After that incident, I learned to cover for Raffaele.
This time was no different.
But when he heard my automatic, well-trained response, his expression only darkened.
"I actually wanted to take you to dinner tonight. There's nothing to cover for."
"I already ordered the food. All your favorites. Think of it as an apology from Alessia."
I glanced at the calendar on my phone.
"Sorry, I really don't have time tonight."
"How much was the meal? I'll pay you back."
Raffaele's jaw clenched. "You're serious right now?"
"Fine. You don't want to eat, I'll take Alessia instead."
He didn't hang up after that, as if waiting for my reaction.
I just nodded.
"That works."
"I have a bottle of wine stored at the restaurant. You two can have that too."
Raffaele hung up with a sharp click.
Probably felt like he'd lost face.
He didn't come home for the entire week after that.
I didn't care. Didn't ask, didn't interfere.
I just quietly packed my things and shipped them straight to my new place in Bellandi harbor territory.
Then I headed to the mortuary front to hand off some of my current arrangements.
What I didn't expect was a familiar face at the door.
Alessia Santoro was standing there clutching a parrot, making a scene.
"Aren't you a funeral parlor? Aren't you professional morticians?"
"My Lulu is dead! Why won't you prepare her for burial?"
Nina Russo was doing her best to explain politely.
"Ma'am, we're a funeral parlor for people. We're not equipped for pet services. You'd be better off finding a specialist for birds—"
Before Nina could finish, Alessia slapped her across the face.
"A pet? She was family! She's dead, and you won't help. What, you think I can't afford it?"
"You people have zero respect for life!"
She burst into loud, heaving sobs. "I don't understand. Why is the world so cruel to me? The man I love is marrying someone else, and now my Lulu is gone too. All I want is to lay her to rest properly, and I get humiliated for it! What did I ever do wrong?"
Nina had come to work for me straight out of school. She wasn't just an associate to me. She was like a little sister.
Seeing her get pushed around lit a fire in my chest.
I was about to step forward and throw Alessia out when someone beat me to it, pulling Alessia into his arms.
Raffaele's face was full of concern.
"Don't cry. Hey, don't cry."
"I'll figure something out. Whatever it is, I'll take care of it for you."
"If this place upset you, I'll shut it down."
I walked over and pulled Nina behind me. The two soldiers Raffaele kept by the town car hadn't followed him inside, but I could see their shapes through the frosted glass of the parlor door, standing like sentries on either side.
Then I smiled at Raffaele. "You want to shut my parlor down? No need to go through all that trouble. Pay me fifty million and I'll transfer the license to you, along with the remaining eight years on the lease and every last piece of furniture. After that, Alessia can smash the place to pieces for all I care."
"But."
My tone shifted.
"Before any of that, she apologizes to my people first."
Raffaele looked taken aback.
He looked at me, then lifted his gaze to the sign above the door, the old Valente name carved into dark wood beside a single lit candle in the window that meant the parlor was open for business.
"This funeral parlor is yours?"
I lowered my head and let out a quiet laugh.
Yes. It was mine.
Raffaele and I had known each other since we were born. Two families bound by the same territory, the same Sunday tables, the same understanding of what debts meant and how the dead were honored.
We'd walked every step of our lives side by side.
After graduation, I told him more than once what kind of work I wanted to do.
