Chapter 2

The next morning, I came downstairs for breakfast when our housekeeper, Mrs. Romano, stopped me in the hallway.

"Miss Lavinia, your father would like you to join the family in his study."

I paused. "Did he say what it was about?"

"No, miss. Only that everyone is waiting for you."

For a moment, my heart lifted.

Perhaps Father had finally remembered that I had graduated, too. Perhaps he wanted to discuss my future at Vescari Holdings.

I followed Mrs. Romano down the hallway and knocked on the study door.

"Come in," Father's voice answered.

I stepped inside.

It wasn't just Father. The whole family was there, and even our family attorney, Mr. Russo, sat at the coffee table with several documents arranged in neat stacks.

Father looked up when I entered.

"Good. You're here. Sit down."

I took the empty chair beside Adrian.

"What's going on?"

"We're finalizing Fiorella's induction gifts," Father said. "Since she'll be joining Vescari Holdings, it's time we made sure her future is secure."

Mr. Russo opened the first folder.

Father barely glanced at it before speaking.

"I'm transferring twenty million dollars into Fiorella's trust. She'll also receive the Hamptons estate and ten percent of Vescari Holdings."

Fiorella gasped. "Papa, that's too much!"

"Nonsense." Father smiled. "You're my daughter. You deserve the best."

"You've been through so much, sweetheart. We want you to have a comfortable future." Mother squeezed her hand.

Marco placed a small velvet box in front of her.

Inside was a key bearing the Ferrari emblem.

"Your new car," he said. "Pearl white, just like you wanted."

Fiorella threw her arms around him.

"Marco! You're the best brother ever!"

Adrian smiled and handed her another box.

Inside lay a diamond necklace.

"A little something to celebrate your new position."

Fiorella's eyes filled with tears.

"You all treat me so well. I don't know what I did to deserve any of this."

I sat quietly, watching them.

Yesterday, Fiorella had been crying because one company rejected her application.

Today, she had an executive position, twenty million dollars, a seaside estate, company shares, a Ferrari, and diamonds.

All because she had failed a job interview.

I wondered what I might have received if I hadn't graduated with honors.

Perhaps then someone would have worried about my future, too.

Mother finally turned toward me.

"Lavinia, what are you planning to give your sister?"

I blinked.

"Me?"

"Of course. It's an important milestone for Fiorella. As her older sister, you should give her something meaningful."

I looked at the documents on the table.

"Before we discuss what I'm giving Fiorella, may I ask what Father has arranged for me?"

The room went quiet.

Father leaned back in his chair.

"You've always been capable of taking care of yourself. There's no need for us to arrange everything for you."

"So Fiorella gets twenty million dollars, an estate, and company shares, while I get nothing?"

Mother frowned.

"Don't make it sound so ugly. Your sister needs security. She's never been as strong as you."

"And I don't?"

"You graduated from MIT," Marco said impatiently. "You should be able to make your own living. Fiorella needs a little help getting started."

A little help.

Twenty million dollars was apparently a little help.

I looked toward Adrian.

He avoided my eyes.

"Lavinia," he said gently, "you know Fiorella has had a difficult time. There's no reason to turn this into a competition."

I almost laughed.

I wasn't competing with her.

I was asking why being healthy and capable meant I deserved less.

Fiorella lowered her head.

"I knew this would happen," she whispered.

Mother immediately turned toward her.

"What do you mean, darling?"

"Lavi thinks I'm taking things that should belong to her." Her voice trembled. "If she's upset, I don't want any of it."

"Don't be ridiculous." Mother wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You haven't taken anything from anyone."

Then she looked at me.

"Must you ruin every happy moment your sister has?"

I stared at her. I hadn't even raised my voice.

Yet somehow, Fiorella was the one who needed comforting again.

Father tapped the table.

"Enough. Russo, bring out the other document."

The attorney hesitated before sliding another folder toward me.

Father spoke as though he were discussing an ordinary household expense.

"Your grandmother left you a trust fund. You'll transfer one million dollars from it to Fiorella as your gift for her appointment."

For a moment, I thought I'd misheard him.

"A million dollars?"

"That's right."

"That's my money."

"And Fiorella is your sister," Mother replied.

I looked at her.

"I haven't even started working yet. I don't have that kind of money to give away."

"You have your grandmother's trust," she said impatiently. "It's not as though we're asking you to earn another million."

Grandmother had established separate trusts for both of us before she died.

Unlike the money Father controlled, those funds belonged to us individually. Now that we were adults, neither parent could withdraw from mine without my authorization.

It was one of the few things in the Vescari family that had always been entirely mine.

"Fiorella already has her own trust," I said. "And Father just added another twenty million to it. Why does she need mine?"

Mother's expression hardened.

"It's about showing your support. We're a family, Lavinia. We share."

I glanced at Fiorella.

She was still wearing the diamond necklace Adrian had given her.

"Then what is Fiorella giving me?"

Nobody answered.

Marco frowned.

"She's just starting her career. Why would you expect her to give you money?"

"Because I graduated yesterday, too."

Father's eyes narrowed.

"That's enough, Lavinia."

I looked at him.

"What happens if I refuse?"

Mother folded her arms.

"Then perhaps you shouldn't attend the Winter Gala. We won't have you embarrassing Fiorella in front of the other families."

I stared at her.

The gala was where Father planned to introduce Fiorella to New York's most powerful families.

I'd spent years hoping he would someday introduce me with the same pride.

Now Mother was threatening to exclude me from it.

Yesterday, those words might have hurt.

But my position at the Bellandi Institute was already confirmed. I would be leaving New York soon.

Mr. Russo quietly placed a pen beside the document.

I picked it up.

"Fine."

I signed the transfer authorization and pushed the folder back across the table.

And considering what freedom cost in the Vescari family, a million dollars suddenly seemed like a bargain.