Chapter 3

"If you've forgotten," he said, "I can remind you."

"We don't sleep in separate rooms. This is my bed, too."

With that, Lorenzo shrugged off his shirt, revealing a solid chest covered in scars, and slipped under the covers on the other side of the bed.

I’d never seen him like that. My face flushed, and I buried my head under the covers in embarrassment.

We’d been sleeping in the same bed for eight years?

Thankfully, a sleeping Leo was between us, a tiny barrier.

I thought I'd be up all night, sharing a bed with my lifelong rival.

But a funny thing happened. Breathing in the faint scent of cedar and tobacco that clung to him, I felt a strange sense of security. I fell asleep faster than I had in years.

The next morning, sunlight stung my eyes.

I sat up with a jolt.

The space beside me was empty. Lorenzo was gone.

Leo was gone, too.

"Madam, you're awake."

The bedroom door opened, and a stern-faced, middle-aged woman in a uniform walked in carrying a tray.

"I am Sofia, the housekeeper. Here is your morning coffee."

She placed a steaming cup of black coffee on the nightstand, her eyes cold, distant, and wary.

I took a sip.

"Pfft—cough, cough!"

I spat it out, my face scrunching up.

It was so bitter! It tasted like medicine.

"Sugar! And milk!" I slammed the cup down. "Is this even drinkable?"

Sofia just stared, a look of shock on her face. "Madam, you have always taken your coffee black, extra strong, with no sugar or milk."

I froze.

At eighteen, I hated anything bitter. I lived on caramel macchiatos.

Had my tastes changed that much in eight years?

"Where's Lorenzo? Did he go out?"

Sofia lowered her gaze, her tone icy. "The Don has been very busy lately."

I was curious. "Busy with what?"

Sofia glanced at me. "Madam, a week ago, you leaked the route for the Astor family's latest arms shipment to a rival crew. To save the cargo, the Don lost a dozen of his best men, and the family took a massive hit. He is dealing with the fallout from that."

My blood ran cold.

Sure, I didn't get along with Lorenzo, but my pranks were just that—pranks.

How could my future self hate him so much?

Leaking family secrets… in the mafia, that was a death sentence.

And not only had I done it, but I’d gotten Lorenzo’s men killed.

I was too stunned to speak, drowning in guilt.

"How could I become this person..." I clutched my head, feeling sick.

Trying to distract myself, I scanned the room and noticed something even more horrifying.

"Where's my violin?" I grabbed Sofia's arm. "The Stradivarius my father gave me? I'm supposed to practice every day!"

Since I was six, I had sworn I would play at Carnegie Hall.

My violin was my life.

Sofia looked at me, her brow furrowed. "Madam, I have never seen you play the violin."

I couldn't believe it.

I gave up my dream. I gave up the thing I loved most.

This future me… was completely insane.

"My phone." I gritted my teeth and held out my hand. "Get me my phone. I need to find out who the hell turned me into this... thing."

With Sofia's help, I found my phone in a handbag in the walk-in closet.

Face ID worked.

I opened my contacts. The pinned contact at the top was a single letter: "J."

I opened the chat history. It was screen after screen of flirty, intimate messages. Anyone could see we were close.

J: [Daisy, it's getting cold today. That cold-blooded man Astor won't care about you. Remember to dress warmly.]

J: [That old-fashioned fool doesn't understand your soul. Only I do. Did you get the route for the shipment? As soon as we crush him, we'll be free.]

J: [I'll be at the usual spot today at 3 p.m.]

The location tag on the last message pointed to the exact alley where I'd passed out yesterday.

So this was my "lover."

I tapped on J's profile picture and saw a familiar face.

Julian.

I remembered him. A few days before my eighteenth birthday, I was getting mugged by some punks in the Bronx, and this guy from the slums took a knife for me.

When I offered to repay him, he just smiled weakly and said, "It was nothing. Don't worry about it."

I had actually been impressed with him.

But even so, there's no way I would fall for him!

How did he become my lover?

I had Sofia get the car ready immediately. I had to go home and figure out what the hell happened.

Half an hour later, the Maybach stopped in front of the Valence family estate.

Seeing the familiar wrought-iron gates, my eyes started to burn.

I bolted from the car, ran up the steps, and started pounding on the massive door.

"Dad! Open up! It's me, Daisy!"

The heavy door slowly creaked open.

I broke into a huge grin, ready to leap into his arms.

But my father's face, etched with anger and exhaustion, appeared in the doorway.

He looked at me not with joy, but with deep disappointment.

The next second, he slammed the door right in my face.

His furious voice came through the wood. "If you're here to talk about that again, you can stay out!"