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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.
00:00:08That was when I spotted a flyer taped to a roadside pole. Stepmom wanted for child. Room and board, that's
00:00:15what got me.
00:00:16That same night, I showed up at the address. I walked straight into the mansion of Luca Castellano, the don
00:00:22of 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?
00:00:30Before 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.
00:00:49Now 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.
00:01:00Don is a very desirable man. Do not get any ideas you shouldn't.
00:01:04I 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.
00:01:24The butler led me down a dim, vaulted corridor.
00:01:27Then I heard something that sounded like a gunshot.
00:01:30I stumbled, slammed straight into a hot, hard chest.
00:01:33The smell hit me first. Blood.
00:01:35Gunpowder.
00:01:36Then the barrel of a pistol tipped my chin up.
00:01:38A man in a suit with his hair slicked back.
00:01:40Blood streaked across his jaw.
00:01:42A snake tattoo coiling out of his collar onto his throat.
00:01:45My chest rose and fell rapidly with fear.
00:01:48His gun slid down from my chin and stopped between my soaked breasts.
00:01:52He studied me for a long beat.
00:01:54Finally, walked off without a word.
00:01:56I'd seen that face before.
00:01:58Page 6.
00:01:59New York Times.
00:02:00The Castellano Don.
00:02:01Sebastian had once spent a month studying his photos.
00:02:04Trying to get in with the old mafia family behind him.
00:02:07The butler finally spoke.
00:02:09The Don is handling some business.
00:02:11Please don't mind.
00:02:12I nodded quietly.
00:02:13Then 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.
00:02:20And at one end, a father and son were locked in a standoff.
00:02:23The man with murder in his eyes was gone.
00:02:26In his place, at the table, sat a man in a white dress shirt holding a spoon.
00:02:30His face was tired.
00:02:31The boy pressed his lips shut and glared up at his father like a tiny soldier holding the line.
00:02:37Neither moved.
00:02:37Finally, the man exhaled and set the spoon down.
00:02:40Long fingers pinched the bridge of his nose.
00:02:43His voice dropped, low and rough.
00:02:45One bite, one small bite.
00:02:47Is that really too much?
00:02:49The butler stepped forward.
00:02:50Don, the applicant is here.
00:02:52The man turned.
00:02:53His shirt was unbuttoned low.
00:02:55I could see most of the snake tattoo now.
00:02:57The lines of his muscles pressed faintly through the white linen.
00:03:00The 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.
00:03:13A man like Luca Castellano had no reason to scam a broke divorcee off the street.
00:03:18His eyes moved over me, distant and tired.
00:03:20Name?
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.
00:03:28Feeding the kid was probably harder than running his empire.
00:03:32Nora Bennett, I said.
00:03:33A barely there nod.
00:03:34He held out the plate.
00:03:35Try.
00:03:35So, this was my interview.
00:03:37If 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.
00:03:45Whoosh!
00:03:46He bolted under the table.
00:03:47Only his eyes peeked out.
00:03:49Dark, round, furious.
00:03:51I don't want her!
00:03:52Send her away!
00:03:53She'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.
00:04:00Fine.
00:04:01I needed to do my best.
00:04:02I scanned the room and clocked it instantly.
00:04:05Action figures everywhere.
00:04:06Batman, 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.
00:04:23Open up, Bats.
00:04:24Heroes who skip dinner?
00:04:25Skinny arms, skinny legs.
00:04:27Can'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.
00:04:38I 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?
00:04:47Bats, 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.
00:05:07A big bite.
00:05:08Why 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.
00:05:21There 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.
00:05:31Ever.
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.
00:05:37Two story drive.
00:05:39I thought of the gun from an hour ago.
00:05:40I nodded so hard I almost gave myself whiplash.
00:05:43Won't happen.
00:05:44You have my word.
00:05:45Castellano 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.
00:05:58Come down.
00:05:59Let's talk.
00:06:00Luca was on the couch in the great room, long legs crossed, whiskey in his hand.
00:06:04I sat across from him on the opposite couch, hands in my lap, knees together, like a job interview.
00:06:10You're good with kids.
00:06:11You have one of your own?
00:06:11No.
00:06:12I helped raise my ex's nephew for two years.
00:06:15Back the...
00:06:15The crane said I didn't make enough money and ordered me to quit.
00:06:18Called it generosity.
00:06:20Then, after I did, they claimed I was lazy and had nothing to do.
00:06:23So they fired the nanny and dumped the kid on me.
00:06:26More free maid than wife.
00:06:27File says you're divorced.
00:06:29Yes.
00:06:29Reason?
00:06:30Some small town girl cannot stain a noble family name, I guess.
00:06:34Only a coward would say that.
00:06:36You 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, especially in bed.
00:06:54My 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.
00:07:03But because the gaps between our family, I'd signed one with him too.
00:07:07When 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.
00:07:17I 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.
00:07:35All right.
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.
00:07:52All right, 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, no 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.
00:08:38I'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, bare feet, hair sticking up, fidgeting with his dinosaur pajamas.
00:08:49What's up, kiddo?
00:08:50Nora, 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.
00:09:00Come 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.
00:09:24By a lot.
00:09:25I'd given far more than this in my last marriage and walked away with literally nothing.
00:09:30During 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 wouldn'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.
00:10:16$50,000.
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.
00:10:38The 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, wait 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.
00:11:17He's finally willing to leave the house.
00:11:20Your depression's getting better.
00:11:21Just keep it slow.
00:11:22Relax.
00:11:23I 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.
00:12:34Why are you here?
00:12:35He scooped his son into his arm.
00:12:37Seeing how calm and composed the boy was, his eyes suddenly reddened.
00:12:41The 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.
00:12:56I refused so hard, he laughed.
00:12:59Noia, there must be something you want.
00:13:01Could you help me find a used car?
00:13:03Five thousand or below, so I can take Leo out without depending on the driver.
00:13:10Pick anything from the garage.
00:13:13The 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.
00:13:29But 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.
00:13:36Don't push her too hard.
00:13:37I'll remember that.
00:13:38The 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.
00:13:55Nora!
00:13:55I don't want to hold this.
00:13:57My 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.
00:14:09He 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.
00:14:17My stomach knotted on contact.
00:14:19Sebastian 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, take care of his parents,
00:14:38take care of his sister's kid, cook, laundry, cleaning.
00:14:42I did all of it because I loved him.
00:14:45Because 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.
00:15:15His 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.
00:15:26Ivy League degree.
00:15:28And here you are playing nanny?
00:15:31What were you thinking?
00:15:33Not your business.
00:15:34Nora, try to understand.
00:15:37The 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.
00:15:48Even divorced, you're my ex-wife.
00:15:50People still bring me up when they talk about you.
00:15:52Stop embarrassing me.
00:15:54Use 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?
00:16:02Admit 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.
00:16:10Apologize 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.
00:16:18Connor.
00:16:18The 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, Con.
00:16:26Nora, you divorced loser.
00:16:29My 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.
00:16:37Have you ever thought about anyone but yourself?
00:16:39You're slapping Sebastian's face.
00:16:41You'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.
00:16:48Trash dressed in silk.
00:16:49I hung up.
00:16:50Blocked her.
00:16:51Pulled over.
00:16:51I crashed onto the steering wheel and bawled.
00:16:54I cried until I couldn't breathe.
00:16:55I cried until I was so empty I felt nothing.
00:16:58Then I sat up.
00:16:59Wiped my face.
00:17:00Felt the exhaustion settle bone deep.
00:17:02Nora, here.
00:17:03Tissue.
00:17:04I'd forgotten Leo was in the back seat.
00:17:06He was holding a tissue out from his car seat.
00:17:08Big, sad eyes glued to me.
00:17:09I'm sorry, sweetheart.
00:17:11Did I scare you?
00:17:12Nora, I'm not scared.
00:17:13You can cry as long as you want.
00:17:16I'll wait.
00:17:17Adults crying isn't shameful.
00:17:18I won't laugh.
00:17:20Thanks, my little gentleman.
00:17:22Auntie's done.
00:17:23No more crying from now on.
00:17:24Let'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.
00:17:31I 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.
00:17:38He was in a tight white tank top,
00:17:40making the snake tattoo stand out even more.
00:17:42Dark hair falling loose over his forehead.
00:17:45Whiskey in his hand.
00:17:46Looser 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,
00:17:53like he'd been caught.
00:17:54The clothes in your closet,
00:17:55you never wear any of them.
00:17:57They're too nice.
00:17:58I'm not used to it.
00:18:00I'd learned one thing from the crane marriage.
00:18:02Don't force yourself into a world that isn't yours.
00:18:04The fall is uglier when they shove you out.
00:18:07Are they not your style?
00:18:08I'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.
00:18:17I heard you saw your ex today.
00:18:19His name's Crane?
00:18:20The stupid Crane Capital?
00:18:22I froze.
00:18:23Leo had snitched.
00:18:24Yes.
00:18:25That Crane.
00:18:26Old news.
00:18:27Nora.
00:18:28Since you came,
00:18:30Leo's been a different child.
00:18:31Thank you.
00:18:32His eyes were dark and serious on mine.
00:18:34I shifted.
00:18:35Uncomfortable.
00:18:35You pay me very well.
00:18:37It's what I'm here for.
00:18:38Nora.
00:18:40Ask me for anything.
00:18:41I can probably make it happen.
00:18:43Mr. Castellano.
00:18:44I don't need anything.
00:18:46He was quiet a long moment.
00:18:47His fingers tightened on his knee,
00:18:49then released.
00:18:50He stood up.
00:18:51I'll say this again.
00:18:52I'm the Don of the Costetto family.
00:18:55If you want,
00:18:57I can make sure he never speaks again more by tomorrow.
00:19:00I took a step back,
00:19:01still not used to him being this close.
00:19:03Without warning,
00:19:04he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
00:19:05Did I scare you?
00:19:07I said nothing.
00:19:08His hand slid down from my cheek.
00:19:10He gave a faint smile,
00:19:11then walked out.
00:19:13For the next two weeks,
00:19:15Luca started coming home early.
00:19:16Dinner with Leo and me.
00:19:18Sometimes board games after.
00:19:20Sometimes a movie.
00:19:21A man who ran half of New York's underworld
00:19:23didn't change his schedule for no reason.
00:19:26I was starting to worry.
00:19:27Was the family in trouble?
00:19:28Not that I cared about him.
00:19:30I just really cared about my $150,000 a month.
00:19:33Mr. Castellano,
00:19:34you don't have to keep coming home this early.
00:19:36Leo has me.
00:19:37If you've got business,
00:19:38take it.
00:19:39Luca picked up a red Lego brick.
00:19:41Voice perfectly neutral.
00:19:42The psychiatrist said you need family.
00:19:44Leo and I are your family now.
00:19:46We have responsibilities.
00:19:48Since when are we family,
00:19:49I wanted to say.
00:19:50I didn't.
00:19:51Honestly,
00:19:52Leo's enough.
00:19:53The doctor said my improvement is mostly thanks to him.
00:19:57He 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.
00:20:07Luca's voice,
00:20:08stopping me at the doorway.
00:20:09Yes?
00:20:10His ears were faintly pink.
00:20:12He cleared his throat.
00:20:13Tomorrow night,
00:20:14there's an event.
00:20:16Plus sun's required.
00:20:18Would you come with me?
00:20:20Me?
00:20:26You.
00:20:27I don't have time to find someone else.
00:20:29I'll pay you an appearance fee.
00:20:31A man with his face
00:20:32couldn't find a date in 24 hours?
00:20:35I didn't think too much.
00:20:36There was money on the table.
00:20:37Sure.
00:20:38I don't know the social rules in your world, though.
00:20:41I don't want to embarrass you.
00:20:43The Cranes were a moneyed family, too.
00:20:45But Sebastian had never taken me to anything
00:20:47because his mother said,
00:20:49She doesn't know how to act in public.
00:20:51Don't let her embarrass us.
00:20:53Stand next to me.
00:20:54That's all.
00:20:55Luca's brow eased.
00:20:56If you want,
00:20:57I can make the gossipers
00:20:58shut up for good.
00:21:00The butler chimed in, beaming.
00:21:01Miss Bennett,
00:21:03you don't need to know the rules.
00:21:05The dawn is the rules.
00:21:07Hard to argue with that.
00:21:08The next afternoon,
00:21:09a design team showed up at the mansion.
00:21:11Five people.
00:21:13Most of them flown in from Paris.
00:21:15Hair,
00:21:15makeup,
00:21:16dress,
00:21:17jewelry.
00:21:18They huddled and debated each detail
00:21:20for 20 minutes at a stretch.
00:21:22By the time Luca came home,
00:21:23I was starting to feel sick
00:21:25about 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,
00:21:32almost stunned,
00:21:33before he caught himself.
