Chapter 4

9:00 AM.

My phone lit up again. A text from Rosalie, her tone now a furious accusation.

【Corinne, why didn't you answer Edmund's message? Do you have any idea the pressure he's under? If this deal with Vexille falls through and the Falcone family goes bankrupt, it will be all your fault! You'll be a traitor to this family!】

Immediately after, the phone rang. The screen read "Mother."

I answered. Before I could speak, her shrill voice shot through the receiver. "Corinne! What is your problem now? Your sister said you're ignoring Edmund! Do you have any respect for this family? All we asked was for you to take ten minutes to ask about the new Don, and you're putting on airs?"

"I'm not putting on airs."

"No? Then what? You think you're so great after six years in Sicily? Let me tell you, you've done nothing for this family in six years! Now that we're in a crisis, you won't even do this one small thing. How could I have raised such a cold, selfish daughter!"

"I'm warning you, if this deal fails because you wouldn't cooperate, you are never to set foot in this house again! I'll tell everyone I don't have a daughter!"

"Never had me as a daughter?" I repeated the words softly, a bleak, ironic feeling washing over me.

Memories I had buried deep flooded back.

Six years ago, when I first got to Sicily.

I was caught in a street shootout. I took a stray bullet to the gut, bleeding out in a dark, wet alley.

As my vision faded, I clung to one last, faint hope of family and called my mother.

Her voice was sharp with annoyance. "Corinne, I'm out shopping with Rosalie right now, can you not bother me? Handle your own petty little problems. Stop trying to compete for attention like a child."

She hung up before I could say another word.

In that moment, the cold rain mixed with my blood, and it washed away the last bit of warmth I ever felt for that family.

And the day I took my first port.

I was covered in bruises, but my heart was full.

I sent a picture of myself standing on the docks at sunset to the family chat, hoping for even a single, half-hearted word of praise.

For two hours, the chat was silent.

Then, a message from Rosalie finally appeared: 【Wow, sister, did you get a new job as a dockworker? Hahaha.】

My mother and father both "liked" her comment, joining in on the joke.

From that moment on, I knew with absolute clarity: as far as I was concerned, I no longer had a family.

"Don." The intercom on my desk buzzed, pulling me from my thoughts. "Mr. Edmund is asking again if he can come up early. He's asking every five minutes."

"Tell him no," I said coldly.

"Understood. However, he just tried to bribe the receptionist. He's getting loud, claiming his status as the Falcone heir means he shouldn't be made to wait." Julian, my head of security, asked, "Should we remove him?"

"No."

"Tell him if he can't wait, he can leave. But the second he walks out of this building, the doors to the Vexille family are closed to him forever."

On the other end, Julian relayed my message verbatim.

On the security monitor, I watched the color drain from Edmund's face.

He clenched his fists, a vein throbbing in his forehead, but in the end, he slumped back onto the sofa like a beaten dog.

The next three hours were a slow, agonizing torture for him.

Finally, the clock struck 12:30.

"Send him in," I said calmly.

Two minutes later, the heavy mahogany doors to my office swung open.

Edmund took a deep breath, forcing a respectful, fawning smile onto his face as he hurried in.

He kept his head slightly bowed, holding a folder in both hands. His voice trembled with a sycophantic edge. "Don, thank you so much for taking the time to see me. I am from the Falcone family..."

As he spoke, he cautiously lifted his head.

The moment his eyes met the familiar face behind the desk, his words died in his throat.

Edmund froze, looking like he'd been struck by lightning.

The folder slipped from his grasp, scattering papers across the floor. The fake, fawning smile on his face shattered.

I watched him, my hands folded calmly on the desk, a faint, knowing smile on my lips.

"Edmund," I said slowly, gesturing to the chair in front of me. "Long time no see. Please, have a seat."