Page 1 of Tainted Ties

Prologue

AURORA

Ten Years Ago

Italy. My home country. A place that once brought me joy, but now left painful memories in its wake.

“Aurora, it’s past noon.” Chiara opened the curtains in my room, blinding me as the sun blazed in.

“Too early,” I groaned, my voice coming out muffled through the pillow on my face.

“Yourpapàhas asked for your presence today. Come on, up you go,” she sang, pulling the pillow away from my face.

Sheer panic seized me in a vise. My father was one of a kind and not in the way a daughter hoped. Yet a part of me yearned for his love even now. Even after he neglected me in the years sinceMammapassed away.

The cancer slowly spread throughout her body until it reached her heart. We all knew what was coming, but no amount of time could’ve prepared me for losing her. Not a day went by when I didn’t think of her. The emptiness in my chest grew with each passing minute and I didn’t think anything, or anyone, could ever fill that void.

“It’ll be different this time,figlia mia.”

Chiara was more than our head housekeeper. After the passing of my mother, she made me her only priority.

I wasn’t the easiest person to be around. Some days were harder than others, but she was patient and held me when I couldn’t contain the pain that consumed my body and soul. She was the closest thing I had to a mother now and I was grateful for her.

The wrinkles around her brown eyes were more prominent today. My heart twisted with guilt. “You can’t care after me forever, Chiara.”

I knew she was tired, but the mere thought of her absence sent my heart racing with anxiety.

“Nonsense, I love you like my own.” Her smile erased any doubts I had mere seconds ago.

Jumping from my four-poster bed, I kissed her on the cheek. “I love you more.”

When I entered the bathroom, I stripped off my sleepwear and hopped into the warm shower.

As I shaved my legs, the realization of seeing my father today settled in. I wondered what he wanted from me. I hadn’t done anything to disobey him, so I knew it couldn’t be for punishment.

A stinging sensation zapped me out of my thoughts.

I peered down, watching as blood trailed the side of my leg onto the shower floor.

The pounding of my heart rang in my ears as oxygen ceased to enter my lungs. I grabbed the acrylic wall with shaky hands, steadying myself before losing all sensation in my knees.

As an eighteen-year-old, you’d think my childish fear of blood would diminish as time passed, but no, it kept getting worse.

Darkness was near, threatening to consume me if I tried to move. In an unsteady voice, I called for the one person who always showed up. “Chi- Chiara.”

A second later, the glass door of the shower slid open and Chiara stood there with furrowed brows as she took in the scene.

The cut on my leg continued bleeding. “Not again,” she bemoaned, reaching over to shut off the water.

“I wasn’t paying attention.” I let out a tight laugh. If it were anyone else seeing me naked, I’d be embarrassed, but this was normal for us.

She carefully cleaned and bandaged the cut. Then she grabbed my cotton robe and helped me put it on before bringing her delicate hands up to cup my face. Chiara’s face was wet with tears as she whispered, “If I don’t care after you, who will?”

* * *

As I descended the grand staircase, my stomach churned, the smell of fresh pastries and coffee overwhelming my senses.

I walked through the dimly lit corridor, pushing the kitchen doors open.

---