00:21:34Daddy,
00:21:35look how pretty Nora is.
00:21:38Call her mom.
00:21:39Leo turned his head
00:21:41and harrumphed.
00:21:41Wouldn't say it.
00:21:43I patted his hair.
00:21:44It's okay.
00:21:45I like Nora.
00:21:47Makes me feel young.
00:21:48The event was a charity gala
00:21:50at the plaza.
00:21:51Every major name in New York was there.
00:21:53Old money,
00:21:54bigger money,
00:21:55political faces.
00:21:56A few faces I recognized
00:21:58from the papers
00:21:58and a few I knew
00:22:00not to recognize at all.
00:22:01They orbited Luca immediately.
00:22:03Conversations started landing on me.
00:22:05Mr. Castellino,
00:22:07who's the beautiful lady?
00:22:09I jumped in to save him.
00:22:11I'm a friend of Mr. Castellino's.
00:22:15My wife,
00:22:16Nora.
00:22:17The room shifted.
00:22:18A chorus of polite gasps.
00:22:21Compliments raining down.
00:22:22My face went hot to my collarbone.
00:22:25Luca squeezed my hand.
00:22:26Leaned in.
00:22:27Nora,
00:22:28is being my wife
00:22:30really that embarrassing?
00:22:31You couldn't say it?
00:22:33Bourbon and cedar on his breath.
00:22:35No.
00:22:36No.
00:22:37I just,
00:22:38I didn't want to embarrass you.
00:22:39His eyes darkened.
00:22:41Nora.
00:22:41He looked at me like
00:22:42he was lighting something on fire.
00:22:43Only a weak man
00:22:44is embarrassed by his wife.
00:22:46I had to look away.
00:22:47I'll grab a drink.
00:22:47I bolted.
00:22:49I'd been hiding by the champagne tower
00:22:51for about 90 seconds when...
00:22:53Nora?
00:22:57There was no date.
00:22:58Just him.
00:22:59Had it Luca said
00:23:00plus ones required?
00:23:02Sebastian's face
00:23:03was pure stunned.
00:23:04It is you.
00:23:06I almost didn't recognize you.
00:23:13I've never seen you look like this.
00:23:16I stepped back.
00:23:17Stay away from me.
00:23:19Nora.
00:23:19About my sister's call.
00:23:21That wasn't me.
00:23:22I'd never authorized that.
00:23:24Truth is,
00:23:24I only agreed to the divorce
00:23:25to teach you a lesson.
00:23:26Bratty wife.
00:23:27Needed reminding.
00:23:28I never actually planned
00:23:30to let you go.
00:23:31Apologize to my mom
00:23:32and my sister.
00:23:35We'll remarry.
00:23:36I'll forget the rest.
00:23:41Crane,
00:23:42capital is bleeding right now.
00:23:43I'm slammed.
00:23:45Stop making things hard for me.
00:23:46He reached for my hand.
00:23:47The Sebastian special.
00:23:49One slap,
00:23:50one kiss.
00:23:51He'd run me on that loop
00:23:52for three years.
00:23:54I'm not the Nora
00:23:55he married anymore.
00:23:56I yanked back.
00:23:57Sebastian.
00:23:58Divorced means divorced.
00:24:00I'd rather sleep
00:24:01under the Brooklyn Pleerage
00:24:02than wear your last name again.
00:24:03Find someone else
00:24:04for that throne.
00:24:05Still stubborn.
00:24:06You haven't suffered enough.
00:24:08Crawl find me
00:24:09when you've actually been broken.
00:24:12That's when Luca
00:24:13started walking toward us.
00:24:15Sebastian's whole posture changed.
00:24:18Nora.
00:24:19We'll talk later.
00:24:20There's a heavyweight
00:24:21I need to corner.
00:24:22Don't get in the way.
00:24:23Plastered on his best smile
00:24:25and intercepted Luca
00:24:27with a business card
00:24:28already out.
00:24:29My Don.
00:24:29I'm Sebastian Crane.
00:24:31Crane Capital.
00:24:32I'd like to talk about
00:24:35the mandate you pulled.
00:24:36Five years.
00:24:38Crane at Capital
00:24:38ran the books
00:24:39on every fund
00:24:40Castellino Holdings
00:24:41put on the street.
00:24:42Then you cut us out overnight.
00:24:44If we fell short,
00:24:46tell me where.
00:24:47Whatever you need,
00:24:49I'll make it right.
00:24:50Sebastian,
00:24:50half bowed.
00:24:51Luca's eyes went past him
00:24:53straight to me.
00:24:54Nora.
00:24:54What do you think?
00:24:56Should I give him
00:24:57a second chance?
00:24:59Sebastian's smile froze.
00:25:01Nora?
00:25:02What does she have to do with-
00:25:04Mr. Castelloni,
00:25:06you should know.
00:25:07Nora is my ex-wife.
00:25:08I don't know how
00:25:09she got in here tonight,
00:25:10probably trying to ambush me
00:25:11into wrecking elitiation.
00:25:12She's just a housewife.
00:25:14Pay her no mind.
00:25:15Luca didn't even glance at him.
00:25:17Nora.
00:25:18Your call.
00:25:19I'll follow your lead.
00:25:23I kept my voice flat.
00:25:25Mr. Crane just asked me
00:25:26not to interfere
00:25:26in his business conversation.
00:25:28I'd hate to interfere.
00:25:31Sebastian flared.
00:25:32A man's business
00:25:33is none of your concern.
00:25:34Of course,
00:25:35small town instincts.
00:25:36Luca's voice
00:25:37came in cold and final.
00:25:39Then I'd assume
00:25:39my wife doesn't approve
00:25:40of Crane Capital.
00:25:42Mr. Crane,
00:25:43we'll have to pass.
00:25:44His arm slid around my shoulders.
00:25:47He turned us toward the bar.
00:25:48Sebastian was still standing there,
00:25:50brain catching up.
00:25:51Then a man in a tuxedo
00:25:53brushed past him.
00:25:54Crane,
00:25:55you insulted Don's wife.
00:25:58You stepped on a live mine.
00:26:00That's the only woman
00:26:01who's ever been on his arm
00:26:02in 20 years.
00:26:04Castellano's wife?
00:26:05Impossible.
00:26:06The woman's a nanny
00:26:07in the Castellano house.
00:26:09Sebastian had seen Nora
00:26:10at the farmer's market,
00:26:11driving the cheap car,
00:26:13carrying a lobster
00:26:14for the brat.
00:26:14He knew what he saw.
00:26:16A fancy dress
00:26:17didn't make a duchess.
00:26:18The man shook his head
00:26:19and walked off.
00:26:20Some idiots won't listen.
00:26:22Let them die.
00:26:24That night,
00:26:26Luca bid on a Picasso study
00:26:27and three pieces
00:26:28of war era jewelry.
00:26:30180 million in collectibles.
00:26:32Donated to the children's hospital
00:26:34under my name.
00:26:35After that,
00:26:36the gala turned into
00:26:37a receiving line.
00:26:38Mrs. Castellano,
00:26:40there's a small tea
00:26:41at my place next week.
00:26:42Would you grace us?
00:26:44Mrs. Castellano.
00:26:45My husband is bidding
00:26:46on a Castellano project.
00:26:48Just a quiet word
00:26:48to the Don.
00:26:49I'd never been
00:26:50on this side of a room.
00:26:51I drank three glasses
00:26:52to keep my hands steady.
00:26:54Luca intercepted
00:26:54on the fourth.
00:26:55Apologies, everyone.
00:26:56My wife isn't a drinker.
00:26:58I'll take hers.
00:27:00He drank.
00:27:01Then he drank for me
00:27:02three more times.
00:27:03By the time we slid
00:27:04into his Rolls Royce,
00:27:06we were both lit.
00:27:07I glanced out the window.
00:27:09Sebastian was on the curb,
00:27:10watching us,
00:27:11mouth curled
00:27:12in that ugly little smirk,
00:27:14like I was the punchline.
00:27:15I closed the curtain,
00:27:17turned to Luca.
00:27:18Mr. Castellano,
00:27:19thank you
00:27:19for tonight,
00:27:21for
00:27:23what you did
00:27:23with Sebastian.
00:27:24His voice came out low,
00:27:26soft around the edges.
00:27:28Nora,
00:27:30we're husband and wife.
00:27:32Stop thanking me.
00:27:34We're a paper husband and wife.
00:27:36You didn't have to.
00:27:38His arm lifted.
00:27:39Long fingers tilted my chin up.
00:27:41His thumb brushed slow
00:27:42against my jaw.
00:27:44Nora,
00:27:45what if I don't want
00:27:46a paper marriage anymore?
00:27:48He was too close.
00:27:49His face was carved
00:27:50out of something dangerous.
00:27:52Eyes blown black.
00:27:53Heat from his breath
00:27:54landed on my throat.
00:27:56He smelled like bourbon
00:27:57and that cedar cologne
00:27:58and something underneath
00:28:00that was just him.
00:28:02The most controlled man
00:28:03in New York
00:28:04was looking at my mouth
00:28:05like he wanted it.
00:28:08Mr. Castellano,
00:28:09you've had too much.
00:28:14You're right,
00:28:15I'm sorry.
00:28:16I had too much.
00:28:17The rest of the ride
00:28:18was silence.
00:28:19A heavy,
00:28:20humming silence
00:28:21with my pulse
00:28:21loud in my ears.
00:28:27Leo saved me.
00:28:28He sprinted
00:28:29at the front door
00:28:30with his picture book.
00:28:33I scooped him up
00:28:34and ran upstairs
00:28:35before I had to look
00:28:36Luca in the face again.
00:28:39I tucked Leo in,
00:28:40then opened my laptop
00:28:41and started scrolling
00:28:42job boards.
00:28:43Sebastian was right
00:28:44about one thing.
00:28:45My Ivy League degree
00:28:46shouldn't be wasted
00:28:47by eating in a mansion
00:28:48playing house.
00:28:49I'd done that marriage already.
00:28:51Stayed home.
00:28:52Made myself small.
00:28:54The minute he didn't need me,
00:28:55he tossed me
00:28:56into the street
00:28:57with nothing.
00:28:58I'd be damned
00:28:59if I let that happen twice.
00:29:00While Leo needed me,
00:29:01I had a place here.
00:29:03The day he didn't,
00:29:04what was I?
00:29:05Though I'm not ready
00:29:06to go back to work yet,
00:29:07physically or mentally.
00:29:09But knowing the market,
00:29:10updating a resume,
00:29:12that couldn't hurt.
00:29:13Then my phone lit up.
00:29:14A text
00:29:15from Luca.
00:29:18The butler did the coffee.
00:29:20Always.
00:29:21And the first rule
00:29:22of this house
00:29:23was don't go
00:29:24to the third floor.
00:29:25I ground a fresh espresso anyway.
00:29:27Then I stood
00:29:28at the bottom
00:29:28of the staircase,
00:29:29hesitated.
00:29:30Was this a test?
00:29:32Did the last applicant
00:29:33get launched out a window
00:29:34after being summoned upstairs?
00:29:36Was this revenge
00:29:37for the car?
00:29:38I called him.
00:29:40Mr. Castellana,
00:29:42coffee's here.
00:29:43Come down for it.
00:29:44Bring it up.
00:29:46I hit the record button
00:29:47on my phone.
00:29:48Caught it.
00:29:49If he tried anything sketchy,
00:29:50I had proof.
00:29:53I climbed the stairs,
00:29:54snucked.
00:29:56Come in.
00:29:57I pushed the door open
00:29:59and forgot how to breathe.
00:30:02He'd just gotten out of the shower.
00:30:04Black silk robe,
00:30:06loosely tied at the waist.
00:30:07A drop slid from his jaw,
00:30:09down his throat,
00:30:10into the open robe.
00:30:12Bathhouse art.
00:30:13Renaissance painting.
00:30:14holy hell.
00:30:16He took the coffee.
00:30:18His fingertips
00:30:18dragged across mine
00:30:20on purpose.
00:30:21That scared of me?
00:30:22Nora,
00:30:23am I a monster?
00:30:26Nora.
00:30:31From now on,
00:30:32you can come into my room
00:30:33whenever you want.
00:30:34My face still burned.
00:30:36The rules of this house
00:30:37and the rules of my heart
00:30:39were both breaking.
00:30:40I woke up the next morning
00:30:42with a sore throat,
00:30:43sneezing.
00:30:44Of course,
00:30:45wet hair,
00:30:45late night,
00:30:46fancy dress,
00:30:47too much champagne.
00:30:48I shuffled downstairs in sweats,
00:30:50expecting the empty great room.
