"Take off your clothes. Spread your legs."

"...What? Why?"

The voice cut through the silence, and my heart seized. I instinctively covered my stomach.

It was the first anniversary of my marriage to Alessandro, the Don of the Santoro family.

I was pregnant and had wanted to surprise him.

But his secretary, Liliana, had blindfolded me and brought me to this unfamiliar place.

"Donna, stop playing the victim. Seducing men is your specialty, isn't it?"

"Tonight, in this underground auction house, you are the final item on the block."

A chill shot down my spine, and my voice trembled.

"Are you insane? I'm the Donna of the Santoro family! I'm carrying his heir! Alessandro will kill you..."

Liliana scoffed and ripped off my blindfold.

Blinding lights bore down on me. I squinted, and gradually, a man sitting in the VIP section came into view...

It was Alessandro!

I stared in disbelief as he slowly extinguished the cigar in his hand.

"Pregnant? Whose bastard are you carrying?"

"It's yours!" I cried out.

"Liar!"

He raised his hand, and a report was tossed at my feet.

The bold letters "PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY: 0%" burned my eyes.

He came closer and gripped my chin.

"Liliana was right. Women like you are rotten to the core."

"My love was never enough to satisfy your greed."

"And I, Alessandro, will never raise another man's bastard."

Later, he finally learned the child was his.

For the first time, the man who was always so composed, arrogant, and in control knelt before me, his voice trembling.

"Celeste, I'm begging you... even if you can't forgive me, please, let me make it up to you."

But I felt nothing for him anymore.

"Take off your clothes. Spread your legs."

"...What? Why?"

The voice cut through the silence, and my heart seized. I instinctively covered my stomach.

It was the first anniversary of my marriage to Alessandro, the Don of the Santoro family.

I was pregnant and had wanted to surprise him.

But his secretary, Liliana, had blindfolded me and brought me to this unfamiliar place.

"Donna, stop playing the victim. Seducing men is your specialty, isn't it?"

"Tonight, in this underground auction house, you are the final item on the block."

A chill shot down my spine, and my voice trembled.

"Are you insane? I'm the Donna of the Santoro family! I'm carrying his heir! Alessandro will kill you..."

Liliana scoffed and ripped off my blindfold.

Blinding lights bore down on me. I squinted, and gradually, a man sitting in the VIP section came into view...

It was Alessandro!

I stared in disbelief as he slowly extinguished the cigar in his hand.

"Pregnant? Whose bastard are you carrying?"

"It's yours!" I cried out.

"Liar!"

He raised his hand, and a report was tossed at my feet.

The bold letters "PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY: 0%" burned my eyes.

He came closer and gripped my chin.

"Liliana was right. Women like you are rotten to the core."

"My love was never enough to satisfy your greed."

"And I, Alessandro, will never raise another man's bastard."

Later, he finally learned the child was his.

For the first time, the man who was always so composed, arrogant, and in control knelt before me, his voice trembling.

"Celeste, I'm begging you... even if you can't forgive me, please, let me make it up to you."

But I felt nothing for him anymore.

...

With a Soldato on each arm, I was dragged into the private underground auction house like an animal to the slaughter.

I was wearing only a silk nightgown, a flimsy thing that did nothing to hide my four-month pregnant belly.

The air was bone-chilling, making me shudder uncontrollably.

As soon as I entered the hall, all eyes snapped from the auction block to me, hungry and predatory.

"Look at our Donna. I wonder whose mutt she's carrying in that belly."

"Wearing lingerie with a belly like that. Looks like she's been around."

"Spread her legs. I want to see if she's as tight as they say."

The lewd jeers, mixed with the acrid smell of cigar smoke, made me want to vomit.

I tried to cover myself with the pitifully small scrap of fabric, but my hands were roughly forced behind my back and cuffed to the gilded railing of the circular display platform.

Tears blurred my vision, but I finally found the familiar figure.

My husband, the king of New York's underworld, Alessandro Santoro, sat in the seat of honor. He wore a perfectly tailored Italian suit, his long legs crossed elegantly.

He toyed with an auction paddle, a cigar glowing and fading between his fingers.

The handsome face that had once filled my dreams was now a mask of ice.

"Alessandro..." I called out his name with all my might.

"Look at me! I didn't betray you! This is your flesh and blood, the bloodline of the Santoro family!"

He slowly lowered his cigar and let out a short, cold laugh.

"Mine?"

He rose, his leather shoes clicking on the marble floor. "Celeste, do you really think I'd believe your lies again?"

