“I was countersigning a ten-million-dollar patent license under a Department of Defense classification stamp when my mother called.
“”Isabella’s marrying into the Marchettis this weekend. You must come home.””
Click. She hung up.
The Marchettis. One of the Five Mafia Families.
For a Vitale girl to marry a Marchetti was what my mother had been praying for for twenty years.
I opened the friends-and-family group chat I’d had muted for a long time.
My brother Elliot had actually mentioned me for once.
【Every Don on the Eastern Seaboard is going to be at that wedding. Wear something decent. Don’t embarrass Isabella.】
Ethan Colombo, who’d grown up two houses down from ours, jumped in right after.
【Ten years out of high school. If you’d worked half as hard as Isabella and gotten into an Ivy, you’d have your foot in the Marchettis’ door by now. Instead you’re pulling espresso shots in some hole in Queens.】
I scrolled down.
I stopped at a message from Melanie Ricci, the girl who used to be my best friend.
【Hazel, Isabella’s going to be a Marchetti in five days. If New York isn’t working out, come home. Ask Isabella to put in a word. The Marchettis can place you somewhere respectable.
Hostess at the club. Anything is better than what you’re doing to the Vitale name.】
I lowered my eyes.
The Marchettis.
Over the last three months, Don Salvatore Marchetti himself had reached out to me three times through back channels, requesting a thirty-minute meeting.
Every request went unanswered.
The group chat kept pinging.
I couldn’t be bothered to read the rest. I typed back:【OK. I’ll be there.】”
Don Bowed To Me Chapter 24 I haven’t said a word this whole time. Just holding the champagne flute, listening. My silence gets read as guilt. My mother presses a handkerchief to her eyes and starts sobbing. “Hazel, just listen to Dante.” “I know I haven’t been a good mother to you.” “But you have
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Don Bowed To Me Chapter 23 My mother’s voice trembles. Her eyes are red at exactly the right shade. That practiced kind of red. “Hazel.” “Mom has been waiting for your call every day these past six months.” Isabella immediately looks up at me. Tears already pooling in her eyes. “Hazel,” she says softly, calling
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Don Bowed To Me Chapter 22 8 PM. The Great Hall at Newport Preparatory Academy. I step out of the Escalade and walk through the entryway lined with deep red carpet. The Great Hall is that classic East Coast old-money space. Nineteenth-century domed frescoes. An entire wall of crystal sconces. The Baccarat chandelier at the
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Don Bowed To Me Chapter 21 Saturday, 2 PM. The black Escalade rolls out of Manhattan. Emma sits in the passenger seat. I’m in the back. On my lap, a laptop shows the valuation analysis of the Draghi family’s land. My phone buzzes. A text from Sebastian. 【Sebastian: Draghi’s land is worth thirty-eight max. They’ll
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Don Bowed To Me Chapter 20 Sebastian draped his suit jacket over my shoulders. Then he leaned down to meet my eyes. Sebastian：”Hazel.” I nodded and looked up at him. Sebastian：”Let’s go.” I glanced at Chiara one last time. She sat on the sidewalk, hollow-eyed, as the soldiers lifted her toward the car. She wasn’t
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Don Bowed To Me Chapter 19 I stopped and looked at her, calm. Chiara jabbed a finger at me. Chiara：”An hour ago I was still a Barone.” Chiara：”Now I have nowhere to go.” Chiara：”Do you have any idea what being cast out of the Barone family means?” Chiara：”My mother locked the Philadelphia house tonight. My
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Don Bowed To Me Chapter 18 After Rocco and Chiara left, Don Salvatore sat in the empty chair. A waiter set down a glass of Vin Santo. The Don took a small sip and looked at me. Don Salvatore：”Dr. Vitale.” Hazel：”Yes?” Don Salvatore：”What happened tonight. The Marchetti family failed tonight.” I shook my head. Hazel：”This
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Don Bowed To Me Chapter 17 Don Salvatore wore a dark overcoat. His face was grim. Beside him, Rocco Barone. Mid-fifties. Hair already gray. Same expression. The moment Chiara saw her father, something shifted behind her eyes. She finally understood. Her face went white as paper. Her knees gave out. Her knees gave out, and
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Don Bowed To Me Chapter 16 She laughed. Leaned over the table, bracing herself against the edge. Looked down at me with open contempt. “Vitale? The Providence Vitales?” “Isabella’s family?” She looked me over. I was wearing a charcoal Alaïa dress. No watch. My hair was simply pulled back. “Isabella’s sister.” Her voice took on
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Don Bowed To Me Chapter 15 Four months after the Marchetti Defense subsidiary went live. Sebastian moved from Newport to New York for work. His new place was a twelve-minute walk from my apartment. Before long, we were commuting to work together. Eating together. Talking shop over dinner. Somewhere along the way, we stopped being
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