00:30:52Lupa was on the couch.
00:30:54Black turtleneck,
00:30:55wire-framed glasses.
00:30:56The combination should be illegal.
00:30:59Morning.
00:31:00He set the paper down.
00:31:02You're sick.
00:31:04A little.
00:31:05The back of his hand
00:31:06landed on my forehead.
00:31:07Calm.
00:31:08Practiced.
00:31:08Like he did it every morning.
00:31:10I went stiff as a board.
00:31:12Not bad.
00:31:13I'll grab some Therafex.
00:31:15You'll be fine.
00:31:15He guided me to the couch
00:31:16like I was made of glass.
00:31:18Walked to the kitchen.
00:31:19A six-foot-something Mafia Don,
00:31:22stirring a packet of cold medicine
00:31:23into a mug.
00:31:24Usually,
00:31:25a Don would poison the drink instead.
00:31:27I caught myself wondering
00:31:29what kind of woman
00:31:30Leo's mother had been
00:31:31to deserve a man like this.
00:31:41I drank the Theraflu
00:31:43and slunk back to bed.
00:31:44I didn't want to be in his way,
00:31:45so I just dozed off
00:31:47when an unknown number rang.
00:31:53Nora,
00:31:54it's me.
00:31:55Sebastian.
00:31:55I started to hang up.
00:31:57Don't.
00:31:57I'm parked outside
00:31:58the Castellani gate.
00:32:00Come out
00:32:00or I'll be at the front door
00:32:01up to you.
00:32:02I did not want him
00:32:03at the door.
00:32:04I did not want my pass
00:32:05laid out on Luca's marble entryway
00:32:07like roadkill.
00:32:08Sebastian intercepted me
00:32:09on the sidewalk.
00:32:11Nora,
00:32:11how long is this stunt
00:32:13going on for?
00:32:14Mrs. Crane working as a nanny?
00:32:17You don't feel humiliated,
00:32:18but I do.
00:32:20I'm not doing anything
00:32:21to you,
00:32:21Sebastian.
00:32:22Stop the act.
00:32:23You dressed up last night
00:32:24to make me jealous.
00:32:26Fine.
00:32:27I'll admit it.
00:32:28After you left,
00:32:29I missed you a little.
00:32:31Here's the deal.
00:32:32Apologize to my mom
00:32:33and my sister.
00:32:34We remarry.
00:32:35You can stop scrubbing floors
00:32:36for strangers.
00:32:39Sebastian,
00:32:41I didn't do anything wrong.
00:32:42What am I apologizing for?
00:32:45You still don't see the problem?
00:32:49You haven't been beaten down enough.
00:32:50I was about to fire back
00:32:52when a small round cannonball
00:32:53blew past me.
00:32:54Leo,
00:32:55when he saw a strange man
00:32:56hassling me,
00:32:57he did not hesitate.
00:32:58My mom didn't do anything wrong.
00:33:00My mom is the best mom
00:33:02in the whole world.
00:33:03He glared up at him
00:33:04like a furious cherub,
00:33:06protecting me.
00:33:07Something cracked open
00:33:08in my chest.
00:33:09I pulled him in tight.
00:33:10Kid,
00:33:11what did you just call her?
00:33:13Isn't she your name?
00:33:13a nanny?
00:33:15You're a nanny!
00:33:16Your whole family
00:33:17is a nanny!
00:33:18Nora is my mom!
00:33:20My best mom!
00:33:22He pulled back,
00:33:23anxious.
00:33:24I nodded.
00:33:25My eyes were wet again.
00:33:26Nora,
00:33:28you'll be my mom, right?
00:33:29I'll be so good.
00:33:31I promise.
00:33:34Leo,
00:33:35I am your mom's sweetheart.
00:33:37He squeezed me tighter
00:33:38and refused to let go.
00:33:40Sebastian's face
00:33:41twisted into a slow,
00:33:42ugly smile.
00:33:44Oh,
00:33:45I see it now.
00:33:47Nora,
00:33:48you're putting a child up to it.
00:33:50You're playing the long game
00:33:51on Castelloni.
00:33:53He grabbed my arm.
00:33:54Listen,
00:33:56Castorano isn't a man you scam.
00:33:58He's known for ice in his veins.
00:34:00He finds out you're using his son
00:34:02to angle for him.
00:34:03He'll bury you in the East River.
00:34:05A warm hand landed on my waist.
00:34:07I hadn't heard him come outside.
00:34:09Luca,
00:34:10he pulled me into him.
00:34:12Mr. Crane,
00:34:14the last time we spoke,
00:34:15you insulted my wife.
00:34:17That's why I pulled the mandate.
00:34:19I was planning to tell the other firms
00:34:20on the street
00:34:21that this was personal.
00:34:22They could keep doing business
00:34:23with Crane of Papadal.
00:34:25After today,
00:34:26I don't think I need to.
00:34:28Castellano.
00:34:29What,
00:34:30you wife?
00:34:30Who's your wife?
00:34:32Mr. Crane,
00:34:34are you really still confused
00:34:35or are you only capable
00:34:37of believing
00:34:37what you want to believe?
00:34:39Nora is my wife,
00:34:41the mother of my son.
00:34:44Send him off.
00:34:45Luca turned to the butler
00:34:47at the door.
00:34:48If anyone like this
00:34:49bothers Mrs. Castellini again,
00:34:50have my men throw him out.
00:34:52He took Leo with one arm,
00:34:53wrapped the other around me,
00:34:55walked us inside.
00:34:57The second the door closed,
00:34:58I peeled out of Luca's arm.
00:35:00Awkward as hell.
00:35:01I took Leo upstairs to my room.
00:35:04Leo,
00:35:06where were you all morning?
00:35:08I didn't see you all day.
00:35:10Don't even ask.
00:35:12Dad sent me to preschool.
00:35:14What?
00:35:14You,
00:35:15preschooler?
00:35:17He said he didn't want you
00:35:18working too hard.
00:35:21He said he needed
00:35:22alone time with you.
00:35:26Why does he need
00:35:27alone time with me?
00:35:28Dad said he had to make you
00:35:30fall in love with him.
00:35:32Otherwise,
00:35:33you might leave us.
00:35:34Leo was four sentences
00:35:36into his report
00:35:37when Luca appeared
00:35:38in the doorway.
00:35:39Leo,
00:35:40downstairs,
00:35:41dinner,
00:35:42stop bothering your mother.
00:35:43My whole face hot.
00:35:45Mom,
00:35:46I'll be back
00:35:46to keep you company
00:35:47in a bit.
00:35:48He scampered out.
00:35:50Luca didn't leave.
00:35:51He walked in.
00:35:53Feeling better?
00:35:54I looked sideways.
00:35:56Mr. Castellano,
00:35:58thank you for what you did.
00:36:00Please don't ruin
00:36:01a business decision for me.
00:36:04I'm really not worth it.
00:36:06Not worth what?
00:36:09What you did out there.
00:36:12Nora,
00:36:13I told you.
00:36:14You're my wife.
00:36:16Protecting you is my job.
00:36:18But-
00:36:19Stop calling this
00:36:20a paper marriage.
00:36:22Nora.
00:36:23I want a real one.
00:36:25I had not expected him
00:36:26to swing this hard,
00:36:28this fast.
00:36:29My face went up in flames.
00:36:31I'll give you time.
00:36:32Take whatever you need.
00:36:34But right now,
00:36:35I want to collect
00:36:36just a little
00:36:37husband privilege.
00:36:38Before I could form
00:36:39a coherent thought,
00:36:40he leaned in.
00:36:41A long, warm hand
00:36:42cradled my cheek.
00:36:43Can I?
00:36:44I didn't say a word.
00:36:46I'll take this
00:36:47as consent.
00:36:48Then his lips
00:36:49crashed against mine.
00:36:51hard and ruthless.
00:36:52His tongue swept
00:36:53into my mouth,
00:36:54stealing the air
00:36:55from my lungs.
00:36:56Right.
00:36:56This was how
00:36:57a mafia boss kissed.
00:36:59Cold.
00:37:00Merciless.
00:37:01Taking whatever he wanted.
00:37:02The kiss lasted so long
00:37:04my mind went blank
00:37:05by the time
00:37:05he finally pulled away.
00:37:07He rubbed his thumb
00:37:08over my swollen lips.
00:37:09My little princess,
00:37:11that's enough for today.
00:37:17Next time,
00:37:18I won't let you off
00:37:19so easily.
00:37:20Leo got hauled
00:37:21to preschool again
00:37:22the next morning,
00:37:23under protest.
00:37:25My cold was almost gone.
00:37:26Luca asked if I wanted
00:37:27to see a movie.
00:37:28After everything
00:37:29that had happened,
00:37:30I thought about it.
00:37:31We were married on paper.
00:37:32If something real
00:37:33was going to grow there,
00:37:35that wasn't the worst outcome.
00:37:37He had a private media room
00:37:38on the third floor.
00:37:39It was my first time
00:37:41entering other room
00:37:42in third floor.
00:37:43Before that,
00:37:44he showed me
00:37:44his collection room.
00:37:45One entire wall
00:37:47was covered
00:37:47in cold weapons.
00:37:48Daggers,
00:37:49knives,
00:37:50blades of every kind.
00:37:51Honestly,
00:37:52it was breathtaking.
00:37:53I was still standing there
00:37:55staring at the wall
00:37:56when he stepped up
00:37:57behind me
00:37:57and fastened
00:37:58a necklace
00:37:58around my neck.
00:37:59Another snake.
00:38:01Exactly like the tattoo
00:38:02on his body.
00:38:03A little gift.
00:38:05Don't reject it.
00:38:07Then he took my hand
00:38:08and led me
00:38:08into the media room.
00:38:09He put on
00:38:10a French romance film.
00:38:12Slow,
00:38:12elegant kisses
00:38:13on the screen.
00:38:14Mixed with far less
00:38:15elegant sounds
00:38:16in the background,
00:38:17Luca leaned closer,
00:38:18his voice brushing
00:38:19against my ear.
00:38:22Nora.
00:38:23Yes?
00:38:24I closed my eyes,
00:38:26my fingers tightening
00:38:27around the snake pendant,
00:38:28like a girl being offered
00:38:30up as a sacrifice.
00:38:32His body covered mine
00:38:33as his mouth
00:38:34came down on mine.
00:38:35Soft at first,
00:38:37careful.
00:38:38One hand slid
00:38:39gently around my throat.
00:38:40Then the kiss deepened,
00:38:41rougher,
00:38:42heavier.
00:38:43The kind that stole
00:38:44every thought from my head.
00:38:46He pulled off
00:38:47the white tank top
00:38:48and for the first time,
00:38:49I saw the snake tattoo
00:38:50stretched across his chest.
00:38:52One of the snake's eyes
00:38:53was a scar.
00:38:54I leaned closer
00:38:56and pressed a soft kiss
00:38:57against it.
00:38:58I felt his breathing
00:38:59stop for a second.
00:39:00Then he pushed me down
00:39:01onto bed.
00:39:02I could feel the hard
00:39:04heat of him against me.
00:39:05Soon,
00:39:06the room filled
00:39:06with ragged breathing.
00:39:08That night,
00:39:09I offered myself
00:39:10to a mafia boss.
00:39:11After all the hot,
00:39:12chaotic moans,
00:39:13he kept me tucked
00:39:14against my chest.
00:39:15He slid a glossy stack
00:39:17of brochures
00:39:17into my hand.
00:39:18Nora,
00:39:20pick a wedding planner.
00:39:22I owe you a real wedding.
00:39:26You don't have to.
00:39:27The Dawn's wife
00:39:28should carry that honor forever.
00:39:30I want every person
00:39:31in this city
00:39:32to know Nora Bennett
00:39:33is my wife
00:39:34and I'm her husband.
00:39:36I only regret
00:39:37I didn't put it all
00:39:38at your feet
00:39:39the night you walked
00:39:40through that door.
00:39:40I laughed
00:39:41into his shoulder.
00:39:44The night
00:39:45I walked
00:39:46through that door,
00:39:47we didn't even
00:39:47know each other.
00:39:48How were we supposed to?
00:39:50Nora,
00:39:51the night I saw you
00:39:52in that doorway,
00:39:54I already wanted you.
00:39:56Our wedding
00:39:56was bigger
00:39:57than anything
00:39:57New York
00:39:58had hosted
00:39:59in a decade.
00:39:59Old families,
00:40:01new money,
00:40:02senators,
00:40:03a cardinal,
00:40:04the mayor.
00:40:04We were on the front page
00:40:05for three days running.
00:40:07I scolded
00:40:07Luke of the butler
00:40:09beamed.
00:40:10Mrs. Castellino,
00:40:11the Dawn has been quiet
00:40:12his entire life.
