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00:03When I was 13, I shot my father's favorite mistress.
00:08For my mother's dying wish, I put down the gun.
00:10Ten years of playing the lady.
00:12Then, at my engagement dinner, scolding soup hit my chest, and a girl called me an old woman.
00:16Old woman?
00:17My fiancé just laughed it off, told me not to bother with a kid.
00:20Fine.
00:21Then let them find out what Reaper means.
00:23My dress soaked through, scolding against my skin.
00:25I looked up.
00:26Oops!
00:27My hand slipped.
00:28A girl about 18 stood in front of me, an empty bowl grinning.
00:31Not a trace of apology on her face.
00:32It was my engagement dinner.
00:33My family had spared no ex-fost.
00:35Everyone that mattered in Graydale was in the hall.
00:37My fiancé, Evan, the decent heir to the Shaw family, was right beside me.
00:40Who are you?
00:41I'm Evan's foster sister, Lily.
00:43She set the bowl down on the table, hands on her hips, chin tipped up.
00:46You're what, 28 and old woman?
00:47What makes you think you deserve Evan?
00:49She said it loud enough for everyone to hear.
00:51The hall went dead silent.
00:52Every breath in the room held.
00:54Chamber president's glass froze midair.
00:56The police chief's fork hit the floor.
00:58People in the corner went pale.
00:59They all remembered what I'd done.
01:01I was 13 when my father's mistress drugged my mother.
01:04She bled for three days and nearly died.
01:06Father wanted it buried.
01:07But I walked into that mistress's courtyard with a gun and shot her in front of everyone.
01:11I was 15 when her son came looking for revenge.
01:13I walked into his room with poison first.
01:15After that day, Grayport never spoke his name again.
01:17Don Moretti, my father, stood outside his room door all night.
01:20He'd been a little afraid of me ever since.
01:22The Reaper.
01:23Three shot Rosa.
01:25Ten years ago, the whole city knew those bi names.
01:27Then, on her deathbed, my mother took my hand.
01:30Rosa, stop living with blood on your hands.
01:33Live a good life.
01:34I want you to be happy.
01:35For that sentence, I put my gun down for 10 years.
01:38Ran charities.
01:40Learned how to be a lady.
01:41Young people in Greyboard had already forgotten who the Reaper was.
01:44This girl who dumped soup on me clearly had no idea.
01:49Evan set down his wine glass, smiling gently.
01:53Lily's just young and full of spirit.
01:54Rosa, you're a proper lady.
01:56Don't bother with a kid like her.
01:58I repeated his words silently to myself and smiled.
02:01Behind me, Nina's fists were clenched so tight her knuckles had gone white.
02:04She'd been with me since we were kids.
02:06Her temper ran just as hot as mine.
02:07I put a hand over hers.
02:09Mother wanted me to live a good life.
02:12Okay, I won't bother with her.
02:15When the dinner broke up, the guests fled like they were escaping a fire.
02:17Only Lily took her time.
02:18She passed by me, stopped deliberately, tilted her head.
02:20That dress is ruined.
02:22You should change it.
02:23Maybe you'll also need a younger body.
02:25Then, grinning, she added, Evan stood right there.
02:27He said nothing, just smiled.
02:28Once they'd gone, Nina finally lost it, her voice shaking with anger.
02:32How dare she!
02:33I looked down at the stains spreading across my dress.
02:35Call Cole.
02:36Nina froze.
02:37That was a name I hadn't spoken in 10 years.
02:39Miss Rosa, you...
02:40Call him.
02:41Nina held herself still.
02:42She stepped back, bowed.
02:43Right away.
02:44I meant to honor my mother's wish, to be a proper, happy wife.
02:48The first three days of marriage, Evan was perfect.
02:50Good morning kisses, polite words.
02:53He even made me coffee himself.
02:55On the fourth day, Lily arrived, with three carloads of luggage.
02:58She stood at the gates of my estate, shouting orders at the movers.
03:01Evan said I could stay here.
03:02We'll all look out for each other.
03:05Bring the trunks in.
03:06The large one goes there.
03:07Past the street could hear her.
03:09Don't scratch the floors.
03:10She'd already picked her place.
03:12The east wing.
03:13Second only to the main house.
03:14It used to belong to Nina and the other staff.
03:16I watched from the second floor window.
03:19Miss Rosa, this is your estate, not the shores.
03:22What gives her the right?
03:24Evan does.
03:25Yes!
03:26Sure enough, he showed up soon, all gentle persuasion.
