The year I turned fourteen, my brother Derrick, the new Don of the Griffin family, brought home Davina, the orphan of a rival family, all in the name of preserving our family’s reputation.

From then on, I was forced to concede everything to her.

She became the family's doted-on "Principessa of Peace" in our estate.

Davina used the family's welfare as a shield, falsely accusing me of jeopardizing the peace. For that, Derrick stripped me of my duties and placed me under house arrest.

He even gave her our mother's heirloom necklace to appease her.

This time, I didn't fight back. I simply took the men loyal to me and vanished from Chicago overnight.

He didn't learn what happened until days later, through his own intelligence reports.

I had already carved out my own territory in New York City, established my own crew, and vowed never to return.

That day broke him.

...

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1

After I won a brutal turf war for the family, my mentor, our Consigliere Marcus, patted my shoulder in relief.

"Vivian, congratulations. But New York is over seven hundred miles from Chicago. Now that this job is done, it'll be a while before you're back."

"While you're still here, you should spend more time with Derrick."

I sheathed my blood-stained dagger and drove toward the family estate.

I strode into the grand hall.

Derrick was busy directing the servants.

He was preparing for Davina's welcome dinner.

Davina was an orphan Derrick had brought back five years ago, from our mortal enemies, the Valachi family.

Derrick was still in a meticulous black suit, the fatigue from a recent meeting etched into the lines of his brow.

I cautiously approached him.

"Derrick, I'm back."

The moment he saw me, Derrick's face turned cold, his tone laced with impatience.

"Vivian, this is Davina's welcome dinner. Don't cause a scene."

Fearing he'd throw me out, I quickly explained.

"I have a welcome gift for Davina. A diamond brooch from Europe. I think she'll like it."

Fearing he wouldn't believe me, I pulled the velvet box from my handbag and held it out to him.

Derrick glanced at the gift in my hand, and when he looked up again, his eyes were tinged with suspicion.

"Since when did you become so generous?"

I ignored the sarcasm in his words and forced a smile.

"Derrick, let me handle the security for the dinner. I'll handle it personally. Davina... she needs to feel secure."

It was the first time I had ever backed down for him.

I just wanted to mend things between us after all the family turmoil. I might not get another chance.

After a moment of silence, Derrick put down his wine glass. I took it as his silent approval.

"Derrick, I'll go make the arrangements right now."

Without waiting for his reply, I turned and headed for the security room, tablet in hand.

In the security room, I flipped through the recent accounts out of habit, only to find an expenditure record from a high-end jewelry store.

It was a high-end custom piece from Cartier.

I clutched the electronic receipt for that order tightly in my hand.

Five years ago, Derrick had taken me to Fifth Avenue, where I had stared, mesmerized, at a sapphire necklace in a shop window.

It was a piece very similar to our mother's necklace—the one damaged in a firefight years ago.

That day, he promised me that once he secured his position as Don, he'd have Mother's necklace repaired and put it on me himself.

A warmth bloomed in my chest.

So he still remembered that promise. He still had a place for me in his heart.

By the time I finished arranging security and returned to the banquet hall, Derrick was already at the head of the long table, with Davina seated beside him.

The table was laden with exquisite dishes.

Even the 1982 Château Lafite, reserved for the Don, had been brought out.

But my place at the table was now occupied by Davina.

I didn't make a scene. I simply motioned for a servant to add a chair at the far end of the table and sat down quietly.

After finishing a tender piece of steak, Davina cooed.

"Derrick, this is delicious. I want more..."

Derrick looked up at me.

Before he could speak, I took the initiative.

"I haven't had much of an appetite lately. I'm not in the mood for meat."

Lowering my head, I caught a flicker of surprise in Derrick's eyes.

But the next moment, he picked up his knife and fork, cut the rest of his steak, and placed it on Davina's plate. "If you like it, have some more," he said, his voice dripping with affection.

Suddenly, the food in my mouth turned to ash.

The formal dress I wore hung loosely on me. My wrists were thin, my knuckles sharp.

A bitter taste rose in my throat, and I raised my glass, downing the red wine in one gulp.

As if the alcohol could numb the hollowness in my chest.

After the dinner, Derrick took a velvet box from his pocket.

"Davina, I have a gift for you."

Davina, wearing the brooch I had given her, broke into a brilliant smile the moment she opened the box.

"Wow, it's the sapphire necklace Mother left behind. Derrick, this must be very expensive."

Derrick put it on her with his own hands and smiled.