00:40:13This is the first time
00:40:15he's ever been loud.
00:40:16Indulge him this once.
00:40:17I let it go.
00:40:19The night of the wedding,
00:40:20a strange number
00:40:21called me.
00:40:21My brow furrowed.
00:40:23Luca's long arm
00:40:24reached over
00:40:24and killed the call.
00:40:26His fingers
00:40:27tightened on my waist.
00:40:28Mrs. Castellino,
00:40:29eyes on me.
00:40:31After,
00:40:32he was winding
00:40:32a strand of my hair
00:40:33around his finger.
00:40:34He cleared his throat,
00:40:35a little awkward.
00:40:37Nora,
00:40:38I want to tell you
00:40:39a secret.
00:40:40I made a small
00:40:41sleepy sound.
00:40:42Leo isn't my son.
00:40:44He's my sisters.
00:40:45He spoke quietly,
00:40:46in pieces.
00:40:47His parents had died
00:40:48when he was 13.
00:40:49He and his elder sister
00:40:51went through a dark period
00:40:52in this empire
00:40:53until one day,
00:40:54she married,
00:40:56had Leo.
00:40:56But happiness
00:40:57suddenly ended
00:40:58when she and her husband
00:40:59were killed
00:41:00in a shooting
00:41:01three years ago.
00:41:02Luca wiped out
00:41:03that whole family then.
00:41:04He put Leo
00:41:05on his own birth certificate,
00:41:07quietly,
00:41:08so nobody
00:41:09could ever take him.
00:41:10I thought it would be
00:41:11Leo and me forever.
00:41:12Then you walked in
00:41:13and nothing was the same.
00:41:16He kissed me again.
00:41:17A few months later,
00:41:18I walked out of the hospital
00:41:20alongside Leo.
00:41:21Mom,
00:41:22Dad said you weren't
00:41:23sick anymore.
00:41:24Why'd we go to the hospital?
00:41:27Because Mom
00:41:28has a baby in her belly.
00:41:30Yes!
00:41:31I finally get a sister!
00:41:33What if it's a brother?
00:41:37If it's a brother,
00:41:38we throw him in the trash.
00:41:40If it's a sister,
00:41:41she plays with me.
00:41:43Out of the mouths of babes,
00:41:44I was laughing
00:41:45when a figure
00:41:46stepped in front of me.
00:41:47A man.
00:41:48Wild hair.
00:41:49Filthy coat.
00:41:50Hunched shoulders.
00:41:52I almost dug
00:41:52for a few bucks.
00:41:55Sebastian Crane.
00:41:57Nora?
00:41:59Leo planted himself
00:42:00in front of me
00:42:01on instinct.
00:42:02I pulled him to my side
00:42:03and squeezed his shoulder.
00:42:04Sebastian,
00:42:05what happened to you?
00:42:09Nora,
00:42:11help me.
00:42:11You're the only one who can.
00:42:13All of New York
00:42:14knows Castelloni loves you.
00:42:15He'll listen to you.
00:42:16Please.
00:42:17Then I remembered
00:42:18what Luca had mentioned
00:42:19weeks back.
00:42:20First,
00:42:20the Castellano family
00:42:21cut all ties
00:42:23with Crane Capital.
00:42:24Then the rest of New York
00:42:25followed.
00:42:25Nobody wanted to
00:42:26risk losing
00:42:27Castellano favor.
00:42:28Within weeks,
00:42:29Sebastian's company
00:42:30collapsed.
00:42:31His sister,
00:42:32Cassandra,
00:42:33the person he trusted most,
00:42:34had been stealing
00:42:35client money for years.
00:42:37The moment everything
00:42:37fell apart,
00:42:38she fled to the south
00:42:39of France with her family.
00:42:41She left Sebastian
00:42:42alone to take the blame.
00:42:43Crane Capital
00:42:44went bankrupt overnight.
00:42:45Now Sebastian
00:42:46stood in front of me,
00:42:48sobbing,
00:42:48begging.
00:42:49I didn't feel
00:42:49anything for him.
00:42:51Sebastian,
00:42:52people are equal.
00:42:54Your fault,
00:42:55your mess,
00:42:56you pay for it.
00:42:57No one can help you.
00:42:58Behind me,
00:42:59the lobby doors
00:43:00slid open.
00:43:00Luca had just finished
00:43:02with my OB.
00:43:02He walked toward us.
00:43:04Nara,
00:43:04let's go home.
00:43:05We walked past
00:43:06Sebastian Crane
00:43:07like he wasn't there.
00:43:08Because he wasn't.
00:43:09Not in our life,
00:43:10not anymore.
00:43:11Through my whole pregnancy,
00:43:13Luca was far more
00:43:14anxious than I was.
00:43:15He doubled the security
00:43:17on the entire estate.
00:43:18I never went anywhere
00:43:19without an escort.
00:43:21He had every sharp corner
00:43:22in the house padded.
00:43:23Fit carpet laid
00:43:24across every floor.
00:43:25Sometimes,
00:43:26I'd only shift in bed
00:43:28and he would ask worriedly,
00:43:29Does something hurt?
00:43:30He'd stroke my belly,
00:43:32pressing his ear against it.
00:43:34I think I just heard
00:43:34the baby calling for me.
00:43:36Leo asked,
00:43:37wide-eyed,
00:43:37Why isn't the baby
00:43:38calling for me?
00:43:39One night,
00:43:40after Leo fell asleep,
00:43:42I found him alone
00:43:42out on the balcony.
00:43:43I walked over
00:43:44and wrapped my arms
00:43:45around him from behind.
00:43:47You don't have to worry,
00:43:48the baby will be born safe.
00:43:50He kissed my forehead.
00:43:52I keep wondering
00:43:53if who I am
00:43:54has put you and the kids
00:43:55in too much danger.
00:43:56My sister died
00:43:57because of the family name
00:43:58and before you came,
00:43:59Leo wasn't happy.
00:44:00Neither was I
00:44:01before you came.
00:44:02We just complete each other.
00:44:04I pressed closer
00:44:04to his chest.
00:44:05I made my peace
00:44:06with it a long time ago.
00:44:08Being the Don's wife
00:44:09can't be harder
00:44:09than being the Crain's maid.
00:44:11He smiled.
00:44:12My brave girl.
00:44:13At nearly ten months,
00:44:14my water broke
00:44:15at 2 a.m.
00:44:16A team of doctors
00:44:17and nurses
00:44:18rushed me into delivery.
00:44:20Luca waited outside.
00:44:21The contractions
00:44:22came like waves
00:44:23trying to break me in half.
00:44:24A nurse held my hand.
00:44:26Her grip was wrong.
00:44:27Too strong.
00:44:28Too steady.
00:44:29I looked up at her face,
00:44:30sharp, calm.
00:44:31A small scar
00:44:32through one eyebrow.
00:44:33You're not a nurse.
00:44:34She smiled coldly.
00:44:35No, there's a debt
00:44:36your husband
00:44:37never finished paying.
00:44:39The family
00:44:40he buried
00:44:41three years ago
00:44:41still has a few teeth left.
00:44:43We came to collect tonight.
00:44:45My breathing went ragged.
00:44:46The other nurses
00:44:47in the room
00:44:48started screaming
00:44:49but I knew
00:44:49he was standing
00:44:50right outside
00:44:51so I didn't panic.
00:44:52I gripped the sheets.
00:44:53Go ahead and try.
00:44:54Right then,
00:44:55the delivery room door opened.
00:44:56A rat that should have
00:44:57died years ago.
00:44:58I've been waiting
00:44:59for you too long.
00:45:00Luca and his men
00:45:01had the woman pinned
00:45:02in seconds.
00:45:03He held my hand
00:45:05and the coldest
00:45:06mafia boss
00:45:07in New York
00:45:08let a single tear fall.
00:45:10My baby girl
00:45:11was born
00:45:11at 4.42 a.m.
00:45:137 pounds.
00:45:14furious lungs.
00:45:16Luca took her
00:45:16like she was made of glass.
00:45:18Sophia,
00:45:19after my sister.
00:45:20Leo barged in at dawn,
00:45:22peered into the blanket
00:45:23and gasped.
00:45:25It's a girl.
00:45:26I'll be her hero
00:45:27from now on.
00:45:28She'll be the princess.
00:45:29I laughed
00:45:30until I cried.
00:45:31The four of us
00:45:32finally,
00:45:33impossibly,
00:45:34whole.
00:45:35I learned the rest later.
00:45:37The fake nurse
00:45:38was a remnant
00:45:38of the family
00:45:39that murdered Luca's
00:45:40sister three years ago.
00:45:42Sebastian had fled
00:45:43to Europe.
00:45:43In Sicily,
00:45:45he found what was
00:45:45left of them,
00:45:46clinging to life.
00:45:47Hatred drove him
00:45:48to something insane.
00:45:50They thought the dawn
00:45:51would be too busy
00:45:51with a wife in labor
00:45:52to notice.
00:45:53That night,
00:45:54while the hospital
00:45:55stood locked down,
00:45:56several of the docks
00:45:57were hit at the same time.
00:45:59But Luca built this empire
00:46:01out of blood and bone
00:46:02at 16.
00:46:03Turning back an attack
00:46:04like that
00:46:05was as easy
00:46:06as breathing for him.
00:46:07Blood,
00:46:08gunfire.
00:46:09I didn't see most of it.
00:46:10My life stayed bright.
00:46:12The house filled
00:46:13with laughter
00:46:14because of Sofia's coming.
00:46:15One night,
00:46:16Luca asked if I wanted
00:46:17to see Sebastian.
00:46:19Just once.
00:46:20He keeps begging
00:46:20to see you.
00:46:21I was busy making faces
00:46:23at Sofia with Leo.
00:46:25No need.
00:46:25Do whatever you want
00:46:26with him.
00:46:26The man now
00:46:27had nothing to do with me.
00:46:28I only cared
00:46:29in my new family.
00:46:31Leo loved his sister,
00:46:32took his new job seriously.
00:46:33By the second week,
00:46:35he had appointed himself
00:46:36Sofia's full-time bodyguard.
00:46:38No bad guys get past me,
00:46:40Dad said.
00:46:42Sofia blinked at him,
00:46:44then sneezed.
00:46:46Mom!
00:46:47She did a magic spell!
00:46:49He decided
00:46:50he was her translator too.
00:46:51Every cry meant something
00:46:53only he could understand.
00:46:56She wants the blue blanket,
00:46:57not the yellow one.
00:46:58Obviously.
00:46:59He even handed over
00:47:01his most prized possession,
00:47:03the Batman action figure
00:47:04no one had been allowed
00:47:05to touch for two years.
00:47:08It's alone.
00:47:09When she's bigger,
00:47:10she gives it back.
00:47:11The best part
00:47:12came at bedtime.
00:47:13He'd lean over her crib
00:47:15and drop his voice
00:47:16into a tiny,
00:47:17serious growl,
00:47:18copying his father.
00:47:20Good night,
00:47:20little one.
00:47:21Nobody touches my family.
00:47:23Sofia's hand
00:47:24closed around his finger
00:47:25and held on.
00:47:26Leo froze.
00:47:28He looked at me.
00:47:28his whole face wobbled.
00:47:31Mom,
00:47:33she likes me back.
00:47:34The best part?
00:47:35Leo was finally
00:47:36shaking off his past.
00:47:38He was more lively
00:47:39and braver than ever.
00:47:41My life changed
00:47:42in a normal night.
00:47:43An email came in.
00:47:44A strategy firm
00:47:45called Meridian
00:47:46had offered me a position
00:47:47on their securities desk.
00:47:49I threw myself at him.
00:47:51Luca,
00:47:52your wife is going
00:47:53back to work.
00:47:54You could have told me sooner.
00:47:56Half the businesses
00:47:56in the city
00:47:57have my money behind them,
00:47:59including that little
00:48:00Meridian of yours.
00:48:01But I want to prove it myself,
00:48:02as Nora Bennett.
00:48:04A woman who can handle
00:48:05a don can handle anything.
00:48:07Meridian took up
00:48:08three floors
00:48:09of a glass tower downtown.
00:48:11I wore my plainest blazer,
00:48:13drove the old sedan,
00:48:14used my maiden name.
00:48:16I wanted to earn it clean.
00:48:18My first morning,
00:48:20my new manager turned around
00:48:21and my stomach dropped.
00:48:23Vanessa.
00:48:23We've gone to college together.
00:48:25She'd spent four years
00:48:27making sure everyone knew
00:48:28I was the scholarship girl
00:48:30from nowhere.
00:48:31The cheap blazer,
00:48:32plain white heels,
00:48:34no ring since I'd left it home
00:48:35out of habit to be safe.
