Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

"Vera... what are you even saying?" Chiara went white and stared at me in disbelief.She clutched the white dress over her chest with one hand and pressed the other against the floor. Her voice shook. "I just... I just feel like I owe you... Why are you doing this to me?"She closed her eyes, swayed, and fell backward.My mother, Isabella, screamed and dropped to her knees, pulling Chiara into her arms. "Chiara! Her pills! Where are her heart pills? Go get them!"Chaos erupted in the living room.A staff member knocked over a glass. The butler ran upstairs, and Isabella knelt on the wool rug, shaking with sobs.I stayed right where I was.I'd seen this before.Two families. Two fake heiresses playing the victim for sympathy.But next to the other two, this one was stupid enough to be funny."Vera." Lucien Macchetti pushed up his glasses, his voice cold. "I understand you're resentful after spending 15 years out there on your own."But Chiara's illness is real, and she truly wants to gi

The estate was bustling the next day.There was a dinner that night, and every family on the East Coast would be there.The Macchetti family was on the guest list, naturally.Isabella had brought in a stylist to do Chiara's makeup and pick out her dress.A blue couture gown that made her look so pale and fragile you wanted to protect her."You look beautiful."Isabella put a necklace on her. "Stay close to Lucien. He has your pills in his pocket. If you get tired, go and rest."Chiara nodded, then looked up at me at the top of the stairs.I was wearing a plain black silk dress. No makeup, no necklace, nothing done to my hair."Vera." She came over, holding up her skirt. "Is that... what you're wearing tonight?"She frowned. "There'll be a lot of press there. If you go dressed like that, people will laugh at the Macchetti family."Isabella turned. The moment she saw me, her face darkened."Vera, do you understand basic manners at all?"She came over, frowning. "Every family on the East

Every head in the room turned to Chiara, who stood trembling behind Lucien.Nicolai acted as if nothing had happened. He took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders."Why aren't you wearing something warmer? Your shoulders are red from the cold."Adrian came over too.He bent down a little to look at me, his voice gentle. "You've lost weight. Haven't you been eating?"I looked at him and said nothing.Adrian sighed. "Never mind. Nicolai and I will take you to get something to eat in a while. But..."Even if you wanted to see what your biological family was like, you've stayed with them long enough."Vera, when are you coming home?"At that, everyone turned to look at Lucien and the others.The color drained from Lucien's face. He stared at me in disbelief."G-gentlemen..."Lucien's voice shook. "Have you... have you mistaken her for someone else? She's our housekeeper's kid. She knows what to do in a cardiac emergency. That's the only reason she's...""The housekeeper's kid?"N

The next day, Macchetti Group stock went into free fall. In 30 minutes, over a hundred million dollars in market value vanished.The Salvatore and Vasiliev families moved against them together. Their attack was precise and lethal.They cut off every source of cash the Macchetti family had and warned off any bank that might back them.Overnight, the Macchetti family went from untouchable to the one name nobody on the East Coast would go near.In the top-floor suite at the hotel, Adrian poured me a whiskey."Lucien is looking into you."He pushed up his glasses, his tone mocking. "He's using every contact the Macchetti family has to find out what you've been doing all this time."I took a sip. The temperature was exactly right. "Has he found anything?""Of course."Nicolai leaned back on the couch, his long legs crossed. "I put the information out there myself. With his pitiful handful of contacts, he'd never have found a single file on your life before you came back."Despair hung over

They knelt outside the estate all night.The next morning, I pulled back the curtain and saw all three of them still there, their faces drained of color.I pushed the balcony doors open and walked to the railing.The cold wind whipped my hair back.I looked down at the three of them and let a little contempt show."Lorenzo." I looked at him first. "You want to marry me now?"His eyes lit up, and he shuffled forward on his knees. "Say yes, and we'll go right now! I swear, from now on, the Falcone family answers to you!"I laughed out loud. "But Lorenzo, have you forgotten what you said a few days ago?"I slowly repeated his words back to him. "You said that if I didn't apologize to Chiara, the Falcone family would call off our engagement the next morning."Well?"I watched his face freeze, my gaze turning cold. "It's only been a few days. Has your memory vanished along with the Falcone family's assets?"Lorenzo went deathly pale."Vera..." Lucien tipped his head back, his eyes red. "Doe