Chapter 2

Bottega Artigiana was tiny and dim, and it smelled like old leather and beeswax.

The owner, Elena Ferri, was a single mother. Her sick son, Matteo, who looked about three, was strapped to her back in a cloth sling, his face tinged blue.

When I walked in, Elena was crouched on the floor, picking through waterlogged scraps one by one.

When she saw me, she hurried to her feet and wiped her hands nervously on her apron.

"What can I get for you, ma'am? The vegetable-tanned cowhide is nice today. I can cut you a piece and give you a good price."

Her smile was forced, and she couldn't hide the exhaustion and desperation in her eyes.

I looked at her rough, cracked hands and the child on her back, so unnervingly still that my chest tightened.

Ten years ago, I'd been just like her.

Every penny counted. I'd spent countless nights stitching leather until my fingers cramped. I couldn't afford to get sick, much less take a break. If I stopped working, everything would fall apart.

I fought back the emotion rising in my throat and spoke gently. "Elena, how much premium leather can you source right now?"

Elena stared at me, stunned.

"Stock? How much do you need?"

"I need enough leather to make 10,000 premium handcrafted pieces, plus top-grade saltwater crocodile and ostrich hides. Ten million euros in total."

Elena stared at me wide-eyed, her lips trembling.

"Ma'am... please don't joke with me...

"My shop's too small. I don't have that kind of capital. I've even been cut off from my suppliers."

I pulled over an old wooden stool and sat down.

"I'm not joking.

"I know you have connections to some of the finest traditional tanneries in Tuscany. You just haven't been able to get your hands on quality leather because you're short on capital and your competitors have shut you out.

"Ten million in cash is on its way. Use it to buy the stock.

"And I'm placing this entire order with you. No one else."

Elena's eyes went red.

The boy on her back had a congenital heart defect. She was still three hundred thousand euros short of what she needed for his surgery in Switzerland the following month.

Even ten percent profit from this order would be enough to save her son's life.

She turned and grabbed her calculator and ledger, her hands shaking so badly she could barely hold the pen.

"Ma'am, just give me a moment! I'll work out the numbers right now. I promise I'll get you the finest leather!"

Just then, there was a loud bang at the door.

Someone kicked over a basket of freshly waxed belts, scattering them all over the floor.

Leo barged in with three tough-looking men behind him.

"Well, well. What's this I hear about a ten-million-euro deal?"

Leo shot Elena a sideways look.

Elena shielded the child on her back and retreated a few steps.

"Leo, what are you doing? This is my shop!"

"Your shop?"

Leo spat out his gum and knocked over a rack of leather dyes.

The crash startled Matteo, and he burst into tears.

"Elena, do you have a death wish?

"You think you can steal my deal?"

Elena clutched her son protectively, tears streaming down her face.

"She chose to buy from me. How is that stealing?"

Leo stepped forward and jabbed a finger in Elena's face.

"That's fucking bullshit!

"Everybody around here knows every big brand has to buy through us!

"You sell nothing but cheap cowhide! What makes you think you're qualified to handle a ten-million-euro order?"

He turned and glared at me.

"Bitch, you think switching shops means I can't touch you?

"Let me tell you something. Don Luca Esposito, who runs the logistics hub for the whole Milan region, is my uncle!

"One word from me, and Elena won't get so much as a thread!"

I stayed on my stool and looked at Leo.

"Business is about earning your customers.

"What, is Marco's Leather Goods running a mafia operation now?"

Leo leaned in close, his face twisted with rage.

"I'm only going to say this once!

"Get your ass back next door this minute and wire that ten million into my account!

"And the price of every square foot of leather just went up by €500. Call it compensation for interrupting my game!

"Otherwise, I'll smash this dump to pieces!"

His three men stepped forward, rolled up their sleeves, and each grabbed a rack of hides, ready to topple it.

Elena dropped to her knees on the dye-splattered floor.

"Leo, please! Don't destroy my shop! My son needs that surgery!

"Forget the deal! I won't take it, I swear!"

She turned to me and began bowing frantically, sobbing. "Please, ma'am. You have to leave. I can't stand up to these people..."

Her forehead struck the sharp handle of a leather-cutting knife, and blood welled at once.

The flash of red stabbed at my eyes.

My blood boiled.

Not for me. For her.

For the mother with a sick child strapped to her back, forced to her knees and so desperate that she could only bow until she injured herself while begging a stranger to leave.

I'd seen too many scenes like this over the past ten years. People struggling to survive, trampled by those with power, too frightened even to cry out.

The fire inside me blazed up.

My anger wasn't just directed at Leo. It was directed at the injustice of it all.

"Elena, please get up."

I stood, took Elena by the arm, and helped her to her feet.

I planted myself in front of her and stared Leo down.

"Go ahead. I'd like to see any of you lay a finger on anything in this shop."

Leo's eyes bulged.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

He drew back his fist, ready to swing at me.

"Stop!" a thunderous voice boomed from the doorway.