The Mafia's Good Girl
The Mafia’s Good Girl – Chapter 23

~ Violet ~

Violet stood in silence for the longest time as Jesse’s question hung in the air. He was looking at her expectantly and Violet was caught off guard. If Jesse had asked this question to her weeks ago, she’d say yes in a heartbeat. But after everything that happened and after Damon’s second proposal, Violet didn’t know what to think.

“Oh, I… I’d love to, but I think I have to work tomorrow night,” Violet stammered an excuse.

Work wasn’t honestly that important and if she’d talk to Dylan, he would surely give her a night out. But Violet wasn’t sure if she should jump into anything with anyone this time around. She was still trying to recover from her experience at Damon’s estate while maintaining some sense of normalcy in her life. The last thing she needed was more complications.

“Aw, that’s too bad,” Jesse let out a sad smile. He was clearly disappointed, but he was hiding it well. “Well, maybe some other time?”

“Yeah,” Violet nodded her head. “Another time would be great—”

“You don’t have to work tomorrow, Vi,” Dylan’s voice suddenly cut her off. She turned around and saw Dylan walking out of the office. He had a big smile playing on his face as he said, “I’ll get someone to take over,”

“Dylan,” Violet quickly shot him a look to get him to shut up, but Dylan was purposefully ignoring her.

“You’ve been working so hard lately. You deserve a little time off,” Dylan continued.

Violet glared at her brother but Dylan only shrugged innocently. Meanwhile, the disappointment in Jesse’s face faded away instantly.

“That’s great,” Jesse chimed. “So, is that a yes?”

Violet looked at the hopeful Jesse and the smiling Dylan. It seemed like these two guys really wanted her to go out tomorrow night. She didn’t know what else to do, so finally, Violet let out a sigh and nodded her head.

“Yes,” she said.

“Awesome! I’ll pick you up at seven?” Jesse beamed.

Violet nodded her head again and smiled politely at Jesse. And when Jesse wasn’t looking, Violet turned and shot a deadly look over at Dylan. Dylan raised his eyes as if to ask, “what?” and Violet gave him the “we need to talk” eyes.

Oh, brother. What did you get me into?

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“Violet Rose Carvey, you need to calm down,” Dylan laughed and rolled his eyes. “It’s just a date, it’s nothing serious,”

Dylan and Violet were on their way home after they closed down the bar. As soon as they stepped into the car, Violet immediately grilled Dylan on why he was keen on getting Violet to go out with Jesse.

“Plus, Jesse’s an amazing guy. You’d like him,” he continued.

“Dylan, there’s something you’re not telling me, is there?” Violet said with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed at her brother.

“What do you mean?”

“Like how do you just randomly ran into Jesse outside the bar?”

Dylan let out a sigh and g*****d. He knew Violet was far too clever to believe in his little white lie.

“Fine, the truth is Jesse’s been looking for you for weeks,” Dylan said finally. “I feel bad for the poor guy. He even came around the house when you were at… um, the estate. I told him you went on a trip with your school friends. He seems to really like you, Vi. And if you ask me, I think he’s a much better option than…”

“Than who?” Violet asked when Dylan didn’t finish his sentence.

“You know who I mean,” he sighed.

“What happened with Damon and me was just a one-time thing. It was just business,” Violet stated matter-of-factly.

“Then why did he show up at The Union just now?” Dylan clapped back. “What did he want?”

Violet found herself shutting up for the first time this entire car ride. She thought about lying to Dylan but Violet was never a great liar to her brother. He’d see right through her, just like right now.

“Vi, there’s something you’re not telling me,” Dylan narrowed his eyes at his sister. “Spill,”

Violet let out a sigh and averted her gaze out the window.

“Damon came by to offer me a job,” she said.

“A job?”

“Yeah. He’s willing to pay me three million dollars if I’d stay at the estate for a month,”

“Wait, what?” Dylan shouted and the car came to an abrupt stop at the red light. Luckily, Violet was wearing her seatbelt and it stopped her face from hitting the windshield.

