Chapter 1

The day the Marchetti Family ran into trouble, I was at an auction.

A set of blue-diamond jewelry was being auctioned that day, and the stones were so exceptional that the moment I saw them, I knew they would look perfect with the dress I had custom-made the week before.

Even when the bidding reached ninety million dollars, I raised my paddle without hesitation, and no one else tried to outbid me.

Once the hammer came down, the invoice for the jewelry was immediately brought over.

I handed the staff member the black card Damian had given me, the one I had always been able to use without worrying about a spending limit.

The terminal beeped once before the payment was declined.

“Ma'am, there must be something wrong with our system. Please give me a moment, and I'll take care of it for you.”

However, I had already caught a glimpse of the message displayed on the screen, which clearly said that there were insufficient funds.

I paused in surprise.

Someone sitting in front of me turned around to look in my direction, so after thinking for a moment, I took out my phone and called Damian.

The call rang without an answer.

At the same time, messages began appearing one after another in the group chat I shared with the women I usually went shopping and partying with.

“I heard the Don of the Marchetti Family is being forced by the other eight Families to sign agreements giving up their territory.”

“Apparently their eldest and second sons have been detained too, but no one knows exactly what's going on yet.”

“Isn't that woman who's with Damian in this group…?”

Nothing said in that group chat ever stayed private for long, and before long, almost everyone at the auction seemed to have received the same news. The way they looked at me changed almost immediately.

The staff member beside me received an update through her earpiece as well, and when she spoke again, there was already something different in her tone.

“Ma'am, if you're unable to pay for an item after winning the bid, we'll have to keep the deposit you paid upon entry.”

The deposit had been ten million dollars.

Only a few minutes earlier, she had treated me with the utmost courtesy because she saw me as an important client. Now, because of some low-grade rumor that had come from who knew where, she had already started speaking to me with thinly veiled condescension.

“Then keep the deposit for now. I still want the jewelry, and I'll pay for it later.”

I did not have time to care about her attitude, so as soon as I finished speaking, I hurried out of the auction house.

The room behind me was already growing noisy, and through the rising murmurs, I could vaguely hear Damian's name being mentioned.

...

By the time I returned to the Marchetti villa, the first-floor living room was crowded with people. Accountants, the consigliere, and the men responsible for different parts of the Family's operations were all gathered there, while phones rang constantly throughout the room.

The Don sat in the middle of it all, looking as though he had aged ten years since I had left the house that morning.

Damian's mother kept making call after call, trying to find out what had happened to her two eldest sons, but no one was able to give her a clear answer.

“The Family is practically falling apart, and you still went to an auction.”

Sofia looked so furious that she was on the verge of tears.

“Vera, do you even have a heart?”

I looked at her in confusion.

“So what exactly happened? Why can't I even use my card anymore?”

“I really don't understand why my brother keeps someone as heartless as you around,” Sofia snapped.

“Sofia.”

Damian's voice came from the doorway.

He walked into the room looking exhausted, but when he saw me, he still managed to force a faint smile.

“Don't listen to them. It's nothing serious.”

Then, as though the chaos around him had nothing to do with me, he reached into his pocket and took out another card.

“You're out of money to spend, aren't you? I've still got another card here. There's a hundred million dollars in the account, so go buy whatever you want.”

I took the card from him and frowned.

“Are you sure nothing serious is happening to the Family?”

I did not believe him.

That evening, the villa felt almost deserted. All of the household staff had been dismissed, while the members of the Family were shut inside the study for a meeting, leaving me alone in the dining room with nine different dishes laid out in front of me.

The lights in the study were still on after midnight.

I eventually went upstairs because I wanted to find out what was really happening, but just as I reached the door, I heard the consigliere speaking inside.

“All the Families have closed ranks against us. Our shipments have been sitting at the docks for three months, and nothing has been allowed in or out. More and more Families are refusing to do business with us, and if this continues much longer, the Marchetti Family is finished.”

The consigliere's words were grim.

Then I heard Damian speak.

“Liquidate every asset under my name, and use whatever you can turn into cash.”

He paused before adding, “Also, arrange a private jet for me.”