thought the matriarch would order me to strip and crawl into his bed like a
03:38whore.
03:38I felt the tears coming.
03:40I was still a virgin.
03:42How was I supposed to teach anyone?
03:44Alessandro came through the front gate just then.
03:46He saw me kneeling in the rain, crying.
03:49What's going on?
03:50I almost passed out from the pain in my knees.
03:53He didn't ask twice.
03:54He swept me up into his arms and carried me into his room.
03:58He checked my knees.
04:00Your skin is raw.
04:02He found a small jar of ointment and started working it gently into the skin.
04:06The most powerful air in New York kneeling in front of me.
04:09His fingers were long and careful, drawing slow circles on my knee.
04:13You're always so reliable.
04:15My grandmother only punishes you when you've done something wrong.
04:18Was it last night?
04:20I was so tense I twitched against the bruise and let out a hiss.
04:23But underneath, my heart was leaping because of his concern.
04:27Alessandro caught my finger and suddenly kissed my cheek.
04:30His voice didn't give anything away.
04:33Tell my grandmother I learned slowly.
04:35Come back tonight.
04:37Keep teaching.
04:39That night, Alessandro was already in bed holding the book when I came in.
04:43Somehow his pajamas was even more open than yesterday.
04:45I could see every line of his abs.
04:47He saw me and padded the bed next to him.
04:49Shoes off.
04:50Up here.
04:50I climbed up beside him, leaned against the pillows.
04:53Then, I realized what he was reading.
04:55The sex manual.
04:56My heart started slamming.
04:58He didn't seem to notice and laid the book open between us.
05:01His arm wrapped around my waist just like in the picture.
05:03Is this how the people in the pictures do it?
05:06I nodded, blushing.
05:07He flipped to the next page as if he were really a student.
05:09Time passed.
05:10He handled me like a toy, following every position from the manual.
05:13The only sound in the room was the rustle of paper and Alessandro's breathing, which
05:17was getting uneven.
05:18Bianca.
05:21Yes?
05:22I'm uncomfortable.
05:25What's wrong, my master?
05:27Alessandro suddenly snapped the book shut, threw it aside, and pulled me against him.
05:31I wanted to see you blush.
05:33He said into my hair.
05:35Now I can't take it anymore.
05:39I'd known I was pretty since I was small.
05:41The other servants used to tease me about it.
05:43They said with my face and my figure, I didn't have to do a thing to make a man want
05:48me.
05:49Alessandro caught my earlobe between his teeth.
05:51His breath was hot against my ear.
05:53I went stiff.
05:54I didn't know what to do with my hands.
05:55Take it easy.
05:57Alessandro kissed his way down my neck.
05:59His fingers slipped one of my straps down, and his kiss landed lower.
06:03His other hand slid under my dress, and I shuddered.
06:05Then he stripped off his shirt, revealing a perfectly sculpted body.
06:09His eyes locked on me.
06:10Your virginity is mine, and now I'll take it.
06:16His perfect body moved against mine in steady waves.
06:19It hurt.
06:20I started to cry.
06:21He laughed soft.
06:24Don't even know how to do it.
06:26But you were going to teach me?
06:28Aren't you the one who doesn't know?
06:30I whispered, miserable.
06:31Sweetheart.
06:33There's no man alive who doesn't know.
06:34He kissed the corner of my mouth, gentle, turning to fierce.
06:38When it's the right woman, the body just figures it out.
06:42That night, he didn't let me go.
06:44Now I knew just how ridiculous those rumors were that he was impotent, or that he was gay.
06:49Once a man's tasted blood, he wants more.
06:51For the next two weeks, Alessandro wanted me in his bed every night.
06:54He was fierce and dark behind closed doors.
06:57He had mastered every trick in that manual, except self-restraint.
07:00After being teased by a few servants about the marks on my body, I tried a careful approach.
07:04I heard that even good things shouldn't be overdone.
07:07That too much of it isn't good for the body.
07:10I stopped his kiss at my neck.
07:11Alessandro laughed.
07:12You know a lot for someone who knew nothing.
07:15But he let me sleep, that night at least.
07:17The matriarch heard it and nearly broke into tears of joy.
07:21Thank God.
07:22The Moreggi bloodline is saved.
07:25Then she turned to me.
07:28Bianca, you're a sharp girl, and you've got your head on straight.
07:31When the right wife comes into this family, I'll have Alessandro keep you on as his mistress.
07:37That was when I realized, the matriarch was already arranging Alessandro's marriage.
07:41The candidate was Cassandra Santoro, daughter of the Santoro family.
07:47Of course, the most powerful mafia heir deserved a wife from a respected mafia bloodline.
07:51Not someone like me.
07:53A small town girl.
07:54A maid.
07:54Being kept on by a man like him was a kind of miracle, and I was already half in love
07:58with him.
07:59And he told me he liked me.