00:48:37Nora Bennett,
00:48:38wow,
00:48:38you look exactly the same.
00:48:39I heard you married
00:48:40into the cranes.
00:48:41Looks like things haven't
00:48:42exactly worked out for you,
00:48:43huh?
00:48:44We divorced.
00:48:45Of course you did.
00:48:46The cranes are bankrupt now.
00:48:47No money for a gold debtor.
00:48:49So it's just you now
00:48:50and a kid I heard?
00:48:52Single mom.
00:48:53That is so brave.
00:48:54Welcome aboard.
00:48:55Try to keep up.
00:48:56Three weeks in,
00:48:58I closed the Hartwell account.
00:48:59It was a mess
00:49:00nobody wanted to touch.
00:49:02I worked it for nine days straight.
00:49:04Nora Bennett,
00:49:05a girl from nowhere,
00:49:06brought in the biggest
00:49:07mandate of the quarter.
00:49:09At the Monday partner meeting,
00:49:11Vanessa stood up with my deck.
00:49:13It was a heavy lip,
00:49:14but I pushed the team hard
00:49:16and got it across the line.
00:49:18My name never came up once,
00:49:20not a single time.
00:49:21after I caught her
00:49:23by the elevators.
00:49:24That was my account,
00:49:25my work,
00:49:25all of it.
00:49:26What's yours is mine.
00:49:27I'm the manager.
00:49:28You report to me.
00:49:29Everything you do here
00:49:30belongs to me.
00:49:31Get used to it.
00:49:33That night,
00:49:34I curled into Luca's chest
00:49:35and let it all out.
00:49:36She took the whole deal
00:49:37I closed.
00:49:38Didn't say my name once.
00:49:40Luca's hand went still
00:49:41on my back.
00:49:41Say the word.
00:49:42She won't be at that company
00:49:43tomorrow.
00:49:46I don't need you to step in.
00:49:48Not yet.
00:49:49I've been watching Vanessa
00:49:50for weeks,
00:49:51the padded vendor invoices,
00:49:53the kickbacks routed
00:49:54through a shell account.
00:49:55I already have my own
00:49:56card to play.
00:49:56What I didn't expect
00:49:57was that my past
00:49:59walked through
00:50:00the company lobby.
00:50:01I hadn't seen them
00:50:02in 11 years.
00:50:03My mother,
00:50:04my brother Trent.
00:50:05Vanessa stood
00:50:06in the middle of the hall,
00:50:07a hand pressed to her mouth
00:50:09in feigned surprise.
00:50:10But she was the only one
00:50:11who knew about my past.
00:50:12Nora!
00:50:14Is that any way
00:50:15to greet your own mother?
00:50:17Every head turned.
00:50:18Vanessa's eyes glittered.
00:50:19You married a billionaire
00:50:21and you let your family beg?
00:50:23After everything we gave you?
00:50:26They gave me nothing.
00:50:27They gave Trent everything
00:50:28and showed me the door
00:50:30even before I was even an adult.
00:50:33Your brother needs 300,000.
00:50:37It's filial duty.
00:50:39Support for your parents.
00:50:41You owe us.
00:50:43I owe you nothing.
00:50:46Trent sneered.
00:50:52Rich now and still trash.
00:50:55Some things never change.
00:50:56Security finally steered them
00:50:58toward the doors.
00:50:59My mother screamed
00:51:00the whole way.
00:51:03We'll be back!
00:51:04We'll tell everyone
00:51:05what you really are!
00:51:07Then I heard Vanessa
00:51:09behind me
00:51:10murmur to the room.
00:51:11God.
00:51:12And she pretends
00:51:13to be so classy.
00:51:15After that,
00:51:16Vanessa stopped pretending.
00:51:17She handed me
00:51:18the worst account,
00:51:19took credit for my work
00:51:20in front of the partners,
00:51:21scheduled meetings
00:51:22I was never told about,
00:51:24then wrote me up
00:51:24for missing them.
00:51:25She said in the break room,
00:51:27Honestly,
00:51:28I feel sorry for her.
00:51:30Single mom,
00:51:32crazy family,
00:51:33that sad little car.
00:51:35Some people are just
00:51:36born to lose.
00:51:38Her click laughed.
00:51:39I kept my head down
00:51:40and kept working.
00:51:41I'd survived the cranes.
00:51:43I could survive a Vanessa.
00:51:44Then she pulled the file.
00:51:46My old medical records.
00:51:47Depression.
00:51:49Medication.
00:51:50Wow.
00:51:51And they let her
00:51:52near clients?
00:51:53The room went very quiet.
00:51:55Maybe.
00:51:56This just isn't the place
00:51:57for someone so fragile.
00:51:59But I wasn't the girl
00:52:01the cranes broke anymore.
00:52:02While Vanessa spent
00:52:03her days humiliating me,
00:52:05I'd spent mine
00:52:06quietly building a file.
00:52:07Padded vendor invoices.
00:52:09Kickbacks routed
00:52:10into a private shell account.
00:52:11Three years of it.
00:52:13That afternoon,
00:52:14I handed every last page
00:52:15of it to her boss.
00:52:16Then I went back to my desk
00:52:17and quietly finished my work.
00:52:19That night,
00:52:20I sat in the old sedan
00:52:21in the parking garage
00:52:22and didn't start the engine
00:52:24for an hour.
00:52:24Then Leo's school called.
00:52:26Mrs. Castellina,
00:52:28there's been an incident.
00:52:29I drove to the preschool
00:52:31with my heart in my throat.
00:52:35Leo sat in the nurse's office.
00:52:37Scraped elbow,
00:52:38split lip,
00:52:39jaw set exactly like his father's.
00:52:42I didn't cry.
00:52:43I want you to know
00:52:44I didn't cry.
00:52:45A bigger boy
00:52:45had shoved him
00:52:46off the climbing frame
00:52:47and standing in the hallway,
00:52:49arms crossed,
00:52:50was the boy's mother,
00:52:51Vanessa.
00:52:53Small world.
00:52:54Your kids started it,
00:52:57bragging about having a daddy.
00:52:59My Kaylee told him,
00:53:01what daddy?
00:53:02Everyone knows
00:53:03your mom's a single mom
00:53:04who can't even keep a job.
00:53:05Leo's face crumpled.
00:53:07I do have a dad.
00:53:09I have the best dad.
00:53:14Sure you do, sweetie.
00:53:18Does he live in your imagination?
00:53:20I stepped between them
00:53:21so fast she flinched.
00:53:23Don't you ever speak
00:53:25to my son again.
00:53:26She stood,
00:53:27smoothing her coat,
00:53:28delighted.
00:53:29Or what?
00:53:30You'll cry about it?
00:53:31Take your meds, Nora.
00:53:32Honestly,
00:53:33people like you
00:53:34shouldn't have kids.
00:53:35You can barely
00:53:35take care of yourself.
00:53:36Leo didn't cry.
00:53:37He planted himself
00:53:38in front of me
00:53:39and lifted his chin.
00:53:41My mom is a thousand times
00:53:43better than you.
00:53:44That was the moment
00:53:45something in me
00:53:46went very, very cold.
00:53:48I stepped forward
00:53:49and slapped Vanessa
00:53:50across the face.
00:53:52I already turned in
00:53:53the proof of what you stole.
00:53:54We'll see who's walking
00:53:55out of that company tomorrow.
00:53:57How dare!
00:53:58Before she could speak,
00:54:00her phone rang.
00:54:01Vanessa,
00:54:01you're under investigation
00:54:03for misappropriating
00:54:04company funds.
00:54:04The bank has frozen
00:54:05all of your assets.
00:54:06She crumpled to the floor
00:54:08and that was the moment
00:54:09the hallway doors opened.
00:54:11Luca walked in.
00:54:12I hadn't called him.
00:54:13Leo's school is wired
00:54:14to him too.
00:54:16Of course it is.
00:54:17Charcoal coat,
00:54:18slow steps.
00:54:19Vanessa didn't recognize Luca
00:54:20but she could feel
00:54:21the aura he carried.
00:54:23Sir,
00:54:24this is a private matter.
00:54:25He didn't look at her.
00:54:26He crouched,
00:54:27lifted Leo,
00:54:29checked the split lip
00:54:29with one careful thumb.
00:54:32Who did this?
00:54:34Her son,
00:54:35my manager,
00:54:36Vanessa.
00:54:38Manager at Meridian.
00:54:41Yes.
00:54:42And you are?
00:54:43The man who owns Meridian.
00:54:45The color drained
00:54:47out of her face.
00:54:48And every floor
00:54:50you've ever worked.
00:54:51And the building.
00:54:53And the chair you sit in.
00:54:56This is my wife,
00:54:58Nora Castellano.
00:54:59The single mother
00:55:01you've been entertaining
00:55:01the office with?
00:55:03He pulled out his phone.
00:55:04One call.
00:55:05By the time we got home,
00:55:07Vanessa had already
00:55:08been arrested.
00:55:09Maybe prison suits people
00:55:10like her better.
00:55:11In the bedroom,
00:55:12Sophia asleep on my chest,
00:55:14I finally laughed.
00:55:16Tired and cracked open.
00:55:19Maybe I just have
00:55:21bad luck
00:55:21everywhere I go.
00:55:28Or maybe
00:55:29you keep walking
00:55:30into rooms
00:55:31too small for you.
00:55:32I quit Meridian
00:55:34the next morning.
00:55:35Not because of Vanessa.
00:55:36Because Luca owned it.
00:55:37And I had promised myself
00:55:39I'd win as Nora Bennett
00:55:40or not at all.
00:55:42You don't have to
00:55:43prove anything.
00:55:44I'm not proving it to you.
00:55:47I'm proving it to the girl
00:55:49who got thrown out
00:55:49at 18 with a duffel bag.
00:55:51So I started over.
00:55:53Again.
00:55:53New resume.
00:55:55Real name.
00:55:56No husband attached.
00:55:57I sent out
00:55:5840 applications.
00:55:59I drove myself
00:56:00to every meeting
00:56:01in the old sedan.
00:56:03Every morning,
00:56:04Leo cheered me on
00:56:05before I left.
00:56:06Three months later,
00:56:07a venture fund
00:56:08hired me to run strategy.
00:56:10Eight months after that,
00:56:11I walked out
00:56:12and built my own firm.
00:56:13A year after that,
00:56:15I was on the front page again.
00:56:16Not Don Castellano's wife,
00:56:18Nora Bennett,
00:56:19founder.
00:56:20Luca framed it,
00:56:21hung it on the third floor,
00:56:23right beside the wall of blades.
00:56:25My most dangerous acquisition.
00:56:28Two years passed
00:56:29the way good years do.
00:56:31Quietly.
00:56:32All at once.
00:56:33My firm took up
00:56:34its own floor now.
00:56:36But the best part
00:56:37of every day
00:56:37was still the drive home.
00:56:39Sophia had grown
00:56:40into a tiny tyrant
00:56:42with Luca's eyes
00:56:42and Leo's mouth.
00:56:44She ran the house.
00:56:45The most feared man
00:56:46in New York
00:56:47did whatever she said.
00:56:49I once walked in
00:56:50to find the dawn of New York
00:56:51at a plastic tea table,
00:56:53pinky raised,
00:56:54wearing a paper crown.
00:56:55More tea, Daddy?
00:56:57Yes, Your Majesty.
00:56:58He said,
00:56:59dead serious.
00:57:01Leo,
00:57:01now seven,
00:57:02had named himself
00:57:03her official coach.
00:57:04Say it like Dad,
00:57:06low and scary.
00:57:07Sophia scrunched up her face.
00:57:08She growled.
00:57:10Nobody touches my family.
00:57:12Then she ruined it
00:57:13by giggling.
00:57:15At night,
00:57:16Luca still read them
00:57:17both to sleep
00:57:17in that quiet growl.
00:57:19Two small heads
00:57:20on his chest.
00:57:21One enormous,
00:57:23terrifying man
00:57:23pinned to a mattress
00:57:24by two children
00:57:25and refusing to move.
00:57:27I whispered from the door.
00:57:29You're trapped.
00:57:29He looked up at me,
00:57:31the softest I'd ever seen him.
00:57:32Best place I've ever been.
00:57:33People still ask
00:57:35how a nanny
00:57:36ended up married
00:57:36to a man like that.
00:57:38I never know how to answer.
00:57:40The truth is too simple.
00:57:42We were two people
00:57:43with broken pasts
00:57:45who decided to stop
00:57:46being broken,
00:57:47together.
00:57:48He gave a thrown away girl
00:57:50a home.
00:57:51I gave a man
00:57:52made of blood and steel
00:57:53a reason to read
00:57:54bedtime stories.
