Divorced, I Married The Godfather - Short Drama - FULL ✅ [Eng Sub] - Vidéo Dailymotion

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A powerful full drama movie filled with love, secrets, and unexpected twists.  Follow a powerful story where relationships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, and lives change forever. From romantic moments to shocking surprises, this drama keeps you engaged from beginning to end.  Featuring stories about CEO, billionaire lifestyles, family connections, and life-changing decisions, this movie delivers strong love and unforgettable scenes.  Watch the full movie and discover what happens in the end.  New full drama movies uploaded regularly. Stay tuned for more captivating and trending stories.  #drama #fullmovie #lovestory #dramatic #billionaire #ceo #family #relationships #movie #story

Transcript

00:00:00The night I signed the divorce paper and walked away with nothing, I wandered the rainy streets alone, with a

00:00:06single duffel bag and only $36.

00:00:09That was when I spotted a flyer taped to a roadside pole.

00:00:12Stepmom wanted for child, room and board. That's what got me.

00:00:16That same night, I showed up at the address.

00:00:18I walked straight into the mansion of Luca Castellano, the don of New York's oldest mafia family.

00:00:24Later, my ex-husband looked down at me with that same arrogance.

00:00:27Nora, do you finally realize you were wrong?

00:00:31Before I could answer, the four-year-old little tyrant exploded.

00:00:34Wrong about what? My mom is the best!

00:00:37The don slipped an arm around my shoulders, kicking him aside.

00:00:40My wife could never be wrong, and even if she was, she'd still be right.

00:00:44I never expected the people posting flyers on poles to be New York's most powerful mafia family.

00:00:50Now I stood outside their mansion. Beside me, the butler carried himself with quiet arrogance.

00:00:55The don is looking for a mother for his child.

00:00:57Not a wife for himself. I need you to be very clear on that.

00:01:01Don is a very desirable man. Do not get any ideas you shouldn't.

00:01:05I kept my eyes lowered. Honestly, this job was perfect for me.

00:01:08To put it simply, they just needed a high-end nanny.

00:01:11Eight hours ago, I'd signed the divorce papers and been kicked out of my ex's house.

00:01:15The last thing I wanted was another husband. But a roof? Three meals? A place to disappear? That was a

00:01:21miracle.

00:01:22I understand. I won't get any ideas.

00:01:25The butler led me down a dim, vaulted corridor. Then I heard something that sounded like a gunshot.

00:01:30I stumbled, slammed straight into a hot, hard chest. The smell hit me first. Blood. Gunpowder.

00:01:36Then the barrel of a pistol tipped my chin up. A man in a suit with his hair slicked back.

00:01:41Blood streaked across his jaw.

00:01:43A snake tattoo coiling out of his collar onto his throat. My chest rose and fell rapidly with fear.

00:01:49His gun slid down from my chin and stopped between my soaked breasts.

00:01:52He studied me for a long beat. Finally, walked off without a word. I'd seen that face before.

00:01:58Page 6. New York Times. The Castellano Don.

00:02:01Sebastian had once spent a month studying his photos, trying to get in with the old mafia family behind him.

00:02:08The butler finally spoke.

00:02:09The Don is handling some business. Please don't mind.

00:02:12I nodded quietly. Then he took me to change into something dry and led me into the dining room.

00:02:17A long wooden table sat beneath a crystal chandelier. And at one end, a father and son were locked in

00:02:23a standoff.

00:02:24The man with murder in his eyes was gone. In his place, at the table, sat a man in a

00:02:29white dress shirt holding a spoon.

00:02:30His face was tired. The boy pressed his lips shut and glared up at his father like a tiny soldier

00:02:36holding the line.

00:02:37Neither moved.

00:02:38Finally, the man exhaled and set the spoon down. Long fingers pinched the bridge of his nose.

00:02:43His voice dropped, low and rough.

00:02:45One bite. One small bite. Is that really too much?

00:02:49The butler stepped forward.

00:02:51Don. The applicant is here.

00:02:53The man turned. His shirt was unbuttoned low.

00:02:55I could see most of the snake tattoo now.

00:02:58The lines of his muscles pressed faintly through the white linen.

00:03:01The most feared man in New York inherited the family glory at 16.

00:03:05Built it bigger, darker, quieter than his father had.

00:03:08Money, power, blood on his hands.

00:03:10So this wasn't some dream or scam. A man like Luca Castellano had no reason to scam a broke divorcee

00:03:17off the street.

00:03:18His eyes moved over me, distant and tired.

00:03:21Name?

00:03:21I figured he'd come straight from his so-called business.

00:03:24Handling traitors, torturing some enemies, and now got defeated by a toddler.

00:03:29Feeding the kid was probably harder than running his empire.

00:03:32Nora Bennett.

00:03:32I said, a barely there nod.

00:03:34He held out the plate.

00:03:35Try.

00:03:36So, this was my interview.

00:03:38If I didn't pass, I was sleeping on the F train.

00:03:40I smiled my warmest, gentlest smile and walked toward the boy.

00:03:44I didn't make it two steps.

00:03:46Whoosh.

00:03:46He bolted under the table.

00:03:48Only his eyes peeked out.

00:03:49Dark, round, furious.

00:03:51I don't want her!

00:03:52Send her away!

00:03:54She's a bad lady!

00:03:55They're all bad ladies!

00:03:56So, before me, this kid had already been through who knows how many stepmoms.

00:04:01Fine.

00:04:01I needed to do my best.

00:04:02I scanned the room and clocked it instantly.

00:04:05Action figures everywhere.

00:04:07Batman, Spider-Man, a whole shelf of Avengers.

00:04:10I grabbed two figures off the coffee table and crouched down by the table leg.

00:04:14I sat Batman and Spider-Man right next to the kid.

00:04:17Then I picked up the spoon.

00:04:18Don't worry.

00:04:19I'm not feeding you.

00:04:20I'm feeding Batman.

00:04:21I mimed a spoonful into Batman's face.

00:04:24Open up, Bats.

00:04:25Heroes who skip dinner?

00:04:26Skinny arms, skinny legs.

00:04:28Can't protect anyone like that.

00:04:30Oh, Batman wants vegetables?

00:04:32Good call.

00:04:33Spinach makes you strong.

00:04:34The boy watched, half-hidden, lips parting, smacking his mouth a little.

00:04:39I pretended not to see.

00:04:40His nose started turning pink, like he was about to cry.

00:04:43Right on cue, I gasped.

00:04:45Wait, is that a baby Batman over there?

00:04:48Bats, can you share with him?

00:04:49He has to eat too if he's gonna grow up strong.

00:04:52I tilted Batman.

00:04:53Bats says yes.

00:04:54I turned to the boy.

00:04:56Batman improved, kiddo.

00:04:57You get a little, but just a little.

00:05:00We don't want you outgrowing him.

00:05:01He'd be sad.

00:05:02The boy nodded furiously.

00:05:04I didn't even get the spoon to his mouth before he grabbed it with his lips.

00:05:08A big bite.

00:05:09Why won't you give me vegetables?

00:05:10You scared I'll get stronger than Batman?

00:05:13Bad lady!

00:05:14I glanced at the couch.

00:05:15Luca Castellano's mouth curved.

00:05:17A small, real smile.

00:05:19Approving.

00:05:20I moved into the castle that night.

00:05:22There were three floors.

00:05:23I got the second floor with Leo.

00:05:24Luca had the entire third floor to himself.

00:05:27The butler walked me to my room and gave me one last warning.

00:05:30You do not go up to the third floor.

00:05:32Ever.

00:05:32His voice dropped.

00:05:33The last woman who snuck up there to climb into the Don's bed got thrown out of his window.

00:05:38Two story drive.

00:05:38I thought of the gun from an hour ago.

00:05:41I nodded so hard I almost gave myself whiplash.

00:05:44Won't happen.

00:05:44You have my word.

00:05:46Castellano men breed serious.

00:05:47Leo was only four and slept in his own bed without a fuss.

00:05:51And that made my job easier.

00:05:52I'd just changed into the silk pajamas from the closet.

00:05:55The knock made me jump.

00:05:56Don Luca's voice was low behind the door.

00:05:59Come down.

00:06:00Let's talk.

00:06:00Luca was on the couch in the great room.

00:06:02Long legs crossed.

00:06:03Whiskey in his hand.

00:06:05I sat across from him on the opposite couch.

00:06:07Hands in my lap, knees together.

00:06:09Like a job interview.

00:06:10You're good with kids.

00:06:11You have one of your own?

00:06:12No.

00:06:12I helped raise my ex's nephew for two years.

00:06:15Back the...

00:06:16The crane said I didn't make enough money and ordered me to quit.

00:06:19Called it generosity.

00:06:20Then, after I did, they claimed I was lazy and had nothing to do.

00:06:24So they fired the nanny and dumped the kid on me.

00:06:26More free maid than wife.

00:06:28File says you're divorced.

00:06:29Yes.

00:06:29Reason?

00:06:30Some small town girl cannot stain a noble family name.

00:06:34I guess.

00:06:34Only a coward would say that.

00:06:35You saw the ad.

00:06:37I'm hiring a mother for Leo, not a date for me.

00:06:39My rival's family terrified him when he was little.

00:06:42He's always been insecure, hates leaving the house, and has never had a single friend.

00:06:46I work long hours.

00:06:47I need someone with patience.

00:06:49Someone who'll stay.

00:06:50There will be a prenum.

00:06:52Everything stays separate.

00:06:54Especially in bed.

00:06:55My heart shuddered as I looked deep into his eyes.

00:06:57Marriage in rich people's world was a contract before it was anything else.

00:07:01My marriage with Sebastian was for love.

00:07:04But because the gaps between our family, I'd signed one with him too.

00:07:08When the love ran out, I'd walked away with nothing.

00:07:10Not even my wedding ring.

00:07:12Let alone a powerful mafia family like the Castellanos.

00:07:16They would only be more careful.

00:07:18I understand.

00:07:19Honestly, if you just need someone in the house, we don't have to make it legal.

00:07:22I'm fine without the paperwork.

00:07:24Luca shook his head.

00:07:26He leaned forward, tapping his fingers on the table.

00:07:29Marriage is for Leo.

00:07:30He needs the most stable mother I can give him.

00:07:32And marriage is the strongest contract there is.

00:07:35Alright.

00:07:36We'll do it your way.

00:07:40Don't worry.

00:07:41You'll get $100,000 a month for expenses.

00:07:43This was the part I cared about.

00:07:45I've been burned before.

00:07:46Mr. Castellano, if we divorce someday, can I keep the money you've given me?

00:07:50Of course.

00:07:51It's yours.

00:07:52Alright then.

00:07:54As for sex, I don't need anything from you in that area.

00:07:59You stay on the second floor.

00:08:01Right.

00:08:01The sex.

00:08:03That's fine.

00:08:04Neither do I.

00:08:05So, three days after I signed divorce papers, I got married again.

00:08:10No ceremony.

00:08:11No guests.

00:08:12Same as my first wedding.

00:08:13The butler added an extra dish to dinner.

00:08:15I thought that was the celebration.

00:08:17But suddenly, Luca slid a signet ring across the table.

00:08:21A Castellano family ring.

00:08:26That's not necessary.

00:08:28Sebastian never even gave me his family ring.

00:08:31For Leo's sake.

00:08:32Then I got it.

00:08:33The child needed a family illusion.

00:08:36I fell into silence and finally took it.

00:08:39I'll keep it safe.

00:08:39That night, I'd just gotten into bed when the door creaked open.

00:08:43Leo stood in the doorway.

00:08:44Bare feet.

00:08:45Hair sticking up.

00:08:46Fidgeting with his dinosaur pajamas.

00:08:49What's up, kiddo?

00:08:51Nora, can you read me a bedtime story?

00:08:54What?

00:08:54You want me to read you a bedtime story?

00:08:56I'll get my dad to pay you extra.

00:08:59If you don't want to, forget it.

00:09:01Come here.

00:09:01I held the covers open.

00:09:03He scrambled in like he'd been waiting for that all day.

00:09:06Halfway through the story, he was out cold against my shoulder.

00:09:10Next morning at breakfast, Luca's eyes widened when the butler told him Leo had slept in my bed.

00:09:15Nora, that was above and beyond.

00:09:18I'll add another $50,000 a month.

00:09:20Mr. Castellano, that's way too much.

00:09:23It was, by a lot.

00:09:25I'd given far more than this in my last marriage and walked away with literally nothing.

00:09:31During the day, I babysat his nephew.

00:09:33At night, I cooked for my husband.

00:09:35After satisfying his needs in bed, I still had to get up at five to clean the house and make

00:09:40breakfast.

00:09:41His mother judged.

00:09:42We could hire someone, but Nora's just sitting around all day.

00:09:46Wouldn't be fair.

00:09:47Despite all these, the day of the divorce, his sister told the lawyer I'd been living off them for three

00:09:53years.

00:09:53Mr. Castellano, it's really too much.

00:09:55I like Leo.

00:09:56He's a sweet kid.

00:09:58Reading him a book is nothing.

00:09:59As I said it, Leo came over and grabbed my fingers with his small, warm hand.

00:10:04He was looking up at me with those big, dark grape eyes.

00:10:07He was actually moved.

00:10:09You don't know.

00:10:09The women before you only cared about impressing me.

00:10:14They ignored him.

00:10:1650,000.

00:10:18That's the new number.

00:10:19Not negotiable.

00:10:21I gave up and thanked him.

00:10:22From that day on, Leo was my shadow.

00:10:25Luca was busy with all the transactions, the guns, and the bloods.

00:10:29The huge mansion was usually just the two of us.

00:10:32I tried my best to play with him and made him happy every day.

00:10:35Until the day I had a hospital appointment for a follow-up, the butler had warned me.

00:10:40Leo couldn't leave the house.

00:10:42Outside triggered panic attacks.

00:10:44I crouched down.

00:10:45Hey, babe.

00:10:46Wait for me at home.

00:10:48I'll be back in an hour.

00:10:49He grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go.

00:10:52Didn't say anything.

00:10:53Just looked at me with those dark, sad eyes.

00:10:58He's scared you're not coming back.

00:11:00His mother left him exactly like that.

00:11:02I'm coming back.

00:11:04I'll see the doctor and come right home.

00:11:05You play here, okay?

00:11:06I was still mid-sentence when he climbed into the back seat of the car.

00:11:10The butler tried not to hope.

