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00:00I was dark-natured and born a cursed living voodoo doll.
00:03At birth my father's mole tried to strangle me.
00:05Her face went blue and she choked to death.
00:07While I emerged completely unhurt, servants, kapos, and rogues,
00:11all those who wanted to harm me died the way they wanted me to die.
00:14Annie harm inflicted upon my body will be reflected back onto others.
00:17Everyone believed I was a monster.
00:19My father wanted to throw me to the public sea,
00:21but my guileless sister Isabella saved me from drowning.
00:24But fate played a cruel trick on my innocent sister.
00:26She was sent by our heartless father to wed the brutal underworld padrino,
00:30the godfather Don Alessandro Greco.
00:32Chained and awake, she was slit on command at regular intervals,
00:35so the godfather's mistress could live off her blood.
00:37The godfather later slaughtered our family and I, alone and hopeless.
00:40Died with Isabella tragically.
00:42When I opened my eyes I was back on the night of the Alliance betrothal gala.
00:46I swear I shall avenge us in this life.
00:48In my past life, it was a pity that I married the gentle city counsellor Mateo.
00:51Also the vital heir, the godfather and I would have been a perfect match in hell.
00:55I would only be a thousand times more evil than him.
00:57So when Don the godfather and the vital's heir stood in front of me and Isabella at the same time,
01:02I walked towards Don without hesitation.
01:04Isabella still clutched my hand, tears welling in her eyes.
01:07Valentina, you'll die there.
01:09I'll go in your place.
01:10I shook my head and clutched the marriage contract and laughed.
01:13This time, neither of us will die.
01:16Three days later, two weddings were held in the cathedral at once.
01:20Mateo Vitale came to collect Isabella himself.
01:22He arrived in a white and gold suit that made ceremonial dress look effortless.
01:26I watched him help Isabella into the limo.
01:28Be good to her, I thought.
01:29She deserves your love.
01:30Then I turned and stepped into my own.
01:32Don Alessandro had not come to meet me.
01:34He'd spent last night at a brothel house with his mistress.
01:37I'd fucked that woman all night.
01:39Seven times.
01:40I needed to catch up on sleep.
01:42Just go have your wedding with it for now.
01:50Is the Padrino really doing this?
01:52A bride from a minor family, bound to a dog.
01:54How fitting.
01:55If I were her, I'd hang myself.
01:57What's left to preserve?
01:59Signora, this is his most prized companion.
02:02He felt it appropriate that it stand in his place for the ceremony.
02:05The Padrino despises me.
02:07Even his capos don't bother hiding it.
02:09I said nothing.
02:09I looked past him to the Mama Greco seated on the main chair.
02:12She didn't rebuke him.
02:14My boy just came back from business, exhausted.
02:16You're his wife.
02:17Show him some grace.
02:18The guests are waiting.
02:20Finish the ceremony.
02:21This was what Isabella had endured in our past life.
02:24She never told me.
02:25Valina, stop stalling.
02:27You're asking me to complete the ceremony with a bitch?
02:31So your boy is equivalent to this bitch?
02:33How dare you!
02:35I dare nothing.
02:36I came here to wed the Padrino.
02:38Not a bitch.
02:39Silence.
02:40Then scattered laughter.
02:41Nervous, surprised, quickly smothered.
02:43The Mama Greco's composure cracked at the edges.
02:45The pit bull snarled at the change in the room.
02:48It lunged.
02:48Teeth bared.
02:49I sidestepped and fired my revolver once.
02:51Clean through its shoulder.
02:53Blood sprayed across the stone.
02:54A dark red smear fanned out from the wedding nave.
02:57Droplets dotted the front of my white dress.
02:59Crimson, deliberate like I'd meant it.
03:00She killed it.
03:01She killed the Don's dog.
03:04You.
03:05It attacked me.
03:09What would you have had me do?
03:11Grab her!
03:12Someone get the Don!
03:14The doors swung open.
03:15The floor seemed to shift as Don Alessandro walked in.
03:18He moved in a dark suit.
03:19Calm as a man used to having rooms fall silent.
03:22His eyes swept the crowd and landed on me.
03:24On the crushed animal.
03:25You killed my dog.
03:26His voice was quiet.
03:27That was worse than shouting.
03:29I met his gaze.
03:30It started first.
03:32I'm going to kill you.
03:33I smiled.
03:34I knew he'd come eventually.
03:35Don Alessandro crossed the hall in a few strides and beckoned.
03:38A line of capos moved forward.
03:40Guns leveled.
03:41The metal glinting in the torchlight.
03:45Don Alessandro.
03:46Kill me.
03:47And you'll die.
04:00What did you do to me?
04:08Nothing.
04:09I said coldly.
04:10Remember.
04:11I was born evil and cursed.
04:14I am more monstrous than you.
04:16Any harm done to my body can be transferred to others.
04:19Don Alessandro signaled and his capos fell back.
04:21Guns lowered.
04:22The dog was just a dog.
04:24He said flat.
04:24Voice calm.
04:25I won't hold it against you.
04:26Generous.
04:27I let the word sit.
04:28We still haven't finished the marriage pact.
04:31You killed my dog and you want to-
04:32He stopped, stared.
04:33The pact isn't finished.
04:35Then it stays unfinished.
04:37Be grateful I'm not having you tossed out.
04:39I smiled and turned to the crowd.
04:41My eyes landed on Il Medico Carlo by the far pillar Yang.
04:44Slick in his white coat.
04:44Watching like he hated every second.
04:46I walked to him.
04:47In the last life it was him who cut Isabella open and kept her alive.
04:50If Don Alessandro won't finish this reach-
04:53I said calm.
04:54Perhaps you'd like to stand in.
04:56Carlo went pale.
04:57He looked to Don Alessandro.
04:58Horror on his face.
04:59The insult stung deeper for being indirect.
05:01Don Alessandro pointed at Carlo without a tremor.
05:04Execute him.
05:04Any man suspected of betraying the Don doesn't walk away.
05:07Carlo knew it.
05:08He was dragged off pleading.
05:09Eyes on me.
05:10Don Alessandro's jaw tightened.
05:11He turned back to the dais.
05:13Face like a storm.
05:14All right.
05:15He said through his teeth.
05:16Fine.
05:17He completed the wedding ceremony.
05:19I did not make it easy for him.
05:20That night he didn't come to the room.
05:22In the last life Isabella had sat up until Don in her dress.
05:26Waiting.
05:26I gave Don Alessandro exactly one hour.
05:29Pack his things.
05:30Everything.
05:31I told my people.
05:32If he won't share the room we won't make space for his things here.
05:35They did it without question.
05:37By the time Don Alessandro stormed into the courtyard.
05:39I was already asleep.
05:41My father's men.
05:41My goons.
05:42Stood at the door.
05:43Faces hard and loyal.
05:44Valentina.
05:45He said my name.
05:46Like it was a pistol shot.
05:47Open this door.
05:49I stayed silent.
05:50He slipped into the room like a shadow.
05:51All sharp angles and quiet menace.
05:53He closed the door behind him.
05:55Suddenly.
05:55I felt something warm wrapped around me.
05:57He leaned in close.
05:59Do you know how the last woman who crossed me ended up?
06:01He asked.
06:02Lo.
06:02If you want to kill me.
06:03It won't be tonight.
06:04You still need the docks my family runs.
06:07The night stretched long and slow.
06:08Before dawn the Mama Greco's aide came for me.
06:11The aide said.
06:12You will come with me.
