Mom turned down his offer to support us as dependents. She had too much pride for charity. Instead, she worked as a household servant in the Marconi estate, earning her keep with honest labor. I transferred to Colino's private academy. Day after day, I watched that sweet, kind boy—the one who brought my mother flowers when she was recovering, who sat by her bedside reading to her—grow into someone I couldn't help falling for.
He loved me back. On my twentieth birthday, in front of my mother and the entire household staff, he knelt and took my hand. His voice was steady, his eyes bright with sincerity.
"I swear on my family's honor," he said, "I'll spend the rest of my life protecting you. You'll want for nothing. You'll fear nothing. This I promise."
But all that started changing a year ago.
He went out one night—some gathering at one of the Family's social clubs, drinks with associates. When he got back, something was different. He started talking about Piper… differently.