08:00I never imagined there could be more.
08:02My face burned.
08:03I knelt and thanked the matriarch.
08:05Good girl, take this as your reward.
08:07She handed me my family debt bondage.
08:09It meant I was free of my servant bond or the debt.
08:12I almost wept with joy, but Alessandro was the only one who wasn't happy.
08:16That night in his bed, he gripped my jaw.
08:19Your man is taking a wife, and you're happy?
08:22My chest squeezed, but I made myself smile.
08:25You and the Moretti girl are a perfect match.
08:27Why wouldn't I be happy for you?
08:28His face darkened.
08:30Each word came clipped.
08:31She's the wife.
08:32You're the mistress.
08:33The other woman.
08:34From now on, I'll be staying with her in this bed every night, using all the ways you once
08:38taught me to treat her well.
08:39If you cross her, she has the right to scold you, scream at you, do reasonable things she
08:44likes.
08:44It hit me then.
08:45He was warning me.
08:46He was afraid I'd get too comfortable, that I'd cross his new wife and bring down trouble.
08:50He was reminding me of my place.
08:52Yes, Mr. Moretti.
08:53I know what I am.
08:55I'll stay in line.
08:56Somehow, he got even more angry.
09:00And if she's cruel, if she goes out of her way to hurt you, do you really understand?
09:08I lowered my eyes.
09:09Then I'll be more careful.
09:10I won't make trouble for you.
09:12Alessandro's jaw tightened.
09:14He was so angry that he actually got dressed.
09:16I didn't know what I'd done.
09:17I dropped to my knees.
09:19He'd always been gentle with me.
09:20He had never spoken to me like this.
09:22Was he getting tired of me?
09:23A few days later, Alessandro went out drinking with some of his friends at a private club.
09:28He'd always taken me with him before when he went out with that crowd.
09:31This time, he didn't.
09:32The night turned cold after he left.
09:34I worried he'd freeze and grabbed his coat to take to him.
09:37I got to the back rooms and stopped just outside the curtained booth.
09:40I heard one of his friends tease.
09:42Hey, Alessandro.
09:42Heard you're marrying the Santori girl.
09:44Your little Bianca didn't cry and scream and threaten to throw herself off a roof?
09:48She wouldn't dare.
09:49That was Alessandro's voice.
09:50Cold.
09:51A voice I didn't recognize.
09:53I lifted a corner of the curtain quietly.
09:55Beside Alessandro was a beautiful maid curled against him.
09:58Her low-cut bodice pressed snugly against his side.
10:01The sight made my blood run cold.
10:03Another man jeered.
10:05Well, that's new.
10:06You used to guard her like a junkyard dog.
10:08Alessandro drank.
10:09He sounded bored.
10:10She's just a toy.
10:11A little amusement.
10:13A man like me will have countless women in my bed.
10:16There's a whole world of them out there.
10:17Like wine.
10:18You have to taste every variety before you die.
10:21Or what's the point?
10:22Someone else.
10:23Disbelieving.
10:24And you say that to her face?
10:27Of course not.
10:28Alessandro turned the glass in his hand, voice silky and lazy.
10:31He put his arm around the girl's waist.
10:33With women, you have to coax them.
10:35Stroke them.
10:36Watch the way they melt when you string them along, ready to lay down their lives for you.
10:40That's the fun of it.
10:41Once the Santori girl's locked in, I'll have her exactly the same way.
10:45Wrapped around my finger.
10:46Loyal and begging.
10:48The men around the table howled.
10:50Glasses clinked.
10:51The whole booth erupted.
10:53The coat crushed in my fist.
10:54So the love he whispered in my ear was just some trick.
10:57A move on a board.
10:58I couldn't bring myself to pull back the curtain.
11:00I turned and stumbled out, the coat slipping from my fingers somewhere along the way.
11:04Alessandro's car was waiting at the front of the club.
11:07The driver was there.
11:08I should have walked back to the car.
11:10Instead, my stomach turned.
11:11I turned into a narrow side hall.
11:13I bent over and retched.
11:14Nothing came up.
11:15I'd counted the days and I was already two weeks late.
11:18This was a sign of pregnancy.
11:20The worst possible time.
11:21I looked around.
11:22I was in the back street behind the club.
11:24Nobody could see me.
11:25My debt bondage were folded in my bag.
11:27No debt.
11:28No service.
11:29I was a free woman.
11:30I'd never been brave.
11:31I was the most careful person I knew.
11:33But somehow, in that minute, I decided, I'll leave.
11:37I wouldn't be going back to the Meretti estate.
11:39I ran out into the rain around the alley and flagged down a cab.
11:43Take me away from this part of the city.
11:45As far as you can.
11:49Alessandro finished his last drink and stood to leave.
11:52That's when his eyes landed on the coat I'd brought.
11:54The brooch on it was a gift I'd saved up for months to give him.
