Chapter 4

The Royal Casino.

Crystal chandeliers bathed the hall in gold, and the air smelled of cigar smoke and champagne.

All five families were already there.

John led the way with his head held high, as if he had already won.

Ellie wore the heir's gown and held Sarah's arm, basking in the attention she drew from everyone in the room.

"The Nobili princess looks beautiful tonight."

"Isn't that lion crest reserved for the heir? I thought they had only just found their biological daughter."

"More than a decade of love can't be undone by a DNA test."

Whispers swelled around them like a tide.

Ellie lifted her chin with a sweet, proud smile.

I followed them in silence at the very back, as if I were the adopted daughter.

The Nobili party settled into their seats, smiling as if they had already won.

John was convinced his father had obtained inside information while overseas and arranged everything. Tonight, the family would make a fortune.

"The Nobili family is going all in tonight."

John swept every deed, shipping right, and dock contract onto the gaming table.

Gasps rippled through the room.

The game began.

John played with complete confidence, betting half his remaining stack in every round.

First round: a loss.

Second round: another loss.

Third round: another loss.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his fingers began to tremble.

"Impossible... Father said..."

Ellie sat beside him, gradually turning pale.

"John, maybe we should..."

"Shut up!" John growled, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the table. "There's still a chance. Bet everything!"

The last round.

He pushed every chip the Nobili family had left onto the table.

His opponent was Luca Cara, head of the Cara family.

The dice settled. The cards turned over.

He lost everything.

John sat frozen in his chair, drained of all strength, as if someone had pulled the bones from his body.

Sarah shot to her feet, every trace of color draining from her face.

John sagged in his chair and stared blankly as members of the Cara family gathered the mountain of chips from the table, one by one.

The banquet hall was deathly quiet.

Members of the other families either smirked at his downfall or shook their heads in sympathy.

The Nobili family, once the foremost of the five, had been ruined in a single night.

John lurched to his feet and stumbled toward Luca.

"Could you give us more time...?" His voice was hoarse, and his knees were about to buckle. "The Nobili family is willing to settle this another way..."

Luca didn't even glance up.

John turned to plead with the Calvi family instead.

Don Matteo Calvi gave him a knowing smile.

"That isn't mine to decide." He shifted aside, revealing the chair behind him. "The person with authority is right here."

The woman in the chair sat with one leg crossed over the other, turning a gold chip between her fingers.

Her face was very familiar.

It was me. Lilith Nobili.