“And what did you tell him?” Dylan demanded.

“Geez. Don’t worry, I already told him I’m not interested,” Violet g*****d.

“Good!” he said approvingly, but it sounded like he was mad.

“Three million dollars. What, just because he’s rich he thinks he can put price tags on people? What kind of job does he want with you anyway?” Dylan scoffed in disdain, but then he caught himself and quickly said, “Wait, never mind, don’t answer that,”

Violet stifled a dry laugh and shook her head. She wasn’t planning on telling Dylan all those details anyway. He would freak out if he knew of Damon’s torture chamber hidden behind his office. Violet knew her brother would do something very stupid if he knew how rough Damon was with her. How barbaric and savage he was, and how he was pretty much the devil in the flesh.

“Seriously, though, he’s a dangerous man, Vi. You need to stay as far away from him as possible. You hear me?” Dylan said in that protective brother mode.

“Yeah, I know that. Don’t worry, Dyl, I’m not that dumb,” Violet said, pausing for a beat before adding, “Or that desperate for money,”

Violet then turned her eyes to the window again and she watched as the car drove through the streets of her town in New Jersey. They lived in the rougher part of town and it was a stark difference compared to the estate where Damon lives.

Sure, it would be nice to have an extra three million dollars in her bank account. With that amount of money, she could move her family to a better part of town, maybe get a nice bigger house or a condo in the city. Maybe she wouldn’t have to work two jobs and she could go back to school, travel the world, or maybe start a business. Dylan could also finish his degree and their mom could go to better hospitals or see more specialists.

But that means I’d have to…

Going back to the Van Zandt estate was like going into the belly of the beast. Damon could do whatever he wants with her for an entire month and she’d have no option but to take it like a good little girl. She survived giving up her virginity to him but she didn’t know how much more she could endure. Violet saw firsthand the room hidden behind his office and what he liked to do to his girls. Going back to that would mean that he’d break her mind, body, and soul irreparably.

Could I even survive that?

Violet wondered about the kinds of things that she’d have to go through if she decided to go back there. Maybe he’d keep her in that room for the entire month. Maybe he’d chain her neck to the wall like some animal. Every single night, he would have his way with her any way he pleases. Maybe he’d tie her up, bruise her body, and fúck her into oblivion like he did before.

Or better yet, do I want to survive that?

The thought of Damon sending her into oblivion stirred something inside Violet’s body. She started shuffling in her seat and her heart was racing. She remembered the night she had with Damon and how crazy, how wrong, how wild, and how incredibly liberating it felt.

Yes, even though she knew that it was wrong to sell her body for money, Violet never felt more alive. It was an indescribable feeling that she hadn’t fully registered. Some nights Violet would wake up in cold sweats and terror when she remembered her time at the estate. But on other nights, once in a blue moon maybe, Violet felt a sense of excitement when she thought about Damon. He had awakened a side of her that she never knew existed.

“Hey, Dylan…” Violet trailed suddenly.

“What?”

“Now that I’ve thought about it, three million dollars is a lot of money…”

“No!” Dylan shouted loud and clear. “A hundred million times no! It was bad enough you had to do it once and that was one time far too many,”

“But with three million dollars, we’d be set for life! Mom can go to the best hospitals and get the best treatment, you can go back to school, and I can—”

“No, Violet! We’ll replace money some other way, but not this way,” Dylan g*****d in frustration and the car pulled to a stop. They had arrived back at the apartment but none of them were leaving the car.

“Look, our family’s debt is all paid off. Now we can live and hustle like normal folks out there,” Dylan said after a while of silence. “We don’t need that much money in our lives anyway. As long as our family is safe and happy, that’s all that matters. I don’t want you to sacrifice any more of yourself for us,”

Dylan turned his gaze down because he couldn’t bear to see his sister. He felt really guilty for what happened to her, even though it was her own choice. As her older brother, Dylan felt like he’d failed her. He should’ve protected her from guys like Damon. He shouldn’t have let her took that bullet for the family. He should’ve done better.