06:13No softness.
06:14No invitation.
06:15They led me to the Mama Greco's private suite.
06:17The room smelled of starch and hot metal linen piled.
06:20A heavy cast iron iron on the board.
06:21The Mama Greco sat at her dressing table.
06:24Loose robe.
06:24A cigarette smoldering between two fingers.
06:26She said without looking up.
06:28Valentina.
06:29You iron my things.
06:31Of course.
06:31I answered.
06:32She tapped ash into the tray and watched me tie the apron around my waist.
06:36You will not eat before the clothes are pressed.
06:38She added.
06:39No food until noon if it takes that long.
06:42You understand how discipline works here?
06:44Yes.
06:45I said.
06:46I pressed the iron over a sleeve.
06:48Heat hissed.
06:48Starch browned the fabric.
06:50In a past life I noticed that every time Isabella came home, her hands were covered in blisters.
06:54Her face pale and emaciated.
06:56So that's how it was.
06:57The Mama Greco said.
06:59You shall learn your place here.
07:03Hurry up girl or you prefer to starve.
07:06I waited until she had finished dressing.
07:08Until she was standing in her finest robes, silver threaded.
07:11I picked up the iron.
07:12I did not touch the fabric but pressed the hot plate hard against the inside of my left arm.
07:16With a blood curdling scream, blisters instantly broke out all over the Mama Greco's arm.
07:20Her shriek brought Don Alessandro through the door in under a minute.
07:23He stood in the doorway and looked at his mother, shocked, furious, extensive burns on one arm.
07:28And then at me, standing beside her with a provocative expression.
07:31Throw her out!
07:32Avoid the contract.
07:33She's a devil!
07:35We can't.
07:36Don Alessandro's voice was very flat.
07:38We need the doc.
07:40Worthless!
07:40The Mama Greco slammed her teacup into Don Alessandro's chest and shrieked.
07:45Good for nothing brat!
07:48Coward!
07:48She was right.
07:50Don Alessandro had cut a deal with Don Vittorio Marconi, the most powerful boss on the coast.
07:55He needed the shipping lanes, open gates and compliant nobles.
07:58My family held the eastern docks.
08:00His consigliere had made sure he understood that before the marriage contract was signed.
08:04In the last life he broke my sister Isabella slowly and on purpose.
08:08Once he realized she carried no leverage, this time he knew exactly what he was getting.
08:12I made sure of it.
08:13I left the Mama Greco to her collapse and walked beside Don Alessandro into the cold corridor outside her suite.
08:19Three days later was the customary return to my family's waterfront.
08:22Don Alessandro hadn't meant to come.
08:24He'd been spending his nights at a private flat in the lower town with his first woman,
08:28waiting for the right season to bring her to the compound and make her as his favorite mall.
08:32In the old life he never returned to Isabella.
08:34She went alone.
08:35Her mother called her useless for failing to control her husband.
08:38Isabella stood with her eyes down and took every insult in silence.
08:42No one knew what she endured in those rooms.
08:44I found Don Alessandro before he could slip away and had my men escort him into the car.
08:48He did his best to keep his fury in check.
08:51Valentina, have I been too patient with you?
08:53If you don't show at my family's docks, it's my family who will take the shame.
08:57That's not my problem. I've got business tonight.
09:00Of course, Julia's birthday. His secret lover.
09:02Then stay.
09:04And I'll make sure to have that whore killed before evening bells.
09:07You wouldn't.
09:08I held his gaze until he understood I was not performing.
09:10I didn't smile.
09:12Senora Julia, Lucio Ferry's girl.
09:14Did you really think you could sweep her past the gates and call her a sweetheart?
09:18If I have her disappeared, your people will thank me for it.
09:21Don Alessandro went very still.
09:23He had not known I had gone that deep.
09:25A tainted lineage like Ferry's was trouble.
09:27He could not afford right now.
09:28Lucio Ferry betrayed Don Vittorio Marconi and murdered his brother in a gunfight.
09:33Don Alessandro wouldn't step on another Don's toes.
09:35The air in the car dropped.
09:37Sit quiet.
09:38Come with me.
09:39And Julia lives another day.
09:42If you step out of this car, she's dead.
09:46Don Alessandro looked like he wanted to put his hands around mine.
09:49Viper.
09:49You absolute viper.
09:51He came unwillingly.
09:52When we arrived, my sister Isabella was already there with her husband, Mateo, the city counselor.
09:57She had brought half a cartload of gifts, luxury watches, a custom gold medallion and vintage wines pulled from the
10:03cellar.
10:03My mother received them with polite indifference.
10:06How thoughtful.
10:06And handed everything to the aide without looking.
10:09Isabella's expression did not change.
10:10She had long since learned to carry disappointment without showing it.
10:13But Mateo noticed.
10:15He reached over and covered her hand with his.
10:17Tenderly.
10:21Valentina, my dear sister.
10:22Isabella saw me and smiled.
10:24She inspected me carefully, and then exhaled when she found me safe and sound.
10:28Have they treated you badly?
10:30Before I could answer, Don Alessandro stepped forward.
10:32Who'd have the nerve?
10:34She's turned the whole household inside out.
10:36Threatened to kill me before we were even married.
10:39He was still furious about it.
10:40Isabella blinked at him.
10:41In the past life he had not come here.
10:43His presence surprised her, and scared her.
10:45She flinched.
10:46Mateo noticed her fear.
10:47Come.
10:48Let's walk the docks.
10:49They left together.
10:50Don Alessandro watched her go.
10:52Something shifted in his expression.
10:53Your sister, she's soft, measured, knows how to hold herself.
10:59You and she, same blood, and yet you're a different animal.
11:01How does that happen?
11:02I should have taken her instead of you.
11:05In the past life, he had taken Isabella, and he had unmade her, piece by piece, season
11:09by season, until there was nothing left that resembled the girl who had once circled me in
11:13the courtyard checking for bruises.
11:15Even his stable men could land a hand on her.
11:17He had used her as a blood vessel to sustain that Julia's life.
11:21Regrets?
11:22Say her name once more and I'll have Judah's tongue cut out.
11:25Don Alessandro's face drained.
11:27I misspoke.
11:28Don't touch her.
11:29Then go.
11:29I need to settle with my mother.
11:31I left him there and went inside.
11:33We were back at the family compound by late afternoon.
11:35Don Alessandro still had business that night.
11:38He went down to Julia's flat in the lower row.
11:40She rose when he came in, eyes already wet.
11:43Don, I thought you'd forgotten.
11:45I got held up.
11:46That viper made me stay.
11:48She pushed my hand.
11:49Of course.
11:50I knew it was she.
11:51Good girl.
11:52Don Alessandro's hand slid under her dress, and the two became entwined.
11:56After the tenderness subsided, Julia held on to Don Alessandro.
11:59Her eyes and cheeks still flushed with the afterglow of passion.
12:02Our son is old enough to find a tutor.
12:04Could I not bring him to your household?
12:06Pack.
12:07I'll have a car.
12:08In two days, you move up.
12:10You can come to my place.
12:11Thank you, Don.
12:13And behind the smile, behind the downcast lashes, emerged the calculating slidness.
12:17When we returned to the compound before the gate, I heard shouting.
12:20A kid barreled toward me, face red, hands flailing.
12:23It's because of you my mother can't come home.
12:26I'll kill you.
12:26I'll kill you.
12:27A woman came scrambling after him, snatching at his collar, her face white with terror.
12:32It was Julia.
