Chapter 2The Don Chose Her, I Left

The next evening, I changed into a black suit.

Vincenzo sat on the living room couch. He frowned when he saw me coming down the stairs.

"I thought we settled this last night."

"I want to go. This is my field, after all." I looked him in the eye. I'd always been soft and agreeable with him, but this was the first time I'd stood my ground. "Let's go, Don."

He stared at me for two seconds.

In the end, he sighed and wrapped a camel-colored cashmere scarf around my neck. Its soft warmth settled over me.

"Stay behind me. Don't wander off. Show your face and come home."

The showcase was on the top floor of a private hospital owned by the Romano family.

When we pushed through the double doors, the center of the room was already crowded with senior family members and the heads of every branch.

In the middle of it all, Lyla stood in a white silk gown, smiling as everyone raised their glasses to her.

"Ms. Ferraro beat a blood disorder, and the moment she's back, she brings the family a miracle like the R-7 clotting agent. Somebody up there is looking out for us!"

"I hear this clotting agent cuts the fatality rate from gunshot wounds by 40 percent. Ms. Ferraro is the family's real savior."

I stood at the edge of the crowd, watching lab data and reaction times scroll across the screen. Then I froze.

Those were my lab records!

The precise data I'd pulled countless all-nighters for, burning through more than 1,000 samples to get it right.

And now the name signed at the bottom of the report was Lyla Ferraro.

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.

Only three people in the world knew about that data: me, Lyla, and Vincenzo.

I stood rooted to the spot, my blood running cold.

Lyla spotted Vincenzo in the crowd and came right over, glass in hand.

She moved close as if it were the most natural thing in the world and hooked her arm through his, clutch still in hand. Her fingertips even brushed his chest.

"Vincenzo, do you remember our high school dance? You wore a black suit just like this one. You never left my side. You kept everyone else away from me."

Lyla tipped back her head and smiled sweetly. They had an easy closeness that only years together could build.

Seeing them so at home with each other, I felt the sting of being completely shut out.

Vincenzo didn't return the gesture, but he didn't pull away, either.

Then Lyla looked past Vincenzo, and her eyes landed on me.

"Enora, I'm so glad you came." She hugged me, smiling warmly, but kept her voice low so only I could hear. "Thanks for those old notes you left lying around the house. When Vincenzo brought them to me yesterday, I told him it wasn't really fair to you, but he couldn't bear the thought of me staying up all night... And look how well it worked out."

My fingers curled at my sides, and I opened my mouth to speak.

But Lyla suddenly grabbed my arm and threw herself backward. Her glass hit the floor and shattered, and she landed on the shards. Her palm was sliced open and bleeding.

"Lyla!"

Vincenzo's voice tightened. He stepped forward almost on instinct and scooped her into his arms.

Bodyguards and doctors rushed over. Holding Lyla, Vincenzo turned toward me. Without thinking, he put his broad frame between us, keeping the guards from crashing into me.

But the look he shot me was sharp, full of blame and anger.

"Why did you push her? Her blood doesn't clot right. Any bleeding at all is dangerous for her."

The room fell silent. Everyone just watched the scene unfold. Nobody dared provoke the Don of the Romano family.

"That clotting agent formula is mine," I said, looking at Vincenzo, my voice shaking with anger. "My lab. My research. My work."

Vincenzo frowned. He didn't bother hiding his impatience or confusion.

"What are you talking about? Lyla's medical team in Switzerland has been working on this project for a year. That's why it succeeded. It's her work."

Hers?

The key catalyst in R-7 was something I'd extracted from a rare plant to work with Vincenzo's unusual body chemistry.

I'd stayed up countless nights searching for that ingredient, all so the drug could save his life if he ever needed it.

No team in the world would have thought to add it except mine.

She's stolen all my hard work, and Vincenzo's defending her like I'm the one being unreasonable?

"It's mine. And I'll prove it."

My lips trembled, but I kept my chin up. I wasn't backing down.

He just frowned, staring at me, and shook his head in exasperation. "Enora, as my wife, you don't need credit for this. Don't make a scene right now."

His words cut deep.

He'd seen how many nights I'd stayed up working on that drug, from midnight until dawn, until my eyes burned, and I'd never once complained.

And now his accusation left me hurt and bitterly disappointed.

I stopped trying to explain. I just fought back the tears.

As they rushed Lyla off for treatment, I took out my phone and called Faith. "Can you come get me? I want to leave."

"Leave for where?"

Vincenzo's rough voice came from right behind me.