Chapter 1

Three months ago, an assassination attempt sent me into the sea and left me unconscious with a raging fever.

That was when I first heard the voice in my head. It called itself Vittorio Corvo, the legendary Don who had lived 100 years ago.

He said he wanted to borrow my body for his revenge. Then he went silent for three whole months.

This time, his mocking voice had been crystal clear.

Vittorio's voice was thick with fury. [The traitor who poisoned me back then stole that tag, and now...]

Then his voice cut out. He had failed to take over my body.

I clutched the torn hem of my dress and stared coldly at the two people on the altar steps.

Carlo finally tore his eyes off the box.

He took in the mess on the floor and scowled.

"Elsie, what's this tantrum about now? That ring is vital to the West Coast port we use for our arms shipments. That port is the family's lifeline. Can you be reasonable for once?"

He said it as if nothing could be more obvious. Pain tightened my chest.

Selena closed her notebook right on cue.

She came down the steps in her heels and reached for me.

"Elsie, don't blame Carlo. You don't know how important this ring is. You really shouldn't have ruined your dress over something so small."

Her voice was gentle.

But every word was a reminder.

I was just an outsider who didn't know the rules and threw fits for no reason.

I stepped back, out of her reach.

"Isn't my ruined dress exactly what you wanted?" I said coldly.

Selena went pale. Her eyes reddened at once, filling with tears that never fell.

Carlo stepped in front of her and shielded her completely.

"You're being ridiculous. Selena, let's go to the study and check the serial number. Elsie, stop humiliating yourself and clean this up."

He didn't even bother to explain.

This wedding was nothing but a formality he'd agreed to out of obligation.

I watched him walk away, and the whole thing struck me as absurd.

Ten years ago, my father shielded Carlo from a bomb and was blown to pieces.

Carlo brought me to the Corvo estate and swore he'd take care of me for the rest of his life.

For ten years, I tested his food for poison.

I took bullets for him.

Once, his enemies chased him all the way into the slums.

I was the one who carried him on my back for three days and three nights.

A scar still marked my thigh where a bullet had gone clean through. It would never fade.

Back then, he used to say it so gently. "Elsie, that scar means I owe you my life. I'll spend the rest of mine paying you back."

But everything changed when Selena showed up with her fancy degrees and her tactical charts.

They talked in codes I couldn't follow.

They traded looks only the two of them understood.

Little by little, I was pushed to the edge of the Corvo family.

Now she could even stop my wedding whenever she wanted.

"I don't want to get married anymore."

I dropped my bouquet. My voice was completely flat.

Carlo stopped dead.

He turned around, his face gone dark.

"Elsie, my patience has limits. Don't use my debt to you as an excuse to push me."

That was when it happened.

The church's heavy doors flew open from outside.

"Which shameless woman wrecked my daughter's wedding?!"

The shrill voice shattered the dead silence in the church.

It was my mother, Evelyn Marino.