Chapter 2
I watched the Corleone men carry my body back to the underground morgue beneath the family estate. The rest of the examination was handled by the family’s medical examiner.
For three days, the examiner worked to piece my body back together, checking every wound in careful detail. By the morning of the fourth day, my body finally resembled something close to a complete person. Barely.
Meanwhile, Michael and his most trusted man, Tom, the family consigliere, had been investigating the victim’s identity. Neither of them had slept much.
In the lounge, Tom patted Michael on the shoulder and sighed: “Go sleep for a while. You haven’t closed your eyes in three days. Your body can’t keep going like this.”
“The autopsy results won’t come any faster just because you’re wearing yourself down. Once we have them, we’ll dig into it properly.”
Michael shook his head. His tired eyes stayed fixed on the table beside him, “I’ll rest here for a bit. This afternoon, I’ll go back to the dock and search again.”
Tom nodded. He said nothing more and quietly stepped out, closing the door behind him.
Michael had just lowered his head onto the table when his phone vibrated.
Bella’s soft voice came through the line: “Michael, Luca told me you haven’t been resting. I asked Mrs. Smith to make soup. I’ll bring it to you later.”
I knew Luca. He was Bella’s distant cousin.
Michael had always been strict about rules. Family business was family business. Personal favors had no place in it. Once, my uncle’s son wanted to join the family and asked Michael to arrange for someone reliable to guide him. Michael refused without even thinking: “If he’s capable, he won’t need anyone to carry him. He’ll stand on his own.”
But when it came to Bella’s cousin Luca, Michael not only trained him personally, he gave him the best resources.
Michael had been exhausted a second ago. But the moment he heard Bella’s voice, warmth entered his eyes, “Don’t go through the trouble. You’re pregnant. It isn’t safe for you to be out.”
“It’s not trouble. Not when it’s for you.”
Michael stopped refusing. He only reminded her again and again to be careful on the road.
Once upon a time, he had worried about me like that too.
When we first got together, he would have given me the stars if I asked for them.
He once held me and said, “You’re the person I love most in this world. I want to give you every good thing there is.”
Back then, I truly believed God favored me. For the first half of my life, He gave me a father who loved me. For the second half, He gave me Michael.
But now, everything had changed.
My soul floated in the lounge, watching the scene unfold.
So this was what my death had done. It had cleared the way for them.
After hanging up, Michael finally rested his head on the table and fell asleep.
An hour later, Bella arrived at the estate right on time, carrying an insulated food container. The person leading her in was Luca. He stopped outside the lounge and teased her with a grin: “Bella, when are you going to make Don Michael yours for good?”
Bella lowered her head shyly. But the smugness in her eyes was impossible to hide, “Michael has been busy lately. We’ll talk after he’s done.”
My heart dropped.
So that was why only Tom knew Michael and I were married. So one day, Michael could stand beside Bella openly.
Tom was Michael’s confidant not only because he was capable, but because he never gossiped. His mouth was sealed tighter than a vault.
Back when we were preparing to get married, I asked Michael if we should invite people from the family. He stroked my hair and said, “Babe, can we not have a wedding yet?”
“You know who I am. I have too many enemies. I’m afraid they’ll come after you. I just want to protect you.”
Back then, love had made me stupid. I truly believed he was protecting me. So I listened. We did not hold a wedding. We only had a simple meal with my father. That was how easily I became his wife.
But now, I understood. Protecting me had been the excuse. Protecting Bella, the woman he truly cared about, had been the truth.