"Don't worry, it's a token of peace. In the future, the Griffin family will give you much more."

My hand holding the wine glass froze, and I almost dropped the crystal glass on the floor.

So the necklace... it wasn't for me.

Derrick must have noticed the look on my face, because his voice turned exceptionally cold.

"Vivian, are you really going to make a scene just because I'm being kind to our guest?"

A sharp pain lanced through my chest.

So he'd forgotten. He'd completely forgotten the promise he made five years ago.

I blinked hard, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill.

"No. I was just running the turf war back through my head."

Derrick snorted coldly and said no more.

When I finished the post-banquet cleanup and returned to the study, Derrick was peeling an apple by the light of his desk lamp. Davina had already returned to her room to rest.

After much hesitation, I decided to tell him about the intelligence I had intercepted.

"Derrick, I intercepted..."

He cut me off before I could finish.

"I've told you before, the family's intelligence network is your full responsibility."

"Lately, Davina has been saying she feels insecure, that someone is targeting her. I've decided you two will co-manage the intelligence network."

"Just wait a little longer. When the time is right, I'll give you something more important..."

Knowing I had to forge my own path, my refusal was instinctive.

"She's not capable."

His eyes narrowed. He thought this was about power.

"You don't have to be spiteful. There will be opportunities for higher positions later."

"Maybe it's just a fleeting interest for her. She'll probably lose interest in a few days, and the intelligence network will be yours again."

I looked at him seriously.

"I really don't think she's suitable."

"You've made up your mind. Fine."

Then, as if remembering something, a sarcastic smile twisted his lips.

"I knew you still couldn't tolerate Davina. It must have been exhausting, putting on an act all night."

He threw the fruit knife on the table and turned to leave.

He left me frozen to the spot.

The room was heated, but I felt a chill run down my spine.

After returning to my room, I began to clean my gun, preparing for my trip to New York City.

My luggage was sparse, just a few changes of clothes and my weapons.

And the Beretta that Derrick had used to teach me how to fire my first shot.

Derrick used to be so good to me.

Derrick and I lost our parents young. We clung to each other to survive in this bloody life.

Once, when children from other families pointed at me and called me an unwanted mutt, he was the one who held me in his arms and comforted me.

"Don't listen, Vivian. As long as I'm here, you'll never be alone."

"The Griffin estate is your home."

But after Davina appeared, everything changed.

Five years ago, the Don of the rival Valachi family was killed in a firefight, and the entire family suffered a devastating blow.

Overnight, Davina became an orphan.

Davina's mother had once done our family a great favor.

So, for the sake of so-called peace between the families and the Griffin's reputation, Derrick brought Davina home as a "symbol of peace."

From that point on, his affection was gradually siphoned off, given to Davina instead.

Many of the family elders joked that Davina was Derrick's future Donna.

In time, Derrick started to believe them, his feelings for Davina shifting.

Until a year ago.

I caught Davina meeting secretly with our Capo, Nick, in the warehouse. She was badmouthing Derrick right to his face.

She said Derrick was an idiot, that all these years he had been atoning for her father's death. She planned to back Nick's bid for the Don's seat, as she couldn't stand a hypocrite like Derrick.

But before I had a chance to tell Derrick the truth, Davina spotted me.

She got home before I did.

That day, Davina used a razor blade to cut her own arm, crying and screaming that she would die to prove her innocence.

"Derrick, Vivian is jealous of how well you treat me! She wants to drive me away, even ruin my reputation."

"Has she even thought about the consequences of spreading such rumors? How can I face anyone in the family again! Just let me die!"

"My father helped you all back then. How can you treat me like this? This is a dishonor to his memory!"

She sobbed hysterically.

Before I could even explain, Derrick had already decided it was all a lie I had fabricated to get rid of Davina.

He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.

"Vivian, I never thought you could be so vicious, to make up such an absurd lie!"

"Do you think slandering her honors Mr. Valachi's memory? If he hadn't helped us back then, the Griffin family would have been annihilated!"

"Get out! I don't want to see you again!"

He shielded Davina in his arms, shouting at me to get out.

Since then, he and I often argued because of Davina.

Every time, it ended in a bitter fight.

To avoid conflict, I even started using out-of-town business as an excuse to not return to the estate for months at a time.

Just then, Derrick burst through the door, wrenching me from my thoughts.

"Vivian, what the hell is this?"

He saw the map of New York City and the list of men spread out on my desk.