12:33She hauled him back and turned to leave.
12:35The boy still thrashing in her arms, still screaming.
12:38Wait.
12:38She stopped then.
12:40Slowly, she sank to her knees with the child still clutched against her chest.
12:43Senora, he's just a child.
12:45Kids say stupid things.
12:47He means nothing by it.
12:48What do you call him?
12:50The Don's boy.
12:51My man quickly stepped forward and struck Julia across the face.
12:54Witch!
12:55You hit my ma!
12:56I'll have my old man kill you!
12:58I'll have you all killed!
12:59In the past life, this same child had put snakes in Isabella's bed.
13:03Slipped them into her shoes.
13:04He terrorized her until she was too frightened to stand.
13:07Not this time.
13:08I watched him a moment, then closed the space between us and slapped him hard.
13:12I didn't want to do it.
13:13But he raised his hand in my house first.
13:15And in my house, that is a line you don't cross.
13:18How dare you touch my boy!
13:20He's the Don's heir!
13:22You are confused.
13:23There is no heir yet.
13:24There is no legitimate son.
13:25Everyone calls him that!
13:27Even the Mama Greci never objected!
13:29Everyone was sloppy with their facts.
13:32An heir is born of a wife and the Don.
13:35You are neither his wife nor officially recognized.
13:38Your boy is a bastard.
13:40Because he carries the Don's blood informally,
13:43he'll live in my wing, under my roof and my rules.
13:47Julia snapped.
13:48She lunged at me, hands like paws.
13:50If you so much as lay a finger on my son, I'll kill you!
13:54In the scramble she found my dagger,
13:56she grabbed it from my belt in the struggle.
13:57She forced it into her own right shoulder with a scream.
14:00Blood gushing to make the scene convincing.
14:02By the time Don Alessandro crossed the courtyard,
14:05weapon in hand,
14:06Julia's face was already wet with tears.
14:08He had closed the distance in four long strides,
14:10jaw working with a look that emptied the air.
14:13Gun leveled.
14:16The moment he saw her thrown into his arms sobbing,
14:18pity flickered across his face.
14:20Then he looked up and his eyes cut to me,
14:22hard and furious.
14:24Valentina,
14:26you touched Julia and my boy.
14:28Your boy,
14:29charged at me in my own hall and threatened to kill my men.
14:32I taught him a lesson.
14:33That is my right.
14:35Apologize to my son.
14:36I almost laughed.
14:38Or I will end you for this.
14:39He's your bastard.
14:41No title,
14:42no standing,
14:43no right to parade in my courtyard without my say.
14:46He's here only because I allow it.
14:49While this bitch,
14:50she deserves to die.
14:52In the past life,
14:53this Julia set a trap for my sister,
14:55staged wounds,
14:56cried for sympathy.
14:57Although the wound looked scary,
14:59it was only a superficial injury.
15:00But she'd bled Isabella while everyone looked away.
15:03Don Alessandro had let it happen.
15:06Don Alessandro.
15:07Don Alessandro,
15:08please.
15:09She is the Donna of the house.
15:11You cannot.
15:12But I could tell she wasn't using much force.
15:14He shook her off easily and kept walking.
15:17I glanced at her.
15:19Julia,
15:20Leah lowered her head,
15:21pretending not to dare to see what would happen next.
15:23But her eyes betrayed an uncontrollable triumphant smile.
15:26Don Alessandro's hand moved.
15:28A gun came up.
15:29Steady and cold.
15:30The muzzle rested an inch from my chest.
15:32The metal reflecting the courtyard lights.
15:34For one breath,
15:35the world narrowed.
15:36I lunged.
15:37I grabbed the barrel and the gun like it was a hot brand.
15:39There was a shock,
15:40a clean,
15:40horrible sound.
15:46A blood-curdling scream rang off the walls.
15:48Not mine,
15:49but Julia's.
15:50Blood gushed from Julia's chest like a fountain pale-faced.
15:53She pressed her hand against the wound
15:54only to find the blood flowing faster and faster.
15:57Don Alessandro and the boy rushed over to Julia at the same time.
16:01Julia!
16:02Mother!
16:04Fetch il medico!
16:06He looked at me as if his eyes were about to shoot fire.
16:09Man!
16:10Cut this woman into pieces!
16:12The Greco's goons after witnessing all this.
16:14None of them dared to touch me.
16:16Carlo was executed.
16:18In your hands.
16:19The look on his face suddenly changed into disbelief and fear.
16:22So it was you all along?
16:25You planned this from the very beginning.
16:27Looks like you're not all that dumb after all.
16:31But why?
16:32Why are you doing this to me?
16:34We had no history of conflict before we met!
16:37No conflict?
16:38You seem to have no recollection of how you mistreated my sister.
16:41That really is a bit unfair.
16:43Here's the deal.
16:44If you want to save this woman,
16:46come with me to the Vitali's annual countryside shooting weekend.
16:49He had no reason to object.
16:51Vitale family organized these congregations every year.
16:54A two-day riding and shooting affair out in the hills that looked like sport but ran on politics.
16:58Every major family showed.
17:00Every old score and new favor played out on that guest list.
17:03The moment Isabella and I appeared, the whispers started.
17:05Isn't that the Dawn's woman?
17:06The one who was paired with his dog?
17:08She still shows her face.
17:11Remarkable.
17:11He doesn't even treat her as a person.
17:13I'd have drowned myself.
17:14The last came from Donna Lucia of the fairy line.
17:16An old enemy who loved a sharp word.
17:18She and her cliques stood near the tree line and didn't bother to lower their voices.
17:22She'd never needed a reason to look at me with contempt.
17:25Today she thought she had plenty.
17:27Isabella's eyes went red.
17:28My sister has done nothing wrong.
17:30The fault lies with the Dawn.
17:32Not with her.
17:34I squeezed her hand.
17:35In the past life, they had said these things to Isabella.
17:37I only learned later.
17:38Isabella walking alone through the snow while they called after her.
17:41No one standing beside her.
17:42No one speaking.
17:44I miss you, sister.
17:45I crossed the grass toward Donna Lucia.
17:47She didn't step back.
17:48She thought I wouldn't dare out here, in front of everyone.
17:51I slapped her.
17:53The crowd went quiet.
17:54Somewhere in the trees, a bird startled and fled.
17:57She pressed a hand to her cheek, eyes wide.
17:59She said,
18:00You hit me.
18:01Do you know who my father is?
18:02I know exactly who your father is.
18:04And when Dawn's wife is present, you bow.
18:07You don't perform for your pals at her expense.
18:10Your old man failed to teach you that.
18:13Consider this a correction.
18:15You think you're untouchable?
18:17My cousin is Dawn's favorite.
18:19She will discipline you and your familia.
18:21Voice rising.
18:22She had been rattled into saying something she couldn't take back.
18:26You mean Giula?
18:28What's so funny?
18:29I called my man, and he came in carrying a tray.
18:34Donna Lucia left, quickly, and without her friends.
18:37The tray held a hand, a woman's hand, still adorned with a signet ring.
18:40It was Julia's.
18:43That's gruesome even for you, Valentina.
18:45A gentle but calm voice rang at my ear.
18:47I looked over my shoulder, and saw a handsome man wearing dark Figaro riding gear.
18:51Lorenzo, the heir of the Greco family, Don Alessandro's nephew.
18:54I stood there for a moment, genuinely caught off guard.
18:57In another life, when Dawn's coup collapsed and my father was swept up in the wreckage,
19:01it had been Lorenzo who stepped forward.
