Chapter 2

Rumors spread through the DeLuca estate.

Word was that the Family Elders were furious with Lilia.

"What right did Lilia have to take young Noah out on her own?"

"Noah was the Family heir, and he died because of an outsider! What will the East Coast think of us?!"

"Lilia is a curse on the DeLuca Family! She owes us a blood debt!"

The family members erupted in outrage, ready to execute Lilia on the spot.

Lilia's face was deathly pale. She hid behind Matteo, trembling uncontrollably.

Matteo narrowed his eyes. His cold gaze landed on me.

"Sera," he said in a tone that left no room for argument, "go explain to the Elders."

I looked up at him.

"Explain what?"

"It was your misjudgment that caused Noah's death. Lilia is innocent. You are the one responsible."

It felt as if a fist had closed around my heart. The pain stole my breath.

"My son is dead, Matteo. And now you're saying it was my fault?"

Matteo's expression darkened instantly. He leaned close to my ear, his voice low enough for only the two of us to hear.

"If you don't take the blame, Noah won't be buried in the family plot."

"I'll dump his body in a landfill and let his bones rot with the garbage."

He paused, then spoke each word clearly.

"Sera, I keep my word."

My body turned to ice.

I looked at him, this man I had once loved with everything I had, and realized for the first time just how cold his heart could be.

For Noah's final peace, I had no choice.

That night, I stood before every Elder and bowed my head for the first time in my life.

"It was my misjudgment. As the Family's lead bomb disposal expert, I... failed to read the timer correctly."

"I failed to protect the Family heir."

I bit through the tip of my tongue. Every word tasted of blood.

"I am the one who killed my son. I take full responsibility."

After a moment of stunned silence, the Elders unleashed all their fury on me.

I went from a respected Donna to the arrogant fool who had gotten her own son killed.

At the Elders' unanimous demand, Matteo convened a Family tribunal. The vote to condemn me was unanimous.

They stripped me of my title as Donna, revoked my access to the Family arsenal, and ordered me to kneel in penance before the Family crest.

"From this day forward, Sera, you are no longer the DeLuca Family's Donna."

Matteo sat beneath the Family crest, his eyes cold and flat.

"Now kneel and repent."

I knelt in silence.

Even as my world had long since been turned inside out, to them, I was simply quieter than usual.

This war was mine to fight alone.

While I knelt in penance, Lilia stood at Matteo's side.

She lowered her eyes, but couldn't quite hide the triumph in them.

I didn't care.

Let her enjoy her little victory for two more days.

To someone with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Her turn would come.

After the penance, I produced a document I had prepared in advance and handed it to Matteo.

It was packed with dense legal jargon and cross-border provisions.

I said flatly, "This is the transfer document for the arsenal access codes. Look it over and sign if everything's in order."

"Very good, Sera. You know how to put the Family first."

Matteo took the document and added reassuringly, "Don't worry. Once this blows over, I'll give everything back to you."

With a flourish, he signed his name.

The moment I watched his pen leave the paper, I laughed silently to myself.

He had no idea that what he'd signed was far more than an arsenal access transfer.

Buried in the stack was an irrevocable trust agreement that could swallow every core asset the Family owned, along with a divorce agreement.