"Less kind?" Elena repeats. "Explain."
"Well, how should I put it?" the servant says hesitantly. "People have always... well—"
"Your reputation was never sparkling to start with," another servant interrupts. "I mean no offense, but you're a Vitale—everyone expected you to be loyal to the Morellos. Instead, you allied yourself with us, the Ferraro family."
That one servant's bold words pushed the rest of the assembled cooks and servers to speak more freely.
"Yes, and then there's the matter of you being a doctor—at the Ferraro's hospital no less! That place hadn't ever had a female doctor before."
"You're very clever, Elena, but that makes mafia men wary. They're used to mafia women hiding their talents more—if they even have any to begin with."
"And let's not forget the whole scanda