11:57He snatched it up from the floor, eyes flaring with panic.
12:01Who's been here?
12:04The cab rolled through the storm, and my time at the Meretti estate played back in my head,
12:09scene by scene.
12:10The first day I'd come to work the estate, one of the family's men had cornered me,
12:14simply because of my face.
12:15Just as that filthy hand was about to tear my clothes off,
12:19an arm hauled him off and sent him sprawling.
12:21That was the first time I saw him, tall, sharp, like a blade drawn from its sheath.
12:26He'd looked up and his eyes had gone stunned just for a second.
12:29What's your name?
12:30I lowered my eyes.
12:31Bianca, it suits you.
12:34He'd said.
12:35You're fair as fresh snow.
12:36Of the dozen girls who'd come to work the estate that season,
12:39I was the only one Alessandro had chosen to be his personal maid.
12:42I'd been over the moon.
12:44I worked twice as hard as the others.
12:46When I cleaned the front rooms,
12:47I caught myself watching for his figure across the grounds.
12:50By the time I noticed what I'd done,
12:52the feeling had its roots in too deep to pull.
12:54I'd loved him so carefully,
12:56so afraid someone would catch on,
12:57that they'd laugh at the kitchen girl who thought she had a chance with the air.
13:01Being his maid had been enough.
13:02I never thought of more.
13:04But I couldn't be one bottle in his collection.
13:06I couldn't stand him watching me bleed for him and finding it amusing.
13:10And the very least,
13:11I didn't want my child to suffer for it later.
13:13I didn't want her called a bastard.
13:15I looked back at all his odd behavior the last few weeks.
13:18His harsh words.
13:19The way he'd stopped calling me to his bed.
13:21He'd been pushing me away on purpose,
13:23hoping I'd get the hint and back off.
13:25And here I was,
13:26an idiot,
13:27daydreaming about our future.
13:28Is that it?
13:29The driver took the next turn.
13:31The cab rolled on into the rain.
13:35I'd been in this little out-of-the-way town nearly a year.
13:38I'd had my daughter.
13:39I'd named her Penny.
13:40Even out here,
13:41gossip from the Moretti family filtered through eventually.
13:44People said the Santoro girl had been married in spectacular fashion.
13:47The display had gone on for blocks.
13:49Cars.
13:50Jewels.
13:50The whole show.
13:51Alessandro had won her.
13:52He'd be high on himself now.
13:54He wasn't my match.
13:55He'd never been my match.
13:56Cutting him out of my life had been the right thing.
13:59I'd opened a small restaurant on the main road,
14:01using the money I got from pawning a diamond necklace he'd given me.
14:04When Penny was three,
14:05she ran a fever in the middle of the night.
14:07I rushed her to the hospital through the pouring rain that night.
14:10The doctor looked at me with pity.
14:12Just you raising her?
14:13Where's her father?
14:14Dead.
14:15Caught an STD and died young.
14:17Penny was burning up, half awake.
14:18She mumbled at me from under the blanket.
14:20Mama, what did he catch?
14:22A sickness people get when they don't keep clean.
14:24I stroked her hair.
14:26Penny keeps clean.
14:27So Penny will get better fast.
14:30Aunt Marge was trying to set me up again.
14:32I'd turned her down a dozen times.
14:34She wouldn't quit.
14:35You've got a child.
14:36You can't go through this life alone.
14:42Penny and I are enough.
14:43We're our own family.
14:44That's different.
14:46Now, this Ethan.
14:48His father had once owned a large farm.
14:50He never amounted to much, but he owns a house.
14:53He lost his wife a few years back,
14:55looking for a kind, steady woman to settle down with.
14:57She stroked Penny's head.
14:59He says he doesn't care that you've got a child.
15:01He'll treat Penny like his own.
15:02So, if yes, I'll make it happen.
15:05Don't be shy.
15:06He'll come to your restaurant tomorrow for lunch.
15:08Brown jacket, far corner table.
15:10Just walk over and look at him.
15:13If you like him, I'll keep going.
15:14If not, no embarrassment.
15:16I never got a word in.
15:18The next afternoon, a brown jacket sat down at the corner table,
15:22just as promised.
15:23I'd tell him I wasn't interested.
15:24I walked over carrying the beef stew.
15:26Sir, try the beef stew.
15:29His hand shot out and locked around my wrist as I set the bowl down.
15:33The broth nearly splashed.
15:34I jerked my eyes up, ready to snap at him.
15:36I met a pair of stunned eyes.
15:38A familiar face.
15:40The kind of handsome I had spent four years trying to forget.
15:43Now his face was wrenched with shock and fury.
15:45How could it be?
15:46Mr. Moretti.
15:48I caught the word before it left my mouth.
15:51I turned my face away and forced my voice flat.
15:53Sorry, wrong table.
15:56That order was for someone else.
15:58His hand wouldn't let go.
