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Chapter 2

Author: Apis Fortis
When we got back, I started packing.

My phone buzzed. Our tickets to Atlanta were confirmed. Atlanta was home. I'd once told Vincent that if he ever betrayed me, I'd go to the city he couldn't control and never see him again.

I was a Rosati. Over the course of a century, my family had united the scattered Southern mafia into a force no one could break. Not even the Five Families, the Colletti family included, dared to go head-to-head with us.

I'd believed he would never give me a reason to leave. I was wrong.

The divorce agreement had already gone into effect without Vincent knowing.

Three days after Vincent first put Serena and her daughter ahead of us, I slipped the divorce agreement in with Daisy's medical forms and sent them over together.

Vincent was in such a hurry to check on Daisy that he signed the first few documents without even looking at them.

I could have left long ago. I'd only waited so Eve could gradually let go of her hope that her father would love her.

Just then, I got a video from Serena.

Daisy was sitting on Vincent's shoulders, showing off to the classmates gathered around her. "This is my daddy!"

Right after that, Serena texted, "Adela, did you see? Vincent takes such good care of us. He says we're the people he'll never forget as long as he lives."

I didn't send Vincent screenshots as I used to. He'd only accuse me of faking them to make Serena look bad.

All I needed to do now was finish packing and take Eve away from here for good.

I'd just closed my suitcase when Vincent came home with a lopsided homemade cream cake.

Eve looked at me, bewildered.

Vincent was strict about what he ate, and he especially hated sweet, creamy desserts.

Eve had a sweet tooth like me, and every year Vincent made an exception and got her a birthday cake. But when she was four, she noticed he didn't like cake. From the following year on, she refused to have one.

Eve stared at the cake, hope rising in her eyes.

Vincent handed Eve the cake. "Daisy and I made this at a family event at her school. She didn't like it, but I remembered you two like cake, so I brought it home."

Eve's face fell. Don Colletti had already missed so many of her school events.

Then Vincent noticed the suitcases behind me. He frowned and asked, as if it were an afterthought, "You two going on a trip?"

I didn't want anything to go wrong before we left. "It's the mother-daughter trip Eve and I take every three months."

Vincent used to come too, but after he'd stood us up last time, I'd stopped inviting him.

Vincent looked guilty, but relieved, too. He crouched down in front of Eve.

"I missed today's ceremony, and that was Daddy's fault. But Daisy was being teased, and I had to take care of it. Eve, you're a good girl. You understand Daddy was in a tough spot, right?"

He patted Eve's head. "Daddy already booked the family restaurant for tomorrow. Do you want to go with Mommy and Daddy?"

Eve hesitated, torn between longing and worry. She opened her mouth, then stopped. I knew she was afraid Vincent would leave her behind again.

I sighed softly and made the decision for her. "Okay."

At least Eve could leave without regrets.

Just like that, Eve perked up and ran happily back to her room.

Vincent watched her go fondly, then slipped an arm around my waist. The smell of his cigar lingered on him.

He rested his chin on my shoulder, but there was a probing note in his voice. "Adela, Eve called me Don Colletti today. Did you teach her to do that?"

My heart started pounding.

I admitted it outright, then asked him, "Do you want to know why?"

He missed my point. He just held me tighter.

"Adela, give me a little more time. Serena's husband saved my life. I can't just stand by and let anything happen to her or her daughter. Once I've dealt with their problems, I'll arrange for them to leave."

His heart was racing as he waited for my answer.

The last time I'd seen him like this was six years ago, the day he found out I was pregnant.

Back then, his hands had shaken as he'd promised, "I'll protect you and our child for the rest of my life."

My resolve wavered.

Leaving without saying goodbye suddenly felt unfair to him.

"Vincent, I need to come clean with you..."
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