Chapter 2

Warmth brought me back.

I opened my eyes to a white ceiling and soft sunlight streaming through the window.

This wasn't the Romano estate.

"You're awake."

A deep voice came from beside me. I turned my head and saw Lorenzo Torrino sitting at my bedside.

He wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing toned forearms. His eyes were gentle as they rested on me.

Everyone called him Enzo.

I'd seen him a few times at family gatherings. Each time, he'd watched me from afar but never approached.

I'd assumed he was part of one of the Romano family's allied factions. I hadn't expected—

"You rescued me?" My voice came out hoarse.

He nodded and handed me a glass of warm water. "I've been watching over you in secret. I almost arrived too late this time."

I took the glass, my fingers trembling. The cold room had been brutal—my limbs were still icy.

"Why?"

Why protect me?

He was silent for a moment, then walked to the window and spoke with his back to me. "Because you don't belong to the Romano family. You belong to the faction I truly serve."

My heart lurched. "What do you mean?"

"Isabella." He turned to face me, his gaze direct. "I recently received some information. Your true bloodline... is the Lucchese family."

The glass slipped from my hand, spilling water across the sheets.

The Lucchese family.

The Romanos' sworn enemies for generations.

The blood feud between our families stretched back a hundred years. Countless people had died in the vendetta.

If I was truly Lucchese blood...

"You're lying." My voice shook.

Lorenzo approached and placed a file on my nightstand. "Twenty-one years ago, the youngest daughter of the Lucchese family was taken from the hospital. The timing, the location, the blood type—it all matches."

I stared at the documents, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst from my chest.

"Why tell me this?"

"Because you deserve to know the truth. Because your real parents are waiting for you to come home." He looked at me, his voice low and steady. "And because... you need a way out."

The television suddenly came to life with a news broadcast—

"The Romano and Marcelli families announce their alliance through marriage. Heir Vincent Romano and Marcelli heiress Valentina Marcelli are now engaged..."

I turned toward the screen. Vincent stood there in a perfectly tailored suit, a stunning woman at his side. They were exchanging family rings.

His expression was blank, cold and detached.

This was what mafia marriages looked like—an exchange of interests, an expansion of power.

Nothing to do with love.

"You see?" Lorenzo's voice reached me. "Vincent already has a new fiancée. He's lost his memory. If you stay with the Romano family, all you'll find is more humiliation."

I dropped my gaze, my fingers twisting into the sheets.

He was right.

The Vincent who existed now wasn't the man who'd been crazy about me. Staying at the Romano estate would only mean endless torment.

And if I really was Lucchese...

I looked up sharply. "If I go back to the Lucchese family, even if Vincent regains his memory, he won't be able to reach me."

"Exactly." A glint of approval lit Lorenzo's eyes. "The Romanos and Luccheses have been enemies for generations. As a member of the rival family, Vincent would never be allowed to set foot on Lucchese territory. Once you return to your true family, he'll never... be able to see you again."

My pulse quickened.

This was a possibility I'd never imagined.

All this time, I thought my only option was to run—to flee to the ends of the earth, somewhere he couldn't find me.

But did the ends of the earth even exist?

Six months ago, he'd made it perfectly clear: "You can run to the ends of the earth, and I'll still find you."

I believed him. Because he was Vincent Romano, heir to the Romano family.

Outside of enemy territory, there was nowhere I could truly hide.

Before, fleeing to rival territory would have been suicide.

But now...

"Can you help me? He has people watching me." I looked at Lorenzo, hearing the plea in my own voice.

"Of course." He leaned closer, his gaze soft. "Give me three days. I'll arrange everything."

Three days.

Just three more days.

That evening, Lorenzo brought me back to the Romano estate.

He said leaving too soon would raise suspicion. What I needed was a flawless disappearance—one that would catch the Romano surveillance off guard before they could react.

The car stopped at the estate's side entrance. He was smoothing back my hospital-disheveled hair, about to say something, when—

"What do you think you're doing?"

The cold voice came from behind us.

I turned to find Vincent standing a few meters away, his gaze fixed on Lorenzo's hand in my hair.

I wanted to explain, but the words died on my lips.

Explain what?

He didn't remember me anymore. In his eyes, I was just a servant.

"Sir." I lowered my eyes. "I wasn't feeling well earlier. This gentleman brought me back."

Vincent studied me in silence for several seconds, then turned and walked toward the main building.

"Come to the study. Make tea."

His voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

I murmured an acknowledgment and followed him inside.

Behind me, Lorenzo's car slowly pulled away.

Three days.

I counted silently.

Just three more days to endure.