15:59His voice was shaking.
16:00Bianca, why are you here?
16:04Half the room was looking at us now.
16:06I had made up my mind four years ago that I would never let this man back into my life.
16:10Let go!
16:11I slapped him across the face, hard.
16:16You've got the wrong person.
16:17Get a grip, sir.
16:19I bolted for the back.
16:21Alessandro caught up in three strides and cornered me against the far wall of the back lot.
16:25He had me pinned, anger pouring off him.
16:27So you've got some nerve now, running from the estate and even slapping me.
16:31I held the line.
16:32I really don't know you.
16:34He laughed once, sharp and cold.
16:36His eyes dropped to my collar.
16:38Is that so?
16:39Let me settle this.
16:41His fingers yanked my collar down.
16:42There was a scar on my shoulder.
16:46Once a gunshot cracked through the estate drive toward him.
16:49My instincts made me step in front of him.
16:51The bullet hit my shoulder.
16:52It left a scar on my collarbone.
16:54After that, whenever he had me in his bed, he always kissed there.
16:57Alessandro's eyes were rimmed red, furious, hurting.
17:01I remember every inch of you.
17:04What do you have to say now?
17:07You gave up the life of Moretti woman to come out here and sell food.
17:12What was the point?
17:13I held back my tears.
17:15None of your business.
17:16Outside the lot, a man's voice.
17:21Bianca, I heard someone was bothering you.
17:23You all right?
17:24Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
17:25A man in a blue jacket stepped into the lot.
17:27He saw us.
17:28Saw my collar pull down.
17:30Alessandro had shifted just enough to block the view, but he got even closer.
17:33You slit!
17:35Disgusting!
17:35Ethan was panting, pointing at me.
17:37Aunt Marge sets up a meeting and you're back here whoring around with another man?
17:42Alessandro turned his head.
17:44He seized Ethan and hurled him against the wall like he was garbage.
17:48She's mine.
17:49Get out.
17:50Ethan scrambled away as best he could.
17:53The lot went quiet.
17:54Alessandro's face was iron.
17:55You were meeting that?
17:56Women grow up.
17:57Women marry.
17:58There's nothing wrong with it.
17:59What does he have?
18:00He's vulgar.
18:01He's twice your age.
18:02That was what you wanted?
18:04Who I marry is none of your business, Mr. Moretti.
18:07He bent down, hands on my shoulders, putting himself eye to eye with me.
18:11You took your debts bondage and you ran.
18:14After everything I did for you.
18:17Do you have any heart at all?
18:18From his side of things, yes.
18:20He had been good to me.
18:21He had never cursed me.
18:22Never humiliated me.
18:24Never even raised his voice.
18:25He paid me well and slipped me extra on holidays for hired help.
18:29A boss like that was a blessing.
18:30But the problem was, I loved him.
18:32I fell into silence.
18:34He thought he scared me and softened his voice.
18:36That day, they said you'd come to the club with a coat for me.
18:39I asked the valet and the driver.
18:41Neither of them saw you leave.
18:42I even thought it was my rival who had taken you.
18:44But I tore this city apart looking for you.
18:46I couldn't find a trace.
18:48He cupped my face.
18:52Four years.
18:53Tell me why.
18:54Why did you go?
18:58He said it as if I'd mattered to him.
19:00I was confused.
19:01Maybe it was just that he'd never found another maid who served him as well as I had.
19:07Bianca, tell me the truth.
19:09The truth?
19:10How was I supposed to put it?
19:11If I said he'd broken my heart, I'd been the fool.
19:14If I said he was unfaithful, what right did the help have to throw that at him?
19:18So all I said was,
19:19A mistress is an object.
19:21No dignity.
19:22No feelings.
19:22Loyal because she has to be.
19:24The man wants company.
19:25She strips and lies down.
19:27Nobody asks whether she wants it.
19:29I wiped my eyes and made myself smile.
19:33Mr. Moretti.
19:35Bianca didn't want to serve anymore.
19:37Will that do?
19:38I wouldn't make you the mistress.
19:39No.
19:40I cut him off.
19:40A restaurant.
19:41My own food.
19:43My own roof.
19:44It suits me fine.
19:46Alessandro stood there a long time.
19:48He gave a small, bitter laugh.
19:50I see.
19:52I underestimated your pride.
19:54Letting me touch you?
19:55Letting me have you?
19:57That was a humiliation to you.
20:02After he was gone, I hung the clothes sign on the front door early.
20:05By dusk, the rain had started.
20:07I went to pick up Penny.
20:09When the restaurant was busy, I left her at Aunt Marge's, who watched her along with her grandson, Tommy.
20:14I was halfway to the door when it creaked open.
20:17Penny had walked herself home.
20:19Mama, I saw a man on the street.
20:21He didn't have an umbrella.
20:23He was just standing in the rain.
20:25He looked so sad.
