Chapter 2

“You’re imagining things,” I said, meeting Bianca’s searching gaze. “I fell into the creek. Wet mud can look different under these lights.”

She looked me over for several seconds. “I hope that’s all it is.”

As soon as she left, I locked the door and hid the obsidian crest in a false space behind the bottom drawer of my vanity.

Carlo had moved Bianca’s mother, Teresa, into the east wing years ago. My mother was still his legal wife, but Teresa ran the household, and Bianca had grown up treating the estate as theirs.

“The man pulled from the Hudson last night was Dante Romano,” Carlo said. “His family sealed off the riverbank because of it. Tell me where you really went.”

“To the creek behind the estate.”

“Bianca says the mud on your shoes came from the Hudson. How long do you intend to keep lying?”

I turned to Bianca. She lowered her eyes as though she had mentioned it to Father by accident.

“Were you at the Hudson?” Carlo demanded. “What did you have to do with Dante Romano’s accident?”

In my previous life, I had argued, demanded to speak to the Romanos, and tried to leave the estate. Carlo had taken my phone and identification before locking me in my room. This time, denying the obvious would only give him a reason to search my room. I needed to admit enough, then make him believe I had surrendered before he thought to look for proof.

“It was me,” I said. “I saw someone drowning and jumped in. I pulled him out.”

The slap snapped my head to the side. Heat spread across my cheek, exactly as it had before.

“You are a daughter of the Bellini family, yet you went to the river alone at night and lay soaked beside a strange man,” Carlo said quietly. “What do you think people will say if this gets out?”

“I saved his life.”

“Enough. I’m negotiating your marriage with a family upstate. Once they hear this, every term we agreed on will change.”

“But the man is Dante Romano. His family could reward me. They could help me.”

“That is exactly why you will stay silent,” Carlo cut in. “Your marriage contract is nearly settled. Anything the Romanos give you could buy your freedom. If Bianca receives their gratitude, the benefit remains under this roof.”

His meaning was clear. My rescue belonged to him, just as my marriage did.

“If the Romanos send anyone here, you stayed home,” Carlo continued. “If one word reaches anyone outside this house, I will take your documents and lock you in until your wedding day.”

Bianca finally rose and stepped between us.

“Father, Elena saw someone drowning and reacted without thinking. Please don’t punish her again.” She touched Carlo’s arm. “No one at the river saw her face. If she keeps quiet, it will pass.”

Then she turned to me and reached for my cheek. I stepped back.

“The Romano family is dangerous, Elena. Getting close to them may bring you nothing but trouble. Father is trying to protect you.”

In my previous life, I had believed her. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.

“All right,” I said. “I won’t tell anyone.”

Carlo’s expression eased before he dismissed me. Bianca followed me into the hall and waited until we reached the stairs before speaking.

“Did Dante wake up last night?”

“Only briefly.”

“What did he say?”

“He lost consciousness before he could even give me his name. If Father hadn’t told me this morning, I still wouldn’t know who I’d saved.”

She paused. “Did you take anything from the river?”

“My clothes were drenched. What could I possibly have brought home?”

Bianca watched me for several seconds, then turned and went downstairs.

Back in my room, I retrieved the crest. Her question confirmed that she was already looking for proof of the rescuer’s identity. I wrapped it and slipped it into a hidden seam in my suitcase lining.

By evening, the cough from the river had worsened and a fever had set in. Carlo sent the family doctor to examine me. He left a packet of cold medicine and warned that it would make me drowsy. Later, the housekeeper brought the prescribed dose to my room with a glass of water.

They believed my silence gave them the power to decide who had saved Dante.

I had no intention of letting that happen again.