Chapter 2

ELENA POV

The next morning, I returned to the estate Luca and I had shared.

His cologne still lingered near the entrance, mixed with the perfume Sofia always wore.

I went straight to the bedroom and pulled the black suitcase I had prepared from the back of the closet.

There was little I intended to take. I packed several outfits, my documents, work files, and the jewelry box my mother had left me.

The dresses and jewelry Luca had given me remained where they were. I also left our photographs and every item bearing the Valdieri crest.

I was placing the final shirt in my suitcase when the front door opened downstairs.

Luca entered with Sofia.

His gaze paused on the suitcase when he found me in the bedroom.

“Is your stomach better?”

He approached and reached for my forehead.

I stepped aside.

“Much better.”

My voice remained calm.

Luca lowered his hand and turned toward Sofia.

“She was frightened last night, and her anxiety hasn’t settled. Her ex knows where she lives, so I don’t want her staying there alone.”

He hesitated before continuing.

“She’ll stay here for a few days. The estate is guarded at all times.”

Sofia looked at me from behind him.

“I’m sorry, Elena. I don’t want to intrude, but every time I close my eyes, I imagine him standing outside my door.”

As she spoke, she moved Luca’s car keys between her fingers.

The leather keychain I had made was gone. A new silver star charm hung in its place.

I had pressed Luca’s initial and mine into that leather.

“Where is the old keychain?”

Sofia retreated half a step.

“I replaced it on my own. I’m sorry, Elena…”

Luca frowned.

“Elena, it was only a keychain. Sofia needs rest. Do you have to make this difficult for her?”

I looked at the man who used to notice every change in my expression. Now he was asking me to show more consideration for another woman.

“All right. I won’t make an issue of it.”

Relief crossed his face.

“I knew you would understand.”

He glanced around the bedroom.

“The east guest room is close to the patrol route, and Sofia has been sleeping badly. The master bedroom is quieter and sits in the most secure part of the house.”

He pointed toward the other end of the hallway.

“You can use the west guest suite for now. She’ll only be here until she feels safe enough to return home.”

I met his eyes.

“Fine.”

Luca paused before adding, “Come home early tonight. I’ll have the kitchen prepare your favorite dinner, and we can talk about what happened last night.”

“There’s no need.”

I picked up my bag.

“I won’t be home for dinner.I have some work to handle.”

I left without responding to his surprised expression.

It was nine thirty in the morning. My flight departed at four, which gave me six and a half hours to complete my final handover at the Valdieri headquarters.

I arrived at ten.

Luca had once told Sofia that I would never earn the position in London and would never leave the Valdieri family. He believed my entire career depended on his name.

He did not know the international risk management firm had delivered its official offer to my attorney three days earlier.

I placed my internal access badge, encrypted phone, and vault authorization card in a neat row on the table.

For seven years, those items had allowed me into every protected room inside the organization. By the end of the morning, they would belong to someone else.

I had just opened the final transfer file when the conference room door swung inward.

Luca entered with two senior family advisers.

Sofia followed beside him. Her eyes were red, and she held the South Harbor agreement against her chest.

It was the agreement I had spent six months securing.