Chapter 3

That night, the port partner hosted dinner.

Bella was there at first.

After too much wine, the partner let his hand brush over hers.

Bella's eyes reddened immediately, and she stepped behind Moretti.

Moretti's expression cooled, but he did not start a war at the table.

He only called me over.

"Iris, you take the second half."

I looked at him.

"If she can't handle it, I can?"

Moretti frowned.

"I'll have men posted outside."

"Half an hour. I'll come back for you."

He sounded serious.

But I thought of the night before, when he had also promised to come back soon.

Once the private room emptied, the partner finally dropped the act.

"Moretti really does trust you, Miss Underboss."

He poured me a drink.

The rim of the glass clicked against the table.

I did not touch it.

Still, a few minutes later, my head began to sink.

There was a faint sweetness in the air.

I stood at once.

He blocked the door, his smile filthy and open.

"Why pretend to be sober?"

"Your Don left you here. We both know what that means."

My limbs were already going weak when I reached for my phone and called Moretti.

He answered quickly.

"Iris?"

I leaned against the wall. My voice shook so badly I barely recognized it.

"Moretti, it happened again."

"Come get me."

Something crashed on his end, like a chair knocked hard against the floor.

His voice went ice-cold.

"How dare they?"

"Where are you? I'm coming now."

For one brief second, warmth rose in my chest.

This time, at least, he was not making me wait.

Then Bella cried out on the other end.

"Moretti, I can't breathe. My medicine. I need my medicine."

Moretti's breathing changed at once.

I held the phone and could almost hear the struggle in his silence.

"Iris."

His voice dropped.

"I need to take Bella to the hospital first."

"I'll send Luca for you."

The warmth that had just risen in me went cold.

So it was the same after all.

As long as Bella needed him, I could always be handed to someone else.

The call ended.

Footsteps approached behind me.

I bit my tongue hard.

Blood filled my mouth, and the pain gave me just enough strength to move.

I grabbed the bottle on the table, smashed it toward him, and ran for the hallway while he dodged.

When Luca arrived with men, I was already curled in the corner of the elevator, my palms slick with cold sweat.

When I returned to the manor, Moretti still was not back.

Bella's message came first.

【Iris, are you all right? That man wouldn't really have touched you. Are you still mad that Moretti took me to the hospital first?】

I did not reply.

Near dawn, Moretti finally returned.

His face was dark.

"Bella said you were emotional tonight."

I lifted my eyes.

"What else did she say?"

Moretti was silent for a moment.

"She said you've been upset because I took her to the hospital first."

"Iris, I know you were wronged."

"But you know how serious her panic attacks are. She's your sister. You can't possibly be jealous of her."

I could not even laugh.

When I first met Moretti, he was not New York's youngest Don.

Back then, he was only an heir the Valtieri family did not believe in.

I was the one who fought through the worst ports with him until he stood where he stood today.

When the elders tried to corner him, I stayed up all night combing through ledgers until I found the flaw that saved him.

When he was ambushed at the docks, I took a bullet for him, and the scar on my shoulder still aches.

He once held my hand and said,

"Iris, once I secure this seat, I won't let anyone wrong you again."

Then Bella came.

All she had to do was tear up, and the scales in his heart tipped toward her without hesitation.

This Moretti was no longer the man who had promised to protect me.

I went upstairs.

In my drawer, my resignation as underboss lay waiting.

I picked up a pen and signed the last line.