03:30Rosa, Lily's been under my care since she was little.
03:33She can't do without me.
03:34Let her have the east wing.
03:35She won't bother you.
03:36No.
03:37Her things are already inside.
03:38Making her move out would be a mess.
03:40People would say the Morettas can't tolerate a young girl.
03:42I looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
03:45Fine.
03:46Nina's breath caught.
03:47I turned and walked back to my room.
03:49Didn't look back.
03:51Once Lily moved in, the estate turned into chaos.
03:54She thought the chef's cooking was too bland, so she replaced him without asking anyone.
03:57She thought the flowers were too plain, so she had them ripped out and replaced with garish red roses.
04:01She never once acknowledged me when we crossed paths.
04:04Lily's young.
04:04She doesn't understand the rules.
04:06Please be patient with her.
04:07Evan had already made his position clear.
04:08Young.
04:09That was always his excuse.
04:10She was 17.
04:11Wasn't she old enough to know shame?
04:12What a joke.
04:13That night, I met Cole in the study.
04:15Ten years, and he hadn't changed much.
04:16Same cold face, same deep-set eyes.
04:18He was the deadliest gun mother left me.
04:20When I put the gun down ten years ago, he pulled his men back into the shadows.
04:23He never left me.
04:24Miss Rosa, I'm here.
04:26Are your men still with you?
04:27Twelve.
04:28Not one missing.
04:29Ten years.
04:30Has the gun gone rusty?
04:32Miss Rosa's gun never rusts.
04:39Find out two things for me.
04:41First, Lily's background, who her parents are, why the Shaws took her in.
04:45Second, whether she and Evan are really foster siblings or something else.
04:48Understood.
04:49Outside, the moon was full.
04:50Mother, you wanted me to be kind.
04:51I tried for ten years, but I've always known people only respect force.
04:55By the second month, Evan's hands had found their way to my money.
04:58Eight companies, one casino, all of it my premarital property.
05:02Evan made his case sound reasonable enough.
05:04Managing all this is too much for a woman.
05:06Evan, let me handle it.
05:07You'll have less to worry about.
05:09Accountant Chandler came to me for confirmation.
05:11Miss Rosa, Evan says he'll be distributing all revenue from now on.
05:14Let him.
05:14Chandler blinked, sweating, and left without another word.
05:18Nina grabbed my hand, eyes brimming.
05:20He's gone too far.
05:21He's raiding your finances.
05:22Lily's humiliating you.
05:24Why are you tolerating?
05:25Mother's dying wish was for me to put down the gun, to live a good life.
05:29I'm still trying.
05:30But they're stepping all over you!
05:33I didn't answer her.
05:35Three days later, Cole sent me an email.
05:37This month, Evan had sifed off 40% of the revenue.
05:39The money went into a Shaw family account.
05:41One transfer was strange.
05:42It was sent to someone named Leo.
05:44Who was that?
05:45In the afternoon, Evan's father, Richard, showed up at the estate unannounced.
05:49The moment he walked in, his head was already bowed, his posture small.
05:53He's young, hot-blooded.
05:54If he's offended you in any way...
05:55Richard.
05:56You're what, past 50 now?
05:59I am.
06:00Then you know it clearly.
06:02What I did at 13, what I did at 15, you know all of it.
06:06You're not here to apologize.
06:08I lifted my coffee cup.
06:09You know exactly what Evan and Lissy are up to.
06:12You can't stop them.
06:13So you came to test how far my patience goes.
06:17Miss Rosa, I swear that's not...
06:18I only...
06:19You're only afraid.
06:20I finished for him.
06:21He knelt there, sweat dripping steadily off his forehead.
06:24You should be afraid.
06:25I set down my cup and walked over to him.
06:27Go tell your son to rent it in.
06:29My patience is limited.
06:30He scrambled out, half-crawling.
06:34Will he actually pass that along?
06:36He will.
06:37Will Evan listen?
06:39No.
06:39I open my book again, voice even.
06:42He doesn't take me seriously.
06:43Why would he listen?
06:44Then why bother warning Richard?
06:46So Richard knows I gave him fair warning.
06:48When the reckoning comes,
06:50no one gets to say I didn't give them a chance.
06:53I'd guessed right.
06:55None of Richard's warnings sank in with Evan.
06:57In his eyes, the three-gun Rosa was already history.
06:59The woman living with him now,
07:01the one who let soup get dumped on a herd,
07:02was not worth fearing.
