Chapter 2

New lights lined the driveway of the Romano estate.

I watched them from the car for a moment before I understood what they were celebrating. Once I “died” on the road as Sofia, she would return to Marco under my name.

I had grown up in this house. My father taught me to handle the family accounts, and my mother always said we were her two most precious daughters. Whenever my brother Adrian came home from a long trip, he brought me something.

After I married Marco, I rarely told them when I was unhappy. This time, I had come hoping they would tell me I did not have to go.

My mother stood in the sitting room, adjusting a necklace around Sofia’s neck.

I had worn it at my wedding. Mother moved the clasp, turned Sofia toward the mirror, and studied her reflection.

“It needs to be a little shorter.”

She noticed me and beckoned me closer.

“Elena, you may look alike, but the same clothes don’t always suit you both. Doesn’t this look lovely on her?”

Sofia lowered her eyes and touched the pendant.

I did not answer.

Mother finally let go of the necklace. “Don’t look at her like that. She doesn’t want you taking a risk, either. When this is over, she’ll stay here. To everyone else, she’ll be Elena. Marco will look after her.”

“And what about me?”

“Your house is ready.” Mother frowned. “Your husband will visit you. You aren’t losing him forever.”

I said I had left something upstairs and walked out.

The door to Mother’s private sitting room was partly open. Inside were several trunks filled with gowns for family events, jewelry, and invitations bearing my name. Sofia could take them and step into my life.

The leather on one trunk was already worn. Mother had begun preparing long before this week.

From the other side of the door, I heard Sofia ask, “Why did you have Elena marry Marco? You knew I liked him.”

Mother lowered her voice.

“The Morettis weren’t secure then. Your father needed the alliance, but no one knew what trouble might follow. You were never strong enough for that life. I couldn’t send you into it.”

“But Elena could handle it?”

“She did, didn’t she? Look at everything she’s managed these past five years.”

I stood with my hand on the doorframe.

I had accompanied Marco to negotiations that could have turned dangerous. I had taken threats meant for my father because the men making them did not dare speak to him directly. Mother knew. She had simply decided I could bear it.

At dinner, the cook served Sofia’s favorite seafood. I could not eat one of the dishes. Mother used to remember that, but she did not notice tonight.

Father slid a document across the table. It listed the accounts I would stop using after my departure, the address of my new house, and the family members I would still be allowed to contact.

“It will pass,” he said. “This marriage agreement will bring peace between the families. Help Sofia make the journey.”

“What if Dante’s men discover I’m in the car before Adrian reaches me?”

“I’ll be there myself,” Adrian said. “My men will intercept the convoy before it reaches the handover point.”

He patted my head as he had when we were children. I remembered a birthday when he had promised to spend the evening with me, then stayed with Sofia because she had fallen ill.

When I said nothing, Father added, “Once the story gets out, Sofia will be the daughter who died. Elena will still be here. You understand?”

I did. My name, my marriage, and the house where I had grown up would belong to my sister. I would live somewhere unfamiliar and make sure no one recognized me.

After dinner, Mother asked me to teach Sofia the Moretti household’s routines and the staff’s names so she would not make a mistake when she returned.

As I was leaving, Sofia put the necklace on again. Mother smoothed her collar and smiled at her.

“It’s fortunate you were the one who married Marco back then,” she told me.