20:26I gave him my candy.
20:28The one Tommy gave me.
20:29Her hair was misty wet.
20:31I unclipped it and dried it with a towel.
20:34You don't walk home alone in the rain.
20:36You wait for Mama.
20:38Did he take your candy?
20:40Yes.
20:40She blinked her big, serious eyes at me.
20:42He said he messed something up.
20:43I told him not to be scared.
20:45And if there's something he can fight for, he should fight for it with everything he has.
20:50I sighed, half laughing.
20:52She remembered everything I'd ever told her.
20:55My little brave girl.
20:56I tucked her in and coaxed her to sleep.
20:59Then someone was knocking at the door.
21:00The second I opened it, a wet shape pushed inside and pulled me into his arms.
21:06He was soaked through.
21:08Water was running off his hair onto my collar.
21:10His breath was hot.
21:11His mouth came down on mine like he owned it and I couldn't move.
21:14I knew who he was the second his hot body was on me.
21:17His familiar scent was around me.
21:20Alessandro had one hand braced at the back of my neck and the other locked at my waist.
21:24He kissed me like he meant to take me apart on the doorstep.
21:27I twisted against him in a panic and bit his lip.
21:30The taste of blood spread between us.
21:32His eyes went red at the corners.
21:34He bit me back.
21:35Hard.
21:36On the mouth.
21:37Do you know what these years have been like for me?
21:39My lip was throbbing.
21:40I made a sound and tipped my head up at him with tears in my eyes.
21:44He breathed out then bit out.
21:46Debts or not, you're still mine.
21:48You're coming back with me.
21:50My grandmother gave you those papers so you could become my wife.
21:53Not so you could vanish.
21:54Do you know what happens to a woman who runs from this family?
21:57Beat me.
21:58Punish me.
21:59Whatever Mr. Morelli wants.
22:01I couldn't see his face.
22:03I could see his hand.
22:04Shaking.
22:06I didn't tell you to kneel.
22:08Get up.
22:09Mama.
22:10What's wrong?
22:11Penny was awake.
22:13Her hair was loose, eyes blurry, feet bare on the floor.
22:16I bolded up and scooped her inside my voice shop.
22:19You should be sleeping.
22:20What are you doing out here?
22:22Mom.
22:23Is this bad man hurting you?
22:25Alessandro stepped inside after us, dripping.
22:28He looked at the two of us and forgot how to move.
22:31She called you Mama.
22:33I didn't answer.
22:34He looked at Penny.
22:35What's your dad's name?
22:36Hmm.
22:37My dad caught something dirty.
22:39He died.
22:40Alessandro took one slow step toward us.
22:43Then another.
22:44His voice was unsteady.
22:46How old are you?
22:49A child can't keep a secret.
22:51Three.
22:53I scrambled for cover.
22:55Mr. Moretti.
22:56Don't get the wrong idea.
22:57She's adopted.
22:59I found her in a dumpster three years ago.
23:01That's why I called her Penny.
23:03Found a penny in the gutter.
23:05Alessandro didn't move.
23:07Bianca.
23:08Don't you think you're explaining too much?
23:10Penny was glaring at me.
23:12Mama, you said I came out of your belly.
23:14And my name means a small thing that grows into a great thing.
23:18It doesn't mean you picked me out of the trash.
23:22Penny had Alessandro's eyes and his mouth.
23:25The shape of her face was mine.
23:28There was no walking this back.
23:29I clutched her tighter, terrified he'd take her the next breath.
23:33Alessandro knelt down in front of us.
23:35He started to reach for Penny's cheek and then remembered his hand was wet and stopped his fingers an inch
23:40away.
23:40I knew you the second I saw you.
23:42That's why I took the candy.
23:44Penny, I'm your father.
23:47Penny stuck her hand out, palm up.
23:50You hurt my mama.
23:52Give it back.
23:54I didn't hurt your mama.
23:56Alessandro's voice was so gentle.
23:57He looked at her like he couldn't believe she was real.
24:00I ate the candy.
24:02It was sweet.
24:04Thank you for the encouragement.
24:05Penny puffed up her cheeks.
24:07Mama was right.
24:08There are a lot of liars out there.
24:10Alessandro's mouth opened, but nothing came out.
24:13Penny squinted at my mouth.
24:15Mama, what happened to your lip?
24:18I burned it on some soup.
24:21You had soup?
24:24Uh, yes.
24:25Yes.
24:27Tasted good.
24:29I went hot with shame and rage and would have hit him if my daughter hadn't been watching.
24:34He then changed the subject in a perfectly cheerful voice.
24:37My clothes are wet.
24:39How do I shower here?
24:41Can't you see mama's wet too?
24:43Mama goes first.
24:45Right.
24:46You're right.
24:47My mistake.
24:49A spoiled heir who'd been waited on his entire life.
24:52Less considerate than my three-year-old.
