Chapter 3

I stepped back from the study door and covered my mouth. My legs went weak, and I caught myself against the wall.

Nine weeks pregnant. I pressed my trembling hand to my own stomach, feeling the tiny, secret life growing inside of me.

I was pregnant, too. I had planned to share my joy with Lorenzo tonight.

For twelve years, I had asked him about starting a family. Every single time, Lorenzo would shake his head, pulling me close and insisting that the mafia lifestyle was far too dangerous.

He claimed he loved me too much to put our children in the crosshairs of his enemies. He had convinced me that it was an act of protection, an act of love.

Yet, through the gap in the doorway, I heard Lorenzo's deep, soothing voice.

"Shh, Bianca, don't cry," Lorenzo murmured gently, his tone laced with a tender devotion I thought belonged only to me.

"I will protect you and the baby. This changes everything. You're carrying the future of this family. Our baby will be the Vitale heir."

His gentle words struck me harder than any physical blow. Lorenzo had spent years telling me it was too dangerous for us to have a child. Now he was welcoming one with my sister.

Nine weeks.

Nine weeks ago, Lorenzo had been badly injured in an ambush. He'd spent the next two weeks in bed while I cared for him.

I had stayed by his side every single hour, changing his bandages and nursing him back to health myself.

He was in no condition to be with anyone during that specific window of time, let alone conceive a child with Bianca.

The door latch clicked. I quickly pushed myself away from the wall, smoothing my dress and composing my features just as Lorenzo stepped out of the study.

He looked slightly flushed but quickly masked it with a serious frown.

"Sienna," he said, acting surprised to see me in the hallway. "I have a complicated situation to deal with regarding the family business. I need to leave for two days to sort it out. I want you to stay here at the estate and wait for me."

He was going to escort Bianca to a private clinic. I knew it, but I simply nodded. "Of course, Lorenzo. Take all the time you need."

He kissed my forehead and hurried past me. Later that afternoon, while Lorenzo was supposedly handling business, Bianca paraded into the main sitting room.

She stood before me, her chin tilted up in arrogant triumph.

"Lorenzo is taking care of everything for me," she bragged, resting a protective hand over her flat stomach.

"I am carrying the Vitale heir now, Sienna. He told me it's only a matter of time before I replace you completely."

I looked up from my tea, my expression completely flat. I stared directly into her eyes and asked, "Are you sure you didn't miscalculate how far along you are?"

Bianca's smug smile vanished instantly. All the color drained from her face, and her hand dropped from her stomach.

She opened her mouth, her eyes darting around in sudden, frantic panic, but she couldn't form a single word. She spun around and practically ran out of the room.

I took a calm sip of my tea. Her panic confirmed everything I needed to know, but finding out the true father was no longer my problem. I didn't care to solve Lorenzo's messes anymore.

Over the next two days, I packed one suitcase. The dresses and jewelry Lorenzo had given me stayed behind.

Before dawn on the third day, I carried the anniversary gift box into his study and set it on the desk. Inside were the Vitale Donna ring, my Sicilian vows, and the signed divorce papers.

On the back of the vow card, I wrote, "By the time you read these divorce papers, I'll already be gone."

The car sent by the medical program arrived at the gates as scheduled. I took my suitcase and climbed into the back seat.

Lorenzo was still away. He expected to find his loyal wife waiting when he returned.

The car passed through the gates before sunrise. The villa, the cypress trees, and twelve years of marriage disappeared behind the bend.

I powered off my phone.

"Happy anniversary, Lorenzo. Your gift is waiting in the study."

I didn't look back.