The Godfather's Caged Bird

About this drama

At eighteen, gifted student Elena Bennett is forced to accept the protection of Damian Moretti, heir to a powerful New York crime family, after her mother falls into massive underground debt. Damian clears the debt—but in return, Elena spends the next ten years trapped in the Moretti estate: every luxury, no freedom, a little bird in a gilded cage. At twenty-eight, Damian agrees to marry Victoria Rossi for a political alliance. While everyone expects Elena to demand money or status, she asks only for the chance to study at Cambridge. Convinced she isn't capable, Damian sends her to an ordinary college with a similar name to humiliate her. Soon after, Victoria frames Elena for theft, and Damian sides with the alliance—the betrayal that ends Elena's last attachment to him. Still under restriction, Elena secretly prepares for her exams and reconnects with Aiden Walker, a former classmate who always ranked just behind her and who, unlike Damian, believes in her ability and offers to support her. Elena earns three A grades. Pretending to submit completely, she persuades Damian to take her to Europe and escapes during a stopover in Istanbul with a decoy and a private plane. Hunting her w