00:11:12Master Leo, you're going to the hospital with Miss Bennett?

00:11:15Leo nodded.

00:11:16Thank God.

00:11:18He's finally willing to leave the house.

00:11:20Your depression's getting better.

00:11:21Just keep it slow.

00:11:22Relax.

00:11:22I took the script and the meds and left.

00:11:25Leo was waiting in the lobby with his small batman.

00:11:29Nora.

00:11:32Are you sick?

00:11:34A little, kiddo.

00:11:35I used to skip meals a lot, so I got sick.

00:11:38Promise me you'll never let yourself get like that.

00:11:41Does it hurt?

00:11:42If it hurts, I can give you candy.

00:11:45Daddy told me candy makes you forget.

00:11:48My tears fell without warning.

00:11:50In the crane house, I'd cry and they'd call it dramatic.

00:11:54Small town girl.

00:11:55Can't handle the lifestyle.

00:11:59I had depression.

00:12:02Stop faking it to get attention!

00:12:04The nephew I'd raised for two years stood next to his mother on divorce day and called me ugly.

00:12:09And here was this four-year-old mafia heir handing me his last piece of candy.

00:12:14Nora, I'm going to eat every meal so I can grow up and protect you.

00:12:25You better grow fast, babe.

00:12:27When we walked out of the hospital, there was a black Maybach idling at the curb.

00:12:31Luca was leaning against it.

00:12:32Mr. Castellano, why are you here?

00:12:35He scooped his son into his arms.

00:12:36Seeing how calm and composed the boy was, his eyes suddenly reddened.

00:12:40The butler called, said Leo went out with you.

00:12:42I had to see it.

00:12:44Dad, as long as I'm with Nora, you can stop worrying.

00:12:48I know.

00:12:50That night, he tried to raise my pay again.

00:12:52This time, a black card.

00:12:54I refused so hard, he laughed.

00:12:59Noia, there must be something you want.

00:13:01Could you help me find a used car?

00:13:035,000 or below, so I can take Leo out without depending on the driver.

00:13:10Pick anything from the garage.

00:13:12The cheapest car in your garage is a quarter million.

00:13:15I wouldn't dare drive it.

00:13:17Fine.

00:13:19Next morning, an old, beat-up sedan was parked next to his black Bentley.

00:13:24He also flew in a psychiatrist.

00:13:27Same diagnosis as the hospital.

00:13:28But this time, my meds were upgraded to the brand I'd never been able to afford.

00:13:33Your wife needs company.

00:13:35Family, don't push her too hard.

00:13:37I'll remember that.

00:13:39The next day, I drove Leo out with me.

00:13:41He'd always been insecure, had barely seen the outside world.

00:13:44Now, I wanted to show it to him.

00:13:46First, the amusement park.

00:13:48He grabbed my hand and dragged me over to take pictures.

00:13:50Then, I took him to the farmer's market.

00:13:52He'd never been to a farmer's market in his life.

00:13:54Nora!

00:13:55I don't want to hold this!

00:13:56My hands are full, Leo.

00:13:59Just a few steps.

00:14:00Fine!

00:14:01One time only!

00:14:02And no more lobster!

00:14:04No!

00:14:04Nora?

00:14:05It was Sebastian, my ex-husband.

00:14:08He was in a crisp gray suit, hair perfect.

00:14:12Looking like he'd stepped out of a magazine cover.

00:14:14It had been five weeks since the divorce.

00:14:16My stomach knotted on contact.

00:14:18Sebastian and I had met in college.

00:14:20He came from one of those Wall Street elite families.

00:14:23The golden boy of high finance.

00:14:25He'd ignored every objection from his family to put a ring on me.

00:14:28At our wedding, he'd promised to protect me for life.

00:14:31Then, he took over Crane Capital.

00:14:33He started finding fault with everything.

00:14:35He wanted me to quit my job.

00:14:37Take care of his parents.

00:14:38Take care of his sister's kid.

00:14:40Cook.

00:14:41Laundry.

00:14:41Cleaning.

00:14:42I did all of it because I loved him.

00:14:44Because I'd never been loved by my own family and didn't know any better.

00:14:48Until one day, I caught him in a private club with a girl in his lap.

00:14:52My whole world shattered.

00:14:54I cried.

00:14:55I screamed.

00:14:56I begged him to swear it would stop.

00:14:59The whole Crane family said I was overreacting.

00:15:02What successful man doesn't have side action?

00:15:04Sebastian said I'd been spoiled rotten.

00:15:07He blocked my number.

00:15:09Stopped coming home.

00:15:10My depression cratered.

00:15:12I filed for divorce.

00:15:13He thought it was a bluff.

00:15:14His family told him,

00:15:16Don't let her win.

00:15:17He had his lawyer draft papers.

00:15:19I walked out with nothing.

00:15:20Signed them in seven seconds.

00:15:22Four years of dating.

00:15:23Three years of marriage.

00:15:25Done.

00:15:25Noah, Ivy League degree.

00:15:28And here you are playing nanny?

00:15:30What were you thinking?

00:15:32Not your business.

00:15:34Nora, try to understand.

00:15:36The day you married into the Crane family, you represent the Crane name.

00:15:42Sebastian, we're divorced.

00:15:44I have nothing to do with your family anymore.

00:15:47Even divorced, you're my ex-wife.

00:15:50People still bring me up when they talk about you.

00:15:52Stop embarrassing me.

00:15:53Use your head for once.

00:15:55Stop being emotional all the time.

00:15:58Nora, a few weeks out here.

00:16:00Bet you miss being Mrs. Crane, don't you?

00:16:01Admit you were wrong.

00:16:02I'll think about taking you back.

00:16:04The girls outside the marriage, those were nothing.

00:16:06I haven't replaced you.

00:16:07The position's still open.

00:16:08Just swallow your pride.

00:16:09Apologize to my mother and my sister.

00:16:11Don't bother holding it.

00:16:13Give the seat to someone else, Sebastian.

00:16:14I'm not interested.

00:16:15On the drive home, a new number called.

00:16:17Connor, the nephew I'd raised for two years.

00:16:20I'd block the rest of the Cranes.

00:16:22Not him.

00:16:23Kids didn't pick their parents.

00:16:25Hey, Khan.

00:16:26Nora, you divorced loser.

00:16:28My mom wants to talk to you.

00:16:30My throat closed up.

00:16:32Then Cassandra Crane took the phone.

00:16:34Nora, Sebastian tells me you're working as a nanny.

00:16:36Have you ever thought about anyone but yourself?

00:16:39You're slapping Sebastian's face.

00:16:40You're slapping the Crane name.

00:16:42What does that look like to people?

00:16:44Nora, I always said it.

00:16:46You'll never rise above your roots.

00:16:47Trash dressed in silk.

00:16:49I hung up, blocked her, pulled over.

00:16:51I crashed onto the steering wheel and bawled.

00:16:53I cried until I couldn't breathe.

00:16:55I cried until I was so empty I felt nothing.

00:16:58Then I sat up, wiped my face, felt the exhaustion settle bone deep.

00:17:02Nora, here, tissue.

00:17:03I'd forgotten Leo was in the back seat.

00:17:05He was holding a tissue out from his car seat.

00:17:07Big, sad eyes glued to me.

00:17:09I'm sorry, sweetheart.

00:17:10Did I scare you?

00:17:12Nora, I'm not scared.

00:17:13You can cry as long as you want.

00:17:15I'll wait.

00:17:16Adults crying isn't shameful.

00:17:18I won't laugh.

00:17:20Thanks, my little gentleman.

00:17:22Auntie's done.

00:17:22No more crying from now on.

00:17:23Let's go home.

00:17:24I went to bed early that night.

00:17:26Didn't feel up to dinner.

00:17:27Then a knock.

00:17:28Nora, can I come in?

00:17:30Luca, I was fresh out of the shower.

00:17:33Hair wet, robe tied carefully.

00:17:35I made sure nothing was showing.

00:17:37Come in.

00:17:37He was in a tight white tank top, making the snake tattoo stand out even more.

00:17:42Dark hair falling loose over his forehead.

00:17:44Whiskey in his hand.

00:17:45Looser than I'd ever seen him.

00:17:47He sat in the chair by my bed.

00:17:49His gaze flicked to my wet collarbone.

00:17:51Then immediately to the wall, like he'd been caught.

00:17:54The clothes in your closet, you never wear any of them.

00:17:57They're too nice.

00:17:58I'm not used to it.

00:17:59I'd learned one thing from the crane marriage.

00:18:01Don't force yourself into a world that isn't yours.

00:18:04The fall is uglier when they shove you out.

00:18:06Are they not your style?

00:18:07I'll have the designer come fit you for new ones.

00:18:10No, no, Mr. Castellano.

00:18:12I'm in the house all day with Leo.

00:18:13There's nowhere to wear that kind of thing, truly.

00:18:16I heard you saw your ex today.

00:18:19His name's Crane?

00:18:20The stupid Crane Capital?

00:18:21I froze.

00:18:22Leo had snitched.

00:18:24Yes.

00:18:25That Crane.

00:18:26Old news.

00:18:27Nora.

00:18:28Since you came,

00:18:29Leo's been a different child.

00:18:31Thank you.

00:18:31His eyes were dark and serious on mine.

00:18:33I shifted.

00:18:34Uncomfortable.

00:18:35You pay me very well.

00:18:37It's what I'm here for.

00:18:38Nora.

00:18:39Ask me for anything.

00:18:41I can probably make it happen.

00:18:42Mr. Castellano.

00:18:44I don't need anything.

00:18:45He was quiet a long moment.

00:18:47His fingers tightened on his knee, then released.

00:18:49He stood up.

00:18:50I'll say this again.

00:18:52I'm the Don of the Costetto family.

00:18:55If you want,

00:18:56I can make sure he never speaks again more by tomorrow.

00:18:59I took a step back,

00:19:00still not used to him being this close.

00:19:02Without warning,

00:19:03he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

00:19:05Did I scare you?

00:19:06I said nothing.

00:19:07His hand slid down from my cheek.

00:19:10He gave a faint smile,

00:19:11then walked out.

00:19:12For the next two weeks,

00:19:14Luca started coming home early.

00:19:16Dinner with Leo and me.

00:19:17Sometimes board games after.

00:19:19Sometimes a movie.

00:19:21A man who ran half of New York's underworld

00:19:23didn't change his schedule for no reason.

00:19:25I was starting to worry.

00:19:26Was the family in trouble?

00:19:28Not that I cared about him.

00:19:29I just really cared about my 150 grand a month.

00:19:32Mr. Castellano,

00:19:33you don't have to keep coming home this early.

00:19:36Leo has me.

00:19:37If you've got business, take it.

00:19:39Luca picked up a red Lego brick.

00:19:40Voice perfectly neutral.

00:19:41The psychiatrist said you need family.

00:19:44Leo and I are your family now.

00:19:46We have responsibilities.

00:19:47Since when are we family,

00:19:49I wanted to say.

00:19:50I didn't.

00:19:51Honestly, Leo's enough.

00:19:53The doctor said my improvement

00:19:54is mostly thanks to him.

00:19:56He stroked his chin,

00:19:58avoiding eye contact.

00:19:59I grabbed Leo's hand and stood.

00:20:01Come on, buddy.

00:20:02Story time.

00:20:03Daddy still has work.

00:20:04Leo and I walked out.

00:20:06Nora.

00:20:06Luca's voice,

00:20:07stopping me at the doorway.

00:20:09Yes?

00:20:09His ears were faintly pink.

00:20:12He cleared his throat.

00:20:13Tomorrow night,

00:20:14there's an event.

00:20:15Plus sun's required.

00:20:17Would you come with me?

00:20:19Me?

00:20:26You.

00:20:27I don't have time to find someone else.

00:20:29I'll pay you an appearance fee.

00:20:30A man with his face

00:20:32couldn't find a date in 24 hours?

00:20:34I didn't think too much.

00:20:35There was money on the table.

00:20:37Sure.

00:20:38I don't know the social rules

00:20:39in your world, though.

00:20:41I don't want to embarrass you.

00:20:42The Cranes were a moneyed family, too.

00:20:45But Sebastian had never taken me to anything

00:20:47because his mother said,

00:20:48She doesn't know how to act in public.

00:20:50Don't let her embarrass us.

00:20:52Stand next to me.

00:20:53That's all.

00:20:54Luca's brow eased.

00:20:56If you want,

00:20:56I can make the gossipers

00:20:58shut up for good.

00:20:59The butler chimed in,

00:21:00beaming.

00:21:01Miss Bennett,

00:21:02you don't need to know the rules.

00:21:05The dawn is the rules.

00:21:06Hard to argue with that.

00:21:08The next afternoon,

00:21:09a design team showed up at the mansion.

00:21:11Five people.

00:21:12Most of them flown in from Paris.

00:21:14Hair,

00:21:15makeup,

00:21:16dress,

00:21:16jewelry.

00:21:17They huddled and debated each detail

00:21:19for 20 minutes at a stretch.

00:21:21By the time Luca came home,

00:21:23I was starting to feel sick

00:21:24about how much was on me.

00:21:26He walked in,

00:21:27saw me.

00:21:28His eyes did something.

00:21:30A brief flash,

00:21:31almost stunned,

00:21:32before he caught himself.

00:21:34Daddy,

00:21:35look how pretty Nora is.

00:21:37Call her mom.

00:21:39Leo turned his head

00:21:40and harrumphed.

00:21:41Wouldn't say it.

00:21:42I patted his hair.

00:21:44It's okay.

00:21:45I like Nora.

00:21:46Makes me feel young.

00:21:48The event was a charity gala

00:21:49at the plaza.

00:21:50Every major name in New York

00:21:52was there.

00:21:52Old money,

00:21:53bigger money,

00:21:54political faces.

00:21:56A few faces I recognized

00:21:57from the papers

00:21:58and a few I knew

00:21:59not to recognize at all.

00:22:00They orbited Luca immediately.

00:22:02Conversations started landing on me.

00:22:05Mr. Castellino,

00:22:06who's the beautiful lady?

00:22:08I jumped in to save him.

00:22:11I'm a friend of Mr. Castellino's.

00:22:14My wife,

00:22:16Nora.

00:22:16The room shifted,

00:22:18a chorus of polite gasps,

00:22:20compliments raining down.

00:22:21My face went hot

00:22:23to my collarbone.

00:22:24Luca squeezed my hand,

00:22:26leaned in.

