Chapter 4

Camilla took over the family business faster than I expected.

Week one: She used "unstable pregnancy emotions" as an excuse to attend every family meeting.

Week two: She started crying before every meeting.

"Cassian, every time I see Aurora, I can't help but think—she knows everything better than me, she's more capable than me. Dr. Morrison says this will affect the baby..."

Cassian's face grew darker each time.

Week three: I was told I no longer needed to attend family meetings.

"Just focus on the underground accounts," Antonio told me, unable to look me in the eye.

On the last day of the third week, a maid knocked on my door.

"Miss Aurora, the Don requests your presence in the main living room. He has an important announcement."

When I walked in, Camilla was lounging on the sofa. Cassian sat beside her, one hand resting on her still-flat stomach.

The sight stung my eyes.

But I had learned to show no emotion.

"Aurora," Cassian began, his voice flat. "For the sake of Camilla's emotional state and the health of our child, starting today, you will move to the villa outside the estate."

The villa.

A small house two kilometers from the main residence. Used for unimportant guests.

Exile.

"I understand," I nodded calmly.

"As for any unfinished work," Cassian added, "write up a memo for Antonio. You don't need to be personally involved anymore."

I turned to leave.

Camilla's sweet voice called out, "Cassian, I'm cold."

"Here, take my coat."

I walked out of the living room, Cassian's gentle voice echoing behind me.

A voice he had never once used with me.

Back in my room, there wasn't much to pack.

In all these years, I had never truly owned anything.

The clothes, the jewelry, the books—they were all things Cassian had given me as his "adoptive sister."

I wouldn't take a single thing.

I only took a photo of my mother, my passport, and a few essential bank cards with minimal funds. The papers for my mother's five-million-dollar trust—now frozen by Cassian—I left on the desk.

Late that night, I walked into Cassian's study for the last time.

He wasn't there. He was at the hospital with Camilla for a prenatal check-up.

I took a thick file out of my bag.

I had spent three nights putting it together.

Mexican Routes, Annotated · Q4 2023 Edition.

FBI High-Priority Monitored Dead Accounts List.

Miami Shell Corporation Fund Flowchart.

Every page was marked with the latest risk alerts and contingency plans.

It was the sum of my six years of experience.

It was the last line of defense I would ever leave him.

I walked to his desk and slid the file beneath the false bottom of his desk blotter.

The one place he never looked. My secret spot.

If he found it in his darkest hour, that would be his luck.

If he never found it, then it would be my own private farewell to the past.

The next morning, I walked out of my room with a small suitcase.

Marco the butler was standing in the hall, his eyes full of pity.

"Miss Aurora, the car is ready."

"That's alright, Marco," I said with a small smile. "I'll walk."

Marco opened his mouth, then closed it. He just nodded.

The maids all looked down, avoiding my eyes.

I pulled my suitcase down the familiar hallway, through the estate I once thought was my home.

At the main gate, I stopped and looked back one last time.

The Vitelli estate was magnificent in the sunlight, an impenetrable castle.

But it was never mine.

"Aurora!"

Cassian's voice came from behind me.

I didn't turn around.

"Where are you going?" His footsteps grew closer.

"To the villa. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I mean... you're going to walk?"

"It's only two kilometers." I kept walking. "I have plenty of time."

"Get in the car. I'll drive you."

That stopped me.

I finally turned and looked at the man who was once my entire world.

He stood in the morning light, dressed in casual loungewear, his hair a mess.

He had clearly seen me leaving and rushed out after me.

There was something in his eyes I'd never seen before. Hesitation. And... unease.

"No, thank you, Boss." My voice was flat. "We wouldn't want Camilla to get the wrong idea."

Cassian froze.

The words were a shard of ice, delivered with perfect precision. I had used his own twisted logic against him.

His Adam's apple moved. His lips parted, but no sound came out.

"Aurora, you—"

"Goodbye, Cassian," I cut him off. "Take care of your wife and child."

I turned and started walking again.

This time, I didn't hear his voice.

The moment I walked out of the estate gates, I felt a strange sense of peace.

Like I had finally set down a burden I had carried for far too long.

The sun was bright. The breeze was light.

I pulled my suitcase, step by step, down the road that led away from Vitelli.

I was never looking back.