"Celeste, I've been so busy with family affairs these past six months, I can count the times I've touched you on one hand."

"The last time was four months ago."

He walked up to me, his cold fingers suddenly clamping down on my jaw, forcing my head up.

"It's only been four months, but you look like you're about to give birth. And you're telling me it's mine?"

"I don't know, but I swear on my life, I absolutely never betrayed you!" I tried desperately to explain, hot tears splashing onto the back of his hand.

"Enough!"

Alessandro flung me away, snatched a stack of documents and photos from a nearby table, and slammed them into my face.

"You act so pure in my bed, but behind my back, you're doing things this filthy!"

The sharp edge of a photo cut my cheek, stinging fiercely.

The photos scattered across the floor, each one more shocking than the last.

It was "me."

In dimly lit hotel rooms, at secret yacht parties, with different men.

The woman in all those photos had my face.

In one of them, "I" was straddling the lap of Salvatore Falcone, Alessandro's mortal enemy. The pose was shameless, the scene obscene.

"The DNA report is here, too."

"Proving the bastard in your belly isn't mine."

The paper fell at my feet, the data on it clearly showing zero probability of paternity.

I stared at the flawlessly forged evidence, oblivious to the cut on my face, now bleeding from the paper's sharp edge.

"No, it's impossible! This has to be fake..."

"That's not me! Alessandro, you have to believe me!"

I pleaded desperately, tears blurring my vision.

"Don," Liliana said, stepping from the shadows. "She isn't worth your anger. The auction must continue. Everyone is waiting."

Alessandro gave a detached nod, turned, and sat back down in his seat, not sparing me another glance.

"You're right. Since she loves being screwed by men so much, I'll grant her wish."

The auction resumed, and the atmosphere in the room erupted once more.

Only this time, the lot was me.

"The opening bid is five hundred thousand. Minimum raise of one hundred thousand. Let's begin."

The moment the auctioneer finished speaking, the entire room went wild.

"Five hundred thousand!"

"Seven hundred thousand!"

"One million!"

...

The men in this auction room were all thrill-seekers.

A bald Capo with a fleshy face was the first to raise his paddle.

He threw down his catalog, his greedy eyes raking over my body. "Don, forget the antiques. I'll give you three million for one night with your wife. How about it?"

"Three million to screw a pregnant woman. Now that's fucking interesting."

"I'd like a taste of the Don's woman, too."

The catcalls rose from all around, threatening to drown me.

I looked at Alessandro in despair, my body trembling uncontrollably.

I clung to a final shred of hope that he would step in to protect me, just as he always had.

But the bald man was rubbing his hands together, a lecherous grin on his face as he stalked toward me.

Alessandro just let out a soft chuckle, not moving a muscle.

Just as I was about to close my eyes and resign myself to my fate, I heard a familiar voice.

"Three million?" Alessandro said, slowly turning the paddle in his hand. "Then I'll bid five million."

The bald Capo froze, stopping in his tracks.

My heart began to pound.

I knew it. He did love me, after all. He couldn't bear to throw me to these animals.

"Alessandro..." I choked out his name.

He flicked the ash from his cigar. "Five million. I'm buying her."

He slowly rose to his feet. His tall figure approached me, each step landing like a blow to my heart.

He stopped below the platform and looked up at me, his eyes devoid of any warmth.

"This is a special gift I've prepared for tonight, for all of you to enjoy."

Instantly, a chorus of whistles and cheers erupted, loud enough to shake the foundations.

I felt as if I'd been crushed by a heavy weight, my body trembling too much to stay upright.

For a split second, I even hoped I had misheard him.

"No, Alessandro, don't!"

Several men who could no longer hold back rushed forward like wild animals.

Greasy hands pawed at my skin, the disgusting touch making my skin crawl.

Someone grabbed my hair, while another roughly tore at the last piece of cloth covering me.

"Get off! Don't touch me!"

I screamed, kicking wildly, my nails digging bloody scratches into their disgusting skin.

But it was useless.

I looked toward Alessandro, searching for even a final shred of pity.

But he just stood there coldly, accepting a glass of red wine from Liliana and swirling it gently, as if he were watching a spectacular circus performance.

In his eyes, I was no longer his wife. I was just a whore who had betrayed the family, a toy to be broken at his whim.

Why would he care?

I closed my eyes as tears streamed down my face, hot and unstoppable.

When my heart died completely, I stopped struggling.

I let a rough hand close around my neck, while another tried to pry my legs apart.

Let them do what they will. If living is hell, then let me die.

I closed my eyes, and with the last of my strength, I slammed my head violently against the gilded iron railing.

