Chapter 2

"No one can take your place," Margaret said firmly. "I'll speak to Sebastian myself and have him come home. Whatever happened, he owes you an explanation."

A faint smile touched Elena's lips, though it went unseen.

She wanted to tell her mother-in-law that an apology would not change anything. Whatever had broken between her and Sebastian was theirs to bear. Margaret and Vittorio Vieri had treated her like a daughter from the day she married into the family, and she refused to let her own heartbreak become another burden they had to carry.

"Thank you, Mother," she replied softly. "But you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine. I just... don't think I can face the family or the capos tonight."

"Then don't," Margaret answered without hesitation. "Leave the council and tonight's meeting to your father-in-law and me. The business can wait. You need to rest."

**

Not long after the call ended, Elena's phone vibrated again.

This time, it was Sebastian.

She answered almost immediately.

His voice came through the receiver, calm and detached, stripped of the warmth she had once believed belonged only to her.

"It's late. Why have you been calling me?"

Elena lowered her eyes to the medical report still resting on her lap.

"It's nothing important."

Silence settled between them.

Then, muffled voices drifted through the line before a woman spoke from somewhere nearby.

"Don Sebastian... Miss Celeste is awake. She's asking for you."

"I'll be right there."

The call ended before Elena could say another word.

She remained seated in the silent room, staring blankly at the screen until it went dark, the emptiness left by the disconnected call spreading through her chest.

Sebastian and Celeste had once been inseparable.

Long before Elena entered his life, they had been regarded as the golden pair of the underworld. The heir to the Vieri syndicate and the only daughter of the Moreau family had grown up attending the same gatherings, surviving the same assassination attempts, and standing beside each other through wars that had reshaped the city's criminal landscape. Everyone believed they would eventually marry and unite two of the most influential mafia dynasties.

Elena had loved Sebastian from the sidelines for as long as she could remember.

She never confessed. There was no point.

Then, everything changed during the summit that ended the decades-long conflict between the Ravenwood and Vieri families.

Instead of renewing ties with the Moreau family, Sebastian announced before every don, underboss, and consigliere that he intended to marry Elena Ravenwood, sealing an alliance that would strengthen both syndicates. The decision stunned everyone, including Elena herself.

She had been too shocked to refuse.

That night, she almost confessed that she had loved him for years, but Sebastian had already begun treating the engagement as another obligation he intended to honor without complaint. Their wedding followed a few months later, celebrated as the union that had brought lasting peace to two powerful crime families.

Elena entered that marriage believing she had been given the life she had dreamed of.

Instead, she found herself sharing a home with a man whose heart had never truly crossed its threshold.

She spent years convincing herself that Sebastian simply wasn't expressive, that men raised to inherit empires built on blood and violence rarely knew how to show affection.

Only now did she realize he had never forgotten how.

He had simply reserved that part of himself for someone else.

The ache in her chest grew unbearable. She brushed away the tears gathering in her eyes before reaching for her phone once more.

There was only one person she could still call.

Her brother answered almost immediately.

"Elena?"

"I'll be coming back to the Ravenwood estate in a few days."

A brief silence followed.

"Is Sebastian coming with you?"

She looked out the window where the city lights glittered beneath the night sky, each one marking a territory controlled by one family or another.

"No. Just me."

Valentino's voice hardened with concern.

"Did he do something?"

Elena closed her eyes.

"No. Do you remember when I told you I wanted to finish the finance program in Switzerland? I think it's finally time. Sebastian has enough on his plate with the syndicate. Maybe he'll come see me when things settle down."

Valentino did not sound entirely convinced, but he let the matter rest.

"Alright," he said quietly. "Tell me when you're leaving. I'll be waiting for you at the airport."