I froze. "Honey, I already bought this book last month."

He looked taken aback but quickly masked it with a smile. "It doesn't matter. Think of it as a spare. A good book deserves a backup."

This wasn't him. Not at all.

I remained silent as we strolled out of the restaurant.

When I reached out to take his arm, he flinched—almost imperceptibly—but I felt it.

I glanced up at him. He paused for two seconds, then wrapped an arm around my waist as if nothing had happened.

He laughed, a little too loudly. "You've been gone for six months. I'm just not used to having you on my arm."

I didn't say a word.

All I could think about was that comment from the encrypted group chat—

[Initiate physical contact. If he flinches even a little, there's a 99% chance he's cheating.]

We walked hand-in-hand toward the parking lot. Ahead, a young woman was loitering between two cars, her eyes glued to her phone.

When she saw me, she froze for a moment—then a slow, deliberate smile spread across her face. "Hi, Aurelia."

I stopped in my tracks.

Scarlett Ricci. A low-level Soldato in the family.

She gave Derrick a quick nod. "Derrick."

Derrick smiled back. "Scarlett. What a coincidence."

But this wasn't a coincidence. Something was deeply wrong.

Yes, we all worked for the Sterling family, but at different levels. He was a Capo. Scarlett was just a Soldato. There was no reason for her to know him—let alone greet him by his first name.

They started chatting like old friends. Scarlett kept tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, a nervous, repetitive gesture.

That's when I saw it. On her wrist—a Cartier bracelet.

The exact same design as the one I had lost.

But then my eyes focused. A tiny rose-and-thorn engraving on the gold surface.

It wasn't a replica.

It was my bracelet.

I didn't say a word. But in that instant, I understood everything.

Derrick had taken my bracelet, given it to her, and then tried to placate me with an irrelevant art book, thinking I wouldn't notice. And Scarlett? She was wearing it on purpose. To provoke me.

I smiled and linked my arm through Derrick's. "We should get going."

In the car, he leaned in close, whispering sweet nothings in my ear as if nothing had happened.

I didn't bother to respond.

When the car pulled up to our building, I glanced at my phone. "There's a family emergency. I have to go to the safe house. You go on up."

He didn't question it. I waited until he was inside the building—then drove directly to another one of our strongholds.

I knew my car had a tracker on it. Derrick was nothing if not cautious. The moment he sensed my suspicion, he would monitor my every move.

If I had parked the car at home, he would have assumed I was none the wiser.

So yes—I was making a bet.

I had seen the look in Scarlett's eyes. She wasn't the type to wait quietly. I was betting she wouldn't be able to resist flaunting her prize tonight. She was too arrogant not to.

Just after midnight, I had one of my father's most loyal men send a message to Derrick.

[Get Derrick on the line. Talk business, keep him occupied.]

Ten minutes later, I called Scarlett from a burner phone.

"Aurelia? What is it?"

She sounded surprised.

From the other end of the line, I heard background noise—the low hum of our home sound system… and a man's voice.

I knew that voice.

Derrick.

That was enough.

It was just as the women in the chat had said—once the seed of doubt is planted, everything that follows is just confirmation.

I hung up and had my people start digging. Fast.

First stop: his secret accounts. Then the crypto wallets.

I combed through months of transactions, line by line.

Nothing suspicious.

No large transfers. No strange accounts.

Credit? Same story. Just weapons, gas, and daily expenses.

No debt.

It made no sense.

Cheating on me, but not moving a single dollar?

Derrick valued money more than his own life. He had argued with me for ages over my assets.

Sure, he was handsome and had a following. But he chose me for my status, not for love.

To leave everything untouched?

It wasn't his style.

I kept digging. Finally, I found it.

A file I had stored on an encrypted server—it had been accessed.

That file contained everything: years of my life's work, my core algorithms, a revolutionary digital currency laundering scheme I had designed for the family.

If this scheme succeeded, it wouldn't just solidify my position.

It would upend the entire underground financial world.

Derrick knew exactly how much that scheme was worth.

Now the timestamp was different.

Someone had opened it—and copied its entire contents.

I stared blankly at the screen. I understood their plan.

In two months, there was a briefing for Don Alistair—all the core members of the family would be there.

Derrick planned to give my scheme to Scarlett.

Let her shine in front of all the Capos and the top brass.

And once she did?

They would kick me out of the picture completely.

Perfect.

Far more vicious than simply transferring assets.

The next day at a meeting, I saw Derrick in the hall outside the conference room.

He was wearing a different shirt under his suit. A clever little trick—proof that he'd been home, as if I were just imagining things.

I smiled, wrapped my arms around his waist, and tilted my chin up to kiss him.

He leaned back. "People are watching."

I moved closer anyway—and then I smelled it.

It was cheap gardenia perfume—sickeningly sweet. I’d smelled it on Scarlett before. She claimed it was her favorite and always bathed in it.

Just like that, I knew.

It wasn't just any smoke. It was her smoke. It was her cheap cigars that had killed my orchid.