00:57:56One evening,
00:57:57Sophia fell asleep
00:57:58mid-sentence
00:57:59on his shoulder.
00:58:00Leo had drifted off
00:58:02against my side.
00:58:02He said quietly,
00:58:05Do you remember
00:58:07the day you walked in
00:58:08with a duffel bag?
00:58:10I said,
00:58:12Thirty-six dollars
00:58:13looking for room and board.
00:58:15You asked for a room.
00:58:16Luke took my hand
00:58:17across the couch.
00:58:18You ended up
00:58:19running the whole house.
00:58:20My whole life,
00:58:21I'd been told
00:58:22I was someone
00:58:23nobody wanted.
00:58:24Turns out,
00:58:25I was just waiting
00:58:26for the right people
00:58:27to want me.
00:58:28And I'd found them.
00:58:30All of them.
00:58:32My name is Sophia.
00:58:33Today is my 16th birthday.
00:58:35CEO Nora was my mom
00:58:37and Don Luca was my father.
00:58:39In a family like mine,
00:58:40that should mean
00:58:41a ballroom,
00:58:42300 guests,
00:58:43and a cake
00:58:43the size of a car.
00:58:45My father offered me
00:58:46all of it.
00:58:46He'd hand me the moon
00:58:47if I asked.
00:58:48I love him.
00:58:49I love everything he built
00:58:50so I'd never want
00:58:51for anything.
00:58:52I just wish,
00:58:53sometimes,
00:58:54that I could want
00:58:55for something.
00:58:56Everywhere I go,
00:58:57there are men in dark suits
00:58:58two steps behind me.
00:59:00I top every class
00:59:01at Ashford Academy
00:59:02on my own.
00:59:03And people still whisper
00:59:04it's the name.
00:59:05I don't want to throw
00:59:06any of it away.
00:59:07I just want,
00:59:08once in a while,
00:59:09to be Sophia.
00:59:10Not the Castellano princess.
00:59:12So tonight,
00:59:13on my birthday,
00:59:14I did my favorite thing
00:59:15in the world.
00:59:16I slipped my detail
00:59:17and went out alone.
00:59:18Well,
00:59:19not totally alone.
00:59:20I'd followed Leo.
00:59:22My brother thinks
00:59:22I don't know
00:59:23about his little night job,
00:59:24the bikes,
00:59:25the races.
00:59:26I crouched behind a fence
00:59:27and watched,
00:59:28engines screaming,
00:59:29headlights tearing the dark.
00:59:31And then one rider
00:59:32came out of nowhere.
00:59:33He was even bigger than Leo
00:59:35and his bike was a sleek beast
00:59:36of silver and black.
00:59:38He cut inside Leo
00:59:39on the last corner,
00:59:40pinned my brother behind him
00:59:41like it was nothing.
00:59:42Then he pulled to a stop,
00:59:44took off his helmet,
00:59:45and ran a hand
00:59:45through his hair.
00:59:46I couldn't make out his face
00:59:47from where I stood,
00:59:48but somehow,
00:59:49I knew I was looking
00:59:50at the most beautiful thing
00:59:52I'd ever seen.
00:59:53You owe me.
00:59:54Cover for me.
00:59:56I'm not lying to dad.
00:59:57You lie to dad
00:59:58every night you ride.
00:59:59He shut up after that.
01:00:01Luca was waiting
01:00:02in the front hall
01:00:03when we walked in.
01:00:04Midnight,
01:00:04still in his shirt,
01:00:05still terrifying.
01:00:07It's late, sweetheart.
01:00:08He said.
01:00:08I went for a walk,
01:00:10that's all.
01:00:10But you ditched your detail.
01:00:12Dad, I'm 16,
01:00:13not six.
01:00:14Hey, I knew you were worried,
01:00:16but it was just a small walk.
01:00:17She was with me.
01:00:18She's fine.
01:00:19Mom walked over
01:00:20and pulled me into a hug.
01:00:21Your father's just worried,
01:00:23sweetheart.
01:00:24We can talk about this later.
01:00:25Dad sighed
01:00:26with a helpless smile.
01:00:27You and your mother
01:00:28are both too stubborn.
01:00:30I knew I'd dodge that bullet.
01:00:32I grabbed Leo
01:00:32and hurried off.
01:00:34That night,
01:00:34I went downstairs
01:00:35for some water
01:00:36and heard my parents
01:00:37talking in the living room.
01:00:38Sophia's grown up.
01:00:39You don't have to protect her so much.
01:00:41I knew.
01:00:42But the old Moretti boss
01:00:43from Italy is dying.
01:00:44They'll be choosing
01:00:45a successor soon.
01:00:46And when they do,
01:00:47the piece we built
01:00:48could die with him.
01:00:49I need to ensure her safety.
01:00:50The whole school
01:00:51was buzzing
01:00:52before first bell.
01:00:53A transfer.
01:00:54Mid-year.
01:00:55From Italy.
01:00:56Half Italian.
01:00:57Half who knows.
01:00:59And apparently
01:01:00a literal god.
01:01:01Girls were doing
01:01:02their hair in the hallway.
01:01:03I rolled my eyes
01:01:04so hard it hurt.
01:01:05I'd grown up around
01:01:06dangerous men
01:01:07with pretty faces.
01:01:08I knew exactly
01:01:08what they were worth.
01:01:09Nothing.
01:01:10I found him
01:01:11at the center
01:01:11of the courtyard,
01:01:12leaning against a pillar
01:01:13like he owned it.
01:01:14Lazy smile.
01:01:15Sleeves shoved up.
01:01:17A ring of admirers
01:01:18three deep.
01:01:18He clocked me
01:01:19the second I walked past.
01:01:21The one girl
01:01:21not looking.
01:01:22You're new?
01:01:23You're new.
01:01:24Most girls slow down?
01:01:25Most girls have
01:01:26lower standards.
01:01:27Ouch.
01:01:28Pretty and cruel.
01:01:29My favorite combination.
01:01:31Go get a new favorite.
01:01:32I walked off
01:01:33without another glance.
01:01:34Behind me,
01:01:34I heard him laugh again.
01:01:36Softer this time.
01:01:37Interested.
01:01:38We had three classes together.
01:01:39By Thursday,
01:01:40he'd decided
01:01:41I was a project.
01:01:42Let me guess.
01:01:43He said,
01:01:44head to toe
01:01:45in designer brands.
01:01:47Daddy's money?
01:01:48Private everything?
01:01:49You've never wanted
01:01:50for a thing in your life.
01:01:51You don't know
01:01:52anything about me.
01:01:53I know the type.
01:01:55Spoiled little princess
01:01:56who thinks the world
01:01:56owes her a cursi.
01:01:58I earn every grade
01:01:59in this room.
01:02:00I don't cheat.
01:02:01I don't coast.
01:02:02And I have never once
01:02:03needed a smug tourist
01:02:04to explain my own life to me.
01:02:06The room went silent.
01:02:07Cute speech.
01:02:08Save it for someone impressed.
01:02:10That's when Leo walked in.
01:02:12He took one look at us,
01:02:13sitting side by side,
01:02:15glaring.
01:02:15Oh no.
01:02:16I said,
01:02:17You know him?
01:02:18You know her?
01:02:19Leo dragged a hand
01:02:20down his face.
01:02:21Rafe,
01:02:22me and my little sister,
01:02:24and this is Rafe Moretti.
01:02:25Two things happened at once.
01:02:27Rafe realized
01:02:28the princess
01:02:28he'd just insulted
01:02:29was a Castellano,
01:02:30and I realized
01:02:32he was from Moretti,
01:02:33the family in dad's mouth.
01:02:35Leo cornered me that night.
01:02:36Stay away from Rafe.
01:02:38Gladly.
01:02:39He's insufferable.
01:02:40I mean it,
01:02:41Sophia.
01:02:41His family and ours,
01:02:42it's complicated.
01:02:44Okay,
01:02:45but next time you go out,
01:02:46I'm coming with you.
01:02:47The next morning,
01:02:48I caught him talking to Rafe by the lockers.
01:02:50Keep an eye on her.
01:02:51She sneaks off.
01:02:52You're in her classes.
01:02:53I am not babysitting your sister.
01:02:55You owe me from Saturday's race.
01:02:57Fine.
01:02:58But she's a nightmare.
01:02:59She really is.
01:03:01I wanted to murder them both,
01:03:02so now the playboy I despised
01:03:04was my unofficial shadow.
01:03:06We got paired for the history project too,
01:03:08because the universe hates me.
01:03:10We fought about everything.
01:03:12Topic,
01:03:12sources,
01:03:13who held the pen.
01:03:14But once,
01:03:15mid-argument,
01:03:16his phone lit up.
01:03:17A name flashed.
01:03:18Cristiano.
01:03:19For half a second,
01:03:20the lazy smirk dropped clean off his face.
01:03:22What was left underneath was cold,
01:03:24older than 17,
01:03:25and something close to hatred.
01:03:27Then he silenced the call,
01:03:28and the mask slid back on
01:03:30like it had never moved.
01:03:32Where were we, princess?
01:03:33Rafe didn't let the princess thing go.
01:03:35Every class,
01:03:36a little dig.
01:03:37Did daddy buy this library?
01:03:38Is that a real cartier or just for show?
01:03:40I stopped answering.
01:03:42He hated that more.
01:03:43So when Mr. Hale announced
01:03:45the school's debate cup,
01:03:46with a full scholarship attached,
01:03:48he said,
01:03:49You'll win that on the name alone.
01:03:51Enter it against me,
01:03:53if you're so sure.
01:03:54Loser admits the other earned it,
01:03:56out loud,
01:03:57in front of everyone.
01:03:58The whole class oohed.
01:04:00He couldn't say no.
01:04:01Boys like Rafe never can.
01:04:02I prepped for six nights.
01:04:04No tutors,
01:04:05no favors.
01:04:06Just me and a stack of books,
01:04:07and the stubbornness I got from my mother.
01:04:09I took him apart on stage in 11 minutes.
01:04:12Not with my last name,
01:04:14with facts,
01:04:14with nerve,
01:04:15with every late night nobody ever saw.
01:04:18The judges didn't even deliberate.
01:04:19She earned it,
01:04:20he said.
01:04:21He stood on the stage
01:04:22and looked at me for a long time,
01:04:24like he was seeing me for the first time.
01:04:26Then he smiled.
01:04:28Winning made me a target.
01:04:29I was just about to leave the classroom
01:04:31when a blonde girl stopped me.
01:04:33I recognized her.
01:04:34Her name was Camilla Vane.
01:04:36Old money,
01:04:37sharp heels,
01:04:38and a claim on Rafe she'd staked the day he arrived.
01:04:41She'd watched Rafe admit I earned the debate cup.
01:04:43She did not take it well.
01:04:45Cute.
01:04:45The mafia princess thinks she's special.
01:04:48I don't think I'm anything.
01:04:50Please leave.
01:04:51But later,
01:04:52I knew that Camilla didn't want to fight.
01:04:54She wanted a show.
01:04:55That Friday was the winter showcase.
01:04:57Half the city's powerful families in the seat.
01:05:00Cameras everywhere.
01:05:01I stepped up to the podium.
01:05:03The big screen lit up behind me.
01:05:04But it wasn't my slides.
01:05:06It was a leaked wire transfer.
01:05:08Castellano Holdings to the Ashford Endowment.
01:05:11The room started to murmur.
01:05:12Phones came up.
01:05:13The one thing I'd built with my own two hands.
01:05:16The one thing that was mine.
01:05:18She was burning it down in front of everyone.
01:05:20Camilla stood in the wings, smiling.
01:05:22My hands shook.
01:05:23300 people watched me not speak.
01:05:25For one second,
01:05:26I heard Camilla's voice in my head.
01:05:28You don't belong here.
01:05:29Then I heard my mother's.
01:05:31You keep walking into rooms too small for you.
01:05:33I set down my note cards.
01:05:34Cute forgery.
01:05:36Two problems.
01:05:37One.
01:05:37The endowment is public record.
01:05:39Pull it up.
01:05:40There's no Castellano transfer.
01:05:42There never was.
01:05:43Two.
01:05:44Castellano Holdings rebranded
01:05:46four years ago.
01:05:46That logo hasn't existed since I was 12.
01:05:49Whoever made this
01:05:50pulled an old letterhead off the internet.
01:05:52I don't win because of my name.
01:05:54I win because while some people were photoshopping,
01:05:56I was studying.
01:05:57I found Camilla in the wings.
01:05:59Frozen.
01:05:59Phone still up.
01:06:00You should have checked your sources.
01:06:02She fled.
01:06:03I finished my speech to a standing ovation.
01:06:05And at the back of the hall,
01:06:06leaning in the doorway,
01:06:08looking at me like I was something
01:06:09he hadn't expected to find.
