Chapter 2

"Tania has only been with the Family for three months, and she already secured us a ten-million-dollar contract. That's a serious contribution. She earned every cent of that twenty thousand."

Neal's voice carried across the ballroom.

"As for Ivy, our so-called underboss, she's been disappearing whenever she pleases and neglecting Family business. She's setting a terrible example. Frankly, she's lucky she got anything at all."

Laughter broke out around me.

"So that's why her cut was pathetic. She doesn't actually do anything."

"Everyone knows she only became underboss because she's the Don's woman. Now she can't even be bothered to handle Family business. She never deserved the position."

Their words crashed over me.

Blood rushed to my head, and my ears began to ring.

My phone vibrated.

A message from Neal.

[Ivy, don't make a scene. Tania brought in a major deal. The Family needs people like her.]

Another followed.

[The year-end cut was her idea. Let it go this once. I'll make it up to you privately.]

Her idea?

I stared at the screen, and something inside me went cold.

So this humiliation had been Tania's idea all along.

Fine.

If Neal didn't care about my dignity, why should I keep protecting his?

"Neal."

My voice cut through the ballroom.

"Are you really going to stand there and tell everyone that Tania secured that ten-million-dollar contract?"

The room fell silent.

Neal's expression darkened.

"Ivy. Enough."

"No."

I tightened my grip on the microphone.

"It isn't enough."

"That ten-million-dollar contract? I spent three nights putting the terms together. I made eight trips across the city to meet with the Vitale representatives. I spent an entire month negotiating before they finally agreed to sign."

I turned toward Tania.

"Her contribution?"

"She put the Family seal on the paperwork after everything was finished."

A cold laugh escaped me.

"And you're calling that a serious contribution?"

Neal's jaw tightened.

I didn't stop.

"And all those times I supposedly disappeared from Family business?"

"I was meeting our partners. Negotiating with our allies. Securing the connections that kept Moretti money flowing."

The ballroom erupted.

"No way."

"I thought Ivy was just the Don's pretty girlfriend."

"You're saying she negotiated the Vitale contract?"

Every word cut deeper than I wanted to admit.

But I couldn't blame them for doubting me.

For five years, I had let Neal take credit for every alliance I secured and every deal I brought to the table.

I wanted the other Families to respect him.

I wanted them to see him as the man who had transformed the Morettis into one of the most powerful Families in the city.

So I stayed in the shadows.

And eventually, everyone began believing exactly what Neal had allowed them to believe.

That I was nothing more than the Don's woman.

A pretty face who had slept her way into the underboss's chair.

I had never corrected them.

Because I loved him.

But I was done staying silent.

A soft sob suddenly broke through the murmurs.

Tania covered her mouth, tears filling her eyes.

"Don Gilbert, I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

She hurriedly pulled a bank card from her purse and held it toward me with trembling fingers.

"I'll give the twenty thousand back to Ivy right now. Please don't fight because of me. I couldn't bear knowing I came between the two of you."

I looked at the card.

Then at her.

I knocked it from her hand.

"Drop the act, Tania."

The card hit the marble floor.

"You think twenty thousand dollars makes this disappear?"

I stepped closer.

"Do I look like I'm begging you for money?"

Her lips trembled.

I held her gaze.

"That ten-million-dollar contract carries a ten-percent broker's cut."

The room quieted again.

"That's one million dollars."

I tilted my head.

"So tell me, Tania."

"When exactly were you planning to give me back my million?"

Her face drained of color.

She opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

Then her body swayed.

Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed.

"Tania!"

Neal lunged forward and caught her before she hit the floor.

He pulled her against his chest as though she might break in his arms.

Then he looked up at me.

There was nothing but fury in his eyes.

"Ivy, you've gone too far."

His voice was ice-cold.

"You know Tania was born with a heart condition, and you still pushed her until she collapsed?"

His arms tightened around her.

"I can't believe I ever trusted you."