Chapter 2

"Why should I apologize?"

Hazel's voice rose sharply.

"Aren't these stamps something you had made for me because you were afraid I'd get bored?"

"You were the one who said I could stamp whatever I wanted. You said it was just for fun. And now you're standing there letting her humiliate me and force me to apologize?"

Andrew caught her wrist, his brows pulling together.

"Hazel."

She jerked free, tears spilling down her face.

"Don't touch me!"

"You're both ganging up on me because I'm nobody, aren't you? It was one stupid joke, and suddenly I'm the villain!"

Her voice cracked between sobs.

"Fine. It's my fault. A girl like me should've known better than to joke around with people born into powerful Families. I'll leave. Is that what you want?"

She turned and rushed toward the door.

"Hazel!"

Andrew strode after her and caught her before she could leave.

He stared at her tear-streaked face, his expression shifting before he finally sighed.

"Enough. It was a small thing. Why are you crying like this?"

Then he looked at me.

"Hazel's young. She doesn't understand the rules yet. I'll apologize for her."

His voice carried a trace of exhaustion.

"Jade, don't make more of this than it is, alright?"

A bitter smile touched my lips.

The blue ink stamped across my face seemed to burn against my skin.

Andrew let go of Hazel and came toward me. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, his voice gentler now.

"Come on. Don't be angry."

He paused.

"Weren't you the one who asked me to look after Hazel when you brought her into the Family? She's still childish. She doesn't always know when she's gone too far."

My nails dug into my palm.

The pain was nothing compared to the ache spreading through my chest.

He was right.

I was the one who had brought Hazel into our world.

Years ago, Hazel had come to me desperate for help. She'd grown up in a forgotten town controlled by men who decided everything for the women in their families, and she had been desperate to escape.

I took pity on her.

I paid for her schooling, gave her a place under Moretti protection, and eventually asked Andrew to find her a harmless position at the Family's legitimate import business.

Back then, Andrew complained about her constantly.

She couldn't keep the shipping ledgers straight, spilled coffee over sensitive paperwork, and once delivered a sealed envelope meant for one capo to another.

Every time he mentioned her, he'd rub his temples in frustration.

"Jade, you handed me a walking disaster. I spend half my day fixing her mistakes."

I'd laughed and told him he was too impatient.

Everyone needed someone to give them a chance.

At least, that was what I'd believed.

I never imagined the girl I'd personally pulled out of the mud would one day use my kindness as a ladder, then step on my face to reach for everything that belonged to me.

Andrew sighed and stepped closer.

He lifted the handkerchief and tried to wipe the words from my face.

But the blue ink was oil-based.

The more he rubbed, the worse it became.

Blue streaks spread across my cheek and down my chin, smearing into my hairline and the corner of my mouth.

I didn't need a mirror to know what I looked like.

My carefully styled hair was ruined. My makeup had dissolved into ugly blue-black stains.

I must have looked ridiculous.

Hazel covered her mouth, but a laugh still escaped.

The satisfaction in her eyes was impossible to miss.

"Andrew!"

She suddenly glanced at the clock.

"I almost forgot. The Russo Family auction starts in twenty minutes. We need to go."

Andrew's expression changed.

He checked his watch, then looked back at me.

"We really don't have time."

He hesitated.

"Jade, I was going to take you to the jeweler before the auction, but we'll have to do it another day."

His eyes lingered on my stained face.

"Go back to the estate and clean up, alright?"

Then he turned toward the door.

"When I get home tonight, we'll talk."