“But, Dylan—“ Violet started to speak, but Dylan cut her off briskly.

“It’s a no,” he roared. “Do you understand me, Violet?”

Violet had never seen Dylan so angry before. She flinched back and swallowed her thoughts. Then she nodded head meekly and muttered, “Yes,”

“Good,” Dylan said as he killed the engine and pulled the car keys. “Now throw that stupid idea out of your head and don’t ever bring this up again,”

“Alright, alright, I won’t,” Violet said as she got out of the car.

She then took out her keys and walked to the front door. Dylan was following closely behind her.

“Hey, Vi,” Dylan said as Violet was opening the front door.

“What?”

“Go out with Jesse,” he said with a meaningful look. “You deserve a nice man who’ll take care of you. Not some a*****e with botched up business deals,”

Violet was stunned. She didn’t move or say anything for the longest time. Dylan then stepped inside and Violet followed behind him. Her steps were slow, but her mind was racing. Dylan said something that triggered the deepest parts of her soul — the part where she kept her beliefs, her hopes, and dreams.

Dylan’s right. Maybe I deserve more than just three million dollars. Maybe I deserve actual real love…

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~ Damon ~

“She’s not gonna come,” Adrian said as he downed his wine.

Damon, Adrian, and Talia were sitting around the dinner table celebrating the end of another successful month. It was a tradition in the family that they’d have dinner at the end of each month to talk about the highs and lows and to celebrate the life they were given.

“She’s not that type of girl and she’s way too smart. She won’t go for it,” he said again as he put his empty glass down.

“Hmm, I don’t know, it’s still a bit too early to tell,” Talia said as she poured more wine into Adrian’s glass.

“Oh, so you’re thinking she’ll come back?” Adrian asked her.

“I hope she’ll come back because I like having her around,” Talia replied. “But honestly, I don’t think she will. She’s way too good for this kind of life,”

Talia flashed Damon a sorry smile and Damon ignored her.

“Ha!” Adrian slurred and took another gulp of the wine. “It’s two against one, Damon, what do you think?”

“Shut up,” Damon g*****d. “It doesn’t matter what you guys think anyway,”

Damon reached for his glass of whiskey and downed the drink. He didn’t want to show any signs of weakness, but he was getting a little restless. Adrian and Talia were the only two people that knew about his plan to pay Violet three million dollars to get her to come back. Adrian said that he was crazy and it was a financial mistake, but Talia liked the idea. She said that Violet was a refreshing change of scenery, one that she hoped would last.

However, Damon had no intentions of making it last, he knew nothing lasts anyway. He only wanted a month of her time, in which he planned on doing many things with and to her. Having her only once was not enough, but a month should be. He was willing to pay a hefty price for it, but of course, he would make every single penny worth it.

“It’s almost midnight already,” Talia announced as she glanced at the clock. “I think I’m going to bed,”

“Yeah, me too,” Adrian said and stood up to follow his wife.

Damon ignored the two of them and continued pouring whiskey into his glass. It was about eleven thirty at night and he clearly told Violet that the deal expires today at midnight. With each minute that passed, it was getting harder and harder for Damon to suppress his anger and frustration.

Where the hell is she?!

“Hey, don’t worry, man. We’ll replace you new girls in the morning,” Adrian said as if he could read Damon’s mind. He was already halfway out the door but he stopped his tracks to tell Damon that.

“I don’t need it,” Damon said as he stood up. He finished the rest of the whiskey in his glass and straightened his suit.

“She’ll come back. I know she will,”

Damon then left the dining room and climbed up the stairs. Though he sounded calm and confident, he was angry and disappointed on the inside. No one had ever dared to reject his offer before. This made the fire inside him burn brighter than ever before.

One way or another. I’ll get you back. You know I will.