Too Late, Mr. Morano

For six years Vivian Thornton followed Dante Morano into exile, living in a cheap basement, losing twins to endless shifts, and taking a knife for him. When he rebuilt his power and became boss of Porto Nero's waterfront, she asked only that he come to her family and ask for her hand. He promised, then kept her waiting through eighty-nine unanswered messages.

Outside a private hospital, she finds Dante with her foster sister Sienna, whose belly is slightly swollen, flanked by her parents and her best friend Camille. Her family tells her not to make a scene; Sienna wears the Cuore Rosso ruby Dante won at auction. Dante has her locked in the villa, and Sienna moves in.

As her family urges her to leave so Sienna can rest, Vivian burns their photographs and calls a man who once proposed to her. He promises to come for her in three days.