All Chapters of Three Years of Loving You, Now I Choose the Empire: Chapter 11 - Chapter 12

A month later the first snow fell in New York.By the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Castellano estate, I was curled into the sofa under a cashmere blanket, a cushion in my arms and a thick stack of financial statements spread beside me.Albert came over, set a hot chocolate by my hand and squeezed the back of my neck. "Still on the Vittori liquidation report?""Mm hm." I didn't look up. "Grandfather's people have taken over everything under old Vittori. Once the accounts are settled, I can cut ties completely."Tucked into the last page of the liquidation report was a court order confirming restitution.The court had ruled that my mother's blue diamond necklace was estate property disposed of unlawfully, and someone would bring it back to New York the following week.I don't intend to wear it again.When it comes back, I'll put it beside my mother's photograph.Not to remind me of what was taken from me, but to tell her that I've taken back, one piece at a time, everything that was s