Chapter 2

I had intended to refuse the invitation, but just then, a notification flashed across my phone screen. It was a message from the cemetery management office.

"Miss Corleone, if you have finalized the plot location, please come to complete the paperwork as soon as possible."

Over the past few years, the cost of medical treatments had drained my resources. I had almost no money left, certainly not enough to purchase the grave closest to my mother. To secure it, I had to return to the estate and claim the last two things my mother had left for me.

I finally gave in and followed Luca into the car. During the drive, he suddenly reached his hand toward me. Out of pure reflex, I jerked my head to the side and pulled my neck back, flinching away.

Luca's hand froze in mid-air. "Ella, I only saw a withered leaf caught in your hair."

"I can do it myself," I replied softly.

The rest of the trip passed in silence. The black sedan eventually rolled through the gates of the Corleone family manor. Sophia must have heard news of my return, as she did not seem surprised to see me. She greeted me with a practiced smile, though her eyes remained cold and devoid of warmth. She likely assumed I had returned to seek revenge, judging me by the vengeful girl I used to be.

But she was wrong. On the day I was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I had already chosen to let go of my grudges. I had let go of the past.

When my father learned of my return, he merely cast a distant, cold glance in my direction before turning his back and disappearing into his study. He was as cold as always.

I walked straight to my old room to retrieve the key to the bank safety deposit box containing my inheritance. My mother had prepared it for me long ago. However, when I reached for the box, I realized the wedding dress—the one my mother had hand-stitched for me—was missing.

I summoned Anna, the housekeeper, and questioned her. She stammered, looking down at her feet. "Miss Sophia... is going to be married into the Rossi family. The master gave that wedding dress to Miss Sophia."

How could he? My mother had started sewing that dress for me the moment I was born, stitch by stitch. Why was it so easily handed over to Sophia? Even if I were to die, that dress was meant to go into the grave with me.

"Which Rossi son is she marrying?" I asked.

"The second son, Alex," Anna whispered.

I froze for a moment. It was Alex. He was my childhood sweetheart, the boy I grew up with, and the one who had once sworn to protect me forever.

Years ago, when my father and brother hated me most, Alex was the only one who stood resolutely by my side.

People once asked him if he wasn't afraid of the Corleone family's wrath for supporting me. He simply raised an eyebrow and replied, "We grew up together. I know exactly what kind of person she is."

But after that staged "kidnapping" incident, Alex began to distance himself from me. I once asked him through tears why things were changing. He pushed me away with a touch of irritation rising in his eyes.

"Ella, Sophia's a good girl."

A good girl? She had stolen my father and my brother. She had slandered my name. Why did even he stop believing in me?

In truth, I should have realized it long ago. The moment Alex shifted his loyalty to Sophia was the moment I truly had nothing left in San Nidevoid.