07:03So instead of pulling back, Lily got bolder.
07:06She took my private car out and insulted my driver.
07:09She sent the nanny who'd accompanied me for 20 years
07:11down to work the laundry room.
07:13I said nothing.
07:15So she pushed further.
07:16That afternoon,
07:17I was writing letters in the study
07:18when a scream tore through the courtyard.
07:20It was Nina.
07:21My pen froze.
07:22Ink bled into a black blot on the page.
07:24I set it down and walked outside.
07:26Two of the Shaw family's hired hands
07:28had Nina pinned to the lawn.
07:29Her blouse was torn,
07:30her back striped with Lily stood over her.
07:32Writing cast in hand,
07:33cheeks flushed with excitement.
07:34You wouldn't make my coffee?
07:36You wouldn't bow to me?
07:37What are you anyway?
07:38Just a servant.
07:39The cape came down again.
07:40Nina bit down hard,
07:41refusing to make a sound,
07:42though her whole body shook.
07:43Lily leaned in close to her ear,
07:44smiling.
07:45Go on, scream!
07:46Isn't Rosa the great lady
07:47of the Morelli family?
07:48Call for her.
07:48Let her save you.
07:49She paused, laughing harder.
07:51Oh, right.
07:51She won't come.
07:52She let me dump soup on her
07:53without a peep.
07:54You think she's coming for you?
07:57That's enough.
07:59Lily turned.
08:00She froze for a second,
08:01then her smile widened.
08:03Here you are.
08:03Your servant doesn't know her place.
08:05I was just teaching her some manners.
08:06I shrugged her hand off.
08:07I walked straight to Nina
08:09and crouched down.
08:10She turned her head toward me.
08:11Her lip was bleeding,
08:12her eyes burning red,
08:13but no tears.
08:14Miss Rosa.
08:15I reached out,
08:16brushed the hair back from her face.
08:17Then I saw her back,
08:18seven lashes.
08:19I touched the edge of the wound.
08:21Nina's body jerked violently.
08:23I pulled my hand back,
08:24blood on my fingertips.
08:26I stood up,
08:26turned to Lily,
08:27and asked evenly,
08:28who gave you the right?
08:29Lily shrugged,
08:30tossing the crop onto the ground.
08:31She's rude.
08:32So what if I taught her a lesson?
08:33I asked,
08:35who gave you the right?
08:36I don't need anyone to give it to me.
08:38Evan said I could handle things around here
08:39however I want.
08:40Go ask him yourself
08:41if you don't believe me.
08:42I looked down at the blood on my fingers.
08:44Nina's blood.
08:45Ten years, mother.
08:46I behaved for ten years.
08:48I'm done now.
08:50Evan arrived soon after.
08:52I snatched my hand back
08:53just before it could grip Lily's throat.
08:54What happened?
08:55He glanced at the wounds on Nina's back
08:56without so much as a flicker of expression.
08:58She was rushed to his side,
08:59putting on her most wounded expression.
09:00She disrespectful to me.
09:01I taught her a little,
09:02and now Rosa's making a scene about it.
09:04Evan looked at me,
09:05that gentle smile in place.
09:07Rosa,
09:08Lily got a bit carried away,
09:09but if a servant's rude,
09:10a little discipline isn't out of rank.
09:12Lily knows her limits.
09:14Seven lashes,
09:14one deep enough to show muscle.
09:16He called that knowing limits.
09:17I said nothing,
09:19turned and walked away.
09:20Back in the study,
09:21I shut the door and sat at my desk,
09:22staring at the dried blood on my fingertips.
09:24My hand curled slowly into a fist,
09:25nails cutting into my palm.
09:27Cole,
09:27my voice was quiet.
09:28A response came instantly from outside the door.
09:30I'm here.
09:31You told me my gun never rusts.
09:33Yes.
09:34My eyes went bright and cold,
09:36then polish it.
09:38That night,
09:38I sat with Nina.
09:39I'd called in the best doctor
09:41and stayed to watch over the treatment.
09:43Nina lay face down,
09:44her back wrapped in bandages,
09:45biting the corner of her pillow, silent.
09:47Once the doctor left,
09:48don't worry about me,
09:49I'm fine.
09:50I tucked the blanket around her.
09:52Nina,
09:52I'm never letting anyone hurt you again.
09:54She looked at me
09:55and suddenly started crying,
09:57tears sliding down her face.
09:59But she was smiling.
10:00She knew.
