Chapter 2

Mirena could not get the foremen at the East Port under control, so she shoved the phone at me. "They're your people. Tell them to open the warehouse gates."

After failing to negotiate with the San Luca family, I was sent to finish the job.

Mirena could not even deal with a shipment held up by customs. I eventually had to call in favors to sort it out.

At the family meeting after the matter was resolved, it was she who gave the report while standing beside Adrian, "The problem has been solved."

Adrian nodded. "Well done."

Marcus was not there, but the capo who had followed me for many years could not help but say, "Don Adrian, this is actually the Donna's..."

Adrian shot him a cold and sharp look. He immediately fell silent and said nothing more.

Adrian tapped the table with his knuckles, his gaze turning cold. "Mirena now represents me, and Lavinia Alfonsi is doing this on behalf of the Veta family by supporting her. What's the problem?"

No one said another word, but several complicated looks turned toward me. Everyone was waiting for me to speak.

In the past, I would have explained everything that had happened. This time, I just casually flipped through the document in front of me and said dismissively, "No problem at all."

Adrian glanced at me, seemingly satisfied with my answer.

I said nothing more.

In the past, I did not care who took the credit. I only sought fairness. Now, I did not even care about fairness anymore.

The next day, two of my dock supervisors were reassigned to Mirena.

At the third family meeting, she even took the seat on the right, which had originally been mine.

As I stood in the doorway, Mirena pretended to rise, but she did not move. "Donna, I can switch..."

"No need," Adrian said, then looked at me. "You sit opposite."

Mirena glanced my way smugly and pouted provocatively, but I remained unmoved and simply nodded calmly.

Seeing my submissive demeanor, Adrian leaned back in his chair with satisfaction.

That night, Mirena messed up again. She had invited two families who had bad blood to the estate at the same time to discuss a partnership. Halfway through drinks, the two parties nearly drew their guns. I personally separated them and renegotiated the terms.

Once the situation was defused, Mirena stood by the fireplace, looking mortified. "Don Adrian... I didn't know they had a prior conflict."

Adrian simply said, "Remember that for next time."

I stood by without a word of protest.

Adrian seemed surprised. In the past, I would have argued my point to the end. This time, I said nothing.

Before the lawyer arrived with the contract, I went to visit my mother's grave.

Her death anniversary was a month ago.

In the past, Adrian would always show up at the cemetery right on time, no matter how serious our arguments were. Thus, I had prepared the flowers in advance, just as always.

I waited until 9:00 pm, yet he never appeared. All I got in the end was a phone call. "I'm not coming back tonight."

It was noisy on the other end of the line. I could faintly hear the sounds of traffic and people talking. I tightened my grip on the bouquet. "Did something happen?"

"Mirena sent a shipment from the South District to the wrong warehouse, and people from the San Luca family have already arrived."

"Can't your Underboss handle it?"

He fell silent for a moment, then his tone grew impatient. "It's her first time dealing with something like this. If I don't go over, she won't be able to keep the situation under control."

I was about to speak up and tell him that today was the anniversary of my mother's death, but he had already hung up. In the end, I visited my mother alone, and he never remembered what he had missed.

Lost in thought, I traced my mother's name on the headstone. My state of mind was completely different from a month ago. "Mom, you'd support my decision, wouldn't you?"

As if my words had been heard, a gentle breeze lifted a petal from the ground and carried it into my palm.

On the drive back, I called my lawyer. "I'm ready. Bring the divorce papers and come see me."