19:03He had argued my father's case before the commission.
19:05He had taken 30 lashes for it, and 30 lashes had nearly killed him.
19:09I had never thanked him.
19:10I hadn't known.
19:12Lorenzo, thank you.
19:14I only said you're gruesome.
19:15What are you thanking me for?
19:16I caught his sleeve.
19:17You ran.
19:18When I told you I wanted to marry you, you actually ran.
19:21He looked mildly startled.
19:23Senora, I would strongly advise against pursuing this particular...
19:27I licked his hand.
19:28He froze like a stone.
19:29Then he pulled his hand back and stared at me.
19:31You... we're outside.
19:33There are people.
19:33You can't just...
19:34Lorenzo.
19:34There are horses.
19:35They can see.
19:36I know.
19:37Color climbing steadily up the back of his neck,
19:39and then turned and walked away with tremendous dignity,
19:41and absolutely no idea where he was going.
19:44Don Alexandra and I never finished the wedding rolls.
19:46We never slept together.
19:48By any strict reading, we're not married.
19:50Whatever is between you and the Don,
19:52it's none of my business.
19:54You shouldn't...
19:54mustn't... this is...
19:55I called after him.
19:57He kept walking.
19:58If you're willing...
19:59Once I dissolve the arrangement with Don Alessandro, I'd take you.
20:04Coward.
20:05Utter coward.
20:08You viper.
20:09Don Alessandro stepped out of the crowd on my left,
20:12materializing from the riding party like a shadow arriving in sunlight.
20:15He set his jaw and closed the distance.
20:17I'm not dead yet.
20:19You'd like to dissolve our arrangement and marry Lorenzo over my living body.
20:23He had come after all.
20:24Some belated instinct about appearances, most likely.
20:27And he had arrived at exactly the wrong moment.
20:29I'm considering my options.
20:31I'm considering finding a convenient moment...
20:34to have you removed.
20:37Are you?
20:39Yes.
20:40That would be...
20:42a miscalculation.
20:43He stared at me.
20:44His jaw worked.
20:45He knew I was right.
20:46He couldn't touch me without consequences he wasn't prepared to face.
20:49He couldn't risk to lose my father's support.
20:51And Julia's fate lies in my hands.
20:54You asked me to come here with you.
20:56Was it just so I could watch you cheat on me?
20:58Not entirely.
21:01Isabella, bring the trophy.
21:03She feared Don Alessandro deep to bone,
21:05holding the sacred by tail stag antler in her hands.
21:07It was no ordinary trophy.
21:08It was the family relic, carved and kept for rights.
21:11The old story said blood on that antler pulled secrets out of men.
21:14I picked up the antler and stabbed Don Alessandro with its sharpest point.
21:22Don Alessandro's eyes widened.
21:25You want to kill me?
21:27That would be too easy for you.
21:29The antler is a relic of the Vitae's last prophet.
21:32When it come into contact with blood, they reveal the truths of past lives.
21:35You should repent for everything you did to my sister.
21:38Don Alessandro, remember this.
21:39It's a fight to the death between us.
21:41And of course you're the one who's going to die.
21:42But I won't let you die easily.
21:44Don Alessandro left ladder.
21:46Someone told me he had spent the ride home in uncharacteristic silence.
21:49I was told he kept reaching up to touch the back of his neck,
21:52as though feeling a draft from somewhere he couldn't locate.
21:54Good, I thought.
21:55He should start getting used to that feeling.
21:57Julia's boy, the Don's bastard, was dragged into my courtyard shouting threats.
22:01You're going to throw me out?
22:03My father will come for revenge.
22:05You'll regret this.
22:06When his lungs gave up, I crouched, took him by the throat.
22:10Not hard enough to kill.
22:11His screams died.
22:13Listen to me carefully.
22:14You are not what you think you are.
22:15You have no title.
22:16No protection that I cannot remove.
22:18I could end you and call it a household matter,
22:20and no one with any authority would tell me I was wrong.
22:22He stared at me.
22:22His lip was trembling.
22:24If she ever sets foot in this compound again,
22:25has no standing to raise you.
22:27That right belongs to me.
22:29By every rule that matters in this quarter,
22:31I am the closest thing to a mother you've got.
22:33Not my mother.
22:35No, I'm not.
22:37But you'll address me like you mean it.
22:39Or you'll kneel in this yard until you do.
22:42He was not stupid.
22:43He could feel my grip.
22:44He went limp.
22:45I released him.
22:46Of course I wouldn't really kill him.
22:47He's just a kid.
22:48I just wanted to make his mother submit.
22:50I kept my promise and spared Julia's life.
22:52But she wasn't satisfied.
22:54She still wanted to be the wife of Don Alessandro.
22:56Julia curtsied holding her hand over the wound on her chest,
22:59which still ached faintly.
23:01I sipped my wine.
23:02In the past life, Isabella had stood where Julia stood.
23:05Julia had Don Alessandro to lean on.
23:07This life.
23:08With me occupying this position,
23:10Don Alessandro didn't dare move against me openly,
23:12which meant Julia had no lever to pull, except me.
23:15So here she was.
23:16Please.
23:16She said finally.
23:18I am asking for a way forward.
23:20We are both women.
23:23You know what it is to have no ground beneath you.
23:26If I am not brought into the fortress properly.
23:28She let her voice break on the last word.
23:30She was playing the sympathy card with both hands.
23:32I had no sympathy for Julia.
23:34She had watched Isabella being bled on a schedule
23:36and called it none of her business.
23:38She had benefited from every drop.
23:40She can find no soft feeling in me.
23:42You may stay.
23:43I said.
23:44She exhaled.
23:46As a chambermaid.
23:48The exhale stopped.
23:50Signora Gretchen!
23:52Being a fairy girl,
23:53you ought to count yourself lucky to still be breathing.
23:57I bore him a son.
24:00I know what has really an eye.
24:01The softness had thinned at the edges now.
24:03Something harder showing through.
24:05That counts for something.
24:06It counts for the boy's existence.
24:08It does not count for yours.
24:11You produced an illegitimate child
24:13outside of any formal arrangement
24:15and called it a service.
24:17In most households, that gets you killed.
24:20She stood there, not quite able to speak.
24:22In truth, I didn't particularly care what she was called.
24:24What I cared about was Isabella.
24:26And the years Julia had spent comfortable while Isabella bled.
24:29Let her kneel for a while.
24:30Let her learn the texture of the floor.
24:32I understand.
24:34She said at last, she bowed her head and went down.
24:36After that, she fell into a routine.
24:38She laundered shirts at dawn, polished boots at noon.
24:41And every night she went to whisper to Don Alessandro
24:43about how I'd made her life hard.
24:45Don Alessandro caught between two immovable objects,
24:48eventually lost patience and snapped at her.
24:50She is the Donna of the family.
24:53Serving her is not beneath you.
24:55I was told Julia did not speak to him for three days after that.
24:59I set to work unraveling the household.
25:01Move the ones who could be turned.
25:03Exile the ones who wouldn't.
25:04Watch how loyalty shifted.
25:05And I watched Don Alessandro.
25:07Meetings ended when I entered rooms.
25:09Letters arrived sealed with unfamiliar marks.
25:11Men showed up in the compound with no announced purpose.
25:14A coup moves like bad weather.
25:16First it smells like thunder.
25:17I needed proof, which meant staying close to Don Alessandro.
25:21Close enough to search.
25:22Close enough to be seen.
