Se connecterVictor Cordano was the youngest heir to the Sicilian Mafia, and I was his worst nightmare: the family's finance chief. Before the old Don died, he entrusted me with the books. I kept them with a Quaker's strict discipline. I slashed the budget for Victor's yacht parties, rationed his special-order cigars, and even checked the receipts on the estate's milk orders. A violent, reckless new Don against a stubborn stickler who couldn't be bribed or bullied. All his men figured he'd put a bullet in my head sooner or later. But the truth was, in a family where danger lurked around every corner, we'd been secretly in love for three whole years. The only one who knew our secret was my little sister, Bella, whom I'd raised like my own daughter. I risked my life for the family so Bella could live a normal life, study ballet, and put on her own art shows. I indulged her every whim. Victor had once pinned me against the wall, gritting his teeth. "Sofia, you're obsessed with protecting Bella. When are you going to give me some of that attention?" Later, I was sent to Mexico to collect a debt, and Bella made me a promise. "Focus on your work, Sis. I'll check all his expenses against your rules!" Two months later, exhausted and lucky to be alive, I made it back to the estate, hoping to surprise her. Instead, I saw Bella come out of the bathroom in Victor's oversized shirt, stand on tiptoe, and kiss him hard.
Voir plusSofia's POV:After that, I never had any contact with Bella again.She tried calling me a few times later, but I hung up each time.Whether she was down and out in Paris or living it up, it had nothing to do with me anymore.As her sister, I'd done everything I could to take care of her. My conscience was clear.Two weeks later, an abandoned bonded warehouse at the port of Genoa.Old Don Lorenzetti, who should have been in prison, bribed an insider to help him escape. With the few dozen desperate men he had left, he ambushed Dante and me on our way to inspect the handover of the port assets.Heavy gunfire erupted in the night. Bullets hit the windows of the bulletproof car, sending up showers of sparks."Fall back to Warehouse Three!"Dante stayed completely calm. He shoved me down into the passenger footwell, turned the wheel with one hand, smashed through the roadblock, and drove straight through the warehouse doors.The bodyguards quickly pulled down the steel shutter and formed a d
Third-person POV:Victor came back to Sicily radiating cold fury.The eighty million dollars had come back, but things inside the Cordano family had changed forever.As soon as Antonio got back to the estate, he used his own network to dig into where the five million dollars from the Palermo port had gone.Less than three days later, Antonio slammed the transfer records from the Paris auction house and videos of Bella throwing money around at a yacht party onto the table in the council hall.Together with the records of the twenty million dollars she'd been tricked into investing in fake short-term bonds, the evidence against her was airtight.The elders exploded.To calm everyone down, Victor publicly stripped Bella of all her duties and confined her to the third floor.That night, Victor drank an entire bottle of whiskey and pushed open the door to Sofia's bedroom.Bella heard the noise and slipped over from next door. She reached out to help him take off his coat."Victor, why did y
Sofia's POV:Milan. The International Finance Summit and Charity Gala.Under the crystal chandeliers, the room glittered with silk and diamonds. Italy's political and business elite drifted through it with glasses of champagne.I wore a backless wine-red velvet gown and walked into the main hall on Dante's arm.The gown covered the scar on my side perfectly, and a priceless diamond necklace set off my pale skin.Back in Sicily, to keep those vicious elders in line, I'd worn nothing but conservative black and gray suits for years, with my hair pinned up without a strand out of place.This was the first time I'd ever appeared in public with my long wavy hair down and bold makeup on."That must be Ms. Rinaldi, Mr. Moretti's new CEO.""I heard she launched a series of short sales on the secondary market this week. In five days, she forced trading halts at three of the Lorenzetti family's listed companies. She's as ruthless as they come!"Hushed admiration and flattery rose around us.Dante
Third-person POV:Sicily. The Cordano estate.The study was a wreck. An expensive bone china vase lay smashed on the floor."Useless, all of you! Seven whole days, and you still can't find her?!"Victor kicked the head of security to the floor. His eyes were bloodshot, and his jaw was covered in dark stubble.The man lay sprawled there, too scared to breathe."Don, we checked every airport, port, and train station. There's no record of Miss Sofia leaving the country. We went to the chapel too, and in front of the old Don's memorial... we found this."With both hands trembling, he held out the gold pocket watch bearing a cross.The moment Victor saw it, he froze.The old Don had given Sofia this watch before he died. For five years, Sofia had kept it on her, even when she slept.Now, she'd left it in the chapel.Victor snatched the pocket watch. The metal case dug painfully into his palm.She wasn't throwing a tantrum.She was really gone, and she hadn't left him any room to negotiate.






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