01:06:11I told myself I followed Leo for his sake.
01:06:14That's a lie I'm still working on.
01:06:16The races were in an old highway that night.
01:06:18I slipped through the fence
01:06:19and found a place in the dark to watch.
01:06:21And there he was.
01:06:22No smirk.
01:06:23No audience to perform for.
01:06:25Just race and a machine
01:06:27and the edge of control.
01:06:28He rode like he was trying to outrun something.
01:06:31Like the second he stopped,
01:06:32it would catch him.
01:06:33It was the most honest I'd ever seen him.
01:06:36Then it went wrong.
01:06:37A rival motorcycle member.
01:06:39Words, then shoves,
01:06:40then a flick of metal in the firelight.
01:06:42Somebody spotted me.
01:06:43A stranger grabbed my arm.
01:06:45I didn't scream.
01:06:46I drove my heel into his instep
01:06:48and twisted free.
01:06:49But Rafe was already on him.
01:06:51He stepped between me
01:06:52and the whole damn party.
01:06:54Don't touch her.
01:06:55The guy never stood a chance.
01:06:56It was over fast after that.
01:06:58Leo's name carried weight around here.
01:07:00So did Rafe's.
01:07:01He drove me home that night.
01:07:02There was a cut at the corner of his mouth.
01:07:04When the car stopped,
01:07:05I reached out and brushed the blood from his lip.
01:07:08He caught my hand and,
01:07:10like a knight swearing himself to his queen,
01:07:12Always at your service, Prince.
01:07:14After the yard,
01:07:15something shifted.
01:07:16We stopped pretending to hate each other
01:07:18quite so hard.
01:07:19Which is how I ended up
01:07:20on the roof of the science building at lunch,
01:07:22where Rafe goes to be alone.
01:07:24He didn't hear me come up.
01:07:25He was on the phone,
01:07:26speaking Italian.
01:07:28I only caught pieces,
01:07:29but I caught the tone.
01:07:30He went quiet,
01:07:31his expression turning cold.
01:07:33And for the first time,
01:07:34I realized he might one day grow
01:07:36into a godfather men feared.
01:07:39Sizzio, capisco.
01:07:40Yes, his uncle.
01:07:42I understand that word.
01:07:43I'll be back when the old man dies.
01:07:45Not a day before.
01:07:47You can tell Cristiano I said so.
01:07:49Cristiano,
01:07:50Leo seemed,
01:07:51said it was his brother.
01:07:52The most untouchable boy in school
01:07:54looked like he had nothing.
01:07:56I should have left.
01:07:57Instead,
01:07:58I said his name.
01:07:59Rafe.
01:08:00He spun around.
01:08:01For a second,
01:08:01raw shock.
01:08:03Then his usually playboy smile.
01:08:05Spying?
01:08:06Princess?
01:08:07I wasn't.
01:08:08How long were you standing there?
01:08:11Rafe.
01:08:11Did you enjoy it?
01:08:12Poor little rich girl charity
01:08:14come to feel sorry for the bastard?
01:08:15I don't feel sorry for you.
01:08:17You should.
01:08:17Everyone else does.
01:08:19You want to know my life?
01:08:20Fine.
01:08:21My mother is dead.
01:08:22My family wishes I were.
01:08:24I'm a placeholder
01:08:25until they need a body
01:08:25to throw at something.
01:08:27Stop.
01:08:28You wouldn't understand
01:08:29the first thing about it.
01:08:30You.
01:08:32With your perfect father
01:08:34who'd burn the city for you.
01:08:35Your perfect mother.
01:08:36Your perfect untouchable little life.
01:08:38I slapped him.
01:08:39Hard.
01:08:40I waited for the anger.
01:08:41For the urge to fire back.
01:08:43It didn't come.
01:08:44Because I was looking at his face.
01:08:45And under all that venom,
01:08:47his eyes were wet.
01:08:48He was trying to leave
01:08:49before I saw his tears.
01:08:51You're not nothing.
01:08:52Boys like Rafe
01:08:53don't apologize.
01:08:54But the next day,
01:08:55he brought me breakfast.
01:08:56He was quiet the entire morning.
01:08:58No princess joke.
01:08:59No smirk.
01:09:00Just as class ended,
01:09:02he leaned in
01:09:02and asked me quietly,
01:09:04Did you finish the slides?
01:09:05We worked on the history project
01:09:06for two hours
01:09:07and didn't fight once.
01:09:09It was unsettling.
01:09:10After the class,
01:09:11the rain started.
01:09:12By the time we reached
01:09:13the school gate,
01:09:14he tilted the umbrella
01:09:15toward my side.
01:09:16You're getting soaked.
01:09:17I was staring at his white shirt,
01:09:19completely drenched.
01:09:20It clung to him,
01:09:22outlining a broad,
01:09:23solid chest.
01:09:24I had to admit,
01:09:25his build was unfairly good.
01:09:27Happy to serve, miss.
01:09:28The words pulled me back
01:09:29to the kiss
01:09:30he had once pressed
01:09:31against my fingers.
01:09:32My face warmed slightly.
01:09:33Then his phone buzzed.
01:09:35An Italian number.
01:09:35No name.
01:09:36He glanced at it
01:09:37and went still.
01:09:38He killed the screen fast,
01:09:39but I'd already seen
01:09:40his jaw tighten.
01:09:41Everything okay?
01:09:43Fine.
01:09:43He lied.
01:09:44Across the road,
01:09:45a man in a dark coat
01:09:46was watching us
01:09:47and he did not look away.
01:09:49Leo found us
01:09:50under that umbrella.
01:09:51He pulled me into the car,
01:09:52a flash of anger
01:09:53in his grip.
01:09:54He didn't say anything
01:09:55in front of Rafe,
01:09:56but that night,
01:09:57he knocked on my door
01:09:58and his face
01:09:58wasn't the goofy
01:09:59big brother one.
01:10:01You like him?
01:10:02I tolerate him.
01:10:04I'm not stupid
01:10:05and I'm not blind.
01:10:06I braced for a lecture.
01:10:08Instead, he said,
01:10:09His family and ours
01:10:10have a thing.
01:10:11Not a war,
01:10:13not friends.
01:10:14Two snakes
01:10:15in one garden,
01:10:16both pretending
01:10:16not to watch each other.
01:10:18That sounds exhausting.
01:10:21It's the only reason
01:10:22we've had peace this long.
01:10:23I'm not telling you to stop.
01:10:24I know you.
01:10:25That never works.
01:10:26Just be careful.
01:10:27Some things are bigger than us.
01:10:28It was the most grown-up thing
01:10:30my brother had ever said to me.
01:10:31Mom and Dad and I
01:10:32just want you to be safe
01:10:33and happy.
01:10:35Clearly, you're the one
01:10:36who causes the most trouble.
01:10:37And later,
01:10:38I found out he'd said
01:10:39something to Rafe, too.
01:10:41Out in the dark,
01:10:42just the two of them.
01:10:43I know you're not really
01:10:44here to party.
01:10:44Clean up your own damn
01:10:45mess at home.
01:10:46And if any of that shit
01:10:47ever touches my sister,
01:10:48you and I are done.
01:10:49That night,
01:10:50I went to find my mother.
01:10:51I forgot to knock
01:10:52and just push the door open.
01:10:54Oh, my God.
01:10:55They were tangled together.
01:10:57I spun around immediately
01:10:58and slammed the door shut,
01:11:00covering my eyes.
01:11:01Dad!
01:11:01Mom!
01:11:02Next time,
01:11:03please lock your room!
01:11:0420 minutes later,
01:11:06my father finally walked out.
01:11:07That just proves
01:11:08your mother and I
01:11:09have a very healthy relationship.
01:11:10I ran straight
01:11:11into my mother's arms.
01:11:12Mom,
01:11:13I need to talk to you.
01:11:15Come, babe.
01:11:16Mom,
01:11:18how did you know
01:11:19you love Dad?
01:11:19Sounds like my girl
01:11:20has some love troubles.
01:11:22I don't.
01:11:23I'm just asking.
01:11:24All right.
01:11:25Then I'll just tell you casually.
01:11:27You'll find yourself
01:11:28noticing him
01:11:28without meaning to.
01:11:29Your heart will start racing
01:11:30from the smallest
01:11:31accidental touches.
01:11:32And most importantly,
01:11:34you'll find yourself
01:11:35hurting because of him.
01:11:37I would never get hurt
01:11:38because of him.
01:11:39you will.
01:11:41I saw Rafe with a girl
01:11:42in the East Corridor.
01:11:43Rafe telling some story
01:11:45with his hands.
01:11:46Then he hit the punchline
01:11:47and the girl
01:11:48burst out laughing.
01:11:49She gave him a light,
01:11:51playful slap
01:11:51and Rafe caught her hand
01:11:53midair.
01:11:53He tucked a strand
01:11:54of her hair
01:11:55behind her ear.
01:11:56I was clearly a fool.
01:11:58The easy laugh.
01:11:59The gentleness
01:11:59that makes you feel
01:12:00like the only person
01:12:01in the world.
01:12:02I'd let myself
01:12:03think it was mine.
01:12:04I'm not the only one
01:12:05he's happy to charm.
01:12:06I was just the girl
01:12:07he hated.
01:12:08An arrogant,
01:12:09delicate princess
01:12:10in his words.
01:12:11And I hated the version
01:12:12of myself that still
01:12:13hurt because of him.
01:12:14Just like my mother
01:12:15had said I would.
01:12:16I skipped fourth period.
01:12:17I went to the bar
01:12:18two blocks off campus,
01:12:20the kind that barely
01:12:21checks IDs
01:12:21and slid my fake one
01:12:23across the counter.
01:12:24By the third drink,
01:12:25the room had started
01:12:26to tilt.
01:12:27By the fourth,
01:12:27I heard a voice
01:12:28I'd have known anywhere.
01:12:29What the hell
01:12:30are you doing here?
01:12:31Rafe.
01:12:31He took one look
01:12:32at the glass in my hand
01:12:33and the fake ID
01:12:34on the counter
01:12:35and his jaw
01:12:36went tight.
01:12:37He didn't yell.
01:12:37He paid my tab
01:12:39and steered me
01:12:39toward the door
01:12:40with a hand
01:12:41at the small
01:12:41of my back,
01:12:42careful.
01:12:43The night air
01:12:43hit me
01:12:44and the world
01:12:45spun harder.
01:12:46He poured me
01:12:47into the seat
01:12:47of his car
01:12:48and crouched
01:12:49in the open door,
01:12:50level with my eyes.
01:12:51You could have
01:12:52gotten hurt.
01:12:52What were you thinking?
01:12:53I looked at him
01:12:54and before I could
01:12:54stop it,
01:12:55one tear slid
01:12:56down my cheek.
01:12:57Hey,
01:12:58why are you crying?
01:13:00I don't want you laughing
01:13:01with all those girls.
01:13:02I don't want to be
01:13:03just one of them.
01:13:04He went very still.
01:13:06Then he laughed,
01:13:07a real smile
01:13:08low in his chest.
01:13:09You are not one of them.
01:13:11You have never once
01:13:12been one of them.
01:13:13I'm sorry
01:13:14for the girl,
01:13:15for the show,
01:13:16he swallowed,
01:13:17and for what I said
01:13:18on that roof.
01:13:18Every word of it
01:13:19was a lie I told
01:13:20because the truth
01:13:21scared me.
01:13:22Then he leaned in
01:13:23and kissed me.
01:13:24The next day,
01:13:25something shifted
01:13:25between us again.
01:13:27I'll call it what it was,
01:13:28something dangerously
01:13:29close to flirting.
01:13:30I wasn't supposed
01:13:31to be at their
01:13:32motorcycle race that night,
01:13:33but just like my mother said,
01:13:35I couldn't keep
01:13:36my eyes off Rafe.
01:13:37Watched him and Rafe
01:13:38trade the lead
01:13:39like it was a conversation.
01:13:40Then the headlights came.
01:13:42Not racers,
01:13:43a convoy,
01:13:44black SUVs
01:13:45sliding into the yard,
01:13:46blocking the exits.
01:13:47A crew nobody recognized,
01:13:49out of town muscle,
01:13:51the kind that doesn't
01:13:52come to watch.
01:13:52The riders scattered,
01:13:54engines screamed.
01:13:55I froze for half a second
01:13:57too long,
01:13:57and a hand closed
01:13:58around my arm.
01:14:00Castigliano girl.
01:14:01That was the part
01:14:02that scared me.
01:14:03They knew who I was.
01:14:04They'd come for me.
01:14:05Leo saw it from
01:14:06across the yard.
01:14:07So did Rafe.
