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1

After the pre-wedding family dinner, only champagne corks and crushed rose petals remained in the great hall.My mother pressed the ring box back into Lucia's hands and turned to me. "Chloe, stop pulling a long face. If the press sees this, they'll think we treat you badly."I looked at the ring on Lucia's hand, my nails digging deep into my palms."Mom, do you remember the onyx you picked out for me on my 18th birthday?"That year, my mother had stroked my hair and said, "Black onyx has a quiet strength. It suits you best. Whatever storms come your way, this family will always be your safe harbor."Her expression stiffened briefly before she frowned impatiently. "Lucia's jewelry box is still missing a few decent emeralds. Don't bother me with ancient history."She turned and went upstairs.When I looked down, I noticed a small black onyx stone with silver veining set into the side of Lucia's ring.It was the one my mother had personally picked out for me when I turned 18.She hadn't f

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At noon the next day, Aiden drove his old SUV up to the Ferro estate.His coat was faded from countless washes but neatly pressed, and he carried two boxes of fresh bagels and a square velvet box.The front hall was piled high with wedding gifts from all the major brands, but no one paid any attention to him standing at the door.I dragged a stool out of the kitchen for him.Aiden didn't sit. His gaze went straight to the bruise on my wrist. "What happened?"I pulled my hand back into my sleeve. "I bumped it against a doorframe."He didn't press. He just took a tube of ointment out of his pocket and set it on the table.Then he opened the velvet box.Inside was an emerald bracelet."This was my mother's. Before she died, she told me to give it to my future wife myself."My fingertips had barely touched the edge of the box when Lucia leaned in. "It's gorgeous."My mother's eyes lit up too. "Lucia's going to a private Cassano family dinner tomorrow night. She'll be sitting with those peo

3

Seven days before the wedding, Lucia was trying on the antique lace veil that had been passed down through the Ferro family. Her diamond tiara caught on it and tore a gash in the lace.My mother held up the torn veil, looking grim. "The photography team gets here tomorrow afternoon. How are we supposed to use this?"Everyone in the room turned to me at once. I'd studied art conservation and restoration in college, and antique textiles were my specialty.My mother held the veil out to me. "Fix it for her tonight.""Aiden and I have an appointment at City Hall tomorrow morning to get our marriage license."Victor leaned against the desk. "So make another appointment."I looked at him. "So my wedding plans can just be rearranged, too?"He didn't answer.Father finished reading the document and said, "Mrs. Cassano will be here tomorrow afternoon."My mother took my hand. "It's just one night. Whatever you miss because of it, I'll make sure someone makes it up to you."I'd heard that promis

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Three days before the wedding, I went to the designer's studio to pick up my wedding dress.The owner checked the system and told me the family office hadn't approved the final payment.I checked my account. The $96,000 was still there, but the payment wouldn't go through.My accounts had always been linked to the family office's asset management system, and any large withdrawal required approval from the family office.When I got back to the estate, Lucia's bridal tea was underway in the garden.She'd just been given a diamond-studded panther bracelet from a Sotheby's auction.I went straight to my mother. "Why is my account restricted?"My father was walking down the hall. He stopped when he heard me."I told the family office to put a temporary hold on any large payments from your accounts. You've been questioning how the family assets are being handled. Until the wedding is over, any major expense will need their approval.""That's money I earned myself.""You'll have full access a

5

Aiden parked in front of a red-brick apartment building in Brooklyn. There was a laundromat downstairs and a corner store that stayed open late.Martha was already waiting at the door. The moment I got out of the car, she pressed a paper cup of hot cocoa into my hands. "Your hands are frozen. Get inside."I looked down at the cup, but she'd already turned to help Aiden with the bags, like what she'd just said was the most ordinary thing in the world.Once, when I was little and had a fever, I went downstairs in the middle of the night for water. I saw my mother tucking a blanket around Lucia. She turned, saw me, and just told me to go back to my room and sleep it off.After that, I rarely called for her when I wasn't feeling well.Martha got all the way to the door before she noticed I wasn't behind her. She turned and called my name. Only then did I answer and follow them inside.Later, Aiden hung my $30 white dress in the closet. I leaned in the doorway. "Don't laugh. I know it's che

6

Before the wedding started, my mother went to my bedroom.Half the closet was empty. The restoration books and tools on my desk were gone. There was only a sheet of paper on the bed."I won't be coming back to the Ferro estate for my wedding. Don't wait for me."My father read the note from the doorway. He didn't ask where I'd gone. He simply handed it to Walter. "Lucia's wedding goes ahead as planned. We'll deal with this later."My mother didn't leave right away. She stared at the half-empty closet for a while, as if she wanted to ask something, but in the end, she said nothing.Downstairs, guests were already arriving.After Lucia walked into the banquet hall in her custom gown, people soon noticed that one bride was missing. Some asked why the twins weren't getting married on the same day. Others said they'd seen Aiden's car in the city earlier.My mother stood in the crowd and didn't offer a single explanation.The wedding car the Ferro family had arranged for me waited from early

7

Four days after the wedding, I took my portfolio to Olivia Hart's art conservation and restoration studio in Manhattan.Olivia looked through a few before-and-after photos, flipped through my records, and asked whether I'd done all of it on my own.I said yes.She slid the contract across the desk. "Can you start tomorrow? You'll earn a separate commission on private client work. Take a look at the terms."I hadn't expected things to go so smoothly, so I glanced at Aiden without thinking.He smiled from the doorway. "Don't look at me. I'm not the one signing it."I laughed too and picked up the pen.Not long after, a set of 19th-century religious textiles I'd helped restore was loaned to a museum for an exhibition. The day my first bonus came in, I went to the bank and opened my own bank account.When Aiden found out, he only asked if I wanted him to come with me. I said no, and he simply nodded. He didn't ask why I insisted on having an account of my own or act like married couples ha

8

Three days later, something else happened at the Ferro estate.The foundation halted a charity exhibition of privately owned works that Lucia was overseeing.She had relied on old records that no one had rechecked, listed a later reproduction as an original in the exhibition documents, and signed the final review page. When the collection advisers double-checked everything, they also found that the provenance records for another 19th-century icon textile didn't match its restoration file.The lawyers didn't come looking for me first.Instead, Victor brought in the foundation's collection advisers and two outside experts, pulled every related record from the past three years, and had them review everything from scratch.By the end of the first night, they'd reviewed less than a third.On the second day, one of the advisers pushed an old list in front of Victor. "Who did this part?"There were a few faint pencil notes in the margins. The year listed for one piece's entry into the country

9

Three days later, the Cassano family's lawyers went to the Ferro estate.The charity exhibition never became a public scandal, but the joint foundation formally launched an internal review. Lucia was stripped of her authority to represent the foundation at public events, and her access to several projects was suspended.Because Victor had signed as her guarantor, he was told to step away from the next phase of the review.Worse, management of next quarter's joint project, which the Ferro family had been set to lead, was transferred to the other family. Two of my father's proposals to the foundation were put on hold as well.The Cassano family never confronted anyone publicly.Everything was handled in writing.When my father finished reading, he asked just one question. "Who decided to put her in charge of this collection?"Victor answered, "I did.""For now, give up your seat on the joint foundation. The Manhattan project is on hold too."Victor looked up, but he'd barely gotten the w

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