25:23And there was Lorenzo as my ally.
25:25Don Alessandro got a summons to the coast boss.
25:28Lorenzo and I arrived together.
25:30The show of it mattered.
25:31And while Don Alessandro sat in that meeting,
25:33Lorenzo came to my side.
25:35Since when have you and the Don been chummy?
25:38Since it suited me.
25:40Don't stay too close to him.
25:42Go back to your docks for a while.
25:43Say you're ill.
25:44Lay low.
25:45He wasn't asking.
25:46He was warning.
25:47He knew there was a move coming.
25:48Lorenzo, if I dissolved my arrangement with Don Alessandro,
25:52formally, legally, would you marry me?
25:56He went still.
25:58You have been married.
25:59No one ever broke the oath made on the wedding nave.
26:01The roles were never completed at the wedding nave.
26:04Technically-
26:05Valentinta.
26:06Is it because I've been another man's wife?
26:08Even in name only?
26:12That is not the reason.
26:15I don't care about titles.
26:17I watched him a long beat and then smiled.
26:19If a devil like me could be worth someone trying to be better,
26:22it would be for him.
26:23I handed him the folder ledgers, letters, names, dates.
26:26Then come for me when you can.
26:28And walked away before he could answer.
26:30Don Alessandro was waiting when I returned to the compound.
26:32Who were you with?
26:35Lorenzo?
26:36When I get what I'm owed,
26:38when the neighborhood is settled,
26:39he'll be the first I cut down.
26:41Then I'll look forward to that day.
26:43He stared.
26:44I went inside.
26:45Two weeks later,
26:46Don Alessandro and his allies moved on the city's administration,
26:49the customs house,
26:50and the docks that run the trade.
26:51They never reached the inner gates.
26:53I had given Lorenzo everything.
26:55The papers,
26:56the correspondence,
26:57the ledgers.
26:58Lorenzo took them to Don Vittorio Marconi,
27:00the coast boss.
27:01Don Vittorio took them straight to my father.
27:04My father showed up in the dark with 50 men at his back.
27:07When Don Alessandro's column hit the cordon,
27:09they were surrounded.
27:10The whole thing was over in about an hour.
27:13Don Alessandro's household was seized three days later.
27:16He looked at me across the vestibule he no longer owned,
27:18and his expression dimmed like a smoldering candle.
27:21You gave the things all to Lorenzo.
27:24You were going to destroy my family.
27:26I wasn't going to let that happen twice.
27:28Don Alessandro Greco was stripped.
27:30The household condemned.
27:31Those who had served the coup were dealt with according to the code.
27:34Marconi's code.
27:35Julia ran.
27:35She took the boy and tried for the East Lane.
27:37They were caught before nightfall.
27:39She had miscalculated.
27:40As people often do when they have spent too long believing themselves protected.
27:43She had spent years cultivating Don Alessandro as her shelter.
27:46In the end,
27:47he could not shelter even himself.
27:49Don Vittorio Marconi took me in himself.
27:52My father had held the docks.
27:53I'd given the intelligence that let them stop the move before it began.
27:56By every account,
27:57I'd been on the right side from the start.
27:59Within a week,
28:00the city talked about me again.
28:01The tone had changed.
28:03Less sneer.
28:03More a careful kind of interest.
28:05I'm sorry.
28:06This should have been me.
28:07If I'd been the one,
28:09you wouldn't have had to.
28:10Nothing to apologize for.
28:12You and Mateo are safe.
28:13That's enough.
28:14She looked at me a long time,
28:16then rested her head on my shoulder and stayed there,
28:18saying nothing.
28:19A fortnight passed,
28:20Lorenzo didn't show.
28:21I sat with that for days.
28:23Maybe he liked the idea of me more than the thing itself.
28:25Better admired from afar.
28:31Ma, I'm heading south.
28:32The car waited at dawn.
28:34I had one foot on the running board
28:35when a motor cut through the morning.
28:37A black sedan slid up.
28:38Lorenzo killed the engine and climbed out,
28:40looking down at me from the driver's side.
28:42You, do you always move people like pieces?
28:45You didn't come.
28:46I waited.
28:48A fortnight.
28:50You waited a fortnight
28:51and then decided I wasn't coming.
28:54It seemed like a reasonable conclusion.
28:56I had to call my folks.
28:58Protocol.
28:58Families talk.
28:59A betrothal isn't something you rush.
29:03Valentina,
29:03I've been waiting for you for ten years.
29:06The morning held its breath.
29:08The morning was very quiet around us.
29:11You were fifteen the first time I saw you
29:12at your father's winter party.
29:14You hit three clay pippers with one shot
29:16and I thought there was someone I'd like to have.
29:18I said,
29:19You never said.
29:20You were promised a way.
29:21Then you were married.
29:22I was trying to stop the city from burning
29:24while you were dismantling a coup.
29:25He looked at me.
29:26I'm saying it now.
29:27I stepped down from the car.
29:28How long before your parents arrive?
29:30A week?
29:30Maybe ten days?
29:31Then you have ten days.
29:33Make them worth the wait.
29:35You smiled.
29:35I've had ten years of practice.
29:37I held up my head
29:38and reached out to pinch his chin,
29:39smiling.
29:41Had you?
29:42His face blushed instantly.
29:44I said,
29:44You should know I'm a voodoo doll.
29:46A teasing smile deepening.
29:47So the heat you're feeling right now?
29:49I'm feeling it too.
29:50I barely felt myself grow lighter
29:52before he wordlessly swept me up into the car.
29:55We should have had the wedding first,
29:56but since you want it this way...
29:58His warm lips met mine.
29:59I stared into his deep eyes
30:00and kissed him harder.
30:01The road should have been empty,
30:03but a shout cut through the valley.
30:04Men came out of the trees like a net,
30:06shots slamming into the air.
30:07A planted charge blew a wheel apart.
30:09The sedan lurched,
30:10throwing Lorenzo into the cushions.
30:12Men went down.
30:12We closed like a well-drilled crew.
30:14My captain, yes,
30:15lost orders.
30:16Return fire!
30:17Form a box!
30:18Get the driver out!
30:19I moved with him.
30:20Every step measured.
30:21One man took a round and went rigid.
30:23Pupils gone wide,
30:24foam at his mouth.
30:24He was dead in breaths.
30:26The smell of the toxin was sharp,
30:27metallic.
30:28The wound had a black smear at the edge.
30:30The mark of rounds laced for more than blood.
30:32Pietro looked at me.
30:34Who'd do this?
30:35I clenched my fists.
30:36His household might have been broken.
30:38And Alexandro.
30:39But his reach hadn't died.
30:40He's still breathing.
30:41Two of the attackers broke off and tried to run.
30:43We caught one young,
30:44hair matted with blood,
30:45eyes too bright with fear.
30:46I leaned in.
30:48Who sent you?
30:49He spat a curse.
30:50You voodoo bitch!
30:51I stepped back and picked up the spent cartridge
30:53that had fallen near him,
30:54turning it in my hand like a question.
30:56Don Alexandro, isn't it?
30:58He barked a brittle laugh.
30:59You think taking out the dawn stops it?
31:01His crew will swear blood for blood.
31:03I pulled a knife and cut my palms slow and clean.
31:06The kid's chest and arms welted
31:07where my blade had bitten dark blood
31:09rising along his skin.
31:10He clenched his teeth and didn't cry out.
31:12A tough nut.
31:13I said.
31:13I raised the knife to my throat.