24:55Bianca, take a hot shower.
24:57I'll watch the child.
24:59I'll watch the child.
25:00Don't catch a chill.
25:01Penny gave me a sage look.
25:03Mama, I'll keep an eye on him so he doesn't try anything.
25:06I came out from the shower to find that the watchful Penny had fallen asleep.
25:10In the warm lamplight she lay curled with her little flowered blanket pulled to her chin, dark lashes resting on
25:16her cheeks.
25:17Alessandro was hanging over the side of the bed, eyes fixed on her like he couldn't look away.
25:22How is she this pretty?
25:24She looks like you and like me at once.
25:26I can't get over it.
25:28My restaurant doesn't keep guests overnight.
25:31You should go.
25:32He looked like a big wet dog.
25:34In this rain, where am I supposed to go?
25:38He had nowhere to go.
25:39That was actually true.
25:41So why had he shown up here completely alone?
25:43No entourage.
25:45Not one bodyguard.
25:46He plucked at his wet shirt, gave up, and went to take a shower.
25:51My hair was thick and long.
25:52I'd just gotten it half dry and was reaching for the lotion when I heard him come back.
25:56I turned and froze.
25:58Alessandro was standing in the middle of the room with absolutely nothing on.
26:02I whipped my head back around.
26:04What are you doing?
26:05He kept his voice down.
26:07Don't wake the kid.
26:09Don't read into it.
26:10I didn't mean anything.
26:12Do you have a change of clothes?
26:14I lived alone with a three-year-old girl.
26:16Where would I have men's clothes?
26:18And if I did, he'd have torn the house apart trying to figure out whose.
26:22He was right behind me now.
26:24I couldn't keep dodging.
26:25I turned and faced him.
26:27You have clothes.
26:29Wet.
26:30Uncomfortable.
26:31Broad shoulders.
26:32Narrow waist.
26:33Not an extra ounce on him.
26:35The kind of body that would have stopped my heart at 18 and was still stopping it now.
26:39I refused to look any lower.
26:41He leaned in.
26:43His voice had dropped.
26:45Where do we sleep tonight?
26:48There was no chasing him out, so I took the next best option.
26:51Penny and I sleep in the inner room.
26:53You sleep out here.
26:54Don't come in.
26:54All right.
26:55I'd half expected him to refuse the cottage outright.
26:58He didn't.
26:58He looked around at my small furniture, my plain shelves, and just said,
27:03Tight, but warm.
27:05The rain came down all night.
27:06I slept hard.
27:07When I got up to make Penny's breakfast, Penny was already up.
27:12Alessandro was not.
27:13She was on his bed.
27:14My dad already died.
27:16So how come you came back to life?
27:19You'd never seen me before.
27:20So how do you know I'm your daughter?
27:23Alessandro was lying flat under the blanket, laughing helplessly.
27:27I scooped Penny off his bed and gave him a look.
27:30The sun's been up for hours.
27:32Why aren't you?
27:33He looked pained.
27:35My clothes are still wet.
27:36I couldn't leave him under the covers all day.
27:39I went downtown and bought him clothes.
27:42Four years on, I still knew his measurements without thinking.
27:44I felt ashamed of myself.
27:46I came back from the store and tossed the bundle at him.
27:50Get dressed.
27:51He sat up, pulling on the shirt, and watched me.
27:56Bianca, you've changed.
27:58It hit me then.
27:59He wasn't angry.
28:00He was smiling.
28:02Bossy.
28:03I like it.
28:05He liked it.
28:06The ice over my heart cracked, but I knew a man's affection for a stray cat.
28:10He didn't mean anything by it.
28:12Alessandro insisted on coming with me to the restaurant to help.
28:16In one morning, he broke three bowls, burned a hole in the bottom of the stockpot,
28:20and nearly set fire to the kitchen.
28:22I spent the rush apologizing to my regulars and giving away meals.
28:26I lost money.
28:27The pampered young heir was streaked with soot, ducking my eye,
28:30looking guilty for the first time in his life.
28:33Stop.
28:34Just go watch the child.
28:35He nodded vigorously and informed me that he was extremely good with children.
28:39Toward dusk, Penny tugged on my sleeve.
28:41Mama, some people came to talk to the bad man.
28:45They're whispering.
28:47I crept around the side of the restaurant, light on my feet,
28:50behind the kitchen, two of Alessandro's men.
28:52I caught fragments.
28:54While Bianca isn't looking, take the child.
28:56A mother's instinct went cold in my chest.
28:59Penny was his daughter.
29:00He clearly adored her.
29:01He was going to take her from me.
29:04Alessandro was already married.
29:06He had a wife at home.
29:08Penny taken back would be the illegitimate daughter of a mafia boss.
29:11She would be treated like dirt,
29:12looked down on by the wife and the rest of the family.
29:15I knew what happened to girls like that.
