Chapter 3

Chiara's POV

The next day, Donna Isabella Conti came to the school to assess our progress. I was assigned to the storage room to take inventory of the equipment.

I had barely pushed the door open when a force shoved me from behind, sending me stumbling inside. The door slammed shut and locked behind me.

Vittoria and her friends stood on the other side, laughing.

"Let's see you try to stir things up in front of Donna Moretti now!"

"Vittoria worked so hard to earn her place in this family. You're not going to take that away from her!"

The voices outside faded. I pounded on the door and screamed until my voice gave out and my energy was entirely depleted.

Exhausted, I slumped helplessly onto the floor.

It brought back a memory from when I was little, when enemies of the Moretti family had thrown me into a shipping container by the shore.

I had curled up in the corner, shivering and starving.

Alessio had searched through thousands of containers to find me, his body covered in cuts and bruises, breathless by the time he wrenched open the doors of the container I was locked in.

The moment he saw me, his eyes went red, and he pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Chiara, don't be scared. I'm here. I promise you, the people who did this to you are going to regret it for the rest of their lives!"

Young as he was, he raised his gun and stayed by my side every step of the way until we found the rest of the family.

For a long time after that, he would tie a rope between us at night when we slept, terrified of waking up to find me gone.

But where was he now?

I wrapped my arms around myself, curling into a tight ball in the corner as my consciousness began to fade.

Later that night, when I still hadn't come back to the estate, Salvatore sent servants to search the school.

They finally found me unconscious in the corner of the storage room as the sky was starting to lighten.

Salvatore wanted to report the incident to Vincenzo, but I shook my head and talked him out of it.

I went back to school after two days of rest and quickly realized I was the subject of everyone's conversations, though I had no idea why.

My teacher called me into the office and shook his head with a long, disappointed sigh.

"Chiara, your performance in school has always been exemplary, but someone has filed a report against you. There are claims that you cheated during the last family assessment.

"I've already brought this to Don Moretti's attention, and your management rights over the branch office are being temporarily revoked."

Vincenzo and Isabella arrived at the school shortly after. Alessio and Vittoria were summoned as well.

Vincenzo's eyes swept over all three of us, cold and unreadable. Isabella's expression was just as stern.

"Alessio, you've always been close to Chiara. Let me ask you first," Vincenzo commanded. "Has Chiara ever mistreated Vittoria? And did she cheat during the assessment?"

I looked up at Alessio, but he subtly shielded Vittoria behind him.

A short, bitter laugh escaped me. I took a deep breath and looked back at Vincenzo and Isabella steadily.

Vittoria broke into soft, muffled sobs as she dropped to the ground in front of Vincenzo.

Alessio quickly hauled her back to her feet. But when she struggled against him, he lifted his hand and pointed straight at me.

"Chiara cheated, and she's been framing Vittoria over and over again to protect her own interests!" he claimed.

I stared at Alessio in utter disbelief.

I swung my arm and struck his face with a resounding slap. However, the Consigliere grabbed me and yanked me back before I could touch him again.

"You liar! You're covering for Vittoria and throwing me under the bus to do it! Alessio, she's been coming after me this whole time. Don't you dare stand there and tell me you had no idea!"

I pulled free from the Consigliere's grip and ran back to the estate.

Alessio returned not long after. He stood outside my door and apologized through it.

"Chiara, I know you're innocent and that you didn't do anything wrong. But if this gets investigated any further, Vittoria will face serious consequences under the family's rules. She could even be expelled from the family. I can't just stand by and let that happen."

His voice was laced with a hint of desperation.

"She's not strong enough yet. A stain like this would destroy any standing she has in the family. She really needs this first taste of recognition. Getting her foot in the door of the family's inner circle is good for both of us.

"Besides, you're already exceptional. Sooner or later, the Don and Donna will give you management rights over even more branch companies. Giving this one up doesn't cost you anything.

"I promise you, once this storm blows over, I'll find a way to come clean to them. When we've both secured our positions in the family, I'll make it up to you, okay?"

I covered my ears, yet I could still hear every piercing word.

Alessio waited a long time for a response. When I said nothing, he assumed I'd taken it in, and after a while, he went back to his room.

That night, I told Vincenzo and Isabella that I wanted to attend school in Eldoria. I also told them I had no intention of ever taking over the management of any company.

The day of the second family assessment, Alessio caught sight of me heading out with my luggage.

He assumed I still hadn't forgiven him, that I was merely giving him the cold shoulder to drive home my dislike toward Vittoria.

He pursed his lips, shooting a dismissive glance in my direction, before getting in the car alone to head to the school.

I, however, boarded a flight and left Velmora.

It wasn't until after the third assessment that Alessio knocked on my door for a long time and got no answer.

He asked Salvatore for my key, but Salvatore looked at him, genuinely puzzled.

"Chiara isn't in her room. Didn't she tell you? She left Velmora a month ago."

Alessio stood frozen, the bouquet of roses he'd been holding behind his back slipping from his fingers and falling to the floor.