31:14If I can make you bleed,
31:16I can make your boss bleed.
31:17Speak.
31:18Or I'll make sure he understands
31:20what pain tastes like.
31:21The captive's laugh died.
31:23He swallowed.
31:23He said hoarsely,
31:25He's at the Taverna de la Luna by the goldsmith.
31:27I let the knife fall and sneered.
31:29The trick worked.
31:30My touch only carries when the target is in my sight,
31:32but I got what I needed.
31:33I looked at Lorenzo sitting in the broken car,
31:36his hand bleeding where a splinter had pressed.
31:38He met my eyes.
31:39The questions in his face were all about me.
31:40His voice was clearly tinged with jealousy.
31:42You're going to see him yourself?
31:44You're welcome to go with me.
31:45On the way back,
31:46I sent a runner to the dockside watch.
31:48The Taverna de la Luna was filthy and loud.
31:50Don Alessandro was easy to find.
31:52He'd taken hits in the retreat,
31:53a scar split his lip.
31:55He sneered when they dragged him out.
31:56When he saw me,
31:57his face brightened for a heartbeat
31:58and then went flat.
31:59He turned his cheek away,
32:00the scar sliding into shadow.
32:02I crouched until I was level with him.
32:04I said,
32:05Seeing me again,
32:06you must hate me.
32:06You're in this mess because of me.
32:08If you want to kill me,
32:09I won't pretend I don't understand.
32:10He turned his head farther,
32:11as if to hide.
32:12I grabbed his chin and forced him to look at me.
32:14His eyes held anger, refusal,
32:16and something like a thin fossilized affection.
32:18You should hate me.
32:19My breath stopped for a fraction.
32:20But I won't let you die that easily.
32:22I told him.
32:22I ordered the men around us.
32:24Find him.
32:24From now on,
32:25he doesn't leave my sight.
32:26There was time.
32:27I needed names, routes,
32:28the small details that turned a conspiracy into a machine.
32:31I closed my hand around Don Alessandro's wrist
32:33and let the old reflex take hold.
32:35Mercy wasn't on my mind.
32:36Only leverage.
32:37Don Alessandro's breath hitched.
32:39His face tightened as if someone had punched him in the gut.
32:41He went rigid for a beat,
32:42alive,
32:43but holding himself like a man who'd just been reminded how fragile skin is.
32:46That night,
32:47I spread the maps on the table.
32:48Lorenzo sat close,
32:49his hand finding mine.
32:50He asked,
32:51the edge of something close to jealousy in his voice.
32:54I heard you didn't let him leave your side for a second.
32:57I stroped his cheek.
33:00He's just a prisoner.
33:02Don't worry.
33:03I never had any feelings for him.
33:05But he does for you.
33:07Eyes don't lie.
33:08I looped my arms around his neck and laughed.
33:10Then we can make very good use of that.
33:12He grabbed me,
33:13reckless,
33:13and kissed me hard enough to mark me.
33:18The night stretched long and hot.
33:20Dawn came sooner than I'd planned.
33:21The banquet room was long,
33:23polished.
33:23The old men sat on benches with judgments folded into their collars.
33:26My father's crew ran the formalities like a line of soldiers.
33:29The engagement party needed witness.
33:31Shipping magnates,
33:32warehouse owners,
33:32dock captains,
33:33a couple of city councilmen,
33:34and a clutch of smaller crew bosses.
33:36The glasses were heavy.
33:37The food measured to impress.
33:39I watched my hands as the wine moved.
33:40Deals pass in the small motions.
33:42Who reaches first?
33:43Who pours?
33:43Who leaves a thumbprint on a glass?
33:45I kept my eyes on hands.
33:47Dawn Alessandro stood at the edge of the room like a taut wire.
33:50Halfway through the night,
33:51an attendant screamed.
33:55The singer on the stage took a sip and folded.
33:58Another guest plodded his throat.
34:00Panic split the room.
34:04Pietro moved before anyone else did.
34:06He crossed the hall in two long strides and slammed a cloth over the nearest cup.
34:09This wasn't the crude stuff they use in ambushes.
34:11The powder that kills by choking.
34:13This was clinical.
34:14A nerve cut.
34:14Muscles seizing in a spasm.
34:16The cold slid down my spine.
34:17It wasn't random.
34:18It was timed and poured.
34:19The cup the singer touched had been set out for me.
34:21I don't drink wine.
34:22The cup had been switched at the last minute.
34:24Someone had aimed for me.
34:26I saw Dawn Alessandro move like a shadow at the edge of the room.
34:29He looked like the obvious hand behind it.
34:31He came close enough that I felt the warmth of his breath.
34:35Not me.
34:36I didn't do this.
34:37I'm out of that kind of poison.
34:39Show me proof.
34:40His face went bright red in a single flash.
34:43There is one way to prove a thing like this.
34:44To prove he hadn't been carrying it.
34:46He'd have to strip down in front of everyone.
34:48For a man of his pride,
34:49being stripped in public was worse than death.
34:52You're a woman.
34:52It wouldn't be proper for you to search a man.
34:54I'll do it.
34:55Lorenzo walked up to the pillar where Don Alessandro stood.
34:57Don Alessandro stiffened.
34:59He looked at Lorenzo, then at me.
35:02You're going to strip me in front of all these people?
35:04If you want to clear your name, do it.
35:06Lorenzo's eyes were flat.
35:07Refuse, and you'll look guilty.
35:10Don Alessandro laughed once hollow.
35:11He undid his outer cloak and lifted his shirt slowly.
35:14The hall watched him.
35:15He exposed his body without flinching.
35:17The belt marks and old scars showed.
35:19Lorenzo and two guards inspected him.
35:21There was no sign of a venom sack or recent injections.
35:24Don Alessandro turned his face away,
35:26and red came to his neck.
35:30So what?
35:30I'm clearing you.
35:32The cup was switched.
35:34Someone knew the seating arrangement and my habits.
35:37This was premeditated.
35:39Don Alessandro's gaze met mine just once.
35:41There was something like accusation in it,
35:43and something else.
35:44Relief that the indignity had been born.
35:47We pulled the cups and the servants out of the room.
35:50Piatro and two men tore through the steward's pantry.
35:52Under a tray damp with wine,
35:54they found a scrap of cloth.
35:55Piatro held it up.
35:56This was used to wipe a cup.
35:57The steward went white and shook.
35:59We kept him under watch in the hall until night.
36:01Later, I sat with him alone.
36:03Who told you to swap the cups?
36:05I was paid.
36:07Silver coins under the tray.
36:09A woman.
36:10She wore fox fur.
36:11Fox fur.
36:12I repeated.
36:14Said she served Donna Lucia.
36:15Gave me the coin and told me which goblet to swap.
36:18Who saw you?
36:19Lorenzo pressed his thumb into the steward's wrist.
36:22The steward whispered two names,
36:23two serving girls,
36:24and a runner.
36:25Don Alessandro watched from the doorway the whole time.
36:27He didn't speak.
36:28He loomed in the room like a shadow
36:30you could cut your hand on.
36:31We rounded up the girls.
36:32Marta, the runner.
36:33I swapped the cup.
36:34I didn't know who it was, Beau.
36:36Cracked when Pietro shoved her into the lockup.
36:38Who paid you?
36:39Who ordered it?
36:40A woman with a clam-out hat.
36:41She gave me a silver coin and said,
36:43serve this to the guest at the lion's table.
36:45But it somehow went to the singer.
36:47Lorenzo's mouth tightened.