01:14:08Both of them turned
01:14:09their bikes at once,
01:14:10but it was my brother
01:14:11who didn't panic.
01:14:12While everyone else ran,
01:14:13he pulled out his phone
01:14:14and made one call.
01:14:16Three words.
01:14:16It's a setup.
01:14:17Then he looked at the men
01:14:18surrounding us,
01:14:19and for the first time
01:14:20in my life,
01:14:21my goofy big brother
01:14:22looked exactly like
01:14:23our father.
01:14:24Let her go.
01:14:25You have no idea
01:14:25who's not you just walked into.
01:14:27Here's what I didn't know
01:14:28about my brother.
01:14:29The races were never just races.
01:14:31For two years,
01:14:33Leo had been building something
01:14:34in the dark corners
01:14:35of this city.
01:14:36A web.
01:14:37Riders,
01:14:38mechanics,
01:14:38runners,
01:14:39eyes.
01:14:40He never told our parents.
01:14:41He never told me.
01:14:42He carried it alone,
01:14:43so the family would always
01:14:45see trouble coming
01:14:46before it arrived.
01:14:47My goofy big brother
01:14:48wasn't a kid
01:14:49playing with bikes.
01:14:50He was the one
01:14:51standing watch.
01:14:52When those men grabbed me,
01:14:54Leo didn't throw a punch.
01:14:56He didn't have to.
01:14:57Within minutes,
01:14:58the yard filled with riders.
01:14:59His riders.
01:15:00You came onto my ground.
01:15:02You touched my sister.
01:15:04There's no version of tonight
01:15:06where you drive out of here.
01:15:07The man let go of my arm.
01:15:09Rafe's fist landed first,
01:15:11snapping into the man's face.
01:15:12Blood splattered across his cheek.
01:15:14Cold.
01:15:15Violent.
01:15:16Unforgiving.
01:15:17And just like that,
01:15:18it was over.
01:15:18He looked at me.
01:15:19Don't tell mom and dad.
01:15:20And as he turned to walk away,
01:15:22he was the spitting image
01:15:23of our father at 17.
01:15:25We ended up on the hood
01:15:26of Rafe's car at 2 a.m.,
01:15:27parked on a hill
01:15:28above the whole lit up city.
01:15:30Leo had driven the others home,
01:15:32given us a look,
01:15:33left.
01:15:33My hands were still shaking
01:15:34from the yard.
01:15:35You okay?
01:15:36I had it handled.
01:15:38I know.
01:15:39A pause.
01:15:40You always do.
01:15:40I turned to look at him.
01:15:42The playboy was gone.
01:15:43So was the cruel mouth,
01:15:44looking at me like I was
01:15:45the only safe thing
01:15:47he'd ever found.
01:15:48You scared me tonight.
01:15:49When that man grabbed you,
01:15:50I have never been
01:15:50that scared in my life.
01:15:53I'm fine.
01:15:54I know.
01:15:55That's not the point.
01:15:57He reached up
01:15:58and tucked a strand of hair
01:15:59behind my ear.
01:16:00Slow.
01:16:00Like he expected me
01:16:01to stop him.
01:16:02I didn't stop him.
01:16:03I kissed him first.
01:16:04Because I'm a Castellano
01:16:06and we don't wait.
01:16:07He took control,
01:16:08pulling me in
01:16:09and kissing me
01:16:10until I forgot how to breathe.
01:16:11He tasted unexpectedly soft.
01:16:13Almost sweet.
01:16:14Nothing like the cold man
01:16:15he pretended to be.
01:16:17For a moment,
01:16:17I thought I understood
01:16:18how my mother
01:16:19had fallen in love
01:16:20with my father.
01:16:21That night,
01:16:22he sent me home.
01:16:23We kissed again
01:16:23before I got out of his car.
01:16:25Then his phone lit up
01:16:26in the corner of my eye.
01:16:27Cristiano.
01:16:28His brother's coming.
01:16:29I should have known.
01:16:30Nothing stays secret
01:16:32in my family.
01:16:33By Friday,
01:16:33my father knew
01:16:34the Moretti boy's name.
01:16:36I came home
01:16:36to find him in his study.
01:16:38A photo of Rafe
01:16:39already on his desk.
01:16:40Stay away from him.
01:16:41He's a classmate, Dad.
01:16:43He's a Moradi.
01:16:44But that doesn't mean anything.
01:16:46He's only 17.
01:16:47So was I
01:16:48when I buried my parents
01:16:49and took this family.
01:16:51Mafia means danger.
01:16:53Protecting my family
01:16:54is the only duty
01:16:55I have in this life.
01:16:56Dad.
01:16:57I knew that when he spoke like that,
01:16:59there was no arguing with him.
01:17:00But then,
01:17:01my mother stepped in.
01:17:02Luca,
01:17:03you're looking at the name.
01:17:05You should look at the boy himself.
01:17:07The boy is the name.
01:17:08I was the divorced nanny
01:17:10with $36.
01:17:11Everyone in your world
01:17:12looked at me that way too.
01:17:14You're the one
01:17:15who taught me they were wrong.
01:17:16The room went quiet.
01:17:18Luca's stern expression softened.
01:17:20The cold dawn had faded
01:17:21and my gentle father
01:17:22was back again.
01:17:23I want to meet him.
01:17:24Luca said finally.
01:17:25My stomach dropped.
01:17:26Dad, no.
01:17:27It's not a request, Sophia.
01:17:29Dad didn't do it at the house.
01:17:30He did it at the restaurant
01:17:31he owns downtown.
01:17:32The one where the back room
01:17:34has no cameras.
01:17:35I wasn't allowed in.
01:17:36I waited in the car with Leo,
01:17:38sick to my stomach.
01:17:39It wasn't until much later
01:17:40that Rafe told me
01:17:41what had really happened that day.
01:17:43My father sat across from him
01:17:44and said nothing for a full minute.
01:17:46Just looked.
01:17:47Most men break in that minute.
01:17:49Rafe didn't.
01:17:50You know who I am.
01:17:51Everyone knows who you are.
01:17:53Then you know what I can do
01:17:54to a boy who hurts my daughter.
01:17:56I'm not going to hurt her.
01:17:58Boys like you always do.
01:17:59And then Rafe said the thing
01:18:01that changed everything.
01:18:02I give you my word and my life.
01:18:05Your daughter will never be touched,
01:18:06never be threatened.
01:18:07I will die before I allow harm to reach her.
01:18:10I don't want anything from you, sir.
01:18:11Not your name.
01:18:13Not your protection.
01:18:14I'll build an empire for her
01:18:15with my own blood and my own gun.
01:18:17I swear it to you.
01:18:18Silence.
01:18:18Then my father leaned back
01:18:20and almost smiled.
01:18:21You're either the most honest boy
01:18:22I've met in 20 years
01:18:23or the most dangerous.
01:18:25I haven't decided which.
01:18:26Which, with my father,
01:18:28means he was impressed.
01:18:29After that day,
01:18:30I kept asking him about Cristiano.
01:18:32In the evening,
01:18:33he drove me back to the place
01:18:35where we had kissed for the first time.
01:18:36We leaned against his car.
01:18:38I was eating gas station sandwiches
01:18:40like they were a feast.
01:18:41I made him laugh.
01:18:42A real one.
01:18:43Not the practiced one he gives girls.
01:18:45You're different when no one's watching.
01:18:47So are you, princess.
01:18:49He told me things he'd never told anyone.
01:18:52He was a bastard.
01:18:53His mother was just an ordinary girl
01:18:55from a normal family.
01:18:56He told me about his mother's laugh,
01:18:58the way she sang in the kitchen,
01:18:59and how his father's wife took her from him.
01:19:01His half-brother was now the first in line.
01:19:04The air.
01:19:05There was a war between them.
01:19:06He pulled me against his chest
01:19:08and said the thing that undid me.
01:19:10I never thought anyone would stay by my side.
01:19:12And I answered him with a kiss.
01:19:13The next day,
01:19:14just before school ended,
01:19:16Cristiano showed up at the cafe by the campus gates.
01:19:19He looked like Rafe.
01:19:20Same jaw,
01:19:21same dark eyes.
01:19:22Little brother.
01:19:24Mother sends her love.
01:19:25And a deadline.
01:19:27Rafe stepped in front of me on instinct.
01:19:29You shouldn't be here.
01:19:30You shouldn't be playing house with a castoroni.
01:19:32Though, I understand the appeal.
01:19:34She's lovely.
01:19:35Don't.
01:19:36Relax.
01:19:37I'm not here for her.
01:19:39Yet.
01:19:40He told Rafe the news in three flat sentences.
01:19:43Their father,
01:19:43the head of the whole family,
01:19:45he was dying.
01:19:46When he went,
01:19:47the family would choose who led next.
01:19:49Mother wants you home for it.
01:19:51To stand in the back.
01:19:52Smile.
01:19:52Remind everyone the bastard knows his plate.
01:19:54Rafe's hands were fist.
01:19:55Cristiano got back in his car,
01:19:57rolled down the window.
01:19:58Oh, tell your father the Moretti send their regards.
01:20:02He'll know what it means.
01:20:03Then he drove off,
01:20:04leaving the whole beautiful day in ruins behind him.
01:20:07Beside me,
01:20:08Rafe had gone white.
01:20:09Cristiano didn't go home.
01:20:10He enrolled.
01:20:11A semester abroad,
01:20:13he called it,
01:20:13smiling at a headmaster
01:20:14who couldn't say no to that much money.
01:20:16And he made it his mission
01:20:18to grind his little brother into dust
01:20:20in front of the whole school.
01:20:21This is Raffaello,
01:20:22my father's little mistake.
01:20:24We keep him around the way you keep an old dog,
01:20:26pity, mostly.
01:20:26People laughed.
01:20:27Rafe didn't move.
01:20:28The boy who'd face down my father without blinking
01:20:31sat there
01:20:32and let his brother carve him up.
01:20:33Because in their world,
01:20:35that was his place.
01:20:36I watched his jaw work,
01:20:37watched him swallow it,
01:20:38and I couldn't.
01:20:39I stood up,
01:20:40crossed the cafeteria,
01:20:41sat down right beside Rafe,
01:20:43in full view of everyone,
01:20:45and took his hand on top of the table.
01:20:46The whole room went silent.
01:20:48It means the support from Castellano.
01:20:50Sofia, don't.
01:20:52Too late.
01:20:53Cristiano's smile finally slipped.
01:20:55He stared at me.
01:20:56Rafe found me after,
01:20:57on the roof where all of this started.
01:20:59He wasn't angry.
01:21:00He was something worse.
01:21:02Why would you do that?
01:21:03Do you know what you just did?
01:21:05You made yourself my weakness.
01:21:07In front of him.
01:21:09In front of everyone.
01:21:10I made myself your ally.
01:21:12Nobody stands up for me.
01:21:13Nobody ever has.
01:21:14He stared at me.
01:21:16Then get used to it.
01:21:17My mother,
01:21:18she was killed by my own family.
01:21:20My father looks at me like I'm nothing.
01:21:23Like I don't even exist.
01:21:25I've been carrying this vendetta since I was a boy.
01:21:27I made a promise over her grave.
01:21:29I'm gonna burn them down.
01:21:30That's the only thing I'm for.
01:21:32Then I'll help you.
01:21:33No.
01:21:34Don't you understand?
01:21:36The second they know you matter to me,
01:21:37you become a way to hurt me.
01:21:39I won't survive losing one more person I love.
01:21:41He froze.
01:21:42The word had slipped out.
01:21:44He loved me.
01:21:45Neither of us moved.
01:21:46When the old man dies,
01:21:48I have to go back.
01:21:49I brought him home.
01:21:50Dad was at work.
01:21:51So it was just mom.
01:21:52She took one look at Rafe,
01:21:54standing stiff in our doorway
01:21:56like he was waiting to be thrown out.
01:21:58And something in mom's face
01:21:59went soft and far away.
01:22:01She didn't ask about the Morettis.
01:22:03You look like someone who spent a long time
01:22:06telling himself he doesn't need anything.
01:22:09I was that once.
01:22:10My mother said.
01:22:11The one nobody wanted.
01:22:13The one everyone looked at like a problem.
01:22:16He asked.
01:22:17What changed?
01:22:18Someone looked at me and saw a person
01:22:20instead of a problem.
01:22:21It's not a small thing being seen.
01:22:24It can save your life.
01:22:26When he left,
01:22:27my mother held my hand at the window.
01:22:29He's worth fighting for that one.
01:22:31But Sophia.
01:22:32She said.
01:22:33And her eyes were serious.
01:22:35Make sure you're ready for the day
01:22:36his war walks through that door.
01:22:38she felt we want to take care of her.
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