Chapter 1
The day I found out I wasn’t a blood Moretti, I went from the most spoiled princess in New York’s old-world mafia circles to the meekest, most obedient girl on the Moretti estate.
If Valentina liked my dress, I gave it to her.
If she ruined my birthday party, I said nothing.
Even when she blushed and told me she’d fallen in love with my boyfriend, I didn’t fight. I just bowed my head and whispered yes.
But the next day, Adrian De Luca cornered me at the end of the hallway, his eyes red and voice rough as he asked,
“What happened to you?”
“Is blood really that important?”
“Are you really willing to throw me away too?”
I stared at the nearly unhinged Adrian, confused.
He acted as if he hadn’t been the one to forge the blood report that proved I wasn’t a Moretti by birth.
He waited for my answer, his eyes glistening.
I pushed past him, our shoulders brushing.
“You should be with Valentina, future brother-in-law.”
“I’m late for my graduation. Please move.”
Valentina had only recently woken from a years-long coma, and she clung to him more than anyone.
Nothing about me ever came first.
Adrian froze for a second, but refused to give up.
“Elena Moretti, you said you wanted me by your side.”
I kept walking.
“Not anymore.”
Outside the villa, Don Lorenzo’s personal limousine idled in the driveway.
He and Donna Marisa stood beside it in formal wear.
Don Lorenzo looked at me, his voice unusually gentle,
“You may not be our biological daughter, but we raised you for twenty years. A piece of paper can’t erase that.”
Donna Marisa nodded.
“We’re both coming to your graduation today.”
“The Moretti family never misses the important moments in your life.”
But her words trailed off mid-sentence.
Her gaze drifted past me to the villa entrance.
Valentina stood there sobbing, her shoulders shaking, before she turned and ran back inside.
Don Lorenzo and Donna Marisa’s faces fell instantly.
They forgot their tailored gowns and the polished dignity of an old-money family, and chased after her.
I could hear her cries drifting through the open door.
“Are you going to leave me alone again?”
“The hospital room was so cold and dark. I never want to be alone again…”
Two minutes later, Don Lorenzo and Donna Marisa walked out holding Valentina’s hands.
Then they told me,
“Valentina was too sick to go to college.”
“We’re bringing her along today. It’ll make up for what she missed.”
I nodded silently.
I knew better than anyone that whenever Valentina was around, I’d always end up being the afterthought.
I’d fought before.
But every time, I’d only made a fool of myself.
Everyone said the Morettis would never have taken me in if Valentina hadn’t had that accident and slipped into a coma.
Now I was being good.
I gave her everything she wanted.
At the graduation ceremony, my classmates crowded around me to take photos.
Then Valentina appeared beside me with that innocent, pretty face of hers, and instantly stole the spotlight.
“She’s beautiful, Elena! Is she your friend? Can I get a picture with her?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it.
There was no point.
Valentina was already smiling brightly,
“Of course you can.”
“But I’m not her friend.”
“I’m Don Lorenzo and Donna Marisa’s biological daughter.”
The words hung in the air.
My classmates’ faces lit up with the unmistakeable thrill of a high-society secret.
They swarmed Valentina instantly, pulling her a few feet away.
Soon, their glances toward me had shifted.
Just like everything else she’d ever taken from me, she’d stolen my friends without breaking a sweat.
I stood there alone.
The world around me felt suddenly empty.
Donna Marisa walked over, but stopped three feet away.
That was the “safe distance” Valentina had decreed. Being too close, she claimed, made her anxious.
“Elena, after the ceremony, the family will release a statement.”
Donna Marisa’s voice was soft, as if she was granting me a great favor.
“The Moretti family will officially adopt you.”
“You won’t be the unofficial daughter anymore. You’ll be our legal adopted daughter.”
Any other girl in my position would have been falling all over herself with gratitude.
But I just shook my head and whispered,
“No need.”
“I’m grateful enough that someone came to my graduation.”
After today, it was time I cut ties with them for good.
