"What happened to the woman who was too proud to settle? Where did she go?"
"He's not worthy of you. Sever it. If it's about tribute, I'll wire you whatever you need."
I opened my mouth, then stopped, struck by how absurd it all was.
Why would I explain anything to him?
I simply pushed him aside, pulled the door shut, and said quietly, "If you really feel you owe me, then give me back my hands."
Everything else was meaningless.
And I knew that was the one thing he could never do.
Bianca's teeth sank into her lower lip. "Adriana! If you'd just listened to my husband sooner, you wouldn't have ended up like—"
Salvatore cut her off with a sharp frown. "Bianca. That's enough."
Before either of them could react, I told Matteo to drive.
On the way home, my phone rang. My daughter's bright voice filled the car. "Mommy, are you home yet? Sofia has a surprise for you!"
Warmth flooded through me. She was the one who'd taken the honor at the youth showing, and yet she was the one preparing a surprise for me.
"Sofia, Mommy's almost there. Be a good girl and wait for me, okay?"
But when the car rolled through the gates of the Vitale estate and I stepped out, I saw Salvatore's car parked right behind us, idling past the sentries at the wall.
They had followed me.
Bianca was already on Salvatore's arm, and she spoke before I could. "Adriana, it was my idea to come."
"I just wanted to make sure you're doing all right."
She glanced past me at the great stone house rising behind the garden lights, a mocking smile curling at the corner of her lips. "Don't tell me you're here to give lessons at this hour?"
She paused, letting out a theatrical sigh. "Well, I suppose with a name stained by theft, most people won't take you in. Have to scrape together what you can."
"But do you know whose home this is? This is the seat of the Don of the Vitale Family."
Of course I knew.
The Vitale bloodline was the most powerful in the territory. Beyond Riverton, nearly every shipment that moved through the coast passed under their hand, and every Family that wished to breathe paid its respect.
Even Salvatore had to lower his eyes when he dealt with them.
Bianca took two steps closer, her voice laced with warning. "If Don Vitale learns you've been deceiving him, neither my husband nor I will be able to save you."
"Adriana, you really should keep your feet on the ground. Honesty goes a long way."
Right then, my daughter's call came through again. "Mommy! Sofia saw you from the window!"
"How come you're not inside yet? My surprise is all ready!"
The sound of her soft, syrupy little voice melted away every ounce of frustration in my chest. "Be good, sweetie. Mommy's coming right in."
I hung up. Salvatore stood frozen in place.
He stared at my phone as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard, his thumb going still against his ring. "Daughter? Adriana. You have a child?"
The next second, my impatient little girl came bounding out of the mansion, her tiny figure darting joyfully beneath the glow of the garden lights, past soldiers who softened the moment they saw her.
She threw her arms around my leg and nuzzled hard. "Mommy! If you don't come inside soon, my surprise is gonna burst!"