29:17That night, I slipped Alessandro a sleeping pill,
29:19crushed into a cup of something calming.
29:22I called it a kindness.
29:23He was touched.
29:25He drank the whole cup down.
29:27Get some rest.
29:28I turned to go.
29:29His arms came around me from behind.
29:32Bianca, you raised our daughter alone for four years.
29:35That had to have been hard.
29:36I thought,
29:37Is this the goodbye speech?
29:38You know it was hard and you're still trying to take her?
29:41Even if you hate me,
29:42a child needs a family, doesn't she?
29:44There it was.
29:45He was taking her.
29:46I kept my voice level.
29:48Let me think about it.
29:49Of course.
29:50Around midnight, I called Alessandro's name.
29:53No response.
29:54He was out.
29:55I shook Penny awake.
29:57Shh.
29:58Quiet.
29:59Mommy's taking you somewhere.
30:02We worked together like a tiny conspiracy.
30:04Penny's job was to throw out his clothes.
30:06With no clothes, he couldn't chase us right away.
30:09My job was to gather the valuables.
30:11Finally, we locked the door.
30:12Gone.
30:13He had found me in the most out-of-the-way town in the state.
30:16Wherever I went next had to be smarter.
30:18It came to me.
30:19The most dangerous place is the safest place.
30:21His own city.
30:22He would never imagine I'd run straight to the heart of Moretti territory.
30:26I had practice now.
30:27The road went smoothly.
30:28We caught a ride with a small moving convoy heading north.
30:32The lead driver was a kind, big-shouldered man who took a few bills and let us ride in
30:36the back of an empty truck.
30:37The truck was clean.
30:38We took the main highway.
30:40Barely a bump.
30:41A young woman named Tessa looked after me.
30:43Every stop she brought a tray of rich, hearty food to the truck.
30:47I tried to refuse.
30:48She waved me off.
30:50Eat up, ma'am.
30:51The company has cash to spare.
30:53By the time we made the city, the heat had thickened.
30:56Midsummer.
30:56The driver recommended a clean, modestly priced hotel.
31:00I took the cheapest room on offer.
31:01I'd just dropped my bag when the clerk came up.
31:04Apologies, ma'am.
31:05This room's already been booked.
31:07Let me move you.
31:07He moved me to the best suite in the house.
31:10If the clerk had so much as asked for an extra dollar, I might not have caught on.
31:14There's no free lunch.
31:15A single mother and a child in an unfamiliar city were the easiest targets in the world.
31:19Every alarm in me started ringing.
31:21I grabbed Penny.
31:22Penny, we're leaving.
31:24The door wouldn't open.
31:26They had locked us in.
31:27From behind the partition at the back of the suite, a slow figure stepped out.
31:30Alessandro Moretti in a fresh tailored suit, hair pushed back, standing like a blade.
31:36The air around him went heavy.
31:38Running again?
31:38Where do you think you're going?
31:40The sleeping pill?
31:41The clothes?
31:43The locked door?
31:45Bianca, what am I going to do with you?
31:47He stepped toward me.
31:49I stepped back.
31:50Penny went rigid in righteous indignation.
31:52I threw the clothes out.
31:54Alessandro stalled, then swallowed.
31:58It's alright.
32:00Daddy's not angry.
32:01He pulled Penny from my arms.
32:03The door opened.
32:04Tessa, from the convoy, walked in.
32:09Look after the little one.
32:11Penny kicked and screamed at Alessandro.
32:13Don't you hurt my mama.
32:15Alessandro stroked her head and softened.
32:18I won't hurt her.
32:19I just need to talk to her, sweetheart.
32:22Grown-up things.
32:23Be a good girl.
32:24Penny was carried off.
32:27Alessandro turned and dropped the act.
32:29His face was a sheet of frost.
32:31He pushed me back onto the couch.
32:33His hands were shaking with rage.
32:34The cords in his forearm stood out.
32:37You hate me that much?
32:40You'd rather run from me again and again than stay one more night?
32:46His grip was crushing my shoulder.
32:48I twisted in pain.
32:50You're hurting me.
32:52It didn't register on him.
32:53His eyes were rimmed in red.
32:55Wet.
32:56Like a creature betrayed.
32:57Threw away my clothes.
32:59Locked me in that cottage.
33:00His voice cracked.
33:02Should I do the same to you?
33:03Would you like that better?
33:05I pictured the inversion.
33:06Cold dread went through me.
33:08That's why the road was so smooth.
33:09You had the convoy from the start.
33:10I walked straight into it.
33:12I felt my nose start to burn.
33:13You can have a wife and a dozen children.
33:16I only have Penny.
33:17You take her from me and I have nothing left.
33:19His face caved.
33:20Aren't I family to you too?
33:22Or do I not even have a place in your heart?
33:25I stared at him.
33:26Lost.
33:27Was that what he was actually asking?