00:22:27Nora,

00:22:27is being my wife

00:22:29really that embarrassing?

00:22:30You couldn't say it?

00:22:32Bourbon and cedar on his breath.

00:22:34No,

00:22:35no,

00:22:36I just,

00:22:37I didn't want to embarrass you.

00:22:38His eyes darkened.

00:22:40He looked at me

00:22:41like he was lighting

00:22:42something on fire.

00:22:43Only a weak man

00:22:44is embarrassed by his wife.

00:22:45I had to look away.

00:22:46I'll grab a drink.

00:22:47I bolted.

00:22:48I'd been hiding

00:22:49by the champagne tower

00:22:50for about 90 seconds

00:22:52when,

00:22:53Nora?

00:22:56There was no date,

00:22:58just him.

00:22:58Had it Luca said

00:22:59plus ones required?

00:23:01Sebastian's face

00:23:02was pure stunned.

00:23:03It is you.

00:23:05I almost didn't recognize you.

00:23:13I've never seen you

00:23:14look like this.

00:23:15I stepped back.

00:23:17Stay away from me.

00:23:18Nora,

00:23:19about my sister's call,

00:23:20that wasn't me.

00:23:21I'd never authorize that.

00:23:23Truth is,

00:23:23I only agreed to the divorce

00:23:24to teach you a lesson.

00:23:26Bratty wife,

00:23:27needed reminding.

00:23:28I never actually

00:23:29planned to let you go.

00:23:30Apologize to my mom

00:23:32and my sister.

00:23:34We'll remarry.

00:23:35I'll forget the rest.

00:23:40Crane,

00:23:41Capital is bleeding

00:23:42right now.

00:23:43I'm slammed.

00:23:44Stop making things

00:23:44hard for me.

00:23:45He reached for my hand.

00:23:47The Sebastian special.

00:23:48One slap,

00:23:49one kiss.

00:23:50He'd run me on that loop

00:23:52for three years.

00:23:53I'm not the Nora

00:23:54he married anymore.

00:23:55I yanked back.

00:23:56Sebastian,

00:23:57divorced means divorced.

00:23:59I'd rather sleep

00:24:00under the Brooklyn pleerage

00:24:01than wear your last name again.

00:24:03Find someone else

00:24:03for that throne.

00:24:04Still stubborn.

00:24:05You haven't suffered enough.

00:24:07Crawl find me

00:24:08when you've actually

00:24:09been broken.

00:24:11That's when Luca

00:24:12started walking toward us.

00:24:14Sebastian's

00:24:14whole posture changed.

00:24:17Nora,

00:24:18we'll talk later.

00:24:19There's a heavyweight

00:24:20I need to corner.

00:24:21Don't get in the way.

00:24:23Plastered on his best smile

00:24:24and intercepted Luca

00:24:26with a business card

00:24:27already out.

00:24:28My Don,

00:24:29I'm Sebastian Crane,

00:24:30Crane Capital.

00:24:31I'd like to talk about

00:24:34the mandate you pulled.

00:24:36Five years.

00:24:37Crane at Capital

00:24:38ran the books

00:24:38on every fund

00:24:39Castellino Holdings

00:24:40put on the street.

00:24:41Then,

00:24:41you cut us out overnight.

00:24:43If we fell short,

00:24:45tell me where.

00:24:47Whatever you need,

00:24:48I'll make it right.

00:24:49Sebastian,

00:24:50half bowed.

00:24:51Luca's eyes

00:24:51went past him

00:24:52straight to me.

00:24:53Nora,

00:24:54what do you think?

00:24:55Should I give him

00:24:56a second chance?

00:24:58Sebastian's smile froze.

00:25:00Nora?

00:25:01What does she have

00:25:02to do with...

00:25:03Mr. Castelloni,

00:25:05you should know.

00:25:06Nora is my ex-wife.

00:25:07I don't know

00:25:08how she got in here tonight,

00:25:09probably trying to ambush me

00:25:10into wrecking elitiation.

00:25:11She's just a housewife.

00:25:13Pay her no mind.

00:25:14Luca didn't even

00:25:15glance at him.

00:25:16Nora,

00:25:17your call.

00:25:19I'll follow your lead.

00:25:22I kept my voice flat.

00:25:24Mr. Crane just asked me

00:25:25not to interfere

00:25:26in his business conversation.

00:25:27I'd hate to interfere.

00:25:30Sebastian flared.

00:25:31A man's business

00:25:32is none of your concern.

00:25:33Of course,

00:25:34small town instincts.

00:25:36Luca's voice

00:25:36came in cold and final.

00:25:38Then I'd assume

00:25:38my wife doesn't approve

00:25:39of Crane Capital.

00:25:41Mr. Crane,

00:25:42we'll have to pass.

00:25:44His arm slid

00:25:45around my shoulders.

00:25:46He turned us

00:25:46toward the bar.

00:25:47Sebastian was still

00:25:48standing there,

00:25:49brain catching up.

00:25:50Then a man in a tuxedo

00:25:52brushed past him.

00:25:53Crane,

00:25:54you insulted

00:25:55Don's wife.

00:25:57You stepped on a live mine.

00:25:59That's the only woman

00:26:00who's ever been

00:26:01on his arm in 20 years.

00:26:03Castellano's wife?

00:26:04Impossible.

00:26:05The woman's a nanny

00:26:06in the Castellano house.

00:26:08Sebastian had seen Nora

00:26:09at the farmer's market,

00:26:10driving the cheap car,

00:26:12carrying a lobster

00:26:13for the brat.

00:26:14He knew what he saw.

00:26:15A fancy dress

00:26:16didn't make a duchess.

00:26:17The man shook his head

00:26:18and walked off.

00:26:19Some idiots won't listen.

00:26:21Let them die.

00:26:24That night,

00:26:25Luca bid on a Picasso study

00:26:26and three pieces

00:26:27of war-era jewelry,

00:26:29$180 million

00:26:30in collectibles,

00:26:31donated to the

00:26:32Children's Hospital

00:26:33under my name.

00:26:34After that,

00:26:35the gala turned

00:26:36into a receiving line.

00:26:37Mrs. Castellano,

00:26:39there's a small tea

00:26:40at my place next week.

00:26:41Would you grace us?

00:26:43Mrs. Castellano,

00:26:44my husband is bidding

00:26:45on a Castellano project,

00:26:46just a quiet word

00:26:47to the Don.

00:26:48I'd never been

00:26:49on this side of a room.

00:26:50I drank three glasses

00:26:51to keep my hands steady.

00:26:52Luca intercepted

00:26:53on the fourth.

00:26:54Apologies, everyone.

00:26:55My wife isn't a drinker.

00:26:57I'll take hers.

00:26:59He drank.

00:27:00Then he drank for me

00:27:01three more times.

00:27:02By the time we slid

00:27:03into his Rolls Royce,

00:27:05we were both lit.

00:27:06I glanced out the window.

00:27:08Sebastian was on the curb,

00:27:09watching us,

00:27:10mouth curled

00:27:11in that ugly little smirk,

00:27:13like I was the punchline.

00:27:14I closed the curtain,

00:27:16turned to Luca.

00:27:17Mr. Castellano,

00:27:18thank you for tonight,

00:27:20for what you did

00:27:22with Sebastian.

00:27:24His voice came out low,

00:27:25soft around the edges.

00:27:27Nora,

00:27:29we're husband and wife.

00:27:31Stop thanking me.

00:27:33We're a paper husband and wife.

00:27:35You didn't have to.

00:27:37His arm lifted,

00:27:38long fingers tilted

00:27:39my chin up.

00:27:40His thumb brushed

00:27:41slow against my jaw.

00:27:42Nora,

00:27:44what if I don't want

00:27:45a paper marriage anymore?

00:27:47He was too close.

00:27:48His face was carved

00:27:49out of something dangerous.

00:27:51Eyes blown black.

00:27:52Heat from his breath

00:27:53landed on my throat.

00:27:55He smelled like bourbon

00:27:56and that cedar cologne

00:27:57and something underneath

00:27:59that was just him.

00:28:00The most controlled man

00:28:02in New York

00:28:03was looking at my mouth

00:28:04like he wanted it.

00:28:07Mr. Castellano,

00:28:08you've had too much.

00:28:13You're right,

00:28:14I'm sorry.

00:28:15I had too much.

00:28:16The rest of the ride

00:28:17was silence.

00:28:18A heavy,

00:28:19humming silence

00:28:20with my pulse

00:28:20loud in my ears.

00:28:26Leo saved me.

00:28:27He sprinted

00:28:28at the front door

00:28:29with his picture book.

00:28:32I scooped him up

00:28:33and ran upstairs

00:28:34before I had to look

00:28:35Luca in the face again.

00:28:38I tucked Leo in,

00:28:39then opened my laptop

00:28:40and started scrolling

00:28:41job boards.

00:28:42Sebastian was right

00:28:43about one thing.

00:28:44My Ivy League degree

00:28:45shouldn't be wasted

00:28:46by eating in a mansion

00:28:47playing house.

00:28:48I'd done that marriage already,

00:28:50stayed home,

00:28:51made myself small.

00:28:53The minute he didn't need me,

00:28:54he tossed me

00:28:55into the street

00:28:56with nothing.

00:28:57I'd be damned

00:28:58if I let that happen twice.

00:28:59While Leo needed me,

00:29:00I had a place here.

00:29:02The day he didn't,

00:29:03what was I?

00:29:04Though I'm not ready

00:29:05to go back to work yet,

00:29:06physically or mentally.

00:29:08But knowing the market,

00:29:09updating a resume,

00:29:11that couldn't hurt.

00:29:12Then my phone lit up.

00:29:13A text

00:29:14from Luca.

00:29:17The butler did the coffee,

00:29:19always.

00:29:20And the first rule

00:29:21of this house

00:29:22was don't go

00:29:23to the third floor.

00:29:24I ground a fresh espresso anyway.

00:29:26Then I stood

00:29:27at the bottom

00:29:27of the staircase,

00:29:28hesitated.

00:29:29Was this a test?

00:29:31Did the last applicant

00:29:32get launched out a window

00:29:33after being summoned upstairs?

00:29:35Was this revenge

00:29:36for the car?

00:29:37I called him.

00:29:39Mr. Castellana,

00:29:41coffee's here.

00:29:42Come down for it.

00:29:43Bring it up.

00:29:45I hit the record button

00:29:46on my phone.

00:29:47Caught it.

00:29:48If he tried anything sketchy,

00:29:49I had proof.

00:29:52I climbed the stairs.

00:29:53Knocked.

00:29:55Come in.

00:29:55I pushed the door open

00:29:58and forgot how to breathe.

00:30:01He'd just gotten out

00:30:02of the shower.

00:30:03Black silk robe,

00:30:05loosely tied at the waist.

00:30:06A drop slid from his jaw,

00:30:08down his throat,

00:30:09into the open robe.

00:30:11Bathhouse art.

00:30:12Renaissance painting.

00:30:13Holy hell.

00:30:14He took the coffee.

00:30:16His fingertips dragged across mine

00:30:19on purpose.

00:30:20That scared of me?

00:30:21Nora,

00:30:22am I a monster?

00:30:26Nora.

00:30:30From now on,

00:30:31you can come into my room

00:30:32whenever you want.

00:30:33My face still burned.

00:30:35The rules of this house

00:30:36and the rules of my heart

00:30:38were both breaking.

00:30:39I woke up the next morning

00:30:41with a sore throat,

00:30:42sneezing.

00:30:42Of course,

00:30:43wet hair,

00:30:44late night,

00:30:45fancy dress,

00:30:46too much champagne.

00:30:47I shuffled downstairs in sweats,

00:30:49expecting the empty great room.

00:30:51Lupa was on the couch.

00:30:53Black turtleneck,

00:30:54wireframe glasses.

00:30:55The combination should be illegal.

00:30:57Morning.

00:30:59He set the paper down.

00:31:01You're sick.

00:31:02A little.

00:31:04The back of his hand

00:31:05landed on my forehead.

00:31:06Calm.

00:31:06Practiced.

00:31:07Like he did it every morning.

00:31:09I went stiff as a board.

00:31:11Not bad.

00:31:12I'll grab some Therafex.

00:31:14You'll be fine.

00:31:14He guided me to the couch

00:31:15like I was made of glass.

00:31:17Walked to the kitchen.

00:31:18A six-foot-something Mafia Don

00:31:20stirring a packet of cold medicine

00:31:22into a mug.

00:31:23Usually,

00:31:24a Don would poison the drink instead.

00:31:26I caught myself wondering

00:31:28what kind of woman

00:31:29Leo's mother had been

00:31:30to deserve a man like this.

00:31:40I drank the Theraflu

00:31:42and slunk back to bed.

00:31:43I didn't want to be in his way,

00:31:44so I just dozed off

00:31:46when an unknown number rang.

00:31:52Nora,

00:31:53it's me.

00:31:54Sebastian.

00:31:54I started to hang up.

00:31:56Don't.

00:31:56I'm parked outside

00:31:57the Castellani gate.

00:31:59Come out

00:31:59or I'll be at the front door

00:32:00up to you.

00:32:01I did not want him

00:32:02at the door.

00:32:03I did not want my past

00:32:04laid out on Luca's marble

00:32:05entryway like roadkill.

00:32:07Sebastian intercepted me

00:32:08on the sidewalk.

00:32:10Nora,

00:32:10how long is this stunt

00:32:12going on for?

00:32:12or Mrs. Crane

00:32:14working as a nanny?

00:32:15You don't feel humiliated,

00:32:17but I do.

00:32:19I'm not doing anything

00:32:20to you, Sebastian.

00:32:21Stop the act.

00:32:22You dressed up last night

00:32:23to make me jealous.

00:32:25Fine.

00:32:26I'll admit it.

00:32:27After you left,

00:32:28I missed you a little.

00:32:30Here's the deal.

00:32:31Apologize to my mom

00:32:32and my sister.

00:32:33We remarry.

00:32:34You can stop scrubbing

00:32:35floors for strangers.

00:32:38Sebastian,

00:32:39I didn't do anything wrong.

00:32:41What am I apologizing for?

00:32:44You still don't see

00:32:45the problem?

00:32:47You haven't been

00:32:48beaten down enough.

00:32:49I was about to fire back

00:32:51when a small round cannonball

00:32:52blew past me.

00:32:53Leo,

00:32:53when he saw a strange man

00:32:55hassling me,

00:32:55he did not hesitate.