36:48He'd seen Donna Lucia sneer at the hunt.
36:50I walked to Donna Lucia's pavilion.
36:52She sat under a tent,
36:53swirling wine like nothing had happened.
36:57Did you send a runner tonight?
36:58Donna Lucia gave her a polite smile.
37:00I sent no one.
37:01Why would I?
37:02Because someone wanted me dead,
37:03then planned to pin it on Donna Alexandro.
37:05You accuse me?
37:07Ridiculous.
37:08Stop making stuff up and freaking out.
37:10The argument had no smoking gun.
37:12Marta had small coins with a fox stamp hidden in her hair.
37:15The stamp matched a merchant family known to trade with Donna Lucia.
37:18It was circumstantial, but enough to raise the alarm.
37:21That night, I called Lorenzo and Donna Alessandro out to the courtyard.
37:24A single lamp burned over us.
37:26Lorenzo looked at Donna Alessandro with cold in his voice.
37:29What's he doing here?
37:30He said.
37:31I smiled, quiet.
37:32There was special venom in my cup.
37:34Don Alessandro's people know that poison.
37:37Lorenzo snorted.
37:39Viper tricks.
37:40If someone set this up, they want to split us.
37:43I said.
37:43We won't let that happen.
37:45We?
37:47Not including him, surely.
37:48Don Alessandro's voice was low.
37:50If Donna Lucia arranged it, she answers to someone higher.
37:54They're stirring unrest.
37:55Then follow Donna Lucia's merchants.
37:58Follow the money and tell me who pays them.
38:00Don Alessandro hesitated, then gave a short nod.
38:04I will look.
38:05Lorenzo's hand squeezed mine, possessive.
38:08Don't trust Don Alessandro without proof.
38:10I won't.
38:12But if you're cleaning up more blood, show me what you find.
38:16Do it where I can see it.
38:18He didn't like the demand, but he agreed.
38:20He left with that thin bruise of regret across his face.
38:24Don Alessandro's men tailed the merchant wagons until they found a tent with a ledger spread
38:28on a stump, payments, dates, terse notes.
38:30A few entries carried the Fox stamp cash paid to runners for special placements.
38:35Pietro read in the dim light.
38:36Paid for Table of the Lion, coin drawn third night.
38:39Names followed, one read Marco.
38:41Marco was a minor capo with debts and a grudge against Lorenzo's family over the river crossing.
38:45Motive enough.
38:46We moved fast.
38:47When they hauled Marco in, he wore anger on his face like a mask.
38:50You can't touch me.
38:51You've no cause.
38:53You bought death.
38:54You paid to swap a cup and try to cut a life.
38:56Why?
38:56Marco spat.
38:58Valolina and Lorenzo together tips the balance.
39:01I wanted the council to think twice.
39:03I didn't mean to kill, just scare.
39:06The poison man clipped it harder.
39:07He named a doctor I'd heard of, trafficked in powders and secret methods.
39:11Someone who'd once worked with Don Alessandro's camps.
39:14They dragged her out of a low tent that stank of vinegar and drying herbs small, bent paper thin.
39:19You sold the poison formula.
39:21You plotted to poison Signora Valentina and Lorenzo.
39:24She didn't flinch.
39:25I did it.
39:26A small bitter laugh escaped her.
39:27I won't deny it.
39:29Lorenzo stepped up.
39:30Why sell to men who kill?
39:32Why help them?
39:33The apothecary fixed him with a hard, sudden look.
39:36Because I was afraid.
39:38Then she pointed at me.
39:39Her voice snagged on the next word.
39:41Don Alessandro stood in the doorway, silent, his fingers flexed.
39:46Explain yourself.
39:48I was the midwife when your mother gave birth.
39:52You didn't breathe.
39:53Your mother begged me to do anything to bring you to life.
39:57I made a choice I thought would save you.
39:59Save me?
40:01You turned me into what I am?
40:04You were not born whole.
40:06I put life back on a thread.
40:09I made a binding so the soul could find its body if the body was taken or broken.
40:14I used a pin.
40:16I used a charm.
40:17It was desperate.
40:19Your mother wanted you to live.
40:21His jaw moved once like someone biting down.
40:23You call that saving?
40:24At first, yes.
40:26It returned you when you died.
40:28Short returns.
40:29Easy ones.
40:30I thought it was a mercy.
40:32Then you began to come back with memories.
40:34Each time your power woke stronger.
40:36Each time you walked more dangerous.
40:38Her eyes flicked to Don Alessandro and then away.
40:41I watched you grow a thing that could twist fates and send it back through time.
40:46I felt it in the air.
40:48After deaths, you did not stay gone.
40:50I heard you move in the world when you were not meant to.
40:52It made men hungry to use you and terrified to lose you.
40:55Don Alessandro flinched as if struck.
40:59So you tried to murder in a hall full of witnesses?
41:03The murderer was caught and we went back to the villa.
41:05The courtyard was colder than I expected.
41:08Moonlight lay flat across flagstones and the rose beds.
41:11I stood with my back to the wall and watched the moon till the memory of my birth and the
41:15black pin crawled under my skin again.
41:16The past kept knocking.
41:18The present felt brittle in my hands.
41:20A rustle in the roses broke the quiet.
41:22Someone moved among the bushes.
41:23Deliberate, careful.
41:24I stepped forward without thinking and found him half crouched.
41:27One hand in a tangle of thorns.
41:29The other holding a single rose.
41:31Don Alessandro looked up at me as if he'd been caught doing something petty.
41:34For a second, the moonlight softened him in a way it never did in daylight.
41:38You shouldn't be here.
41:39He straightened slowly.
41:41Neither should you.
41:42His tone was low, almost amused.
41:44I closed the distance in two long steps and seized his arm.
41:48He didn't resist.
41:49He looked surprised at my boldness.
41:51And then something like pleasure passed through his expression.
41:53An old habit of being the one who provoked.
41:55Before I could speak, he covered my mouth with his hand.
41:58His palm was warm.
41:59His fingers firm.
42:00The motion was possessive in the old way.
42:02The way men who think in ownership move.
42:05Shh.
42:06Don't shout.
42:07His nearness was a provocation.
42:09I did not struggle at first.
42:11When I realized what that softness did to the memory of every wound,
42:14I wrenched my jaw free and pushed his hand down.
42:18Don't.
42:19He stayed close enough that I could see the fine line at his jaw.
42:22He half bowed, plucked a rose from his fist,
42:25and tucked it at my temple where a curl would hide it.
42:28You always liked roses.
42:30His fingers lingered on my skin.
42:32He looked at me like a man looking at a map he remembered from long ago.
42:36I remember you.
42:38Not in one life.
42:40In every life I saw pieces, glimpses.
42:44Sometimes I think those pieces line up and make the same person again.
42:48You remember me?
42:51He searched my face.
42:53Yes.
42:54I remember.
42:56I remember more than I should.
42:58In every life I have lost you.
43:01I won't let you go this life.
43:04The rose was heavy at my hair.
43:05The scent was sharp.
43:07For a moment the courtyard narrowed to two people and one small bloom.
43:10I don't want your memories.
43:11I pushed the rose down and the thorn pricked my palm.
43:14I dropped it at my feet and slammed my heel down on it.
43:17You should know.
43:18My voice clear in the hush.
43:19I will never forgive you.
43:21You hurt Isabella.
43:22In the last life you torn her to pieces.
43:24Now you're circling Giolia just like before leaving bloodstains on the same land.