33:29Let me ask it differently.
33:30He pulled himself together.
33:32Held my eyes.
33:34Bianca.
33:36Do you love me?
33:38Yes.
33:39It was out before I knew I was going to say it.
33:44I regretted it instantly.
33:46I had spent four years building a wall around that one word and one question from him and
33:51I'd handed it over.
33:52Floozy.
33:53I scolded myself.
33:54Cheap.
33:55A man who could betray me once could betray me a thousand times.
33:58I had to remember.
34:00Alessandro's face had lit up.
34:01I cut him off with the next sentence, ice cold.
34:04But I don't only love you.
34:05There's a whole world of men out there.
34:09Like wine.
34:11You have to taste every variety before you die or what's the point?
34:14You have to coax them, stroke them, see them melt when you string them along, watch them
34:18go from joy to despair on a single word.
34:20It's quite a lot of fun.
34:21I had never in my life seen Alessandro Moretti look like that.
34:25His eyes went bloodshot, his fury so hot I thought he might catch fire.
34:30What did you say?
34:32I smiled and didn't answer.
34:33You wouldn't dare.
34:35He went berserk.
34:36I watched him from the couch, calm.
34:38He swept his arm across the side table and sent the glasses crashing.
34:42The one thing he didn't do was raise a hand to me.
34:44When he had spent the worst of it, he stood there breathing hard, pointed at me, then at
34:49the door.
34:50Get out.
34:50All right.
34:52I stood up smoothly, thinking, good.
34:54Finally over.
34:56The door was right there.
34:57The whole world on the other side.
34:59My chest hurt anyway.
35:01Wait.
35:02That line.
35:04Why does it sound familiar?
35:07I stopped.
35:08I didn't turn around.
35:10Mr. Moretti, you remember now.
35:12You're already married.
35:14Taking Penny and me home would just poison your wife.
35:17Go be good to her.
35:18Don't be the philenderer you were.
35:20Alessandro caught up to me.
35:21His voice was thin with panic.
35:23That day.
35:24The club.
35:25You came to bring me the coat.
35:27You heard me, didn't you?
35:28I heard everything.
35:30In my head, you were the perfect man.
35:33Sharp and untouchable.
35:34The reason you couldn't bear to let me go wasn't love.
35:37It was that I'd begged for crumbs.
35:40I worked to please you.
35:41I was useful.
35:42I was happy to serve as your maid.
35:44I wouldn't serve as your plaything.
35:46That's not what it was!
35:50Four years ago, the woman I wanted to marry was you.
35:55Alessandro took my hand carefully, like he was afraid I'd pull it back.
35:59His palm was hot.
36:01Not a mistress.
36:02My one and I wife.
36:04Will you?
36:07I stared.
36:08A dozen feelings hit at once.
36:09He had a wife.
36:10He'd been married four years ago.
36:12Hadn't he?
36:13There's no wife.
36:14I never married her.
36:15He told me everything.
36:17The Santoro girl had been fixed on him from the first time they'd met.
36:20She had begged her father to come to the Moretti estate and propose the match.
36:23The matriarch had thought the two families were a good alliance and accepted.
36:27But Alessandro had wanted no part of her.
36:30The only way out, with two stubborn matriarchs locked in, had been to perform.
36:34That afternoon at the club, Cassandra Santoro had been in the next booth, having drinks with friends.
36:39She'd heard Alessandro call his woman a toy.
36:42Heard him brag about how he'd handle her once she was married.
36:45Decided he was a degenerate.
36:46His act had been good enough to fool Cassandra Santoro.
36:49And good enough to fool me.
36:51The Santoro girl.
36:52The one I'd heard about.
36:53The spectacular wedding with the display for blocks.
36:56She had married someone else.
36:57Four years.
36:59You ran.
37:00For four years over this?
37:05If I'd ever done something to hurt you, you could have told me and I could have explained.
37:10The help doesn't question the boss.
37:11A servant's rule was that the master was always right.
37:14Anything wrong was always on us.
37:16But I wasn't the help anymore, so I would say it.
37:19If you wanted to marry me, why didn't you ever once give me a sign?
37:23If I'd known I mattered to you, I wouldn't have been so easy to wound.
37:27I wanted it done.
37:29Then I wanted to surprise you.
37:32And I was scared it wouldn't work.
37:34I didn't want to raise your hopes and then watch them fall.
37:38You have a mouth.
37:39You could have used it.
37:40I thought maybe we were even now.
37:42He wasn't done.
37:43Second question.
37:44Why did you run a second time?
37:46There was no point hiding now.
37:48I told him.
37:49The line I'd overheard.
37:51Take the child while Bianca isn't looking.
37:54The actual sentence had been...
37:56Take the child while Bianca isn't looking and force her back to the city.
37:59That plan is no good.
38:01Don't try it.
38:02You got Aaron.
38:04Don't know.
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