Chapter 15: Chapter 15

~Two doors. No riddles. No locks.~

~The door on the right leads to the end of the game. Those who pass through it will continue on as valued members of the larger Roscotto community.~

~The door on the left leads to the end of the game. Those who pass through it will be banished from the Roscotto territory and abandoned by the Roscotto family.~

~Three of you must walk through the door on the right.~

~One of you must walk through the door on the left.~

~Both doors must be opened at the same time.~

~Choose wisely.~

“What bullshit is this?” I couldn’t help but exclaim as I read the instructions. We had to sacrifice a team member? What were they playing at?

Neo whistled. “Didn’t see this one coming. I don’t know about you, but I’m opening the door on the right.”

“Do we have to look for more keys?” Renae looked up at me and asked. I shook my head with a frown, unsure of how to deal with this situation.

I caught Neo’s gaze as it bounced between Renae and the old woman, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t you dare think about it,” I warned.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m just thinking. We have more than enough time to make a decision. I already have my answer. I’m just waiting for you to figure out yours.”

I snorted and turned away from him. “Now you sound like a man.”

“You’re deflecting,” he said in a singsong voice as I went to sit on the sofa, the only piece of furniture in the room. The old lady was already there, silently watching our exchange.

I leaned forward to bury my face in my hands, frustrated that it came down to this. My heart raged at the injustice of it.

I knew what had to happen. It was obvious who should walk through the door on the left, and I was crippled with guilt.

If she refused, were we supposed to force her?

I didn’t want it to come to that.

The words were on the tip of my tongue, yet I couldn’t say them.

There had to be another way.

I looked at Renae. She was so young, and she was doing this to help her mother. The money she would receive would go a long way toward setting Renae on a path toward a prosperous future.

Or her mother could rack up a large debt again.

Then there was Neo. He was sitting on the floor with Renae, positioned in front of the door on the right. He’d made his decision. He was a pain in the ass, but not the worst. He deserved a chance at a better life.

And then there was the old lady. She’d kept her distance throughout the entire game, not allowing me to get close to her.

I didn’t know her name. Her age. Or if she had a family waiting for her.

But logically, she was coming toward the end of her life. Did she have five years left? Ten? And what was that when compared to Renae’s seventy or more.

I couldn’t forget about me. I could walk through the door on the left.

Should I sacrifice myself for the other three? If I did, what would that mean for me? For my sister?

Would I be targeted by other mafia families if I left the Roscotto territory and its protection? Would they come after me because of my relationship with Stefano?

And did I want to leave Stefano? Yes, his life was dangerous. But my heart still beat in time with his. I’d left him once, and I didn’t know if I would survive leaving him a second time.

A heavy sigh left my lips, and I peered over at Renae and Neo through my fingers. They played thumb war, with Neo letting Renae win more often than not. A smile tilted my lips.

“I have a grandson.”

The old woman’s voice broke my thoughts. I turned my head in surprise. “What?”

She didn’t glance at me, her gaze focused on Neo and Renae. Her eyes were clouded as if recalling a distant memory.

“My grandson. He turns nine in a few days. His dad is a deadbeat. Got mixed up in the wrong crowd. Fell into drugs, drinking, gambling, and chose to waste his life away. I watched it happen and did nothing but chastise him, driving him farther down that hole instead of pulling him out of it.”

I fell silent as I listened to her story.

“Eventually, he messed with the wrong people and ended up indebted to the Roscotto family. I tried my best to help pay the debt, but it was too much, and in my anger, I disowned him. I told him he was on his own and that he had to pay for the consequences of his actions.

“So, he started working for the Roscottos as a street thug to pay the money back. But it was a vicious cycle. The more money they paid him, the more he owed. He just wouldn’t stop borrowing.”

She took a shuddering breath, and I fought the urge to place my hand on her in a sign of comfort, knowing it wouldn’t be welcome.

“He was an addict, out of control, and it pained me to see him like that. I blamed myself for not raising him right. Leaving him alone in that house when I had to work overnights.

“I wasn’t a good mother. I can admit that now. Back then, I blamed him for the way my life turned out, but, God, I loved him. I still love him. He’s my baby. Mine.” Her voice trembled with emotion.

