Episode 3

Ginevra's life only gets worse with the passing years; that little doll remains her only company. Her nanny passes away when she turns fourteen, and her life becomes increasingly sad, although not everything is bad: she has the support of the driver, with whom she can at least talk.

Today was an important day at the Marconetti mansion, as her younger sister, her father's apple of his eye, Elena, was turning sixteen. No one ever remembers Ginevra's birthdays; her nanny, before dying, always secretly brought her a cake. Now only the driver remembers, giving her a bracelet on each birthday. At first, he made them himself, then he started buying them, and she has several: gold, silver... he always tries to make them different from each other.

That man has taught her a lot; he tells her about how women behave in the mafia, although she doesn't like that part, because he tells her that women are simply a deal to close or unite families and have babies, or "heirs," as they usually call them. She doesn't want that for her life: she wants to be the leader of the mafia, because by law it would be her turn as the eldest. Although she is not very sure of receiving it, because her father detests her and she cannot imagine that he would be able to give his precious mafia to her.

The young Ginevra turns around in her beautiful black dress: it is sober, short-sleeved, and with a round neckline. She doesn't need to dress in an exaggerated way to stand out; by itself, her jet-black hair and unique-colored eyes make all eyes fall on her. Her sister is very different: although her skin is as fair as hers, her hair is not; her hair is blonde like wheat, and her eyes are an intense green. She looks nothing like her, luckily. She is a little thinner, although she is almost the same height as Ginevra. She usually wears short dresses with large necklines, and her makeup should always stand out. Every time the two are in the same place, Elena tries to overshadow her older sister so that she does not shine, and as Ginevra is used to rejection, she does not give it importance.

The young woman goes out to the living room and scans with her eyes, looking for the only person she is interested in in that place: his name is Matteo Caruso. He is her father's right hand; despite being only twenty-six years old, he is calculating and one of the best shooters her father has. Or at least, she sees him as the most perfect being that has ever walked the earth.

Upon meeting those beautiful sea-green eyes, her heart accelerates, her hands begin to sweat, and she looks down so that no one notices her blush, which, as she is so fair, is easy to recognize.

The man looks at her for a moment, gets lost in her eyes, and then looks away. She shakes her head subtly so that no one notices. He would never notice me. What could he see in a person like me? she thinks.

Matteo walks away from that place until he hears his sister's shrill voice, who throws herself into his arms when she sees him. He kisses her on the forehead and puts her back on the ground. Ginevra must get out of there quickly because it is so uncomfortable for her.

She knows that Elena likes Matteo, but she will not give up: when she is old enough for that, she will try to conquer him, because she is determined that he will be the only thing that her sister will not take away from her in life.

Matteo suddenly approaches her when it is eleven o'clock at night. She begins to tremble, she feels the color drain from her face, and she doesn't know where to look.

"How are you, little one?" he says to her. "Could you give me a dance tonight?"

The young woman's mouth opens slightly, and her chest accelerates. She tries to pronounce a word, but what comes out is a distorted murmur. She smiles nervously and then breathes to be able to respond.

"Me?" she scolds herself mentally when she sounds so pathetic. "Obviously me... right... it's me you're talking to... well... yes."

He offers her his hand, and they begin to dance. This is something that two pairs of eyes cannot conceive: Eleonora has her eyes narrowed towards the dance floor, and little Elena squeezes her mother's arm, digging her nails in.

"Mom, look at that stupid girl who she's dancing with," says Elena.

Her mother smiles and pats her hand.

"Dissemble and don't make a scene. Don't worry: we'll get even with her during the week."

The little blonde smiles maliciously and, unable to bear it any longer, breaks one of the straps holding up her dress. She passes near the couple on the dance floor, trips over a waiter on purpose, and screams when a little of her chest is exposed.

"What did you do, stupid?!" she shouts, and starts to cry.

Of course, Matteo goes after her. Ginevra has no choice but to get away from there. She knew that was going to happen; in fact, it had taken too long.

When everything is over, her younger sister, along with her mother, approach her to warn her to stay away from Matteo because she is "not old enough for those things." The poor girl says nothing; simply, as always, she goes to her room to cry. She talks to her doll, asking her when the time will come when those women will pay for what they do to her.