10:01The Rosa from 10 years ago had come back.
10:05Cole sent me a second email.
10:07Ever since Lily moved into the East Wing,
10:09Evan had been spending nearly every night there,
10:12well past midnight.
10:13In private,
10:13she didn't call him Evan.
10:15She called him Babe.
10:16What a lovely pair of siblings.
10:18What a filthy pair of liars.
10:22I stood at the window,
10:23watching the lights in the East Wing,
10:25blindingly bright.
10:27Mother,
10:28you told me to try,
10:29to build a good life,
10:31maybe even a happy family.
10:32I tried for 10 years.
10:34The man I married
10:35treated me like a fool
10:36and a walking wallet.
10:38His mistress raised a whip
10:39against my beloved ones.
10:41Did you see any of this?
10:42I closed my eyes,
10:43took a slow breath.
10:44When I opened them again,
10:45only cold remained.
10:47They don't deserve mercy.
10:49The next morning,
10:50I did three things.
10:51Each one hit Evan like a blow to the tut.
10:53First,
10:53I went to the finance office myself.
10:54Chandler nearly fell out of his chair.
10:56Miss Rosa?
10:57Bring me the statements.
11:00But Evan said...
11:01Who has the final say here?
11:02Him or me?
11:03He flinched,
11:04scrambling to pull every file together,
11:05presenting them to me with both hands.
11:08From today on,
11:09I control all finances.
11:10Every expenditure requires my signature.
11:12Evan's authority is revoked.
11:13It was my property to begin with.
11:15He wasn't entitled to a single cent of it.
11:16I'll notify everyone immediately.
11:18Second,
11:18I cleaned house.
11:20Lily wasn't a Morelli.
11:21She wasn't even a real Shaw,
11:22just a foster sister.
11:23What right did she have to live in my estate?
11:24Her allowance cut off.
11:25Her staff dismissed.
11:26Her car reclaimed.
11:27What if she makes a scene?
11:28Post the rules on her door.
11:30She can read.
11:32Third,
11:33I dealt with the two hired hands
11:34who'd whipped Nina.
11:34Evan had brought them onto my land
11:35to hurt my people.
11:36That earned them a beating
11:37and permanent expulsion,
11:38never to set foot on my estate again.
11:40Both of them were dragged out the front gate,
11:42screaming.
11:44That evening,
11:45Evan stormed in,
11:46furious.
11:47What exactly do you think you're doing?
11:49I didn't even look up from my book.
11:50Managing my own property,
11:52running my own estate.
11:53Is there something wrong about that?
11:55Evan froze,
11:55because there wasn't a single argument he could make.
11:58So he softened his expression,
11:59lowered his voice.
12:01Rosa,
12:02we're married.
12:03Why does it have to be like this?
12:04Evan Shaw.
12:05I said his full name,
12:07no warrants in it at all.
12:08He blinked.
12:08I married you because my father said you were a good man.
12:11I put up with Lily because my mother wanted me to live a good life.
12:14I closed my book.
12:15Then I looked up at him.
12:16That doesn't mean I won't lose my temper.
12:19I stood.
12:22He had half a head on me in height,
12:23but in that moment,
12:24he could only drop his gaze,
12:26unable to meet mine.
12:27This time,
12:28I only took back what was mine to manage.
12:30He wanted to argue.
12:31Next time you let someone put their hands on my people,
12:33what I take back won't just be authority.
12:35His throat worked,
12:36but he swallowed the words.
12:38Then he left.
12:40I waited until his footsteps faded.
12:42Only then did Nina peek out.
12:43Miss Rosa?
12:44Was he scared?
12:45Not scared.
12:46He's thinking of a way to deal with me.
12:48I sat back down at my desk.
12:50So what do we do?
12:51Let him think.
12:52I went back to my book.
12:53We'll see what he comes up with.
12:54That night,
12:55sounds of shattering porcelain echoed from Lily's room.
12:58All the cups and plates there were smashed to pieces.
13:00No money,
13:01no staff.
13:02Nothing left for Lily to do but rage.
13:04Listening to the noise,
13:05I finished the last page of my book.
13:08Three days later,
13:09Lily found a way to fight back.
13:11Using the Moretti name,
13:12she'd invited socialites to the estate for afternoon tea.
13:15The judge's daughter,
13:16the chief's niece,
13:17Entreprior's wives,
13:19all of them gathered on her word.
13:21By the time I heard about it,
13:22the guests had already arrived.
13:24Nina's face had gone white with fury.
