Chapter 6

On a Sunday two weeks later, I handed my luggage to the driver and headed to the estate for Victoria's birthday dinner.

No one in the Rinaldi family knew it yet, but after tonight, I'd be gone from New York.

The party was held in the main hall of the estate. Only close family, a few important capos, and longtime business partners had been invited.

When I walked in, Victoria was holding Bianca's hand, deep in conversation with her.

"I heard you were in the hospital not long ago. Why didn't you rest a few more days?"

"I'm much better now." Bianca smiled as she handed her the gift. "You didn't think I'd miss your birthday, did you?"

Victoria's youthful face lit up with a smile, and she had Bianca seated right beside her.

Victoria didn't so much as glance my way until someone greeted me. Even then, she gave me only a cool glance.

"Elena, you're here. Have a seat."

Matteo sat at the head of the table and motioned for me to sit next to him.

Halfway through dinner, Victoria had the butler bring out a black velvet box.

When the lid opened, there it was: the Saint Agatha brooch. Black enamel framed a ruby at its center, the stone gleaming under the lights.

The whole hall went quiet at once, and every eye was fixed on the brooch.

The Rinaldi family had passed it down for nearly 100 years, and only the Donna could wear it.

Victoria had once told me that on the day Matteo and I got married, she would pin it on my wedding dress herself.

But tonight, she turned and beckoned to Bianca instead.

"Lean in."

Bianca hesitated, then leaned forward.

Victoria took out the brooch and pinned it to the front of Bianca's dress.

My hands jerked, scraping my knife and fork across my plate with a harsh screech.

Victoria and Matteo both shot me disapproving looks, making it clear they thought I'd behaved improperly.

Victoria, the matriarch the whole family looked up to, gave me a look of disappointment before turning back to Bianca with a warm smile.

"You've been hosting our important guests for Matteo all this time, and we've all seen how hard you work... Tonight I'm lending you this brooch. Wear it in my place for one evening. Think of it as hosting on my behalf."

A few elders exchanged glances, then looked at me. No one said a word.

I looked at Matteo. He was still sitting at the head of the table, solid as a rock and just as unmoved.

I refused to let this humiliation be the last thing I carried with me.

"Take it off." My voice was ice.

Victoria's smile faded at once.

"It's my birthday. I have every right to let Bianca wear it for one night."

"No, you don't. Not even on your birthday," I shot back.

"Elena." Matteo finally spoke, a warning in his voice. "Don't ruin my mother's birthday over a brooch."

I looked at him like he was a stranger.

"You know exactly what that brooch means. Don't play dumb."

Matteo's grip tightened on his glass until the veins stood out on the back of his hand, and his face darkened.

"Bianca has done so much for this family, and for me. My mother just wants to thank her publicly. There's no need to read so much into it."

"So you're fine with her wearing it, too?" I said.

"I just want you to know when to stop, Elena. Why can't you be as gracious as Bianca?"

Bianca's eyes reddened, and she reached up to unpin the brooch.

"Forget it. This really isn't mine to have. Give it back to Elena. She's your fiancée. I don't want her to get the wrong idea."

She was so worked up that she knocked over a wine glass at the edge of the table. Glass shards and wine sprayed everywhere.

Matteo was on his feet almost instantly, pulling her into his arms.

"Are you hurt?"

Bianca shook her head, but the tears kept falling.

"I'm fine. This is all my fault. Give it back to Elena."

Matteo looked at me, and his eyes had gone cold and hard.

"Enough, Elena! Do you really have to make a scene at my mother's birthday dinner?

"Bianca is only standing in for my mother as host tonight. Don't bring your personal feelings into a family occasion."

The hall was so quiet that all I could hear was people breathing.

I watched him stand guard over Bianca, looking at me as if I were the threat. Suddenly, all the misery I'd been carrying lifted. Even my body relaxed.

Calmly, I slid off my engagement ring and set it on the white tablecloth.

Matteo stared at the ring, his eyes so dark it was frightening.

The tension in the hall was so thick, it felt hard to breathe.

"Happy birthday, Victoria."

I looked at the brooch pinned to Bianca's dress and calmly added, "There's no need to give it back to me."

Without a moment's hesitation, I walked out of the main hall, leaving the shock and the whispers behind me.

Matteo didn't come after me.

In the small hours of the morning, Penn Station was still lit up bright as day.

Before I went down to the platform, I sent Matteo one last message.

"The engagement is over. The brooch can go to someone better suited to wear it. We're done."

The message was marked as read almost immediately, but no reply came.

The train to Boston pulled in, and I dragged my suitcase on board.

Just before the doors closed, I took off the tracking bracelet the Rinaldi family had given me and tossed it onto the tracks.