00:32:57My mom didn't do

00:32:58anything wrong.

00:32:59My mom is the best mom

00:33:00in the whole world.

00:33:02He glared up at him

00:33:03like a furious cherub,

00:33:04protecting me.

00:33:05Something cracked open

00:33:07in my chest.

00:33:07I pulled him in tight.

00:33:09Kid,

00:33:10what did you just call her?

00:33:12Isn't she your nanny?

00:33:14You're a nanny!

00:33:15Your whole family

00:33:16is a nanny!

00:33:17Nora is my mom!

00:33:19My best mom!

00:33:20He pulled back,

00:33:22anxious.

00:33:22I nodded.

00:33:23My eyes were wet again.

00:33:25Nora,

00:33:26you'll be my mom, right?

00:33:28I'll be so good.

00:33:30I promise.

00:33:33Leo,

00:33:34I am your mom's sweetheart.

00:33:36He squeezed me tighter

00:33:37and refused to let go.

00:33:39Sebastian's face twisted

00:33:40into a slow, ugly smile.

00:33:43Oh, I see it now.

00:33:45Nora,

00:33:47you're putting a child up to it.

00:33:49You're playing the long game

00:33:50on Castelloni.

00:33:52He grabbed my arm.

00:33:53Listen,

00:33:55Castorano isn't a man you scam.

00:33:57He's known for ice in his veins.

00:33:59He finds out you're using his son

00:34:01to angle for him.

00:34:02He'll bury you in the East River.

00:34:03A warm hand landed on my waist.

00:34:06I hadn't heard him come outside.

00:34:08Luca,

00:34:09he pulled me into him.

00:34:11Mr. Crane,

00:34:13the last time we spoke,

00:34:14you insulted my wife.

00:34:15That's why I pulled the mandate.

00:34:17I was planning to tell the other firms

00:34:19on the street that this was personal.

00:34:21They could keep doing business

00:34:22with Crane of Papital.

00:34:24After today,

00:34:24I don't think I need to.

00:34:26Castellano.

00:34:28What do you,

00:34:29wife?

00:34:29Who's your wife?

00:34:31Mr. Crane,

00:34:32are you really still confused?

00:34:34Or are you only capable of believing

00:34:36what you want to believe?

00:34:38Nora is my wife.

00:34:40The mother of my son.

00:34:43Send him off.

00:34:44Luca turned to the butler at the door.

00:34:46If anyone like this bothers

00:34:48Mrs. Castellini again,

00:34:49have my men throw him out.

00:34:50He took Leo with one arm,

00:34:52wrapped the other around me,

00:34:53walked us inside.

00:34:55The second the door closed,

00:34:57I peeled out of Luca's arm.

00:34:59Awkward as hell.

00:35:00I took Leo upstairs to my room.

00:35:03Leo,

00:35:05where were you all morning?

00:35:07I didn't see you all day.

00:35:09Don't even ask.

00:35:10Dad sent me to preschool.

00:35:12What?

00:35:13You preschool?

00:35:15He said he didn't want you

00:35:17working too hard.

00:35:20He said he needed

00:35:21a long time with you.

00:35:25Why does he need

00:35:26alone time with me?

00:35:27Dad said he had to make you

00:35:29fall in love with him.

00:35:31Otherwise,

00:35:32you might leave us.

00:35:33Leo was four sentences

00:35:34into his report

00:35:35when Luca appeared

00:35:36in the doorway.

00:35:37Leo,

00:35:39downstairs,

00:35:39dinner,

00:35:40stop bothering your mother.

00:35:42My whole face hot.

00:35:43Mom,

00:35:44I'll be back

00:35:45to keep you company

00:35:46in a bit.

00:35:47He scampered out.

00:35:49Luca didn't leave.

00:35:50He walked in.

00:35:52Feeling better?

00:35:53I looked sideways.

00:35:55Mr. Castellano,

00:35:57thank you for what you did.

00:35:59Please don't ruin

00:36:00a business decision for me.

00:36:02I'm really not worth it.

00:36:05Not worth what?

00:36:08What you did out there.

00:36:11Nora,

00:36:12I told you.

00:36:13You're my wife.

00:36:14Protecting you is my job.

00:36:17But-

00:36:18Stop calling this

00:36:19a paper marriage.

00:36:21Nora.

00:36:22I want a real one.

00:36:24I had not expected him

00:36:25to swing this hard,

00:36:26this fast.

00:36:27My face went up in flames.

00:36:29I'll give you time.

00:36:31Take whatever you need.

00:36:33But right now,

00:36:34I want to collect

00:36:34just a little husband privilege.

00:36:37Before I could form

00:36:37a coherent thought,

00:36:39he leaned in.

00:36:39A long, warm hand

00:36:41cradled my cheek.

00:36:42Can I?

00:36:43I didn't say a word.

00:36:45I'll take this as consent.

00:36:47Then his lips

00:36:48crashed against mine,

00:36:49hard and ruthless.

00:36:50His tongue swept

00:36:51into my mouth,

00:36:53stealing the air

00:36:53from my lungs.

00:36:54Right.

00:36:55This was how

00:36:56a mafia boss kissed.

00:36:57Cold.

00:36:58Merciless.

00:36:59Taking whatever he wanted.

00:37:01The kiss lasted so long

00:37:02my mind went blank

00:37:03by the time

00:37:04he finally pulled away.

00:37:05He rubbed his thumb

00:37:06over my swollen lips.

00:37:08My little princess,

00:37:10that's enough for today.

00:37:15Next time,

00:37:17I won't let you off

00:37:18so easily.

00:37:19Leo got hauled

00:37:20to preschool again

00:37:21the next morning,

00:37:22under protest.

00:37:23My cold was almost gone.

00:37:25Luca asked if I wanted

00:37:26to see a movie.

00:37:27After everything

00:37:28that had happened,

00:37:28I thought about it.

00:37:29We were married on paper.

00:37:31If something real

00:37:32was going to grow there,

00:37:33that wasn't the worst outcome.

00:37:35He had a private media room

00:37:37on the third floor.

00:37:38It was my first time

00:37:39entering other room

00:37:40in third floor.

00:37:41Before that,

00:37:42he showed me

00:37:43his collection room.

00:37:44One entire wall

00:37:45was covered in cold weapons.

00:37:47Daggers,

00:37:48knives,

00:37:48blades of every kind.

00:37:50Honestly,

00:37:51it was breathtaking.

00:37:52I was still standing there

00:37:53staring at the wall

00:37:54when he stepped up behind me

00:37:56and fastened a necklace

00:37:57around my neck.

00:37:58Another snake.

00:37:59Exactly like the tattoo

00:38:00on his body.

00:38:01A little gift.

00:38:04Don't reject it.

00:38:05Then he took my hand

00:38:06and led me

00:38:07into the media room.

00:38:08He put on

00:38:09a French romance film.

00:38:10Slow,

00:38:11elegant kisses

00:38:11on the screen.

00:38:12Mixed with far less

00:38:14elegant sounds

00:38:14in the background.

00:38:15Luca leaned closer,

00:38:17his voice brushing

00:38:18against my ear.

00:38:20Nora.

00:38:22Yes?

00:38:23I closed my eyes,

00:38:25my fingers tightening

00:38:26around the snake pendant,

00:38:27like a girl being

00:38:28offered up as a sacrifice.

00:38:30His body covered mine

00:38:32as his mouth

00:38:33came down on mine.

00:38:34Soft at first.

00:38:35Careful.

00:38:36One hand slid

00:38:37gently around my throat.

00:38:39Then the kiss deepened,

00:38:40rougher,

00:38:41heavier,

00:38:42the kind that stole

00:38:43every thought

00:38:43from my head.

00:38:44He pulled off

00:38:45the white tank top

00:38:46and for the first time

00:38:47I saw the snake tattoo

00:38:49stretched across his chest.

00:38:51One of the snake's eyes

00:38:52was a scar.

00:38:53I leaned closer

00:38:54and pressed a soft kiss

00:38:55against it.

00:38:56I felt his breathing

00:38:57stop for a second.

00:38:59Then he pushed me down

00:39:00onto bed.

00:39:01I could feel the hard

00:39:02heat of him against me.

00:39:03Soon,

00:39:04the room filled

00:39:05with ragged breathing.

00:39:06That night,

00:39:07I offered myself

00:39:08to a mafia boss.

00:39:09After all the hot,

00:39:11chaotic moans,

00:39:12he kept me tucked

00:39:13against my chest.

00:39:14He slid a glossy stack

00:39:15of brochures

00:39:16into my hand.

00:39:17Nora,

00:39:19pick a wedding planner.

00:39:20I owe you a real wedding.

00:39:24You don't have to.

00:39:26The Dawn's wife

00:39:27should carry that honor

00:39:27forever.

00:39:28I want every person

00:39:30in this city

00:39:30to know Nora Bennett

00:39:31is my wife

00:39:32and I'm her husband.

00:39:35I only regret

00:39:36I didn't put it all

00:39:37at your feet

00:39:37the night you walked

00:39:38through that door.

00:39:39I laughed

00:39:40into his shoulder.

00:39:43The night I walked

00:39:44through that door,

00:39:45we didn't even know

00:39:46each other.

00:39:47How were we supposed to?

00:39:48Nora,

00:39:50the night I saw you

00:39:51in that doorway,

00:39:52I already wanted you.

00:39:54Our wedding was bigger

00:39:55than anything

00:39:56New York had hosted

00:39:57in a decade.

00:39:58Old families,

00:39:59new money,

00:40:00senators,

00:40:01a cardinal,

00:40:02the mayor.

00:40:03We were on the front page

00:40:04for three days running.

00:40:05I scolded Luke

00:40:06of the goal.

00:40:07The butler beamed.

00:40:08Mrs. Castellino,

00:40:10the Dawn has been quiet

00:40:11his entire life.

00:40:12This is the first time

00:40:13he's ever been loud.

00:40:14Indulge him this once.

00:40:16I let it go.

00:40:17The night of the wedding,

00:40:18a strange number

00:40:19called me.

00:40:20My brow furrowed.

00:40:21Luca's long arm

00:40:22reached over

00:40:23and killed the call.

00:40:24His fingers tightened

00:40:25on my waist.

00:40:26Mrs. Castellino,

00:40:28eyes on me.

00:40:29After,

00:40:30he was winding

00:40:31a strand of my hair

00:40:32around his finger.

00:40:33He cleared his throat,

00:40:34a little awkward.

00:40:35Nora,

00:40:37I want to tell you

00:40:38a secret.

00:40:38I made a small

00:40:39sleepy sound.

00:40:41Leo isn't my son,

00:40:42he's my sisters.

00:40:44He spoke quietly,

00:40:45in pieces.

00:40:46His parents had died

00:40:47when he was 13.

00:40:48He and his elder sister

00:40:49went through a dark period

00:40:51in this empire.

00:40:52Until one day,

00:40:53she married.

00:40:54Had Leo.

00:40:55But happiness suddenly ended,

00:40:56when she and her husband

00:40:58were killed in a shooting

00:40:59three years ago.

00:41:00Luca wiped out

00:41:01that whole family then.

00:41:03He put Leo

00:41:04on his own birth certificate,

00:41:06quietly,

00:41:06so nobody could ever take him.

00:41:08I thought it would be

00:41:09Leo and me forever.

00:41:10Then you walked in,

00:41:12and nothing was the same.

00:41:14He kissed me again.

00:41:16A few months later,

00:41:17I walked out of the hospital

00:41:18alongside Leo.

00:41:19Mom,

00:41:20Dad said you weren't sick anymore.

00:41:22Why'd we go to the hospital?

00:41:25Because Mom has a baby

00:41:27in her belly.

00:41:29Yes!

00:41:30I finally get a sister!

00:41:31What if it's a brother?

00:41:35If it's a brother,

00:41:37we throw him in the trash.

00:41:38If it's a sister,

00:41:40she plays with me.

00:41:41Out of the mouths of babes.

00:41:43I was laughing

00:41:43when a figure stepped

00:41:44in front of me.

00:41:45A man.

00:41:46Wild hair.

00:41:47Filthy coat.

00:41:49Hunched shoulders.

00:41:50I almost dug

00:41:51for a few bucks.

00:41:53Sebastian Crane.

00:41:55Nora?

00:41:57Leo planted himself

00:41:58in front of me on instinct.

00:42:00I pulled him to my side

00:42:01and squeezed his shoulder.

00:42:02Sebastian.

00:42:03What happened to you?

00:42:08Nora.

00:42:09Help me.

00:42:10You're the only one who can.

00:42:11All of New York

00:42:12knows Castelloni loves you.

00:42:13He'll listen to you.

00:42:14Please.

00:42:15Then I remembered

00:42:16what Luca had mentioned

00:42:17weeks back.

00:42:18First,

00:42:19the Castellano family

00:42:20cut all ties

00:42:21with Crane Capital.

00:42:22Then the rest

00:42:23of New York followed.

00:42:24Nobody wanted to risk

00:42:25losing Castellano favor.

00:42:27Within weeks,

00:42:28Sebastian's company collapsed.

00:42:29His sister Cassandra,

00:42:31the person he trusted most,

00:42:32had been stealing client money

00:42:34for years.

00:42:35The moment everything fell apart,

00:42:37she fled to the south of France

00:42:38with her family.

00:42:39She left Sebastian alone

00:42:40to take the blame.

00:42:41Crane Capital went bankrupt

00:42:43overnight.

00:42:44Now Sebastian stood in front of me,

00:42:46sobbing, begging.

00:42:47I didn't feel anything for him.

00:42:50Sebastian,

00:42:50people are equal.

00:42:52Your fault,

00:42:53your mess,

00:42:54you pay for it.

00:42:55No one can help you.

00:42:57Behind me,

00:42:57the lobby doors slid open.

00:42:59Luca had just finished

00:43:00with my OB.

00:43:01He walked toward us.

00:43:02Nora,

00:43:03let's go home.

00:43:04We walked past

00:43:05Sebastian Crane

00:43:05like he wasn't there.

00:43:06Because he wasn't.

00:43:08Not in our life,

00:43:08not anymore.

00:43:09Through my whole pregnancy,

00:43:11Luca was far more anxious

00:43:13than I was.

00:43:14He doubled the security

00:43:15on the entire estate.

00:43:17I never went anywhere

00:43:18without an escort.

00:43:19He had every sharp corner

00:43:20in the house padded.