13:26Miss Rosa!
13:27She's sitting as the host,
13:28using your tea set,
13:30and told everyone,
13:31Moretti affairs are mine to handle now.
13:33You can come to me directly.
13:35Someone even said,
13:36You're the one who's truly suited for Evan.
13:38Rose is only his wife in name.
13:40Then I suppose I should go see for myself.
13:42You're going to the parlor?
13:45The guests should meet the actual mistress of this estate.
13:48The parlor was lively.
13:49Eight women cluttered around her, chattering.
13:52Lily sat in what should have been my seat.
13:55The diamond tiara on her head caught the light.
13:58That was my mother's.
13:59She'd had two custom-made before she died.
14:01One stayed with my father.
14:02The other was locked in my jewelry box.
14:05Oh, Rose is here.
14:07There's an empty seat.
14:08Care to join us?
14:09Some embarrassed,
14:10some guilty.
14:11Compared to her,
14:12Lily really looks more like the mistress.
14:14I didn't raise my voice.
14:16Just looked at Lily,
14:17gently.
14:19That's a beautiful tiara you're wearing.
14:22This?
14:24Evan gifted it to me.
14:28That was my mother's keepsake.
14:30Her hand went still.
14:34You're wearing my mother's jewelry,
14:36sitting in my seat,
14:37using my china,
14:38and telling everyone here
14:39that you're the mistress of this estate.
14:41The room went silent.
14:42You're all decent people.
14:44Go home and ask your elders
14:45what happens to anyone
14:46who touches something
14:47that belonged to my mother.
14:48Several of the older women
14:49went pale instantly.
14:51They recalled everything.
14:52Lily's hands started to shake.
14:54Give me the tiara.
14:56She glanced at the door,
14:57hoping Evan would appear.
14:58No one was there.
14:59Give me the tiara.
15:02Slowly, she raised her hands
15:04and lifted the tiara off her head.
15:06When she placed it in my palm,
15:08her fingers were ice cold.
15:09I turned to the guests.
15:12My apologies for the poor hospitality.
15:14Lily doesn't know the code yet,
15:15and it was my oversight
15:17letting her host in my place.
15:18I'll arrange a proper dinner soon
15:20to make it up to you all.
15:22Not one of them said a word.
15:24They rose one by one,
15:25excusing themselves,
15:27footsteps quick as if fleeing a fire.
15:29The room emptied.
15:30Only Lily remained,
15:32frozen in that chair.
15:33I walked to the door
15:34and, without turning around,
15:35said,
15:36Lily,
15:36What?
15:37Next time you sit in that chair,
15:39you won't be getting up from it again.
15:40Rosa!
15:41Who do you think you are?
15:42I left.
15:46Lily ran to Evan in tears.
15:49Three days later,
15:50Evan came at me for real.
15:52He brought two people with him this time,
15:54a well-known journalist
15:55and a board member
15:56from the Chamber of Commerce.
15:57He opened with a threat.
15:59Everyone in the city's already heard
16:00about you humiliating Lily.
16:02Heir to the Moretti family,
16:03bullying a defenseless girl.
16:05If this story breaks,
16:06it'll destroy your family's reputation.
16:08Threatening me with a headline,
16:10pressuring me with the family name.
16:13Then run it.
16:15All three of them froze.
16:17You can run it on the front page.
16:18I stood,
16:19walked over to him,
16:20but before you do,
16:21let me remind you of something.
16:23More than half of Shaw Bank's deposits
16:25come from Moretti.
16:27Evan's face went white.
16:28That afternoon,
16:29two things happened.
16:31First,
16:31the Moretti family issued a public statement.
16:33Effective immediately,
16:34all business with Shaw Bank was terminated
16:36and all funds withdrawn.
16:38Word spread through Grayport within hours.
16:40If the Morettis were pulling their money out,
16:42what was everyone else waiting for?
16:44By the next morning,
16:45there was a line out Shaw Bank's front door,
16:46all of them there to withdraw.
16:48Second,
16:49the Moretti group opened all supply contracts
16:50to public bidding.
16:51The Shaw group,
16:52flagged for financial irregularities,
16:54was suspended.
16:54In three days,
16:55most of the Shaw group's assets were gone.
16:58Richard,
16:58sick with panic,
16:59coughed up blood.
17:03He came to see me that same night.
17:05The estate gates didn't open for him.
17:08Security only relayed one message.
17:10Miss Rosa says,
17:11you didn't stop it when you could have.
