Chapter 4

I was in the middle of sweeping when the restaurant door was flung open.

It was Bianca, the woman who had been clinging to Nico's arm yesterday.

"Elena."

She marched in on her high heels, her voice sharp and menacing. "Nico was just here, wasn't he?"

"Signora, would you like to—"

Before I could finish speaking, Bianca snatched the broom from my hands and hurled it onto the floor. "Nico isn't here anymore. Who are you putting on this amnesia act for?"

She strode over to my workstation and began ripping off the sticky notes I used for my daily routines. She read them aloud, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is this your new trick for seducing Nico? Playing the helpless amnesiac?

"Do you honestly think if you play pretend and say you don't remember, he'll just pity you and come crawling back? Don't be pathetic. He just thinks you're disgusting."

Bianca shredded the notes into tiny pieces and let the scraps flutter from her fingers.

"Please, stop it," I said, my voice trembling.

But she didn't stop. With every note she tore, she spat out another insult.

My body moved faster than my mind. I rushed to her side. "Please, stop! I need those notes to do my job."

Bianca shoved me hard, sending me sprawling onto the floor. She looked down at me like I was a stray dog. "Oh, now you're begging? Too late! When you pushed Nico into the sea three years ago, did you ever imagine you'd end up like this?"

She crouched and gripped my chin, forcing me to look her in the eye. "Nico is mine. If you ever see him again, I'll tear up more than just paper next time."

Her nails dug into my skin. The pain was so sharp that tears welled up uncontrollably.

Then, a headache set in, and my vision blurred.

Bianca pulled her phone from her pocket and snapped a photo of me. The flash burned into my eyes.

"Look at yourself. What would your family think if they saw you now? Oh, I forgot. The Mancuso family doesn't even exist anymore, do they?" She laughed out loud.

Suddenly, she let go of me, and her tone shifted. She sounded gentle, almost concerned. "Elena, if you're in trouble, just say so. You know Nico. He's always had a soft spot for you."

I looked up, tears streaming down my face.

That was when I heard a second voice. "Bianca, what's going on here?"

Nico looked at us.

Bianca's expression instantly changed. Her eyes turned red as if she were about to cry. "Nico, I just came by to see if I could help. But she didn't seem to want me here. She even tried to call the police on us for causing a scene."

I looked down at the phone in my hand.

In the chaos, I had somehow dialed the emergency number Leo had set up for me.

Bianca walked over to Nico and took his arm, her voice hitching. "Let's just go. She clearly doesn't want to see us."

Nico gave me a long look, said nothing, and followed her out.

As they reached the door, the police arrived, asking who had called and what the problem was.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't remember the details of the last few minutes.

Bianca took the opportunity to spin the story. She told the officers that I was the one who had pushed Nico into the sea years ago and that she was his savior.

She claimed they had just come for a meal and happened to run into me. They didn't do anything to me, and it was all a misunderstanding on my part.

She stepped close to me and pinched my arm hard.

The pain in my head became unbearable, and I couldn't force out a single word.

By the time I woke up again, the air was thick with the salty scent of the sea.