Chapter 4

That evening, I brought my resignation paperwork to Vito's office.

Members of the Costa family lining both sides of the office turned to glare at me with undisguised contempt.

Vito was sitting in his office, behind his desk. His expression was as dark as night.

For a moment, I didn't know what was going on.

Suddenly, Sofia came into the office. She grabbed my wrist, her eyes red, looking like she'd suffered some terrible injustice.

"I've always considered you my friend, Luisa! How could you sell the information about our arms shipment route to our rivals just to force me out of the company? If you'd told me from the beginning that you were the one who tampered with that shipment, I never would've let Vito pursue the matter."

I yanked my hand away from her. "What the hell are you talking about? Why would I ever touch the family's cargo?"

As soon as I finished speaking, Vito shot to his feet and marched toward me.

"You're still making excuses? Who else could it have been, if not you? You couldn't stand seeing Sofia take over your position, so you sabotaged the shipment she was responsible for!"

For a split second, I was stunned speechless. My confusion and hurt instantly gave way to fury.

"And even if I did, so what? I was the one who set up that pipeline in the first place!"

Taking my words as an angry confession, Vito sneered at me. "Search her."

Two of the family's enforcers swiftly heeded his command and started walking toward me.

"Don't bother. I'll do it myself!"

Thus, with everyone watching, I raised my hands and pulled off my coat. The air conditioning blasted icy air over my skin, making my entire body tremble, but my chest burned with a raging fire.

"That's enough!"

Just as I reached to take off my bra, Vito grabbed my wrist. "Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough already, Luisa?"

Sofia immediately took off her shawl and draped it over my shoulders, her voice choked as she cried out, "This is partly my fault, too. If everyone needs someone to blame, just blame me for it."

Vito's gaze fell on her, softening as it did. "It's not your fault. You don't need to take any responsibility for what she did."

Then he released my wrist and declared with an air of impartiality, "You have a family heirloom, don't you? Use that to make up for the loss of that arms shipment. You can't expect Sofia to bear the consequences in your place."

My head snapped up. I instantly knew what he was referring to—the emerald necklace my mother had left to me before she died.

I'd placed it in the Costa family's vault years ago, and Vito was the only person I'd entrusted with the access code. Even when money had been the tightest for me, I'd never once considered taking it out and selling it.

When I didn't speak, Vito lost all patience and tapped away on his phone.

A few seconds later, a notification appeared on my encrypted communications channel. It was an update to the Costa family's vault records. The necklace had been transferred to Sofia's name.

I stared at the screen, my eyes burning red.

Vito, however, declared with an unruffled expression, "It's just an object. Use it to cover the losses so that the family doesn't insist on a full-blown investigation. And since you made such a serious mistake, you can forget about staying in the company."

He shoved the notice of dismissal forward.

Out of nowhere, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washed over me. I didn't even have the strength to argue with him.

After leaving the building, I stood on the sidewalk for several seconds before calling Renzo Orsini, the old consigliere of the Costa family.

"Renzo, I need you to help me investigate the arms shipment that went missing," I said.

After Renzo agreed without hesitation, I ended the call. With the suitcase I'd already packed, I headed to the airport and boarded the flight to Newbourne.

From this moment onward, Vito Costa and I no longer had anything to do with each other.