17:12It's too late now.
17:13His car sat outside for two hours
17:15before finally driving away.
17:17As for the news,
17:18never ran.
17:19The journalist burned his graft,
17:21then stayed sick
17:21and locked indoors for three days.
17:23Evan hadn't come back to the estate either.
17:25Miss Rosa,
17:26he's been holed up at the Shaw
17:27as ex-adurantary estapent
17:28plotting with someone.
17:29Do you think he'll do something desperate?
17:30Yes.
17:31I'm waiting for him to act.
17:32However he acts,
17:33my people are already in place.
17:36That night,
17:37Cole came back with two pieces of news.
17:39Each one,
17:40enough to shake all of Greyho.
17:42The first,
17:45Lily's surname was Vitale.
17:46She was the daughter of the Vitale family,
17:48the one the Morettas wiped out years ago.
17:51The day her family was purged,
17:53the Shaws smuggled her out in secret,
17:55changed her name,
17:56and raised her as their own.
17:57She hadn't come into my estate
17:58to play the loving foster sister.
18:00She'd come for revenge.
18:01The second piece was worse.
18:03Her brother, Leo,
18:04was still alive,
18:05right here in the city,
18:07disguised as a teacher.
18:10The siblings met twice a month in secret,
18:12driven by Evan's driver.
18:14It's kind of scary.
18:16And three days ago,
18:17Evan had met Leo himself.
18:18Cole had followed every step.
18:21What were they planning?
18:23At my father's birthday gala,
18:25Leo would make his move.
18:26His people would slip in,
18:27disguised as kitchen staff,
18:28then poison the wine
18:29before anyone noticed.
18:30A toast would become a death sentiments.
18:32And Evan,
18:32as the estate's host,
18:33would inspect the kitchen
18:34at just the right time,
18:35covering their tracks
18:36while pretending to protect us.
18:37Once chaos broke out,
18:38the Mercer family
18:39from the Nabing City would step in,
18:40and Evan's reward
18:41would be half of my family's territory.
18:43Bon appetit.
18:45Miss Rosa,
18:46what are we waiting for?
18:47Tell Dawn right now
18:48and round them all up.
18:50If we move now,
18:51Evan can claim he knew nothing
18:53and pin it all on Lily and Leo.
18:55We'd only catch the driver
18:56and a few kitchen hands.
18:57He'd still be the respectable Shaw heir.
18:59Then what do we do?
19:02I walked to the closet
19:03and pulled open the bottom drawer.
19:05A set of black tactical gear
19:06folded with precision.
19:08Ten years untouched.
19:09Not a speck of dust on it.
19:10Nina had kept it maintained.
19:11She'd always knew.
19:13Someday,
19:13I'd wear it again.
19:14I'm going to let them do it themselves.
19:16With every city guest watching,
19:18let them expose themselves.
19:20The next day,
19:21I returned to the Moretti estate
19:23to see my father alone.
19:25In the study,
19:26he looked at me.
19:28Something's coming
19:29at the birthday gala.
19:30There is.
19:31I met his eyes.
19:34I've prepared a gift for you.
19:36Just sit back
19:36and watch a drop of wine.
19:37My father studied me
19:38for a long moment.
19:39This man who'd spent
19:40half his life in bloodshed
19:41nodded.
19:42For the first time in ten years,
19:44he looked at me unguarded.
19:45It was trust.
19:46As I left the study,
19:48Cole was waiting
19:49under the walkway.
19:50Should we control Leo first?
19:52No.
19:52The kitchen staff?
19:54The driver?
19:55None of them.
19:56Not yet.
19:57I look toward the sky.
19:59Whatever needs replacing,
20:00replace it quietly.
20:02Whoever needs to be in position,
20:03put them there in advance.
20:05Then,
20:05we wait for the show.
20:08Five days later,
20:09my father's 50th birthday,
20:10Bala, began.
20:11It was the most important
20:12social event in Grayport,
20:13political and business elite.
20:14Wives and daughters
20:15of every prominent family.
20:16Over a hundred guests
20:17filled the Moretti estate.
20:18The moment I walked in,
20:19every eye in the room
20:20snapped towards me
20:21because I was dressed in black.
20:23Black tactical gear.
20:25A holster at my whip,
20:26empty.
20:27The sun people
20:27went pale instantly.
20:28In my whole life,
20:29I only wore black
20:30for two occasions.
20:31Funerals and killing.
20:32The chamber president
20:33swapped his wine for tea.
