A DANGEROUS VOW

EPISODE 17 — HER FIRST DAY

Bianca barely slept that night.

Not because of the job.

Because of the car.

Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered Lorenzo's expression when he realized they were being followed.

He had tried to hide it.

But she had seen it.

Fear.

Lorenzo Romano was afraid of losing control.

And perhaps, more importantly, he was afraid of losing her.

Bianca shook the thought away.

She refused to read too much into it.

Their marriage was a contract.

Nothing more.

At least for now.

---

The following morning, Bianca entered the dining room wearing a simple cream blouse and black trousers.

Lorenzo was already there.

He looked up.

"You're ready."

"Yes."

"Your driver is waiting."

"I know."

"Two guards will stay nearby."

"I know."

"Your phone—"

"Lorenzo."

He stopped.

Bianca smiled.

"If you're going to give me instructions every morning, I might need to start charging you."

Alessandro laughed.

Lorenzo looked at him.

"Don't encourage her."

"I like her."

Bianca smiled.

"Thank you."

Alessandro pointed at Lorenzo.

"She's good for you."

Lorenzo sighed.

"Grandfather."

"Eat your breakfast."

Bianca tried not to laugh.

---

HER FIRST DAY

The office welcomed Bianca warmly.

Chloe, the woman who had escorted her upstairs during the interview, greeted her at reception.

"Welcome!"

"Thank you."

"You'll be working with the operations team."

Bianca smiled.

"Perfect."

Chloe showed her around.

The atmosphere felt completely different from the Romano mansion.

Nobody bowed.

Nobody called her Donna.

Nobody cared who her husband was.

Here, she was simply Bianca.

And she loved it.

Her supervisor, Adrian Cole, introduced her to the team.

"Everyone, this is Bianca Moretti. She'll be joining us as a junior business analyst."

A few people welcomed her.

One young man smiled.

"Welcome aboard."

"Thank you."

His name was Daniel.

He was friendly, confident and clearly comfortable around everyone.

Chloe leaned toward Bianca.

"That's Daniel."

Bianca smiled.

"He's friendly."

"Too friendly sometimes."

They laughed.

Bianca immediately settled into work.

Within hours, she was analyzing reports and suggesting changes to one of the company's projects.

Adrian looked impressed.

"You really graduated with distinction."

Bianca smiled.

"I told you."

"I thought you were exaggerating."

She laughed.

For the first time in months, Bianca forgot about the mansion.

The contract.

The mafia.

The enemies.

She was simply working.

---

LORENZO

Across the city, Lorenzo sat in his office.

His security chief entered.

"Don."

"Report."

"The vehicle from yesterday belongs to a company called Bellmont Logistics."

Lorenzo looked up.

"Ferraro?"

"Indirectly."

"What does that mean?"

"The company isn't registered to him. But one of its directors has met with De Luca several times."

Lorenzo's expression hardened.

"So Ferraro is behind it."

"We believe so."

Lorenzo stood.

"Keep watching them."

"Should we make a move?"

"No."

The security chief looked surprised.

"Don?"

"Ferraro wants me to react."

He walked toward the window.

"I won't give him that satisfaction."

---

THE OFFICE

During lunch, Bianca received a message.

Lorenzo:

How is your first day?

She smiled.

Bianca:

Good.

A second message arrived.

Lorenzo:

Anyone causing problems?

She laughed.

Bianca:

No.

Then:

Lorenzo:

Good.

Bianca stared at the screen.

That was it?

She typed:

Bianca:

That's all you're going to say?

His response came quickly.

Lorenzo:

What else should I say?

She smiled.

Bianca:

Maybe congratulations.

Three dots appeared.

Then:

Lorenzo:

Congratulations, Bianca.

She smiled at the message longer than she intended.

---

FERRARO

Ferraro sat across from De Luca.

"You followed her yesterday."

"Yes."

"And?"

"Lorenzo noticed."

Ferraro nodded.

"Good."

De Luca looked confused.

"Why is that good?"

"Because now Lorenzo knows someone is watching."

"And?"

Ferraro leaned back.

"Fear makes people predictable."

He paused.

"But don't follow her again."

"Why?"

"Because the next move isn't about following Bianca."

Ferraro looked at the file in front of him.

"It's about the company."

---

EVENING

Bianca left the office after five.

Her driver was waiting.

She walked toward the car when someone called her name.

"Bianca!"

She turned.

Daniel approached.

"You left your notebook."

He held it out.

She smiled.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

He hesitated.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you married?"

Bianca paused.

"Yes."

Daniel nodded.

"I thought so."

"Why?"

"There's a wedding ring."

She laughed.

"Right."

He smiled.

"Well, congratulations."

"Thank you."

She got into the car.

As the vehicle pulled away, Daniel watched it disappear.

He had no idea who Bianca really was.

And Bianca had no idea that someone else had been watching the entire conversation from across the street.

A dark car.

Its windows were tinted.

Inside, Ferraro's man lowered his phone.

"She has a colleague named Daniel."

Ferraro answered.

"Find out everything about him."

The man hesitated.

"Why?"

Ferraro smiled.

"Because if Bianca is going to become Lorenzo's weakness..."

He looked at the photograph on his desk.

"...we need to know everyone standing close enough to her."

The call ended.

And somewhere across the city, Bianca returned to the Romano mansion believing she had finally found one small part of her old life.

She didn't know that Ferraro had just started looking for a way into it.