“Is it not enough that I provide? That I’ve been loyal to you? That I’ve given you everything?” I shot back, trembling with fury. “Is that why you humiliate me in front of the whole family? Don’t tell me these capos are the reason you keep your distance instead of taking what I offered you!”
He pulled a stack of contracts from his coat and slammed them against my chest. The edges cut into my skin, and when I touched my cheek, warm blood stained my fingers.
“They say it was noble to raise the family’s influence in the city,” he growled, voice low and dangerous. “But I will not allow a disgrace like you to tarnish it—even if you are meant to be mine.”
I looked up at him, steadying my shaking limbs. Surely he could see the truth if he just looked past the images. “Sebastian, you know me. My achievements come from my own grit and strategy. Nothing in those photos—nothing—changes that.”
Celeste’s laugh cut through the tension, dripping with venom. “Your own hard work?” she mocked. “And what kind of work would that be? Schmoozing rival dons? Everyone knows exactly how ‘close’ your… partnerships go.”
Snickers and outright laughter spread across the room. Some soldiers murmured their agreement, pointing at me as if I were a cornered mark.
I ground my teeth together, forcing myself to remain composed. “Those images mean nothing. My dealings with them were strictly business—alliances, nothing else.”
“Business, you say?” Celeste scoffed, picking up the photograph from the floor—the one showing a man’s arm around my waist as we entered the office. “Then explain this one. How do you justify it?”
She leaned closer, lips twisted in cruel amusement. “This comes from a crystal vid. Should I show everyone the full sequence?”
I studied the image for a heartbeat, then suddenly laughed, low and relieved. The man in the picture wasn’t a rival don—it was my older brother, testing me during initiation training.
That night, I stumbled back to my apartment, drunk with frustration and humiliation. I meant to call Sebastian to come fetch me—but instead, I ended up calling my brother.
It just so happened that my brother had come from Emperor Bay that evening, sent by our parents to reason with me and stop me from being so stubborn. He arrived just in time to drag me away from a group of capos who clearly had ill intentions toward me.