20:36A young man started
20:37to laugh at my outfit,
20:38but in the next second,
20:39he was lucked
20:40by the person next to him.
20:41It's Don's birthday.
20:42Why are you dressing like that?
20:44There's a funeral
20:44coming up soon.
20:45I'm practicing for it.
20:47Whose funeral?
20:49You'll know.
20:50You're dressing like a bad omen.
20:51No wonder...
20:52Evan cut her off
20:52with a sharp grip on her arm.
20:55He was unusually tense,
20:57checking his watch non-stop,
20:59fingers drumming
21:00against the table.
21:01I noticed all of it.
21:02The gala was past its midpoint.
21:04The band still played.
21:05Father sat at the head table,
21:06smiling as he accepted well wishes.
21:08The glass in front of him
21:09remained full.
21:10Evan stood.
21:11He straightened his suit.
21:12How thoughtful.
21:13How decent.
21:13Guests who didn't know butter
21:14even shot him approving glasses.
21:16He walked toward the kitchen.
21:17Only his cuffs betrayed him,
21:20wrinkled where his hand
21:20had clanched too tight.
21:22I looked down at my tea
21:23and counted silently.
21:25Three,
21:26two,
21:27one.
21:28Cole.
21:28Now.
21:29Along the side door
21:30of the ballroom,
21:31twelve men slipped out
21:32without a sound.
21:33The music played on.
21:34No one noticed.
21:36I lifted my tea,
21:37took a slow sip.
21:40The music stopped.
21:42Every guest turned at once.
21:45Inside the kitchen.
21:46The head chef had taken a sip
21:48of the poisoned wine
21:48and immediately clutched his stomach,
21:50thrilling on the floor.
21:52The poison Leo's people had used
21:53had already been swapped
21:54for vitamins by coal.
21:55The two kitchen staff members
21:56went pale,
21:57turned to run.
21:58They didn't make it three steps
22:01before the enforcers
22:03slammed them face down
22:04onto the prep counter.
22:06Don't move.
22:07Then,
22:07at my engagement dinner,
22:09then the ballroom doors
22:10burst open.
22:11Leo,
22:12cornered and desperate,
22:13charged in with seven gunmen,
22:14straight toward father and me.
22:16The guns in their hands
22:17had been smuggled in
22:18by the Shaw family's own driver.
22:20Unfortunately for them,
22:21that driver had been bought off
22:22by coal three days earlier.
22:24Every round in those guns
22:25had been swapped for blanks.
22:26One gunman raised his gun
22:27and fired.
22:28The shot rang out.
22:29No one fell.
22:30Screams erupted through the hall,
22:31guests scrambling for cover.
22:33Leo's pupils contracted.
22:35His hand shot down
22:36toward the gun
22:37hidden in his boot.
22:38He never got a chance
22:39to touch that gun.
22:42He aimed it straight
22:43at my father.
22:44That's when a shot
22:44cracked through the room.
22:45The gun flew out
22:46of Leo's grip.
22:48His hand became
22:48a mangled mess.
22:49He screamed
22:50and dropped to his knees.
22:51Everyone in the room turned.
22:53I stood at the table,
22:54smoke still curling
22:55from the barrel of my gun.
22:56It had been ten years.
22:58That shot landed as steady
23:00as if I'd never
23:00put the gun down at all.
23:02I looked at father.
23:04This is my gift for you.
23:06The enforcers closed in.
23:08Gunmen were forced
23:08to the ground
23:09one by one.
23:11Leo was dragged
23:11to the center
23:12of the ballroom floor.
23:13That's when Lily
23:14lunged from her seat,
23:15throwing herself down
23:16beside Leo,
23:17screaming.
23:18The room erupted
23:19into chaos.
23:22Evan was hauled
23:22out of the kitchen
23:23by the enforcers,
23:24forced onto his knees.
23:25His face had gone bloodless.
23:27He shook his head wildly.
23:28Don, they tricked me.
23:29I didn't know anything
23:29about this.
23:30Lily whipped her head
23:31toward him,
23:32tears streaming
23:32down her face.
23:33Tricked you?
23:35You went to see Leo yourself.
23:37You schemed
23:37for half the Morelli territory.
23:39And now you're
23:40purely innocent?
23:41Shut up!
23:41I will not!
23:42You told me that
23:43once it was done,
23:44you'd divorce Rosa
23:45and marry me!
23:46Silence swallowed
23:47the room whole.