00:43:21Fit carpet laid

00:43:22across every floor.

00:43:24Sometimes,

00:43:24I'd only shift in bed

00:43:26and he would ask worriedly,

00:43:27Does something hurt?

00:43:29He'd stroke my belly,

00:43:30pressing his ear against it.

00:43:32I think I just heard

00:43:33the baby calling for me.

00:43:34Leo asked,

00:43:35wide-eyed.

00:43:36Why isn't the baby

00:43:37calling for me?

00:43:38One night,

00:43:38after Leo fell asleep,

00:43:40I found him alone

00:43:41out on the balcony.

00:43:42I walked over

00:43:43and wrapped my arms

00:43:44around him from behind.

00:43:45You don't have to worry,

00:43:46the baby will be born safe.

00:43:48He kissed my forehead.

00:43:51I keep wondering

00:43:51if who I am

00:43:52has put you and the kids

00:43:53in too much danger.

00:43:54My sister died

00:43:55because of the family name

00:43:56and before you came,

00:43:57Leo wasn't happy.

00:43:58Neither was I

00:43:59before you came.

00:44:00We just complete each other.

00:44:02I pressed closer

00:44:03to his chest.

00:44:04I made my peace

00:44:04with it a long time ago.

00:44:06Being the Don's wife

00:44:07can't be harder

00:44:08than being the Crane's maid.

00:44:09He smiled.

00:44:10My brave girl.

00:44:11At nearly ten months,

00:44:12my water broke

00:44:13at 2 a.m.

00:44:14A team of doctors

00:44:16and nurses

00:44:16rushed me into delivery.

00:44:18Luca waited outside.

00:44:19The contractions

00:44:20came like waves

00:44:21trying to break me in half.

00:44:23A nurse held my hand.

00:44:24Her grip was wrong.

00:44:25Too strong.

00:44:26Too steady.

00:44:27I looked up

00:44:27at her face.

00:44:28Sharp.

00:44:29Calm.

00:44:29A small scar

00:44:30through one eyebrow.

00:44:31You're not a nurse.

00:44:32She smiled coldly.

00:44:34No, there's a debt

00:44:34your husband

00:44:35never finished paying.

00:44:37The family he buried

00:44:39three years ago

00:44:40still has a few teeth left.

00:44:41We came to collect tonight.

00:44:43My breathing went ragged.

00:44:45The other nurses

00:44:45in the room

00:44:46started screaming

00:44:47but I knew

00:44:48he was standing

00:44:48right outside

00:44:49so I didn't panic.

00:44:50I gripped the sheet.

00:44:51Go ahead and try.

00:44:52Right then,

00:44:53the delivery room door opened.

00:44:55A rat that should have

00:44:55died years ago.

00:44:56I've been waiting

00:44:57for you too long.

00:44:58Luca and his men

00:44:59had the woman pinned

00:45:00in seconds.

00:45:02He held my hand

00:45:03and the coldest mafia boss

00:45:05in New York

00:45:06let a single tear fall.

00:45:08My baby girl

00:45:09was born at 4.42 a.m.

00:45:117 pounds.

00:45:12Furious lungs.

00:45:14Luca took her

00:45:14like she was made of glass.

00:45:16Sophia,

00:45:17after my sister.

00:45:18Leo barged in at dawn,

00:45:20peered into the blanket

00:45:21and gasped.

00:45:23It's a girl.

00:45:24I'll be her hero

00:45:25from now on.

00:45:26She'll be the princess.

00:45:28I laughed

00:45:28until I cried.

00:45:29The four of us

00:45:30finally,

00:45:31impossibly,

00:45:32whole.

00:45:33I learned the rest later.

00:45:35The fake nurse

00:45:36was a remnant

00:45:37of the family

00:45:37that murdered

00:45:38Luca's sister

00:45:39three years ago.

00:45:40Sebastian had fled

00:45:41to Europe.

00:45:42In Sicily,

00:45:43he found what was

00:45:43left of them,

00:45:44clinging to life.

00:45:45Hatred drove him

00:45:46to something insane.

00:45:48They thought the dawn

00:45:49would be too busy

00:45:50with a wife in labor

00:45:51to notice.

00:45:51That night,

00:45:52while the hospital

00:45:53stood locked down,

00:45:54several of the docks

00:45:55were hit at the same time.

00:45:57But Luca built this empire

00:45:59out of blood and bone

00:46:00at 16.

00:46:01turning back

00:46:02an attack like that

00:46:03was as easy

00:46:04as breathing for him.

00:46:05Blood,

00:46:06gunfire.

00:46:07I didn't see most of it.

00:46:08My life stayed bright.

00:46:10The house filled

00:46:11with laughter

00:46:12because of Sophia's coming.

00:46:13One night,

00:46:14Luca asked if I wanted

00:46:15to see Sebastian.

00:46:17Just once.

00:46:18He keeps begging

00:46:18to see you.

00:46:19I was busy making faces

00:46:21at Sophia with Leo.

00:46:23No need.

00:46:23Do whatever you want

00:46:24with him.

00:46:24The man now

00:46:25had nothing to do with me.

00:46:26I only cared

00:46:27in my new family.

00:46:29Leo loved his sister,

00:46:30took his new job seriously.

00:46:32By the second week,

00:46:33he had appointed himself

00:46:34Sophia's full-time bodyguard.

00:46:36No bad guys get past me,

00:46:38dad said.

00:46:40Sophia blinked at him,

00:46:42then sneezed.

00:46:44Mom!

00:46:45She did a magic spell!

00:46:47He decided

00:46:48he was her translator too.

00:46:49Every cry meant something

00:46:51only he could understand.

00:46:54She wants the bloom blanket,

00:46:55not the yellow one.

00:46:56Obviously.

00:46:57He even handed over

00:46:58his most prized possession,

00:47:01the Batman action figure

00:47:02no one had been allowed

00:47:03to touch for two years.

00:47:06It's alone.

00:47:07When she's bigger,

00:47:08she gives it back.

00:47:09The best part came at bedtime.

00:47:11He'd lean over her crib

00:47:13and drop his voice

00:47:14into a tiny,

00:47:15serious growl,

00:47:16copying his father.

00:47:17Good night, little one.

00:47:19Nobody touches my family.

00:47:21Sophia's hand closed

00:47:22around his finger

00:47:23and held on.

00:47:24Leo froze.

00:47:26He looked at me.

00:47:27His whole face wobbled.

00:47:29Mom.

00:47:30She likes me back.

00:47:32The best part?

00:47:33Leo was finally

00:47:34shaking off his past.

00:47:36He was more lively

00:47:37and braver than ever.

00:47:39My life changed

00:47:40in a normal night.

00:47:41An email came in.

00:47:42A strategy firm

00:47:43called Meridian

00:47:44had offered me a position

00:47:45on their securities desk.

00:47:47I threw myself at him.

00:47:49Luca,

00:47:49your wife is going

00:47:51back to work.

00:47:52You could have told me sooner.

00:47:54Half the businesses

00:47:54in the city

00:47:55have my money behind them,

00:47:57including that little

00:47:58Meridian of yours.

00:47:59But I want to prove it myself,

00:48:00as Nora Bennett.

00:48:02A woman who can handle

00:48:03a don can handle anything.

00:48:05Meridian took up

00:48:06three floors

00:48:07of a glass tower downtown.

00:48:09I wore my plainest blazer,

00:48:11drove the old sedan,

00:48:12used my maiden name.

00:48:13I wanted to earn it clean.

00:48:16My first morning,

00:48:18my new manager

00:48:18turned around

00:48:19and my stomach dropped.

00:48:21Vanessa.

00:48:21We've gone to college together.

00:48:23She'd spent four years

00:48:24making sure everyone knew

00:48:26I was the scholarship girl

00:48:28from nowhere.

00:48:29The cheap blazer,

00:48:30plain white heels,

00:48:31no ring since I'd left it home

00:48:33out of habit

00:48:34to be safe.

00:48:35Nora Bennett,

00:48:36wow,

00:48:36you look exactly the same.

00:48:37I heard you married

00:48:38into the cranes.

00:48:39Looks like things

00:48:40haven't exactly worked out

00:48:41for you, huh?

00:48:41We divorced.

00:48:43Of course you did.

00:48:44The cranes are bankrupt now.

00:48:45No money for a gold debtor.

00:48:47So it's just you now

00:48:48and a kid I heard?

00:48:50Single mom.

00:48:51That is so brave.

00:48:52Welcome aboard.

00:48:53Try to keep up.

00:48:54Three weeks in,

00:48:55I closed the Hartwell account.

00:48:57It was a mess

00:48:58nobody wanted to touch.

00:48:59I worked it

00:49:00for nine days straight.

00:49:02Nora Bennett,

00:49:03a girl from nowhere,

00:49:04brought in the biggest

00:49:05mandate of the quarter.

00:49:07At the Monday partner meeting,

00:49:08Vanessa stood up

00:49:09with my deck.

00:49:11It was a heavy lip,

00:49:12but I pushed the team hard

00:49:14and got it across the line.

00:49:16My name never came up once.

00:49:18Not a single time.

00:49:19After,

00:49:20I caught her by the elevators.

00:49:21That was my account,

00:49:22my work,

00:49:23all of it.

00:49:23What's yours is mine.

00:49:25I'm the manager.

00:49:26You report to me.

00:49:27Everything you do here

00:49:28belongs to me.

00:49:29Get used to it.

00:49:30That night,

00:49:31I curled into Luca's chest

00:49:33and let it all out.

00:49:34She took the whole deal

00:49:35I closed.

00:49:36Didn't say my name once.

00:49:37Luca's hand went still

00:49:39on my back.

00:49:39Say the word.

00:49:40She won't be at that company tomorrow.

00:49:44I don't need you to step in.

00:49:45Not yet.

00:49:47I've been watching Vanessa for weeks,

00:49:49the padded vendor invoices,

00:49:50the kickbacks routed

00:49:51through a shell account.

00:49:53I already have my own card to play.

00:49:54What I didn't expect

00:49:55was that my past

00:49:57walked through the company lobby.

00:49:58I hadn't seen them in 11 years.

00:50:01My mother,

00:50:01my brother Trent.

00:50:02Vanessa stood

00:50:03in the middle of the hall,

00:50:05a hand pressed to her mouth

00:50:06in feigned surprise.

00:50:08But she was the only one

00:50:09who knew about my past.

00:50:11Nora,

00:50:11is that any way

00:50:13to greet your own mother?

00:50:14Every head turned.

00:50:16Vanessa's eyes glittered.

00:50:17You married a billionaire

00:50:18and you let your family beg?

00:50:21After everything we gave you?

00:50:24They gave me nothing.

00:50:25They gave Trent everything

00:50:26and showed me the door

00:50:27even before I was even an adult.

00:50:30Your brother needs 300,000.

00:50:35It's filial duty.

00:50:36Support for your parents.

00:50:38You owe us.

00:50:41I owe you nothing.

00:50:44Trent sneered.

00:50:49Rich now and still trash.

00:50:52Some things never change.

00:50:54Security finally steered them

00:50:56toward the doors.

00:50:56My mother screamed

00:50:57the whole way.

00:51:01We'll be back!

00:51:02We'll tell everyone

00:51:03what you really are!

00:51:05Then I heard Vanessa,

00:51:07behind me,

00:51:08murmur to the room.

00:51:09God.

00:51:10And she pretends

00:51:11to be so classy.

00:51:12After that,

00:51:13Vanessa stopped pretending.

00:51:15She handed me

00:51:16the worst account,

00:51:17took credit for my work

00:51:18in front of the partners,

00:51:19scheduled meetings

00:51:20I was never told about,

00:51:21then wrote me up

00:51:22for missing them.

00:51:23She said in the break room,

00:51:24Honestly,

00:51:25I feel sorry for her.

00:51:28Single mom,

00:51:29crazy family,

00:51:31that sad little car.

00:51:33Some people are just

00:51:34born to lose.

00:51:36Her click laughed.

00:51:37I kept my head down

00:51:38and kept working.

00:51:39I'd survived the cranes.

00:51:40I could survive a Vanessa.

00:51:42Then she pulled the file.

00:51:43My old medical records.

00:51:45depression.

00:51:46Medication.

00:51:48Wow.

00:51:49And they let her near clients?

00:51:51The room went very quiet.

00:51:53Maybe this just isn't the place

00:51:55for someone so fragile.

00:51:57But I wasn't the girl

00:51:58the cranes broke anymore.

00:52:00While Vanessa spent

00:52:01her days humiliating me,

00:52:02I'd spent mine

00:52:03quietly building a file,

00:52:05padded vendor invoices,

00:52:07kickbacks routed

00:52:08into a private shell account.

00:52:09Three years of it.

00:52:10That afternoon,

00:52:11I handed every last page

00:52:13of it to her boss.

00:52:14Then I went back to my desk

00:52:15and quietly finished my work.

00:52:17That night,

00:52:18I sat in the old sedan

00:52:19in the parking garage

00:52:20and didn't start the engine

00:52:21for an hour.

00:52:22Then Leo's school called.

00:52:24Mrs. Castellina,

00:52:25there's been an incident.

00:52:26I drove to the preschool

00:52:28with my heart in my throat.

00:52:32Leo sat in the nurse's office,

00:52:35scraped elbow,

00:52:36split lip,

00:52:37jaw set exactly like his father's.

00:52:39I didn't cry.

00:52:40I want you to know

00:52:41I didn't cry.

00:52:42A bigger boy had shoved him

00:52:44off the climbing frame

00:52:45and standing in the hallway,

00:52:47arms crossed,

00:52:48was the boy's mother,

00:52:49Vanessa.

00:52:50Small world.

00:52:52Your kids started it.

00:52:54Bragging about having a daddy.

00:52:56My Kaylee told him,

00:52:58what daddy?

00:52:59Everyone knows your mom's

00:53:01a single mom

00:53:01who can't even keep a job.

00:53:03Leo's face crumpled.

00:53:05I do have a dad.

00:53:07I have the best dad.

00:53:11Sure you do, sweetie.

00:53:15Does he live in your imagination?

00:53:18I stepped between them

00:53:19so fast she flinched.

00:53:21Don't you ever speak

00:53:22to my son again.

00:53:23She stood,

00:53:25smoothing her coat,

00:53:26delighted.

00:53:26Or what?

00:53:27You'll cry about it?

00:53:28Take your meds, Nora.

