Chapter 1

Tonight was the Moretti family’s annual gala, and the family elders and members had all arrived with their dates.

As the Don of the Moretti family, Nico should have attended with me, but he was nowhere to be seen.

When I walked into the ballroom alone, every head turned toward me. The gazes lingered for two seconds before drifting away, and no one came over to exchange pleasantries.

Nico’s second-in-command passed the word around. “The Boss has something to take care of. He’ll be here later.”

Everyone knew that Nico was somewhere in Brownsville, dealing with a mess involving a girl named Lola and the loan sharks who were after her.

A few people behind me were whispering among themselves.

“Five years. He must be tired of Claire by now. She never socializes, and she has way too much pride. Who could put up with that?”

“I’ve seen that girl. She looks so pitiful, you can’t help feeling sorry for her.”

“I told you, Nico falls for a sob story. I saw him comforting that girl with my own eyes last time.”

I held my wineglass, my expression perfectly composed.

Just then, the ballroom doors swung open.

Nico walked in wearing the black suit I had picked out for him, one hand tucked into his pocket. Lola was at his side in a pale-colored dress, her face drained of color.

Clutching his sleeve, she half hid behind him and whispered, “Mr. Moretti, there are so many people here... I’m a little scared.”

Nico glanced down at her and smiled. “What are you afraid of? I’m here.”

Then he lifted his gaze and found me.

He walked over and wrapped his arms around me, lowering his head to murmur in my ear. There was a faint note of casual reproach in his voice.

“Why didn’t you wait for me? Why did you come on your own?”

I offered no explanation, merely replying in an even tone, “You had things to take care of, so I came ahead.”

He had never been the one left waiting, so he had no idea how endless the hours could feel.

Before leaving to find Lola, he had told me he would be back in a moment. After that, he hadn’t answered a single message.

I had waited four hours.

Lola followed him over, and her eyes immediately filled with tears.

“It’s all my fault... If it weren’t for my family’s troubles, Mr. Moretti would have arrived with you on time.”

She sounded as though she were blaming herself, but beneath her words lurked a hint of triumph, as if she were flaunting just how important she was to him.

Everyone in the ballroom was watching me, waiting to see how I, the woman who had been regarded as the future Donna for five years, would handle this orphaned girl whom the Don himself had taken under his wing.

I had no intention of letting them turn me into a sideshow.

So I gave her a polite smile. “Don’t overthink it. You’re a guest Nico invited.”

To my surprise, the moment the words left my mouth, all color drained from Lola’s face.

Her voice trembled. “I... I don’t deserve to be called a guest. I know I don’t belong here. I’ll leave right now.”

She was already turning to leave.

With those tears and that retreat, she had twisted my words into something cruel. Everyone looked at me as though I were a heartless woman.

Nico took a few steps forward and caught her by the wrist, his voice low. “Where do you think you’re going? Who here would dare say a word against you?”

Then he turned to me, frowning.

“Your attitude toward people needs to change. Lola just graduated, and her family has been through a lot. Her brother asked me to look after her before he died, so I can’t just abandon her.”

I watched him hold on to Lola.

He had once held me in those same arms and told me that it was all right if I didn’t talk much or seemed a little cold, as long as he understood me.

Now he was telling me to change.

The family members around us watched with undisguised amusement.

At that moment, my phone vibrated inside my clutch.

I took it out. On the screen was a brief, formally worded reply from an international legal-aid organization.

[Dear Claire Mercer,

Your application to the legal-aid program at the Rohingya refugee camp has been accepted. The camp is under restricted access and requires a long-term on-site commitment. Please consider carefully before confirming.]

I looked down at the message for two seconds, then tapped Confirm.

I had always been meticulous about everything I did.

Six days was enough time to put everything in order and leave.