When I was ten, my mother married into the Corleone family, and I followed her into that house.

Before Vincent Corleone learned to hate me, he had once treated me like a real little sister.

Later, he became the one who hurt me most.

He believed my mother had driven his own mother to her death, and from that day on, he made sure I paid for it. Humiliation, contempt, cruelty—he never spared me any of it.

Then Leo Moretti, Vincent’s closest friend, confessed that he loved me.

I thought he was my way out.

I was wrong.

The morning after I gave him my first time, I overheard him speaking to Vincent behind a half-closed door.

“I got the photos from her first night,” Leo said quietly. “Are you really going to make them public?”

Vincent’s voice was cold enough to freeze my blood.

“She owes my mother a life. If I can’t take that, then I’ll make sure she pays another way. I want her ruined.”

That was the moment I understood.

The tenderness had been fake.

The love had been a trap.

And the man I had trusted most had been waiting all along to destroy me.

What they didn’t know was that two weeks earlier, I had already received an invitation from Professor Evans at the world’s top international medical research institute.

So this time, I left first.

And I was never coming back.

Vincent’s cold, cutting voice carried through the door.

“Ruin her reputation. Let’s see how she dares to cling to the Corleone household after this.”

Leo’s voice faltered for a beat. “I’ll send you the tasteful ones, nothing explicit. Ruining her name is one thing, but if we take this too far and something happens to her, there’s no coming back from it.”

“Oh?” Vincent scoffed. “You this worried about her? Don’t tell me you actually caught feelings.”

Leo denied it quickly, a faint, unmissable panic in his voice. “Are you crazy? Isabella’s coming back to the country soon. I don’t have time to waste on this.”

Isabella Rossi was Leo’s childhood sweetheart, and the only daughter of the Rossi family, one of the Corleones’ oldest allies.

My heart plummeted straight into an icy abyss.

I’d always known Vincent hated me.

He was convinced my mother’s arrival had driven his birth mother to jump off the rooftop.

I had once overheard my mother trying to explain, voice shaking, that things were not what he thought, but Vincent had never given her the chance to finish. From that day on, he turned every ounce of that rage and hatred on me.

After I’d gotten together with Leo, Vincent still spat cruel words at me, but he’d never humiliated me like he used to.

I’d thought he’d finally accepted me as his sister.

Because once, long before all the cruelty began, he had been the one person in that house I trusted most.

It had all been a lie. A far more vicious trap than any he’d set before.

Or maybe not all of it. Maybe that was what made it hurt so much — there had been a time when his kindness to me was real.

He and Leo were brothers in arms, grew up joined at the hip, bound by blood and loyalty. And I’d been naive enough to think Leo had actually loved me.

I’d overestimated myself.

I swallowed back the bitter burn in my throat and ran like my life depended on it, bursting out of the mansion.

A torrential downpour was raging outside, soaking me to the bone in seconds.

The second I got back to my room in the manor, I sent an email to Professor Evans.

“Professor, I accept your offer. I’d like to join your project in Switzerland.”

Professor Evans had been my mentor during the international medical competition I’d won, and one of the most renowned medical experts on the planet.

Once, I’d pushed myself to be exceptional, to achieve things no one my age had, from the family my mother had married into.

But they’d never cared.

The project involved classified core research, with a strict requirement that no one could leave the institute for three full years. That was why I’d turned it down before.

Now, I didn’t hesitate for a second.

I must have caught a chill from the rain. I curled up under the covers, shivering, and didn’t wake until a nightmare jolted me awake.

I’d just pushed myself up to find some fever reducer when the door was kicked open with a violent crash.

Before I could speak, my mother flew at me in a fit of rage, slamming a stack of photos hard into my face. “Elena! What the hell is this? Did you sleep with a man?”

The photos scattered across the floor, all of them side profiles of me asleep, only half my face visible.

Leo had taken these.

I stared at them, unblinking, a bone-deep despair settling over me.

Overnight, these photos had spread like wildfire through New York’s high society.

Only the day before, Leo had held my hand, his voice steady and earnest as he promised, “Elena, I’ll take responsibility for you. We’ll get married when you graduate.”

He’d plied me with wine that night, worn me down with his sweet words and soft pleas until I’d said yes.

I’d been stupid enough to think he’d meant it.

When I said nothing, my mother kept screaming, pressing me for answers. “Say something! Who took these? Are you trying to humiliate the Corleone family on purpose?!”

