Chapter 3

That afternoon, the convoy continued north.

The weather worsened with every mile.

Heavy clouds pressed down over the mountains, and powerful gusts sent the trees along the road thrashing back and forth.

I warned Dante, “There are a lot of sharp turns ahead, and the road may be icy. You should slow down.”

Bianca was checking her pistol.

She didn’t even look up.

“If you’re scared, close your eyes and go to sleep, Ariana.”

“Don’t distract Dante while he’s driving.”

Dante glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

“If you’re tired, lie down for a while. I’ll wake you when we reach Naples.”

I slowly released my grip on the seat belt and turned toward the window.

The moment I saw the first snowflake drift past the glass, old memories began surfacing one after another.

Four years ago, the Moretti family had come under attack.

I took a bullet meant for Dante and spent an entire month in the hospital.

On the day I was discharged, Bianca ran into trouble outside the city.

Dante didn’t even stay long enough to take me back to the estate.

He handed me over to his guards and drove away alone to find her.

Later, he held me in his arms and apologized.

Bianca’s parents had died for the Moretti family, he reminded me.

He couldn’t turn his back on her.

Then there was the family banquet two years ago.

Dante had promised to celebrate my birthday with me.

But Bianca got drunk, and he spent the entire night beside her bed.

The following day, he gave me a diamond necklace.

“She had a nightmare last night. She was shaking all over.”

“You know she watched her parents die when she was a child. Please don’t hold it against her.”

Another time, Dante and I had been at the church discussing the wedding arrangements.

Bianca suddenly called and claimed someone was following her.

Dante left me standing there in my wedding gown and took every guard with him.

I sat alone in the empty church until nightfall.

Taken one at a time, none of those incidents seemed unforgivable.

Bianca had lost her parents.

She had no family.

Her parents died protecting Dante’s father.

That meant I was supposed to understand.

I was supposed to be considerate.

I was supposed to step aside and let her have him, over and over again.

But those moments had piled up inside me like layer upon layer of wet cotton.

They didn’t hurt.

They simply made it harder to breathe.

The convoy reached Naples before nightfall.

Bianca checked the time and sat up straighter.

“The cemetery closes in two hours. If we go now, I can still visit their graves on the anniversary of their deaths.”

She turned to Dante. “It’s only forty minutes away.”

Dante glanced at the darkening sky.

“Go tomorrow. It’s getting too late.”

Bianca shook her head.

“You’ll be continuing to the Amalfi Coast tomorrow. I don’t want to delay your honeymoon any longer.”

Dante was silent for a few seconds.

Then, without asking me, he changed our route and headed for the cemetery.

He told the rest of the convoy to follow as soon as they cleared the checkpoint behind us.

“We’ll take you there now,” he said. “But we leave as soon as you’re finished.”

Bianca’s face brightened.

“I knew you wouldn’t make me miss it, Dante.”

I stayed in the back seat as the car turned toward the western edge of the city.

Halfway across the city, Bianca suddenly pressed a hand to her stomach.

“Dante, pull over. I need to use the restroom.”

Dante immediately turned into the first gas station he saw.

He unfastened his seat belt and turned toward her, concern tightening his features.

“How bad is it? Do you need a doctor?”

“No. I just need the bathroom.”

I got out with them to get some fresh air.

That was when I noticed how pale Dante looked. The spicy lunch must have aggravated his stomach again. When the pain grew this severe, his usual medication did nothing. Only painkillers could ease it.

“I’m going inside to buy you some painkillers,” I told him.

The gas station was crowded. While I stood in line to pay, the roar of an engine suddenly sounded outside.

It was familiar, but I didn’t give it any thought.

When I walked out with the painkillers in my hand, the spot where we had parked was empty.

I stopped short.

At first, I thought Dante had moved the car to the other side of the lot.

But after circling the entire gas station, I found no sign of the black sedan.

There wasn’t a single Moretti guard in sight.

An icy wind swept across the deserted road, sending a shiver through me.

As I stood there trying to understand what had happened, my phone rang.

“Ariana?”

Dante sounded flustered.

My fingers tightened around the box of painkillers.

“Where are you?”