43:28I won't pretend not to know what your hands are capable of.
43:31His face changed when I said Isabella's name.
43:33There was an instant of pain that did not look like pretense.
43:37You can't blame everything in the past on me.
43:39That was-
43:40Enough!
43:41No more excuses.
43:42You had a choice and you made it.
43:44He took a step forward as if to close the space between reproach and understanding.
43:48I was wrong.
43:49Not everything I did was by choice and not everything was my fault.
43:53But I-
43:54He stopped, the words hanging.
43:55Save your justifications.
43:57They mean nothing once the damage is done.
43:59What about Lorenzo?
44:01He looked past me, as if the thought of Lorenzo had a shape he could avoid staring at,
44:05and then returned his gaze to me.
44:06You are betrothed to him.
44:08Yes, I've made my promise.
44:10I've my Tavari.
44:11I've chosen a life that protects more people.
44:13It matters more than our quarrels.
44:15He watched me like a man counting losses.
44:17A slow, almost bitter smile touched his mouth.
44:20You chose him.
44:21I will not.
44:22Don't speak to me of love, as if one apology can make up for all the blood you've spilled.
44:27The moon caught his profile and made his face look very old.
44:32I'm not asking for forgiveness.
44:33His hand found the rose crushed under my boot and closed over its stem.
44:37I want you to know.
44:39The things I remember are enough to keep me awake at night.
44:42I looked at him.
44:43He was telling the truth, the unmistakable melancholy.
44:46Then remember this.
44:47I remember what you've done too.
44:49Next time you think about crossing that line that ruins people,
44:53think of this.
44:55Lorenzo's steps came quick on the flagstones.
44:57He had circled the courtyard and stopped when he saw us.
44:59The two of us faced each other by the crushed rose.
45:02His face went closed.
45:03Then raw.
45:04Valentina.
45:05He did not call like a friend.
45:06The name came out like a claim.
45:08He pushed between us without waiting for permission and took my hand.
45:11His fingers hard and hot around mine.
45:13What is he doing here?
45:15Don Alessandro did not move back.
45:16He kept his hands loose at his sides,
45:18but his eyes found Lorenzo and folded inward like a blade being softened.
45:22You promised me some privacy.
45:24Privacy?
45:25There's no such thing when a strange man stands alone with you face to face.
45:29I felt Lorenzo's grip tighten.
45:30He pulled me a fraction closer as if proximity could be a barricade.
45:33Lorenzo.
45:35He's here to talk.
45:36Lorenzo's look said he did not believe it.
45:38Talk?
45:40Or conspire?
45:41Don Alessandro's face changed then.
45:43You always imagine me to be something I'm not.
45:45Lorenzo's hand left mine and went to the pommel at his hip.
45:48The motion was a warning, but the air altered.
45:50I watched Don Alessandro's eyes.
45:52They were the same green gray I had stared into once before, in a life that felt both
45:56distant and sharp.
45:57I was a child then, and a small snake had slithered from under a stone in the courtyard.
46:01It had been hurt, one side of its face torn.
46:03I had cupped it in my palms and held it while it stilled.
46:05And when it looked up the light caught its eyes and they were exactly like Don Alessandro's
46:09now slow, wet, aware in a way that was neither animal nor human.
46:12I had fed it milk and wrapped it in linen until the wound closed.
46:15Its gaze had stayed on me the way this man's did now, like a debt unpaid.
46:19The memory slid through me and softened something I had bolted shut, but it did not make me
46:23to forgive him.
46:24It complicated the shape of my anger.
46:25Lorenzo saw the change in me and his face shifted.
46:28Confusion, then a flash of hurt.
46:31You're looking at him like you remember him.
46:33His voice was sharp enough to cut through the moonlight.
46:36You're not supposed to be looking at him.
46:38Don Alessandro's mouth thinned.
46:39I never wanted you to be torn.
46:41Lorenzo laughed, but it had no joy.
46:43You have torn people since you learned to keep a blade.
46:46Stop, I said.
46:47My voice was steady.
46:48We are not settling this with blades in the moonlight.
46:51Lorenzo would not let go at once.
46:52He kept a grip on me as if my being there proved something.
46:55Softer now.
46:55Falling to leave.
46:56Don Alessandro looked at me as if asking permission.
46:58Not with words, but with the whole tilt of his head.
47:00For a second.
47:01His sorrow was a question.
47:02Would I send him away or let him stay and make some further claim?
47:05I thought of the snake, of its patient eyes, of the smell of milk and linen.
47:09I choose Lorenzo.
47:10I thought of Isabella, and all the reasons I had closed my hand against him before.
47:14I thought of Lorenzo's steady warmth, and the life we were building that was not scraped
47:18from violence.
47:19Don Alessandro's face did not harden into anger, but grief.
47:22He bowed his head very slightly.
47:23Wait.
47:24The rose still crushed under our feet, and stepped back into the shadowed bushes as silently as
47:29he had come.
47:29I hesitated a beat.
47:30The moon sharp on the stones.
47:32Don Alessandro had already stepped into shadow when I called him back.
47:35He paused, one hand still in the rose bush.
47:37When he turned, his face was a study and calm.
47:39I'll make you an offer.
47:40You can stay here, in my house.
47:42But if you want to stand in my courtyard and plant flowers at my feet, you will do it as
47:45my slave.
47:46You will serve me to repay what you've done.
47:48You will answer to my will.
47:51Publicly, you will undo what your name has set loose, and you will submit to my terms.
47:54A single invisible line had been drawn.
47:56The three of us held our breaths.
47:58Don Alessandro's eyes widened.
47:59For a moment, he looked almost stunned, as if the words had landed on him like a physical
48:03blow.
48:03Then something moved through him.
48:05Surprise.
48:05Then a very small, almost childlike joy.
48:07His voice was rough.
48:09You mean, you mean you would have me stay and bow?
48:12Yes.
48:12You will be seen.
48:14You will confess your deeds.
48:15You will work under my command.
48:17You will atone publicly every sunrise for a season.
48:20If you refuse, you leave and never return.
48:23I let the words sit there.
48:24I was not bargaining for love.
48:25I was bargaining for safety and for repair.
48:28He took a step forward, and in that step, his composure broke into something wrong.
48:31And if I accept?
48:32I repeated harsher.
48:34You will do as I say.
48:35No tricks.
48:36No secrecy.
48:37You will be watched.
48:38You will answer me.
48:40To refuse is to choose the road you have walk.
48:44Don Alessandro's breath came out like steam.
48:46He swallowed as if to steady himself.
48:47He looked at Lorenzo, then back at me.
48:49For the first time, he seemed small in the way guilt makes a man small.
48:52If service keeps me near you, if kneeling at your feet is the price for seeing you breathe
48:56in the same air, then I will take it.
48:58I will be yours.
48:59He said finally, voice low.
49:01There was a wobble in his voice I had not expected.
49:03It sounded like relief.
49:04And something else relief laced with hunger.
49:06He bowed his head a fraction.
49:08Lorenzo's face changed the way thunder changes the sky.
49:10He moved in between us with an impatient, raw force.
49:13Without hesitation, in front of Don Alessandro, and the moon and the crushed rose at our feet.
49:17He seized me and kissed me, pardoned claiming right where we had stood arguing.
49:21The kiss was sudden, fierce.
49:23Lorenzo's hands were heavy at my waist.
49:24His mouth left no doubt.
49:26It was a mark and a warning.
49:27The courtyard held its breath.
49:28Even the wind broke.
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