23:47Every guest had just
23:48heard them tear
23:49into each other.
23:50No need to question them.
23:51They confessed it all.
23:52He walked over to Evan,
23:54looked down at him,
23:54and said,
23:55You were married
23:56to my only daughter,
23:57but you tried
23:58to kill me?
23:59Then he turned.
24:00I'll let Rosa
24:01handle them.
24:02Dead silence again.
24:04No one dared breathe.
24:05I walked over,
24:06crouched down,
24:07and met Evan's
24:08ashten face
24:08at eye level.
24:09Evan,
24:09do you remember now
24:10what I did
24:11when I was thirteen?
24:12His people shrunk.
24:14I smiled.
24:15You can guess.
24:17At twenty-eight,
24:18am I crueler
24:18than I once was
24:19or have I gone soft?
24:20His legs gave out.
24:21He collapsed
24:22to the floor.
24:23A strange sound
24:24rose from his throat.
24:25Not crying.
24:26Not screaming.
24:27Something closer
24:28to the whipper
24:28of an animal
24:29in its final moments.
24:30Something closer
24:31to the whipper
24:31of an animal
24:32in its final moments.
24:33Exactly like the sound
24:34I heard at thirteen
24:34when I walked
24:35into the mistress' room.
24:37Three days later,
24:38rain fell over Grayport.
24:40The Moretti family's
24:41decisions spread
24:42through the city.
24:43Evan,
24:43who conspired
24:44against Don Moretti,
24:45would be shot.
24:45Leo and Lily,
24:46the last remnants
24:47of the Vitalla family,
24:48would hang.
24:49The night before,
24:50Lily had cried
24:50until dawn,
24:51calling Evan
24:52over and over.
24:53In the next cell,
24:54Evan heard every word
24:55of it.
24:56He never answered once.
24:57The Shaw family's
24:58assets were seized.
24:59The family was expelled
25:00from Grayport.
25:01Richard's hair
25:02turned white overnight.
25:03As they dragged him away,
25:04he said again and again,
25:06no one spoke up for him.
25:07Cole and the enforcers
25:08swept the remaining
25:09Vitari loyalists clean
25:10within three days,
25:11efficient and merciless.
25:13My father met me
25:13alone in the study.
25:15He stood at the window,
25:16watching the rain,
25:17his back to me.
25:18Any regrets?
25:19About what?
25:20These ten years,
25:21your mother wanted you
25:22to live a good life.
25:23You tried to change
25:24for ten years,
25:25and this is what
25:26it earned you?
25:26A house full of monsters.
25:28No regrets.
25:29Mother asked me to try,
25:30so I tried.
25:31They just weren't worth it.
25:33My father went quiet
25:34for a moment.
25:35Then he reached out
25:36and rested his hand
25:37gently on my shoulder.
25:39For ten years,
25:40my father had loved
25:41and feared me
25:41in equal measure.
25:42This was the first time
25:43he'd reached for me first.
25:45You don't need
25:45to try anymore.
25:47Live however you want to live.
25:51I stepped out of the study.
25:53The rain was still
25:54coming down.
25:56Cole stood beneath
25:56the walkway,
25:57his shoulder soaked through.
25:58The eaves were narrow,
25:59and he'd given the dry side
26:01to whoever passed through,
26:02as always.
26:02That was how he'd always been.
26:04When he saw me,
26:05he moved to bow,
26:06exactly the same way he had,
26:08the first time we met.
26:09I reached out
26:09and pulled him back up.
26:10He froze.
26:11I'd never touched him before.
26:12Let's go home.
26:13He fell in three steps
26:13behind me,
26:14same as always.
26:17You can walk closer.
26:19He hesitated,
26:20then closed the distance,
26:21two steps forward.
26:22The rain was heavy.
26:23Under the eels,
26:24there was just enough room
26:25for two people
26:25to walk side by side.
26:26Later,
26:27a new rumor about me
26:27made its way through Greyhill.
26:29Rosa Moretti,
26:29ruthless,
26:30decisive,
26:30not someone to cross.
26:31But this time,
26:32the story carried
26:33one more line.
26:34Her companion Cole
26:34has her personally for years.
26:36He never left her side,
26:36not even a day.
26:37Some said it was loyalty.
26:39Others said it was something more.
26:40No one dared to ask.
26:41For me,
26:42there was no need to ask.
26:43The answer lay
26:44in that single step
26:44of distance,
26:45neither too close
26:46nor too far.
26:47Just right.
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