Chapter 4

"The chef spent all afternoon on this. You need to get your strength back. Eat up."

I looked at the bowl of greasy cream of mushroom soup and the butter-seared steak that had already gone cold, and I didn't touch any of it.

The doctor had told me plainly that my stomach was still fragile and that I should stick to light, easy-to-digest food for now.

I was about to say something when Vincent dropped his eyes and started stirring the soup. He wouldn't meet my eyes.

The heavy smell of cream hit me, and my stomach rolled.

He hesitated before he pushed the soup toward me.

"There's a jewelry shipment coming into Red Hook tomorrow. Sophia wants to lead a crew on her own for the first time, to show the Commission she's not just a little girl the family has to protect."

He hesitated again, then took out a black velvet box. Inside was the DeLuca family seal.

"She won't let me send more men, but it's her first time at the port, and I don't like it. Go with her and carry the seal for me. If anything goes wrong, the men will take orders from you."

I stared at him, then looked down at the greasy food on the table.

So he wasn't worried about how weak I was after losing the baby.

He was just afraid I'd be too weak to get out of bed and wouldn't be there to catch his precious Sophia if she fell.

I closed my eyes. A bitter ache welled up in my chest and pressed so hard that even breathing hurt.

I hated how easily I gave in. My whole body hurt, and my first instinct was still to worry that saying no would disappoint him.

"The doctor said I need bed rest."

"You don't have to do anything. Just be there with her." Vincent's voice softened. "The second the handoff is done, I'll bring you home myself."

I'd never been involved in family business. In Vincent's eyes, that made me the perfect companion, someone who wouldn't get in the way.

I didn't have the energy to fight with him.

"Okay."

Vincent visibly relaxed and finally met my eyes.

"I knew it. You've always been so understanding."

For the first time, I understood what he meant when he said he loved how understanding I was.

What he really loved was that no matter how much I was hurting, I always put him first.

He told me to finish the soup, then got up and left.

Once the door closed, I had Anna pour out the soup, which had grown a greasy skin on top.

Anna excitedly told me that Professor Walker had just written back. The professor was willing to ask the department to reinstate my admission, but I had to be in Los Angeles for an interview within five days.

Heart pounding, I booked a flight that left in five days.

...

Early the next morning, six black SUVs pulled up outside the estate.

Vincent helped Sophia into her bulletproof vest himself, then bent down to check the magazine of the gun in her holster.

"Stay where your bodyguards can see you. If anything feels off, come straight home. It's just a jewelry shipment. If we lose it, we buy more. Don't get hurt."

Sophia hooked her arm through his and complained with a laugh, "Vincent, I'm just signing a delivery contract. Do you really have to be this nervous?"

"You're the only sister I've got."

Vincent straightened her collar. Only then did he seem to remember I was there.

But all he said to me was, "Take care of Sophia."

As I'd expected, he didn't ask whether my wound still hurt, and he didn't notice that after only a few minutes on my feet, I was already breaking out in a cold sweat.

I nodded and got into the last car.

Sophia sat across from me, stone-faced from the moment she got in.

Right after the wedding, Sophia had been ice-cold to me. I'd assumed she just resented that her brother had less time for her now that he was married.

One Thanksgiving, I made her favorite vanilla cream pie, and she fed it to the dog without even looking at it. Vincent said it was because there were crushed nuts in it, and she was allergic.

Now I finally knew why, and I stopped trying to win her over.

I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. By the time the convoy reached Red Hook, it was almost evening.

The moment I stepped out of the car, my legs went weak.

Sophia walked right past me and headed eagerly toward the brand-new cargo ship moored at the berth.

The DeLuca guards she passed all greeted her.

"Ms. Russo, your lounge and your vest are ready. The Don says everyone answers to you today."

I followed her, but the guard at the warehouse door blocked my way.

"Sorry. No outsiders allowed in here."

I stopped.

Sophia glanced back. "She's my brother's wife. He sent her with me."

The guard froze, then quickly dropped his arm.

"I'm sorry, Donna. We didn't know..."

I'd been married for two years. The guards here were stationed at the port year-round and never came into the city, yet every one of them knew Sophia's face.

Not one of them knew I was his wife.

The marriage I'd held on to for two years meant nothing at all.

Sophia hadn't been inside five minutes when a deafening blast came from the warehouse.

Flames burst through the glass, and thick smoke billowed out of every door and window.

People on the docks scattered, and alarms wailed across the whole port.

I turned and ran for the emergency exit, but a scream rang out behind me.

I stopped and looked back.

Sophia had fallen at the warehouse door. A steel beam, snapped by the blast, had pinned her leg.

The fire had already spread behind her.

She was sobbing, reaching out for me.

"Victoria! Help me!"