00:53:30Honestly,

00:53:31people like you

00:53:31shouldn't have kids.

00:53:32You can barely

00:53:33take care of yourself.

00:53:34Leo didn't cry.

00:53:35He planted himself

00:53:36in front of me

00:53:37and lifted his chin.

00:53:38My mom is

00:53:39a thousand times

00:53:40better than you.

00:53:42That was the moment

00:53:43something in me

00:53:44went very,

00:53:45very cold.

00:53:45I stepped forward

00:53:46and slapped Vanessa

00:53:47across the face.

00:53:49I already turned in the proof

00:53:51of what you stole.

00:53:52We'll see who's walking

00:53:53out of that company tomorrow.

00:53:54How dare!

00:53:56Before she could speak,

00:53:57her phone rang.

00:53:58Vanessa,

00:53:59you're under investigation

00:54:00for misappropriating

00:54:01company funds.

00:54:02The bank has frozen

00:54:03all of your assets.

00:54:04She crumpled to the floor.

00:54:05And that was the moment

00:54:07the hallway doors opened.

00:54:08Luca walked in.

00:54:09I hadn't called him.

00:54:11Leo's school is wired

00:54:12to him too.

00:54:13Of course it is.

00:54:14charcoal coat,

00:54:15slow steps.

00:54:16Vanessa didn't recognize Luca,

00:54:18but she could feel

00:54:19the aura he carried.

00:54:20Sir,

00:54:21this is a private matter.

00:54:22He didn't look at her.

00:54:24He crouched,

00:54:25lifted Leo,

00:54:26checked the split lip

00:54:27with one careful thumb.

00:54:30Who did this?

00:54:31Her son,

00:54:32my manager,

00:54:34Vanessa.

00:54:36Manager,

00:54:37at Meridian.

00:54:38Yes.

00:54:39And you are?

00:54:40The man who owns Meridian.

00:54:42The color drained

00:54:44out of her face.

00:54:46And every floor

00:54:47you've ever worked.

00:54:49And the building.

00:54:51And the chair you sit in.

00:54:53This is my wife,

00:54:55Nora Castellano.

00:54:57The single mother

00:54:58you've been entertaining

00:54:59the office with?

00:55:00He pulled out his phone.

00:55:01One call.

00:55:03By the time we got home,

00:55:04Vanessa had already

00:55:05been arrested.

00:55:06Maybe prison suits people

00:55:08like her better.

00:55:09In the bedroom,

00:55:10Sophia asleep on my chest,

00:55:12I finally laughed.

00:55:13Tired and cracked open.

00:55:17Maybe I just have bad luck

00:55:19everywhere I go.

00:55:26Or maybe

00:55:27you keep walking into rooms

00:55:28too small for you.

00:55:30I quit Meridian the next morning.

00:55:32Not because of Vanessa.

00:55:33Because Luca owned it.

00:55:35And I had promised myself

00:55:36I'd win as Nora Bennett

00:55:38or not at all.

00:55:40You don't have to

00:55:41prove anything.

00:55:42I'm not proving it to you.

00:55:45I'm proving it to the girl

00:55:46who got thrown out

00:55:47at 18 with a duffel bag.

00:55:48So I started over.

00:55:50Again.

00:55:51New resume.

00:55:52Real name.

00:55:53No husband attached.

00:55:54I sent out

00:55:5540 applications.

00:55:57I drove myself

00:55:58to every meeting

00:55:59in the old sedan.

00:56:00Every morning,

00:56:01Leo cheered me on

00:56:02before I left.

00:56:03Three months later,

00:56:04a venture fund

00:56:05hired me to run strategy.

00:56:07Eight months after that,

00:56:08I walked out

00:56:09and built my own firm.

00:56:10A year after that,

00:56:12I was on the front page again.

00:56:13Not Don Castellano's wife,

00:56:15Nora Bennett,

00:56:16founder.

00:56:17Luca framed it,

00:56:18hung it on the third floor,

00:56:20right beside the wall of blades.

00:56:23My most dangerous acquisition.

00:56:25Two years passed

00:56:26the way good years do.

00:56:28Quietly.

00:56:29All at once.

00:56:30My firm took up

00:56:32its own floor now.

00:56:33But the best part of every day

00:56:35was still the drive home.

00:56:36Sophia had grown

00:56:37into a tiny tyrant

00:56:39with Luca's eyes

00:56:40and Leo's mouth.

00:56:41She ran the house.

00:56:42The most feared man

00:56:44in New York

00:56:44did whatever she said.

00:56:46I once walked in

00:56:47to find the dawn of New York

00:56:48at a plastic tea table,

00:56:50pinky raised,

00:56:51wearing a paper crown.

00:56:52More tea, daddy.

00:56:54Yes, your majesty.

00:56:56He said,

00:56:56dead serious.

00:56:58Leo,

00:56:59now seven,

00:56:59had named himself

00:57:00her official coach.

00:57:02Say it like dad.

00:57:03Low and scary.

00:57:04Sophia scrunched up her face.

00:57:06She growled.

00:57:07Nobody touches my family.

00:57:10Then she ruined it by giggling.

00:57:12At night,

00:57:13Luca still read them both to sleep

00:57:15in that quiet growl.

00:57:16Two small heads on his chest.

00:57:19One enormous,

00:57:20terrifying man

00:57:21pinned to a mattress

00:57:22by two children

00:57:23and refusing to move.

00:57:24I whispered from the door.

00:57:26You're trapped.

00:57:27He looked up at me,

00:57:28the softest I'd ever seen him.

00:57:29Best place I've ever been.

00:57:31People still ask

00:57:32how a nanny ended up married

00:57:34to a man like that.

00:57:35I never know how to answer.

00:57:37The truth is too simple.

00:57:39We were two people

00:57:41with broken pasts

00:57:42who decided to stop being broken.

00:57:44Together.

00:57:45He gave a thrown away girl

00:57:47a home.

00:57:48I gave a man

00:57:49made of blood and steel

00:57:50a reason to read bedtime stories.

00:57:53One evening,

00:57:54Sophia fell asleep

00:57:55mid-sentence

00:57:56on his shoulder.

00:57:57Leo had drifted off

00:57:59against my side.

00:58:00He said quietly,

00:58:02Do you remember

00:58:04the day you walked in

00:58:05with a duffel bag?

00:58:07I said,

00:58:09$36

00:58:10looking for room and board.

00:58:12You asked for a room.

00:58:14Luke took my hand

00:58:14across the couch.

00:58:16You ended up running

00:58:16the whole house.

00:58:17My whole life,

00:58:18I'd been told

00:58:19I was someone nobody wanted.

00:58:21Turns out,

00:58:22I was just waiting

00:58:23for the right people

00:58:24to want me.

00:58:25And I'd found them.

00:58:27All of them.

00:58:29My name is Sophia.

00:58:30Today is my 16th birthday.

00:58:32CEO Nora was my mom

00:58:34and Don Luca was my father.

00:58:36In a family like mine,

00:58:37that should mean a ballroom,

00:58:39300 guests,

00:58:40and a cake the size of a car.

00:58:42My father offered me all of it.

00:58:43He'd hand me the moon if I asked.

00:58:45I love him.

00:58:46I love everything he built

00:58:48so I'd never want for anything.

00:58:49I just wish,

00:58:50sometimes,

00:58:51that I could want for something.

00:58:53Everywhere I go,

00:58:54there are men in dark suits,

00:58:56two steps behind me.

00:58:57I top every class

00:58:58at Ashford Academy on my own.

00:59:00And people still whisper

00:59:01it's the name.

00:59:02I don't want to throw

00:59:03any of it away.

00:59:04I just want,

00:59:05once in a while,

00:59:06to be Sophia.

00:59:07Not the Castellano princess.

00:59:09So tonight,

00:59:10on my birthday,

00:59:11I did my favorite thing

00:59:12in the world.

00:59:13I slipped my detail

00:59:14and went out alone.

00:59:16Well,

00:59:16not totally alone.

00:59:17I'd followed Leo.

00:59:19My brother thinks

00:59:20I don't know

00:59:20about his little night job,

00:59:22the bikes,

00:59:22the races.

00:59:23I crouched behind a fence

00:59:24and watched.

00:59:25Engines screaming,

00:59:26headlights tearing the dark.

00:59:28And then one rider

00:59:29came out of nowhere.

00:59:30He was even bigger than Leo

00:59:32and his bike was a sleek beast

00:59:34of silver and black.

00:59:35He cut inside Leo

00:59:36on the last corner,

00:59:37pinned my brother behind him

00:59:38like it was nothing.

00:59:39Then he pulled to a stop,

00:59:41took off his helmet,

00:59:42and ran a hand through his hair.

00:59:43I couldn't make out his face

00:59:44from where I stood,

00:59:45but somehow,

00:59:46I knew I was looking

00:59:47at the most beautiful thing

00:59:49I'd ever seen.

00:59:50You owe me.

00:59:51Cover for me.

00:59:53I'm not lying to Dad.

00:59:54You lie to Dad

00:59:55every night you ride.

00:59:56He shut up after that.

00:59:58Luca was waiting

00:59:59in the front hall

01:00:00when we walked in.

01:00:01Midnight,

01:00:02still in his shirt,

01:00:02still terrifying.

01:00:04It's late, sweetheart.

01:00:05He said.

01:00:06I went for a walk,

01:00:07that's all.

01:00:07But you ditched your detail.

01:00:09Dad, I'm 16,

01:00:10not six.

01:00:11Hey, I knew you were worried,

01:00:13but it was just a small walk.

01:00:14She was with me.

01:00:15She's fine.

01:00:16Mom walked over

01:00:17and pulled me into a hug.

01:00:18Your father's just worried,

01:00:20sweetheart.

01:00:21We can talk about this later.

01:00:23Dad sighed

01:00:23with a helpless smile.

01:00:25You and your mother

01:00:25are both too stubborn.

01:00:27I knew I'd dodge that bullet.

01:00:29I grabbed Leo

01:00:30and hurried off.

01:00:31That night,

01:00:31I went downstairs

01:00:32for some water

01:00:33and heard my parents

01:00:34talking in the living room.

01:00:35Sophia's grown up.

01:00:36You don't have to

01:00:37protect her so much.

01:00:38I knew,

01:00:39but the old Moretti boss

01:00:40from Italy is dying.

01:00:41They'll be choosing

01:00:42a successor soon,

01:00:44and when they do,

01:00:44the piece we built

01:00:45could die with him.

01:00:46I need to ensure

01:00:47her safety.

01:00:47The whole school

01:00:48was buzzing

01:00:49before first bell.

01:00:50A transfer.

01:00:51Mid-year.

01:00:52From Italy.

01:00:53Half Italian,

01:00:54half who knows,

01:00:56and apparently

01:00:57a literal god.

01:00:58Girls were doing

01:00:59their hair in the hallway.

01:01:00I rolled my eyes

01:01:01so hard it hurt.

01:01:02I'd grown up around

01:01:03dangerous men

01:01:04with pretty faces.

01:01:05I knew exactly

01:01:05what they were worth.

01:01:06Nothing.

01:01:07I found him

01:01:08at the center

01:01:08of the courtyard,

01:01:09leaning against a pillar

01:01:10like he owned it.

01:01:11Lazy smile.

01:01:12Sleeves shoved up.

01:01:14A ring of admirers

01:01:15three deep.

01:01:15He clocked me

01:01:16the second I walked past.

01:01:18The one girl

01:01:18not looking.

01:01:19You're new?

01:01:20You're new.

01:01:21Most girls slow down.

01:01:22Most girls have

01:01:23lower standards.

01:01:24Ouch.

01:01:25Pretty and cruel,

01:01:26my favorite combination.

01:01:28Go get a new favorite.

01:01:29I walked off

01:01:30without another glance.

01:01:31Behind me,

01:01:31I heard him laugh again,

01:01:33softer this time.

01:01:34Interested.

01:01:34We had three classes together.

01:01:36By Thursday,

01:01:37he'd decided

01:01:38I was a project.

01:01:39Let me guess.

01:01:40He said,

01:01:41Head to toe

01:01:42in designer brands.

01:01:43Daddy's money.

01:01:45Private everything.

01:01:46You've never wanted

01:01:47for a thing in your life.

01:01:48You don't know

01:01:49anything about me.

01:01:50I know the type.

01:01:51Spoiled little princess

01:01:53who thinks the world

01:01:53owes her a cursi.

01:01:55I earn every grade

01:01:56in this room.

01:01:57I don't cheat.

01:01:58I don't coast.

01:01:59And I have never once

01:02:00needed a smug tourist

01:02:01to explain my own life to me.

01:02:03The room went silent.

01:02:04Cute speech.

01:02:05Save it for someone impressed.

01:02:07That's when Leo walked in.

01:02:09He took one look at us

01:02:10sitting side by side,

01:02:12glaring.

01:02:12Oh no.

01:02:13I said,

01:02:14You know him?

01:02:15You know her?

01:02:16Leo dragged a hand

01:02:17down his face.

01:02:18Rafe,

01:02:19meet my little sister

01:02:20and this is Rafe Moretti.

01:02:22Two things happened at once.

01:02:24Rafe realized

01:02:25the princess

01:02:25he'd just insulted

01:02:26was a Castellano

01:02:27and I realized

01:02:29he was from Moretti,

01:02:30the family in dad's mouth.

01:02:32Leo cornered me that night.

01:02:33Stay away from Rafe.

01:02:35Gladly.

01:02:36He's insufferable.

01:02:37I mean it,

01:02:37Sophia.

01:02:38His family and ours,

01:02:39it's complicated.

01:02:41Okay.

01:02:42But next time you go out,

01:02:43I'm coming with you.

01:02:44The next morning,

01:02:45I caught him talking to Rafe

01:02:46by the lockers.

01:02:47Keep an eye on her.

01:02:48She sneaks off.

01:02:49You're in her classes.

01:02:50I am not babysitting your sister.

01:02:52You owe me from Saturday's race.

01:02:54Fine.

01:02:55But she's a nightmare.

01:02:56She really is.

01:02:57I wanted to murder them both.

01:02:59So now the playboy I despised

01:03:01was my unofficial shadow.

01:03:03We got paired for the history project too

01:03:05because the universe hates me.

01:03:07We fought about everything.

01:03:09Topic,

01:03:09sources,

01:03:10who held the pen.

01:03:11But once,

01:03:12mid-argument,

01:03:13his phone lit up.

01:03:14A name flashed.

