The situation grew more complicated when Elena discovered her own mother wasn't entirely innocent in the arrangement either.
Vittoria had known, it turned out, at least in broad strokes, that the Cole family's finances were less stable than they appeared — and had pushed for the marriage anyway, gambling that the alliance would protect the Marchetti company regardless of the specifics, rather than risk her husband's company collapsing on its own timeline.
"You knew," Elena said, when she finally confronted her mother, the accusation landing heavier than she'd intended, the words spilling out before she'd fully composed the calm approach she'd rehearsed on the drive over. "You knew there might be something wrong, and you let me marry into it anyway."
"I knew there were risks," Vittoria s