She’d never cared about how hurt I was, or what I’d been through. She only ever cared about herself, and her place in this house.

But when I told her the photos had been taken by Leo Moretti, she went silent at once.

She frowned, her voice sharp with blame. “How could you get involved with the Moretti boy? We can’t afford to cross… You should have said no to him in the first place. Now he’s got these photos, and there’s nothing we can do about it. This is all your fault for being so loose.”

I snapped my head up to look at her, my eyes wide with disbelief.

She wouldn’t meet my gaze. “I’ll talk to Leo, get him to take the photos down. Give it time, and everyone will forget about this.”

Of course I knew. Leo had money, power, influence. My mother and I were nothing to the Moretti family. We couldn’t touch him.

The second the door clicked shut, I could almost see Vincent’s mocking stare from the hallway.

He’d known exactly how this would play out.

The truth didn’t matter anymore.

A crushing wave of helplessness washed over me, and I crumpled to the floor in the corner, crying violently.

My phone blew up with endless harassing texts and anonymous phone calls.

All of them filled with vile slurs and insults.

My hands shook as I blocked each number, one by one.

My mother told me she’d called the school and gotten me an extended leave of absence.

But I couldn’t let her know I was leaving the country. I had to get back to campus to finalize my paperwork.

She’d never had time for me anyway. Even if I left, it would probably be weeks before she even noticed I was gone.

Leo had forced the photos offline, but nearly everyone at the school had seen them.

Everywhere I went, eyes followed me, curious, mocking, judgmental, accompanied by low, muttered whispers.

“Who would have thought? She’s so quiet and put-together normally, but she’s actually so easy.”

“Hey, you think I’d have a shot with her…”

Suffocating shame and terror wrapped around me like a vice.

My chest tightened until I could barely breathe, and I don’t remember how I made it out of the school building.

I was walking back to the manor in a daze when a group of men stepped out in front of me, blocking my path.

The leader pulled out his phone, and my leaked photos stared back at me from the screen. He looked me up and down, his gaze sickening with malice.

“It’s you, isn’t it? You’re even prettier in person.”

My whole body went rigid, and I stumbled back half a step. “What do you want? Stay away from me!”

The men exchanged looks, and despite my struggles, they dragged me into the dimly lit alleyway beside the street.

They slammed me up against the cold brick wall, leering, their filthy hands reaching for my clothes.

“Get off me! Don’t touch me!”

They pinned my arms and legs down, and I had no strength left to fight. I could only watch, helpless, as they ripped my coat open.

“Just enjoy! No one’s coming to save you.”

I bit down hard on my lip until the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth.

In the split second they let go of one of my hands to take their own clothes off, I wrenched free and grabbed the knife I’d hidden in my bag.

My hand shook so violently I could barely hold it, but I screamed at the top of my lungs, “Don’t any of you come near me!”

The first time I’d been cornered like this, my mother had said it was my fault for dressing too provocatively, told me to wear more modest clothes next time.

If a stranger hadn’t passed by that day, I don’t know what would have happened to me.

Since then, I’d kept a knife in my bag.

But they just laughed. One of them even reached for the knife, trying to yank it out of my hand.

In the struggle, the blade sank deep into my chest.

The leader’s face went white with panic.

Scared of being charged with murder, he turned and ran, the rest of the men hot on his heels.

I collapsed onto the cold concrete, blood soaking through my shirt fast.

As my vision blurred and my consciousness slipped, I heard one of them mutter into a phone, his voice low and panicked.

“Mr. Corleone, something went wrong. She stabbed herself with the knife.”

Vincent’s cold, hard voice came through the line. “Is she dead?”

Then Leo’s voice, urgent and horrified. “Vincent! Are you insane? She’s your sister!”

Vincent scoffed. “I just told the boys to scare her a little. If she’s stupid enough to try and kill herself, that’s on her. If she’s not dead, dump her at a hospital. Make sure she never finds out I arranged this.”

So it was true. Vincent really had wanted to destroy me.

A memory flashed through my mind, a conversation I’d overheard between him and his men months before.

“My mother’s death is on them. Why the hell should they get to live comfortably in the Corleone house?”

Tears streamed down my face, and the world went black. I passed out completely.

When I woke again, I was lying in a hospital bed in a private clinic.

