Whispers rippled through the gathered crowd along the iron gates. I signaled Rosa to draw back the tinted window, then fixed a cold stare on the beautiful woman kneeling on the asphalt below. "How far along are you?"
Gianna answered with a demure blush. "This humble woman was taken in by the heir nine months ago. The child in my womb is eight months along."
I looked at her with undisguised contempt. "So for nine months, the heir hasn't brought you inside the compound. Why is that? Is your background too shameful to speak of? Or is the child not his?"
"If he truly treasured you, why would he keep you hidden away as a secret mistress?"
The crowd murmured in agreement. It was a fair point. If a man truly cherished a woman, he would have brought her home to the Family and given her a proper place long ago. Why wait until she was nearly due?
Gianna's eyes brimmed over, and she wept aloud. "Only because Gianna had to observe three years of mourning for her late father and could not marry during that time. That is the only reason it has been delayed. Gianna's virtue is beyond reproach. I am not that kind of woman."