01:03:15Cristiano.

01:03:16For half a second,

01:03:17the lazy smirk dropped clean off his face.

01:03:19What was left underneath was cold,

01:03:21older than 17,

01:03:22and something close to hatred.

01:03:24Then he silenced the call

01:03:25and the mask slid back on

01:03:27like it had never moved.

01:03:29Where were we, princess?

01:03:30Rafe didn't let the princess thing go.

01:03:32Every class,

01:03:33a little dig.

01:03:34Did daddy buy this library?

01:03:35Is that a real Cartier

01:03:36or just for show?

01:03:37I stopped answering.

01:03:39He hated that more.

01:03:40So when Mr. Hale announced

01:03:42the school's debate cup

01:03:43with a full scholarship attached,

01:03:45he said,

01:03:46You'll win that on the name alone.

01:03:47Enter it against me

01:03:49if you're so sure.

01:03:51Loser admits the other earned it

01:03:53out loud

01:03:53in front of everyone.

01:03:55The whole class oohed.

01:03:56He couldn't say no.

01:03:58Boys like Rafe never can.

01:03:59I prepped for six nights.

01:04:01No tutors,

01:04:02no favors.

01:04:03Just me and a stack of books

01:04:04and the stubbornness

01:04:05I got from my mother.

01:04:06I took him apart on stage

01:04:08in 11 minutes.

01:04:09Not with my last name,

01:04:10with facts,

01:04:11with nerve,

01:04:12with every late night

01:04:13nobody ever saw.

01:04:14The judges didn't even deliberate.

01:04:16She earned it,

01:04:17he said.

01:04:17He stood on the stage

01:04:19and looked at me

01:04:19for a long time

01:04:20like he was seeing me

01:04:22for the first time.

01:04:23Then he smiled.

01:04:24Winning made me a target.

01:04:26I was just about to leave

01:04:27the classroom

01:04:28when a blonde girl stopped me.

01:04:30I recognized her.

01:04:31Her name was Camilla Vane.

01:04:32Old money,

01:04:33sharp heels,

01:04:34and a claim on Rafe

01:04:35she'd stake the day he arrived.

01:04:37She'd watched Rafe admit

01:04:39I earned the debate cup.

01:04:40She did not take it well.

01:04:42Cute.

01:04:42The mafia princess

01:04:43thinks she's special.

01:04:45I don't think I'm anything.

01:04:47Please leave.

01:04:48But later,

01:04:48I knew that Camilla

01:04:49didn't want to fight.

01:04:50She wanted a show.

01:04:51That Friday

01:04:52was the winter showcase.

01:04:54Half the city's

01:04:55powerful families

01:04:56in the seat.

01:04:56Cameras everywhere.

01:04:58I stepped up to the podium.

01:04:59The big screen

01:05:00lit up behind me.

01:05:01But it wasn't my slides.

01:05:03It was a leaked wire transfer.

01:05:05Castellano Holdings

01:05:06to the Ashford Endowment.

01:05:08The room started to murmur.

01:05:09Phones came up.

01:05:10The one thing

01:05:11I'd built

01:05:11with my own two hands.

01:05:13The one thing

01:05:13that was mine.

01:05:14She was burning it down

01:05:15in front of everyone.

01:05:17Camilla stood in the wings,

01:05:18smiling.

01:05:18My hands shook.

01:05:20300 people

01:05:21watched me not speak.

01:05:22For one second,

01:05:23I heard Camilla's voice

01:05:24in my head.

01:05:25You don't belong here.

01:05:26Then I heard my mother's.

01:05:27You keep walking

01:05:28into rooms

01:05:28too small for you.

01:05:30I set down my note cards.

01:05:31Cute forgery.

01:05:32Two problems.

01:05:33One.

01:05:34The endowment

01:05:34is public record.

01:05:35Pull it up.

01:05:37There's no Castellano transfer.

01:05:39There never was.

01:05:40Two.

01:05:41Castellano Holdings

01:05:42rebranded four years ago.

01:05:43That logo hasn't existed

01:05:44since I was 12.

01:05:45Whoever made this

01:05:46pulled an old letterhead

01:05:47off the internet.

01:05:49I don't win

01:05:49because of my name.

01:05:50I win because

01:05:51while some people

01:05:52were photoshopping,

01:05:53I was studying.

01:05:54I found Camilla

01:05:55in the wings,

01:05:55frozen,

01:05:56phone still up.

01:05:57You should have

01:05:57checked your sources.

01:05:58She fled.

01:05:59I finished my speech

01:06:00to a standing ovation

01:06:01and at the back

01:06:02of the hall,

01:06:03leaning in the doorway,

01:06:04looking at me

01:06:05like I was something

01:06:06he hadn't expected

01:06:07to find.

01:06:08I told myself

01:06:09I followed Leo

01:06:10for his sake.

01:06:10That's a lie

01:06:11I'm still working on.

01:06:12The races were

01:06:13in an old highway

01:06:14that night.

01:06:15I slipped through the fence

01:06:16and found a place

01:06:16in the dark

01:06:17to watch.

01:06:18And there he was.

01:06:19No smirk,

01:06:20no audience

01:06:20to perform for,

01:06:22just race

01:06:22and a machine

01:06:23and the edge

01:06:24of control.

01:06:25He rode like he was

01:06:26trying to outrun something.

01:06:27Like the second he stopped,

01:06:29it would catch him.

01:06:30It was the most honest

01:06:31I'd ever seen him.

01:06:32Then it went wrong.

01:06:33A rival motorcycle member.

01:06:35Words,

01:06:36then shoves,

01:06:37then a flick of metal

01:06:38in the firelight.

01:06:39Somebody spotted me.

01:06:40A stranger grabbed my arm.

01:06:42I didn't scream.

01:06:42I drove my heel

01:06:44into his instep

01:06:45and twisted free.

01:06:46But Rafe was already

01:06:47on him.

01:06:47He stepped between me

01:06:49and the whole damn party.

01:06:50Don't touch her.

01:06:51The guy never stood a chance.

01:06:53It was over fast

01:06:54after that.

01:06:55Leo's name carried weight

01:06:56around here.

01:06:57So did Rafe's.

01:06:58He drove me home

01:06:58that night.

01:06:59There was a cut

01:07:00at the corner of his mouth.

01:07:01When the car stopped,

01:07:02I reached out

01:07:03and brushed the blood

01:07:04from his lip.

01:07:04He caught my hand

01:07:05and,

01:07:06like a knight swearing

01:07:07himself to his queen,

01:07:09Always at your service,

01:07:10princess.

01:07:10After the yard,

01:07:11something shifted.

01:07:12We stopped pretending

01:07:13to hate each other

01:07:14quite so hard.

01:07:15Which is how I ended up

01:07:17on the roof

01:07:17of the science building

01:07:18at lunch,

01:07:19where Rafe goes

01:07:20to be alone.

01:07:21He didn't hear me come up.

01:07:22He was on the phone,

01:07:23speaking Italian.

01:07:24I only caught pieces,

01:07:25but I caught the tone.

01:07:27He went quiet,

01:07:28his expression

01:07:28turning cold.

01:07:30And for the first time,

01:07:31I realized

01:07:31he might one day grow

01:07:33into a godfather

01:07:34men feared.

01:07:36Yes,

01:07:37his uncle.

01:07:38I understand that word.

01:07:39I'll be back

01:07:40when the old man dies,

01:07:41not a day before.

01:07:43You can tell Cristiano

01:07:44I said so.

01:07:45Cristiano,

01:07:46Leo seemed,

01:07:47said it was his brother.

01:07:48The most untouchable boy

01:07:50in school

01:07:51looked like he had nothing.

01:07:52I should have left.

01:07:54Instead,

01:07:54I said his name.

01:07:56Rafe.

01:07:56He spun around.

01:07:57For a second,

01:07:58raw shock.

01:07:59Then his usually

01:08:00playboy smile.

01:08:01Spying?

01:08:02Princess?

01:08:03I wasn't.

01:08:05How long

01:08:06were you standing there?

01:08:07Rafe.

01:08:08Did you enjoy it?

01:08:09Poor little rich girl charity

01:08:10come to feel sorry

01:08:11for the bastard?

01:08:12I don't feel sorry for you.

01:08:13You should.

01:08:14Everyone else does.

01:08:15You want to know my life?

01:08:17Fine.

01:08:17My mother is dead.

01:08:19My family wishes I were.

01:08:20I'm a placeholder

01:08:21until they need a body

01:08:22to throw at something.

01:08:23Stop.

01:08:25You wouldn't understand

01:08:26the first thing about it.

01:08:27You.

01:08:29With your perfect father

01:08:30who'd burn the city for you,

01:08:32your perfect mother,

01:08:33your perfect untouchable

01:08:34little life.

01:08:34I slapped him.

01:08:36Hard.

01:08:36I waited for the anger.

01:08:38For the urge to fire back.

01:08:39It didn't come.

01:08:40Because I was looking

01:08:41at his face.

01:08:42And under all that venom,

01:08:43his eyes were wet.

01:08:44He was trying to leave

01:08:45before I saw his tears.

01:08:47You're not nothing.

01:08:48Boys like Rafe

01:08:49don't apologize.

01:08:50But the next day,

01:08:51he brought me breakfast.

01:08:52He was quiet

01:08:53the entire morning.

01:08:54No princess joke.

01:08:56No smirk.

01:08:57Just as class ended,

01:08:58he leaned in

01:08:59and asked me quietly,

01:09:00Did you finish the slides?

01:09:01We worked on the history project

01:09:03for two hours

01:09:04and didn't fight once.

01:09:05It was unsettling.

01:09:07After the class,

01:09:08the rain started.

01:09:09By the time we reached

01:09:10the school gate,

01:09:11he tilted the umbrella

01:09:11toward my side.

01:09:12You're getting soaked.

01:09:14I was staring at his white shirt,

01:09:16completely drenched.

01:09:17It clung to him,

01:09:18outlining a broad,

01:09:19solid chest.

01:09:20I had to admit,

01:09:21his build was unfairly good.

01:09:23Happy to serve, miss.

01:09:24The words pulled me back

01:09:25to the kiss

01:09:26he had once pressed

01:09:27against my fingers.

01:09:28My face warmed slightly.

01:09:30Then his phone buzzed.

01:09:31An Italian number.

01:09:32No name.

01:09:33He glanced at it

01:09:33and went still.

01:09:34He killed the screen fast,

01:09:36but I'd already seen

01:09:37his jaw tighten.

01:09:38Everything okay?

01:09:39Fine.

01:09:40He lied.

01:09:40Across the road,

01:09:41a man in a dark coat

01:09:42was watching us

01:09:43and he did not look away.

01:09:45Leo found us

01:09:46under that umbrella.

01:09:47He pulled me into the car,

01:09:49a flash of anger

01:09:50in his grip.

01:09:50He didn't say anything

01:09:51in front of Rafe,

01:09:52but that night,

01:09:53he knocked on my door

01:09:54and his face

01:09:55wasn't the goofy

01:09:56big brother one.

01:09:57You like him.

01:09:58I tolerate him.

01:10:00I'm not stupid

01:10:01and I'm not blind.

01:10:03I braced for a lecture.

01:10:04Instead, he said,

01:10:06His family and ours

01:10:07have a thing.

01:10:08Not a war,

01:10:09not friends.

01:10:10Two snakes

01:10:11in one garden,

01:10:12both pretending

01:10:13not to watch each other.

01:10:15That sounds exhausting.

01:10:17It's the only reason

01:10:18we've had peace this long.

01:10:19I'm not telling you to stop.

01:10:20I know you.

01:10:21That never works.

01:10:22Just be careful.

01:10:23Some things are bigger than us.

01:10:25It was the most grown-up thing

01:10:26my brother had ever said to me.

01:10:27Mom and Dad and I

01:10:28just want you to be safe

01:10:30and happy.

01:10:31Clearly,

01:10:32you're the one

01:10:32who causes the most trouble.

01:10:34And later,

01:10:34I found out

01:10:35he'd said something

01:10:36to Rafe, too.

01:10:37Out in the dark,

01:10:38just the two of them.

01:10:39I know you're not

01:10:40really here to party.

01:10:41Clean up your own

01:10:41damn mess at home.

01:10:42And if any of that shit

01:10:43ever touches my sister,

01:10:45you and I are done.

01:10:46That night,

01:10:46I went to find my mother.

01:10:48I forgot to knock

01:10:49and just push the door open.

01:10:50Oh my God.

01:10:51They were tangled together.

01:10:53I spun around immediately

01:10:55and slammed the door shut,

01:10:56covering my eyes.

01:10:57Dad!

01:10:58Mom!

01:10:58Next time,

01:10:59please lock your room!

01:11:0120 minutes later,

01:11:02my father finally walked out.

01:11:04That just proves

01:11:04your mother and I

01:11:05have a very healthy relationship.

01:11:06I ran straight

01:11:07into my mother's arms.

01:11:08Mom,

01:11:09I need to talk to you.

01:11:11Come, babe.

01:11:13Mom,

01:11:14how did you know

01:11:15you love Dad?

01:11:16Sounds like my girl

01:11:17has some love troubles.

01:11:18I don't.

01:11:19I'm just asking.

01:11:20All right.

01:11:21Then I'll just tell you casually.

01:11:23You'll find yourself

01:11:24noticing him

01:11:24without meaning to.

01:11:25Your heart will start racing

01:11:27from the smallest

01:11:28accidental touches.

01:11:29And most importantly,

01:11:30you'll find yourself

01:11:32hurting because of him.

01:11:33I would never get hurt

01:11:34because of him.

01:11:36You will.

01:11:37I saw Rafe with a girl

01:11:38in the East Corridor.

01:11:39Rafe telling some story

01:11:41with his hands.

01:11:42Then he hit the punchline

01:11:43and the girl

01:11:44burst out laughing.

01:11:46She gave him a light,

01:11:47playful slap

01:11:48and Rafe caught her hand

01:11:49midair.

01:11:49He tucked a strand

01:11:51of her hair

01:11:51behind her ear.

01:11:52I was clearly a fool.

01:11:54The easy laugh.

01:11:55The gentleness

01:11:56that makes you feel

01:11:56like the only person

01:11:57in the world.

01:11:58I'd let myself

01:11:59think it was mine.

01:12:00I'm not the only one

01:12:01he's happy to charm.

01:12:02I was just the girl

01:12:03he hated.