Vincent and Leo were both standing at my bedside. The second I opened my eyes, Leo leaned forward immediately, his eyes swimming with poorly hidden worry.

“Elena, thank God you’re awake. I’ve been sick with worry over you.”

When I said nothing, he glanced away, his voice dropping to a murmur. “About the photos… I’m so sorry. I got drunk that night, someone took my phone, and that’s how they leaked. I’ve had every last copy deleted, I swear.”

I stared at him, my heart cold and dead inside.

He was the one who’d started this whole mess, and now he was standing here acting like my savior.

My hand flew to my ring finger instinctively. “Where’s the ring my grandmother left me?”

It was the only thing my grandmother had left me before she died, a sapphire ring engraved with my family’s crest. I never took it off.

Isabella, who’d been standing behind the two men, suddenly lifted her hand.

“You mean this one?” She smiled, sweet and innocent. “Vincent gave it to me as a gift.”

I recognized it instantly. It was my ring.

“That’s mine. Give it back to me.”

Vincent scoffed, his voice thick with contempt. “Everything you own belongs to the Corleone family. I can give whatever I want, to whoever I want.”

A flicker of triumph flashed in Isabella’s eyes. She sauntered over to my hospital bed, leaning down until her mouth was right next to my ear, her voice so quiet only I could hear it.

“You want the ring back? Get on your knees and beg me nicely, and I’ll think about it.”

It was the only thing I had left of my grandmother. I thought of her soft smile as she’d placed it in my hand on her deathbed, and my chest ached so badly I could barely breathe.

Slowly, I bent my knees. With everyone watching, I knelt on the hospital bed.

“Please. Give it back to me.”

Vincent sat on the couch across the room, and didn’t lift a finger to stop it.

But Leo frowned, grabbing my arm and trying to pull me back up. “Elena, what are you doing? Stop this. You don’t need to beg, don’t play the victim.”

Isabella’s head snapped to the side, staring at Leo in disbelief.

“Ugh, fine. If it means that much to you, I’ll give it back.”

The second the words left her mouth, she let go of the ring.

“Oops! Sorry, I didn’t have a good grip.”

She’d done it on purpose. I’d seen it with my own eyes.

I stared at the ring clattering on the floor, rage burning hot in my chest, and I slapped her hard across the face.

In the next heartbeat, someone shoved me with brutal force, and I went flying off the bed, slamming into the floor.

Leo took an instinctive step forward, but stopped. In the end, he turned, gathered Isabella into his arms, and soothed her softly.

Vincent’s face turned thunderous, and he screamed at me. “Elena! You dare lay a hand on her in front of me? Apologize to Isabella. Now.”

When I bit down on my lip and said nothing, he sneered. “You really think that stupid ring is worth all this? How long are you going to throw this tantrum?”

My whole body shook. I’d had enough. I lifted my hand and slapped him, too.

“Vincent! It’s not a stupid ring! It’s the most important thing I have in this entire world! You had no right to give it away to anyone!”

“She dropped it on purpose. I will never apologize.”

Vincent froze, stunned by the slap. His eyes turned dark and vicious. “You care about this damn ring that much?”

He yelled for his men. “Get in here! Take this ring and smash it to dust.”

He turned back to me, his voice cold. “Apologize now, and I’ll let you have it back. This is your only chance.”

I closed my eyes, and said nothing.

He scoffed. “Then smash it. Grind it into powder.”

Leo finally spoke up. “Vincent, this is too far. Don’t do this.”

Vincent shot him a sharp look. “It’s too late. What, you feeling sorry for her again? Don’t forget who took those photos, who promised me you’d help me put her in her place.”

Isabella’s eyes went wide, and she finally snapped. “Leo! What is he talking about? You and this woman...”

She never finished the sentence. Her body went limp, and she fainted dead away in Leo’s arms.

Leo froze, then scooped her up into his arms. He glanced back at me, sighed, and hurried out of the room with Vincent right on his heels.

The second they were gone, I pushed myself up, clinging to the last of my strength, and walked out of the hospital room.

My phone rang right then. It was Professor Evans.

On the other end of the line, his voice was gentle, but laced with apology. “Elena, I’m so sorry to tell you this, but the project timeline’s been moved up unexpectedly. We’re leaving for Switzerland imminently.”

I gripped the phone tight and answered, “Okay, Professor. I’ll be there on time.”

This place had never been my home.