I gave in to my desire and reached over to awkwardly pat her wrinkled hands that sat on her lap.

“His debt was so high, continuing to climb no matter what I did. And soon enough, he had a child. A sweet little boy. I took him in and tried to raise him better, tried to give him the life I couldn’t give his father.”

“Where’s your son now?” I asked. As if shit wasn’t complicated enough, now I had to worry about a nine-year-old boy with an addict for a father.

“Dead. There was an accident. The Roscottos were loose with the details. But what they weren’t loose with was the contract my son signed before he died. His debts were transferred to his son.”

I gasped, appalled that the Roscottos would operate like that.

Though, I shouldn’t have been surprised. The family needed to protect their assets, and a dead man couldn’t pay his debts.

“I didn’t want my grandson to grow up like that. I know firsthand what it does to people. I’d already failed his father; I didn’t want to fail him too. I tried transferring the debt to myself, but I already have one foot in the grave. My organs are failing, and I don’t have much time left.”

A bitter smile curled her lips. “By participating in these games, I’m erasing my grandson’s debt.”

My heart grew heavy, and I couldn’t help but question her motives. This was the first time she’d spoken all day. Was she selling me her story so I wouldn’t choose her?

She finally looked at me and shook her head as she laughed. “Your thoughts are written all over your face, dear.”

I stiffened and turned my head away. Was I that obvious?

I couldn’t afford to think about others. I had my own problems, my own priorities.

“I’m sorry,” I said, though I wasn’t sure what I was sorry for.

She sighed and leaned back on the sofa. “There’s no need to be sorry. My problems are my own, not yours. The moment I signed the agreement, I knew there was a chance I’d never see my grandson again. That’s why I approached you.”

I pointed at myself hesitantly. “Me?”

She nodded. “You. I know this is a hard ask, but I figured since you’re Stefano’s bride, you’d have the authority to make it happen.”

I furrowed my brow. “How can I help you? How did you even know that I was Stefano’s girlfriend?”

“I asked around.”

I was still skeptical. What could I possibly do for her?

She took a shuddering breath. “I want the Roscotto family to hold my reward money until my grandson comes of age. It’s not much, but I don’t want his relatives to get their hands on it.”

I nodded. It was a simple enough ask. Even if Stefano didn’t do it, if I won these games, I would be in a position where money wasn’t scarce. I could use my own funds to provide her grandson with the ten thousand when the time came.

“I also want to rescind my abandonment.”

I snapped my head to look at her. “What?”

She looked at me pleadingly. “I’m going to die, and soon. I want to spend this little time I have left with my grandson. I can’t do that if I’m kicked out of my home.”

I sucked in a sharp breath.

This wasn’t something I could promise. I wasn’t sure how far my influence stretched at the moment. Overriding the rules of this game was something I needed to discuss with Stefano.

I felt pity for her, and I really hoped she did get to spend her last moments with her grandson.

“That is something I can’t promise, but I will speak to Stefano about it.”

She smiled tiredly. “That’s all I ask.”

I blew out a breath, exhausted now that the decision had been made.

“Should we get started?” She moved to stand.

I tried helping her up, but she brushed me aside.

Neo stood and clapped his hands. “So, the decision is final.”

I shot a glare at him. “This is someone’s life.”

He shrugged. “Better her than me.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and apologized to the lady. She brushed it aside.

I lifted Renae in my arms and grabbed the door handle on the right. “We can’t rule out that this could all just be a game and she won’t actually get kicked out,” I voiced.

Neo shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

I looked at the old woman. “What’s your name?”

She raised an eyebrow. “What’s the use of a dead woman’s name?”

“To be remembered.”

A look of surprise blanketed her face.

“And so I know who I’m vouching for.”

She chuckled. “Miranda.”

“It was nice meeting you, Miranda. Let’s open the doors in three, two, one. Now!” I twisted the handle and pushed the door open.

With Renae in my arms, I stepped through the door without looking and immediately crashed into someone. I stepped back in surprise.

“Is she ours?” His voice shook my already anxious heart, and my head whipped up to look into Stefano’s gleaming eyes.