Chapter 3

Once the statement circulated through the family, no one questioned why Leonardo had called the guard away anymore.

Instead, they praised him for acting decisively and praised me for being understanding toward my husband.

As for my baby, all that remained was a few words of regret.

Graziella hosted a dinner at the estate and invited several of the family's old loyalists and their families to thank them for their help after the ambush.

She made a point of warning me beforehand.

"Don't bring up the baby tonight, and don't talk about that night either. Isabella's father's friends will all be there. I don't want them getting the wrong idea."

I nodded.

Leonardo selected a loose-fitting gown for me.

"Just show your face downstairs. You don't have to stay for the whole thing. I'll bring you back upstairs to rest."

He brushed my hair aside and fastened a thin gold chain around my neck.

He had given me that necklace on the first birthday I celebrated after we got married.

Back then, we did not even have a place of our own and lived in borrowed rooms, yet he insisted on buying it for me.

"I'll spend every birthday with you from now on. One necklace every year. When your hair turns gray, I'll still be the one putting them on you."

I touched the necklace and was about to speak when Rocco came in to ask where Isabella should sit.

Leonardo released my hand and turned his attention to arranging her seat.

"Don't put her next to strangers. Seat her close to me."

When I came downstairs, Isabella was standing before a mirror while Graziella pinned an emerald brooch onto her dress herself.

I recognized it immediately.

At my first family dinner, I had asked to borrow it and was told I was not in a position to wear it yet.

"This goes perfectly with her dress," Graziella explained casually when she noticed me.

Isabella touched the emerald.

"Elena, you don't mind, do you?"

"No."

She smiled.

"Whenever I visited as a little girl, Zia Graziella would take it out and let me wear it. I can't believe she saved it for me all these years."

Leonardo gave her an indulgent look before telling the staff to begin serving dinner.

During the meal, someone asked about the contacts at the docks.

Leonardo had Isabella answer the question.

I knew those people better than she did.

Years earlier, when they refused to meet with Leonardo, I was the one who visited them house by house.

I looked after the wife and children of one of our fallen men until someone finally agreed to pass a message along for us.

While waiting for that meeting, I sat outside a door until late into the night and came home with a fever.

Leonardo stayed by my bedside and promised he would never make me beg anyone on his behalf again.

Now he simply announced to the table, "From now on, Isabella will handle everything over there."

Several elders nodded in approval.

"Matteo Greco always brought her along when he was alive. She grew up around all of this."

Graziella joined in with a smile.

"Some things are simply easier for someone who was raised in the family."

Under the table, Leonardo took my hand.

"Tired?"

Before I could answer, Isabella suddenly gasped.

She opened the leather folio in front of her and pulled out several torn pieces of a letter.

"My dad's letter..."

She looked up at me.

"Elena, weren't you the one holding this earlier?"

When we sat down, she had asked me to hand the folio on her chair to a server.

I had not even opened it.

"I only passed it along for you."

Graziella set down her wineglass.

"You're still blaming her for leaving first that night? That doesn't give you the right to touch what her father left behind!"

"I didn't tear it."

Isabella cradled the pieces of the letter as tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Zia Graziella, please don't. She just lost her baby, so of course she blames me. But this was the only letter my dad left me."

I looked at Leonardo.

Under the table, he let go of my hand.

"Elena, apologize to her first."

"I didn't do it. Why should I apologize?"

"She carries this letter everywhere. Do you think she tore it up herself?"

Years earlier, someone had pointed at me and accused me of leaking the location of our hideout.

Leonardo had not allowed anyone to lay a finger on me.

He checked the whereabouts of everyone who knew about the hideout, one by one.

In the end, the person who betrayed us turned out to be a man who had been loyal to him for years.

Leonardo dragged him in front of me and made everyone who had accused me apologize.

Now the server who had taken the folio from me was standing by the door.

"You can ask him first."

I pointed toward the server, but Leonardo did not even turn around.

"Don't drag everyone else into this. Whatever it is, we'll talk about it after dinner."

He refused to uncover the truth in front of everyone.

Yet he expected me to admit fault in front of all of them.

Graziella pressed on.

"Her father is gone. The least you can do is show the dead some respect."

Isabella pushed the torn pieces toward me.

I picked them up, examined them, and placed them back in front of her exactly as they had been.

"I'm sorry for interrupting everyone's dinner, but I didn't tear the letter."

I braced myself against the edge of the table and stood up.

"I'm not feeling well. I'm going upstairs."

Leonardo raised a hand to signal everyone to continue eating.

"Elena knows better than to make a scene. Let's leave it here for now."

Yet Isabella was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.

Leonardo stood up immediately and helped her to her feet.

"Let me take you inside to sit down for a while."

I gripped the back of my chair and waited for the pain in my stomach to ease.

He had promised to walk me back to my room himself.

Now he was helping Isabella into the next room instead.

By the time I reached the hallway, I could no longer stand straight.

I leaned against the wall and called Vittorio.

When he arrived, cold sweat had already soaked my back.

At the hospital, the doctor examined me and ordered me to stay and rest.

"You haven't recovered yet. Why were you at a dinner party? Don't push yourself over the next few days."

I lay back against the hospital bed and called Leonardo.

The call rang twice before he hung up.

A short while later, Rocco returned the call.

"The Don is helping Signorina Greco sort through her father's belongings and can't get away right now. If you need anything, you can tell me."

I told him it was fine and ended the call.

Vittorio stood at the foot of the bed and waited patiently.

"Can we leave in 7 days?" I asked.

"The trip can be arranged, as long as your body can handle it."

"Good. 7 days, then."

He studied me for a moment.

"And the plan you mentioned before..."

"Go ahead with it. Make him believe I'm dead."

Then I switched my phone to silent.

Every time before, I had believed that if I waited a little longer, Leonardo would come back.

This time, I was waiting for the day I would leave.