Chapter 4: The Sister's Trap

The morning of my final full day in the Marino estate arrived quietly.

Too quietly.

I woke before sunrise and stared at the ceiling for several minutes.

Tomorrow, I would be gone.

No more marble halls.

No more security guards.

No more pretending to be the perfect Donna.

No more Lucian.

I placed a hand over my stomach.

"Just one more day," I whispered.

The baby was my only certainty.

Whatever happened between me and Lucian, I would protect my child.

By breakfast, the estate was already busy.

Servants moved through the corridors.

Security officers changed shifts.

Lucian was nowhere to be seen.

I didn't ask where he was.

I already knew the answer.

Sophia arrived shortly before noon.

She walked into the dining room wearing a pale dress and a careful smile.

"Eleonora."

"Good morning."

"Good morning," I replied.

She sat across from me.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"The baby?"

"Fine too."

Her gaze dropped toward my stomach.

"Have you decided what you'll name the baby?"

"Not yet."

"Lucian must be very happy."

I smiled faintly.

"I'm sure he is."

Sophia looked away.

There was something nervous in her expression.

For once, she wasn't as confident as usual.

"Are you still planning to leave?" she asked quietly.

I slowly put down my coffee cup.

"Why are you so interested?"

"Because you're my sister."

"Do you really believe that matters anymore?"

She flinched.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

I stood.

"I have somewhere to be."

Before I could leave, Sophia caught my wrist.

"Don't tell Lucian about us."

I stared at her fingers around my wrist.

"Us?"

"You know what I mean."

I gently pulled away.

"Your secret is safe."

She looked relieved.

"Thank you."

"But not because I care about you."

Her expression froze.

"I'm leaving, Sophia."

"You two can have each other."

"I don't want either of you anymore."

I walked away.

For years, I had imagined confronting my sister with anger.

Now that the moment had come, I felt nothing.

That afternoon, I went to the private clinic for one final examination before leaving the country.

The doctor looked at the results and smiled.

"Everything is progressing normally."

"You and the baby are healthy."

I exhaled in relief.

"Thank you."

She handed me a sealed medical file.

"Keep this with you."

"Your research institute will continue your prenatal care after arrival."

"Good."

I placed the file inside my bag.

When I returned home, Lucian was waiting in the study.

He was standing beside the window.

"Where were you?"

"A medical appointment."

"Without telling me?"

"You were busy."

"You could have called."

I smiled.

"I didn't think you would answer."

His eyes narrowed.

"What's happening to you?"

"Nothing."

"You're different."

"Maybe."

He walked closer.

"Are you really planning to leave?"

My heart skipped once.

Then I looked directly at him.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Sophia said something."

There it was.

He had spoken to her.

Of course he had.

"What did she say?"

"That you've been talking about leaving the family."

"And you believed her?"

"I asked you a question."

I looked at him for a long moment.

"Yes."

His face changed.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

I almost laughed.

"You're really asking me why?"

"Eleonora."

"Don't."

I stepped away.

"You don't get to ask me why after what you did."

His expression hardened.

"What did I do?"

I stared at him.

"You really don't know?"

He said nothing.

"That's the problem, Lucian."

"You don't even realize how many times you've hurt me."

He moved closer.

"If this is about Sophia—"

"It is about everything."

"Seven years."

"I gave you seven years."

"My career."

"My family."

"My future."

"And you gave yourself to someone else."

His jaw tightened.

"You don't understand the situation."

"I understand perfectly."

"You cheated on me."

Silence.

"Did you sleep with her?"

He didn't answer.

That was answer enough.

My eyes burned.

But I refused to cry.

"I knew it."

"Eleonora..."

"Don't apologize."

"I don't need it."

He reached for my hand.

I stepped back.

"Tomorrow I'm leaving."

"You can't."

"Watch me."

His voice dropped.

"You're my wife."

"Not your prisoner."

"You are part of this family."

"I was."

His face darkened.

"Are you taking the child away from me?"

"You said you didn't want the child."

"I was angry."

"You were honest."

"You don't mean that."

"I do."

Before the argument could continue, my phone rang.

It was my professor.

I stepped away and answered.

"Professor."

"Everything is ready."

"Your transportation leaves at dawn."

"Your new identity is active."

"Once you cross the border, the old records will be permanently sealed."

"Understood."

"Are you certain about this, Eleonora?"

"I've never been more certain of anything."

I ended the call.

When I turned around, Lucian was staring at me.

"You really are leaving."

"Yes."

"You planned everything."

"I had to."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't let me go."

His expression became unreadable.

"You're right."

I walked toward the door.

Then Sophia appeared in the hallway.

She looked between us.

"What's happening?"

"Nothing," I replied.

Lucian's eyes stayed on her.

"She knows."

Sophia's face went pale.

"Knows what?"

I smiled.

"Enough."

Sophia suddenly stepped toward me.

"Eleonora, please."

"Don't do this."

"Do what?"

"Leave like this."

"Like what?"

She lowered her voice.

"You don't understand what Lucian will do if you disappear."

"I understand exactly."

"He'll find you."

"Not this time."

I turned away.

Then Sophia said something that made me stop.

"What if I tell him the truth?"

I slowly looked back.

"What truth?"

"About the night of your parents' death."

My blood turned cold.

My parents had died five years ago in a Mafia blood feud.

I had always believed they were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But Sophia had never been involved in that part of my life.

How did she know something?

"What do you know?" I asked.

Sophia smiled faintly.

"Enough to make you stay."

Lucian's eyes moved between us.

"Sophia, what are you talking about?"

She ignored him.

"If you leave tomorrow, you'll never learn who ordered your parents' deaths."

I stared at her.

For seven years, I had believed my parents were victims of a random blood feud.

Now, suddenly, the possibility that their deaths had been planned opened like a wound.

"You're lying."

"Am I?"

Sophia stepped closer.

"Stay one more night."

"I'll tell you everything."

My mind raced.

I had planned my escape perfectly.

But now she had introduced one question I couldn't ignore.

Who had killed my parents?

I looked toward Lucian.

He seemed just as shocked as I was.

For the first time that night, his eyes held no anger.

Only confusion.

I didn't trust Sophia.

But if she truly knew something about my parents...

I couldn't leave without finding out.

I slowly lowered my phone.

"Fine."

"One more night."

Sophia smiled.

She thought she had won.

She didn't realize...

I had just changed the reason I was leaving.

I wasn't only escaping Lucian anymore.

I was leaving to uncover the truth about the family I had already lost.