Chapter 5

"Lorenzo, don't worry," I said with my face buried against his shoulder, my voice muffled.

"I've left the Cecil family, but my grandfather left me something.

"My grandfather secretly left me several properties and a trust fund. I'm the only one who can access it at the bank.

"Nobody else knows. If they really come after us, I can get you out of Sicily."

Lorenzo paused as an unreadable emotion flickered in his eyes. At last, he nodded gently. "All right. We'll do it your way."

Back at Lorenzo's home, members of the Cecil family came looking for me two or three times.

The first time, the Cecil family advisor came with two bodyguards and looked around the cramped room.

"Cecilia, the Don says that if you agree to see Mr. Sanchez, you can have the ring back and remain a Cecil princess."

Lorenzo and I shut the door in his face.

Later, a maid sent by my mother slipped a check under the door.

"The Donna says a bartender's wages can't support you. Change your mind, and this money is yours."

I tore up the check and replied coldly, "I signed the blood contract. If you try this again, I'll publish a statement and let all of Sicily see how the Cecil family abuses its power."

Lorenzo stood beside me without a word, a silent show of support.

Perhaps they feared a scandal would damage Valentina's reputation. For a long time afterward, they left me alone.

Meanwhile, I kept hearing about Valentina.

The evening paper ran a cover photo of her in a couture gown at a Moretti banquet, while my parents boasted about her at every social event.

They said the Moretti heir doted on her and that she would soon make the Cecil family one of Sicily's five most powerful Mafia families.

Valentina looked radiant in the photograph, but she was still wearing the ring that belonged to me.

Lorenzo took the paper out of my hands and gave me a glass of lemon water. "Stop reading that. It only upsets you."

I looked away from the paper. Lorenzo tossed it aside and went to cook for me. Watching him made me feel completely at peace.

But I soon noticed that something was off.

Late one night, I got up for a drink of water. As I passed through the living room, I saw an all-black armored car parked outside.

It had no markings, yet something about it felt strangely familiar.

I crept to the window. Lorenzo stood downstairs facing a burly man in a black suit who treated him with obvious deference.

I had seen him before. He was a feared figure in Sicily, and even Don Moretti, the family's current head, treated him with respect.

Lorenzo accepted the stack of documents the man offered, flipped through them, and gave a few curt orders. The man nodded at once, then backed toward the car.

I didn't snap out of my daze until Lorenzo opened the door and found me standing in the living room.

"Why are you up? Is the wound infected?"

He came over and casually slipped an arm around my shoulders.

I searched his eyes for an answer.

"Lorenzo, the man who was downstairs just now..."

He smiled and ruffled my hair.

"Cecilia, I told you I'd make you the most respected woman in Sicily. That's why he was here."

"Lorenzo, I don't need you risking your life for me." I turned to face him, my tone serious.

"That man is dangerous. My father told me that both the Moretti and Mancini families defer to him. Working with him is playing with fire."

Lorenzo's smile widened at my warning. "Are you worried about me?"

I nodded and started to speak, but Lorenzo chuckled, leaving me baffled.

He laughed a little longer before saying, "I should have told you sooner. That's my fault."

He pulled me closer and said gently, "I don't need to work with him. That man serves Don Raphael.

"That's me."