Chapter 2

Victoria's promised explanation came sooner than I expected.

The next morning, I was feeding the pigeons by the floor-to-ceiling window in my top-floor studio.

It was the one corner of this building that belonged to me alone.

The encrypted phone on my desk rang. The front desk had put through a video call.

The screen lit up, and Uncle Silvio's wrinkled face appeared.

Behind him, a blue pool glittered in the sun. He was at his retirement villa in Florida.

"Bella, nice weather today, isn't it?"

His voice was warm and thick with a Sicilian accent.

"Not bad, Uncle."

I looked at his gray hair, and my heart ached a little.

After my father died, Uncle Silvio was the only parental figure I had left.

He'd never married, and he loved me like his own daughter.

But his health had been poor these past few years, so he'd been recovering in Florida and had left the family's affairs entirely to Victoria.

"Good, good."

He rubbed his hands together, looking a little uneasy.

"Victoria called me this morning. She said the company wants to do some kind of... structural upgrade."

He didn't understand the business jargon and stumbled over the words as he repeated them.

"Bella, I know you might be a little upset about this.

"But I watched Victoria grow up. She won't hurt us."

He sighed and kept at it, earnest and fatherly.

"She and Vince just got married. Vince is a smart young man. He gave up a big Wall Street salary to come back and help run the family.

"We can't let him feel unappreciated."

I listened without interrupting.

Victoria was clever. She knew what I cared about most, so she'd gone straight to Uncle Silvio, the one person I'd listen to.

"Uncle, do you know how they plan to upgrade things?" I asked calmly.

He paused, then waved a hand.

"Oh, they just want to hand a little power down to the people doing the work.

"Bella, there's always more money to be made.

"We've got plenty. We won't miss a little here and there.

"Listen to your uncle. Don't fight with them. Just sign it.

"From now on, you can live your life in peace. If anything comes up, Victoria will take care of it for you."

I looked into his trusting eyes and said nothing.

Victoria had painted such a rosy picture that he couldn't see what was happening back in New York.

"I understand, Uncle.

"Take care of yourself."

I ended the video call.

The screen had barely gone dark when the studio door swung open.

Vince walked in with a glass of juice.

He set it on the table in front of me, his smile as calm and unhurried as ever.

"Fresh-squeezed orange juice. You need the vitamins."

He glanced at the dark screen and spoke casually.

"Done talking to your uncle?

"At least the old man sees reason."

I didn't touch the juice. I kept my eyes on his face.

"Was there something else?"

Vince pulled out the chair across from me and sat down gracefully.

"Nothing big, really."

He took a list out of his pocket and slid it over to me.

"Since you won't sign the authorization, I'll have to go by the book as chief operating officer.

"This top-floor studio costs too much to maintain.

"And all you use it for is feeding pigeons. It's honestly a waste.

"I've already told the administration department to turn it into a meeting room for our key clients tomorrow."

He wasn't trying to provoke me. He was simply cold and indifferent, as if taking my studio were perfectly reasonable.

"Your Cadillac and driver are paid for by the family.

"We're cutting unnecessary administrative costs right now, so as of today, you won't have either."

Vince pulled the unlimited black credit card from my easel and twirled it between his fingers.

"This card is on the family account too.

"Isabella, you're not a kid anymore. You can't keep living off the guys' hard work."

He neatly tucked the card into his own cardholder.

"Learning to be independent will be good for you in the long run."

I watched him do it all with such practiced ease that I found it almost entertaining.

He made even the cruelest acts sound perfectly reasonable.

And his excuses were airtight. No one could find a single flaw in them.

"So you're saying there's no place for me in this building anymore."

I stood up and straightened my jacket.

Vince stood too. He tilted his head, his smile confident.

"You can apply for a desk downstairs in the regular staff area.

"But I checked the attendance records. You don't even show up three days a month.

"Under company policy, that's absenteeism."

"Vince, do you really think controlling the family's accounts means you control everything?" I asked calmly.

Vince gave a soft laugh and reached out to smooth a crease on my shoulder.

"Isabella, times have changed.

"Your name on some yellowed old document doesn't make you the owner.

"What matters now is what you can do and what you're worth."

He turned and walked toward the door.

"I'll have the cleaning staff pack your things and send them to you."