01:12:04An arrogant,

01:12:05delicate princess

01:12:06in his words.

01:12:07And I hated the version

01:12:08of myself

01:12:09that still hurt

01:12:10because of him.

01:12:10Just like my mother

01:12:11had said I would.

01:12:12I skipped fourth period.

01:12:14I went to the bar

01:12:14two blocks off campus.

01:12:16The kind that

01:12:16barely checks IDs

01:12:18and slid my fake one

01:12:19across the counter.

01:12:20By the third drink,

01:12:21the room had started

01:12:22to tilt.

01:12:23By the fourth,

01:12:23I heard a voice

01:12:24I'd have known anywhere.

01:12:25What the hell

01:12:26are you doing here?

01:12:27Rafe.

01:12:27He took one look

01:12:28at the glass in my hand

01:12:30and the fake ID

01:12:30on the counter

01:12:31and his jaw went tight.

01:12:33He didn't yell.

01:12:34He paid my tab

01:12:35and steered me

01:12:36toward the door

01:12:36with a hand

01:12:37at the small of my back,

01:12:38careful.

01:12:39The night air hit me

01:12:40and the world

01:12:41spun harder.

01:12:42He poured me

01:12:43into the seat

01:12:44of his car

01:12:44and crouched

01:12:45in the open door,

01:12:46level with my eyes.

01:12:47You could have

01:12:48gotten hurt.

01:12:48What were you thinking?

01:12:49I looked at him

01:12:50and before I could

01:12:51stop it,

01:12:51one tear slid

01:12:52down my cheek.

01:12:53Hey,

01:12:54why are you crying?

01:12:56I don't want you

01:12:57laughing with all

01:12:57those girls.

01:12:59I don't want to

01:12:59be just one of them.

01:13:01He went very still.

01:13:02Then he laughed,

01:13:03a real smile

01:13:04low in his chest.

01:13:05You are not

01:13:06one of them.

01:13:07You have never

01:13:08once been one of them.

01:13:09I'm sorry

01:13:10for the girl,

01:13:11for the show,

01:13:12he swallowed,

01:13:13and for what I said

01:13:14on that roof.

01:13:15Every word of it

01:13:15was a lie I told

01:13:16because the truth

01:13:17scared me.

01:13:18Then he leaned in

01:13:19and kissed me.

01:13:20The next day,

01:13:21something shifted

01:13:22between us again.

01:13:23I'll call it

01:13:23what it was,

01:13:24something dangerously

01:13:25close to flirting.

01:13:26I wasn't supposed

01:13:27to be at their

01:13:28motorcycle race

01:13:29that night,

01:13:29but just like

01:13:30my mother said,

01:13:31I couldn't keep

01:13:32my eyes off Rafe.

01:13:33Watched him and Rafe

01:13:34trade the lead

01:13:35like it was

01:13:35a conversation.

01:13:36Then the headlights

01:13:37came.

01:13:38Not racers,

01:13:39a convoy,

01:13:40black SUVs

01:13:41sliding into the yard,

01:13:42blocking the exit.

01:13:43A crew nobody

01:13:44recognized.

01:13:45I froze for

01:13:46half a second

01:13:47too long

01:13:47and a hand

01:13:48closed around my arm.

01:13:50Castigliano girl.

01:13:51That was the part

01:13:52that scared me.

01:13:53They knew who I was.

01:13:54They'd come for me.

01:13:55Leo saw it

01:13:56from across the yard.

01:13:57So did Rafe.

01:13:58Both of them

01:13:58turned their bikes

01:13:59at once,

01:14:00but it was my brother

01:14:01who didn't panic.

01:14:02While everyone else ran,

01:14:03he pulled out his phone

01:14:04and made one call.

01:14:06Three words.

01:14:06It's a setup.

01:14:07Then he looked

01:14:08at the men surrounding us

01:14:09and for the first time

01:14:10in my life,

01:14:11my goofy big brother

01:14:12looked exactly

01:14:13like our father.

01:14:14Let her go.

01:14:15You have no idea

01:14:15who's night

01:14:16you just walked into.

01:14:17Here's what I didn't know

01:14:18about my brother.

01:14:19The races were never

01:14:20just races.

01:14:21For two years,

01:14:23Leo had been building

01:14:23something in the dark

01:14:25corners of this city.

01:14:26A web.

01:14:27Writers,

01:14:28mechanics,

01:14:28runners,

01:14:29eyes.

01:14:30He never told

01:14:31our parents.

01:14:31He never told me.

01:14:32He carried it alone

01:14:33so the family

01:14:34would always see

01:14:35trouble coming

01:14:36before it arrived.

01:14:37My goofy big brother

01:14:38wasn't a kid

01:14:39playing with bikes.

01:14:40He was the one

01:14:41standing watch.

01:14:42When those men

01:14:43grabbed me,

01:14:44Leo didn't throw a punch.

01:14:46He didn't have to.

01:14:47Within minutes,

01:14:48the yard filled

01:14:49with riders.

01:14:49His riders.

01:14:50You came onto my ground.

01:14:52You touched my sister.

01:14:54There's no version

01:14:55of tonight

01:14:56where you drive

01:14:57out of here.

01:14:57The man let go

01:14:58of my arm.

01:14:59Rafe's fist landed first,

01:15:01snapping into the man's face.

01:15:02Blood splattered

01:15:03across his cheek.

01:15:04Cold.

01:15:05Violent.

01:15:06Unforgiving.

01:15:07And just like that,

01:15:08it was over.

01:15:08He looked at me.

01:15:09Don't tell mom and dad.

01:15:10And as he turned

01:15:11to walk away,

01:15:12he was the spitting image

01:15:13of our father at 17.

01:15:15We ended up

01:15:15on the hood of Rafe's car

01:15:16at 2 a.m.

01:15:17parked on a hill

01:15:18above the whole lit up city.

01:15:20Leo had driven

01:15:21the others home,

01:15:22given us a look,

01:15:23left.

01:15:23My hands were still

01:15:24shaking from the yard.

01:15:25You okay?

01:15:26I had it handled.

01:15:28I know.

01:15:29A pause.

01:15:29You always do.

01:15:30I turned to look at him.

01:15:32The playboy was gone.

01:15:33So was the cruel mouth,

01:15:34looking at me like

01:15:35I was the only safe thing

01:15:36he'd ever found.

01:15:38You scared me tonight.

01:15:39When that man grabbed you,

01:15:40I have never been

01:15:40that scared in my life.

01:15:43I'm fine.

01:15:44I know.

01:15:45That's not the point.

01:15:47He reached up

01:15:48and tucked a strand of hair

01:15:49behind my ear,

01:15:50slow,

01:15:50like he expected me

01:15:51to stop him.

01:15:52I didn't stop him.

01:15:53I kissed him first,

01:15:54because I'm a Castellano

01:15:56and we don't wait.

01:15:57He took control,

01:15:58pulling me in

01:15:59and kissing me

01:15:59until I forgot how to breathe.

01:16:01He tasted unexpectedly soft,

01:16:03almost sweet,

01:16:04nothing like the cold man

01:16:05he pretended to be.

01:16:07For a moment,

01:16:07I thought I understood

01:16:08how my mother

01:16:09had fallen in love

01:16:10with my father.

01:16:11That night,

01:16:12he sent me home.

01:16:12We kissed again

01:16:13before I got out of his car.

01:16:15Then his phone lit up

01:16:16in the corner of my eye.

01:16:17Cristiano,

01:16:18his brother's coming.

01:16:19I should have known,

01:16:20nothing stays secret

01:16:22in my family.

01:16:23By Friday,

01:16:23my father knew

01:16:24the Moretti boy's name.

01:16:25I came home

01:16:26to find him in his study,

01:16:28a photo of Rafe

01:16:29already on his desk.

01:16:30Stay away from him.

01:16:31He's a classmate, Dad.

01:16:33He's a Moradi.

01:16:34But that doesn't mean anything.

01:16:36He's only 17.

01:16:37So was I

01:16:38when I buried my parents

01:16:39and took this family.

01:16:41Mafia means danger.

01:16:43Protecting my family

01:16:44is the only duty

01:16:45I have in this life.

01:16:46Dad?

01:16:47I knew that

01:16:47when he spoke like that,

01:16:48there was no arguing with him.

01:16:50But then,

01:16:51my mother stepped in.

01:16:52Luca,

01:16:53you're looking at the name.

01:16:55You should look at the boy himself.

01:16:57The boy is the name.

01:16:58I was the divorced nanny

01:17:00with $36.

01:17:01Everyone in your world

01:17:02looked at me that way too.

01:17:04You're the one

01:17:05who taught me they were wrong.

01:17:06The room went quiet.

01:17:07Luca's stern expression softened.

01:17:09The cold dawn had faded

01:17:11and my gentle father

01:17:12was back again.

01:17:13I want to meet him.

01:17:14Luca said finally.

01:17:15My stomach dropped.

01:17:16Dad, no.

01:17:17It's not a request, Sophia.

01:17:18Dad didn't do it at the house.

01:17:20He did it at the restaurant

01:17:21he owns downtown.

01:17:22The one where the back room

01:17:23has no cameras.

01:17:25I wasn't allowed in.

01:17:26I waited in the car with Leo,

01:17:28sick to my stomach.

01:17:29It wasn't until much later

01:17:30that Rafe told me

01:17:31what had really happened that day.

01:17:33My father sat across from him

01:17:34and said nothing for a full minute.

01:17:36Just looked.

01:17:37Most men break in that minute.

01:17:39Rafe didn't.

01:17:39You know who I am.

01:17:41Everyone knows who you are.

01:17:43Then you know what I can do

01:17:44to a boy who hurts my daughter.

01:17:46I'm not going to hurt her.

01:17:47boys like you always do.

01:17:49And then Rafe said the thing

01:17:50that changed everything.

01:17:52I give you my word and my life.

01:17:54Your daughter will never be touched,

01:17:56never be threatened.

01:17:57I will die before I allow harm

01:17:59to reach her.

01:17:59I don't want anything from you, sir.

01:18:01Not your name.

01:18:02Not your protection.

01:18:04I'll build an empire for her

01:18:05with my own blood and my own gun.

01:18:06I swear it to you.

01:18:07Silence.

01:18:08Then my father leaned back

01:18:10and almost smiled.

01:18:11You're either the most honest boy

01:18:12I've met in 20 years

01:18:13or the most dangerous.

01:18:15I haven't decided which.

01:18:16Which, with my father,

01:18:18means he was impressed.

01:18:19After that day,

01:18:20I kept asking him about Cristiano.

01:18:22In the evening,

01:18:23he drove me back to the place

01:18:24where we had kissed

01:18:25for the first time.

01:18:26We leaned against his car.

01:18:28I was eating gas station sandwiches

01:18:30like they were a feast.

01:18:31I made him laugh.

01:18:32A real one.

01:18:33Not the practiced one

01:18:34he gives girls.

01:18:35You're different

01:18:35when no one's watching.

01:18:37So are you, princess.

01:18:39He told me things

01:18:40he'd never told anyone.

01:18:41He was a bastard.

01:18:42His mother was just an ordinary girl

01:18:44from a normal family.

01:18:46He told me about his mother's laugh,

01:18:47the way she sang in the kitchen,

01:18:49and how his father's wife

01:18:50took her from him.

01:18:51His half-brother was now

01:18:52the first in line,

01:18:54the heir.

01:18:54There was a war between them.

01:18:56He pulled me against his chest

01:18:58and said the thing that undid me.

01:18:59I never thought anyone

01:19:00would stay by my side.

01:19:01And I answered him with a kiss.

01:19:03The next day,

01:19:04just before school ended,

01:19:06Cristiano showed up at the cafe

01:19:07by the campus gates.

01:19:08He looked like Rafe.

01:19:09Same jaw,

01:19:10same dark eyes.

01:19:12Little brother,

01:19:13mother sends her love

01:19:15and a deadline.

01:19:16Rafe stepped in front of me

01:19:18on instinct.

01:19:19You shouldn't be here.

01:19:20You shouldn't be playing house

01:19:21with a castoroni,

01:19:22though I understand the appeal.

01:19:24She's lovely.

01:19:25Don't.

01:19:26Relax.

01:19:27I'm not here for her.

01:19:29Yet.

01:19:29He told Rafe the news

01:19:31in three flat sentences.

01:19:32Their father,

01:19:33the head of the whole family,

01:19:35he was dying.

01:19:36When he went,

01:19:37the family would choose

01:19:38who led next.

01:19:39Mother wants you home for it.

01:19:40To stand in the back.

01:19:41Smile.

01:19:42Remind everyone

01:19:43the bastard knows his play.

01:19:44Rafe's hands were fists.

01:19:45Cristiano got back in his car,

01:19:47rolled down the window.

01:19:48Oh,

01:19:49tell your father

01:19:49the Moretti send their regards.

01:19:51He'll know what it means.

01:19:52Then he drove off,

01:19:53leaving the whole beautiful day

01:19:55in ruins behind him.

01:19:57Beside me,

01:19:58Rafe had gone white.

01:19:59Cristiano didn't go home.

01:20:00He enrolled.

01:20:01A semester abroad,

01:20:02he called it,

01:20:03smiling at a headmaster

01:20:04who couldn't say no

01:20:05to that much money.

01:20:06and he made it his mission

01:20:07to grind his little brother

01:20:08into dust

01:20:09in front of the whole school.

01:20:11This is Raffaello,

01:20:12my father's little mistake.

01:20:13We keep him around the way

01:20:14you keep an old dog.

01:20:15Pity,

01:20:16mostly.

01:20:16People laughed.

01:20:17Rafe didn't move.

01:20:18The boy who'd face down

01:20:19my father without blinking

01:20:20sat there

01:20:21and let his brother

01:20:22carve him up

01:20:23because in their world,

01:20:24that was his place.

01:20:25I watched his jaw work,

01:20:27watched him swallow it,

01:20:28and I couldn't.

01:20:29I stood up,

01:20:30crossed the cafeteria,

01:20:31sat down right beside Rafe

01:20:32in full view of everyone

01:20:34and took his hand

01:20:35on top of the table.

01:20:36The whole room went silent.

01:20:38It meaned the support

01:20:39from Castellano.

01:20:40Sofia, don't.

01:20:41Too late.

01:20:43Cristiano's smile

01:20:43finally slipped.

01:20:44He stared at me.

Divorced, I Married The Godfather - Short Drama - FULL ✅ [Eng Sub]

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