I would rather die than be dishonored.

The moment consciousness returned, a splitting pain radiated from my forehead, making the world spin.

In the Santoro family's secret underground clinic, the air was thick with the metallic smell of blood and cold antiseptic.

"She's not awake yet?"

"Is the child still alive?"

There was no emotion in his tone. But even without opening my eyes, I knew who it was.

Everything about Alessandro was deeply familiar to me, no matter how long we had been apart.

I kept my eyes closed, forcing my eyelids not to tremble.

Then came the click of high heels on the floor. Liliana answered respectfully, "Her vital signs have stabilized, Don. The baby is strong. It survived."

My hand instinctively went to my stomach.

My baby was okay, still kicking me gently.

Thank God, we were both still alive.

"Then don't let her take up space here," Alessandro ordered coldly.

"When she wakes up, send her to the place that will teach her some manners. Since she likes being a shameless whore, let her go where she belongs and reflect on what she's done."

The footsteps faded away.

I couldn't stop the tears from sliding down the corners of my eyes, soaking into the pillow.

He had saved me only to make me suffer, to send me to that "place that will teach her some manners."

Alessandro, is your heart made of stone?

"Still playing possum, my dear Donna?"

Liliana's voice drew near, laced with a venomous laugh.

Suddenly, a cold hand clamped around my throat, squeezing tight enough to cut off my air.

I clenched my jaw, my body rigid, but didn't move an inch.

I would not trust Liliana again.

I had been a fool.

I gave Liliana those photos because I believed her when she claimed to be helping Alessandro gather intelligence. Because of my trust, those fabricated images now existed.

I had to keep pretending to be unconscious. If she knew I was awake, I would be truly finished.

"Her pain tolerance has certainly improved," Liliana snorted, releasing her grip.

"The nurse said pregnant women recover more slowly. It seems she really is still out."

Just then, a shrill ringtone broke the silence.

Liliana answered the phone, her voice low. "It's me... Has that shipment reached the docks yet? Damn it, we have to steer clear of the cops..."

Her voice faded as she walked away, the sound of her heels receding, followed by the soft click of the door lock.

This was it. My chance!

I shot upright, ignoring the pain that wracked my body, and rushed for the door.

The hallway was silent. Liliana stood with her back to me at a distant window, shouting into the phone.

Holding my breath, I crept along the wall, my bare feet silent on the cold floor.

The floor was freezing, and I couldn't stop shaking. But I had to escape for my baby.

Alessandro didn't want us, but I would protect my child.

It was the only reason I had to live.

Just a few meters ahead, I slipped silently into the emergency stairwell.

The stairwell was dark and damp, lit only by the eerie green glow of the exit sign.

"Dammit! The room is empty!"

Liliana's sharp roar came from upstairs, followed by a clatter of footsteps and the crackle of a walkie-talkie. "Seal the exits! She can't have gotten far! Find her!"

Fear seized my throat like an invisible hand.

I trembled so violently I almost missed a step.

The rough, sharp edges of the concrete stairs tore at the soles of my feet, but I felt no pain, only the thunderous pounding of my heart in my chest.

The metallic tang of blood from my shredded feet filled the air.

But all I could think was: faster, faster.

I scrambled down the stairs, oblivious to my fingers getting scraped raw on the rusty handrail.

I burst through the rusted iron door on the ground floor and into a cold, late autumn alley.

This was the city's underbelly, piled high with trash and refuse.

"Over there! I see her!" a Soldato shouted from behind me.

I ran blindly into the alley.

The ground was littered with broken beer bottles and sharp stones.

I ran barefoot over the sharp debris and through foul puddles, the soles of my feet already a bloody mess.

But I couldn't stop. Stopping meant I was finished.

"Get her! Don't let her escape!" Liliana's furious command echoed behind me.

"Stop! One more step and we shoot!"

The footsteps of my pursuers grew closer, a steady drumbeat of death.

Clutching my stomach, I gasped for air, my lungs burning, as despair threatened to swallow me whole.

I gritted my teeth and pushed forward, only to trip on a loose stone.

Just as I was about to fall, a strong arm shot out from the shadows beside me, yanking me back.

A car door slammed shut, and the engine roared to life.

I was shoved onto a soft leather seat.

"Mmph—" My terrified scream was muffled by a warm palm.

I struggled desperately to break free, but the moment the hand was removed, I found myself staring into a pair of deep brown eyes.

"Salvatore, what are you doing here?!"

I looked in disbelief at the man in the driver's seat.

It was Salvatore Falcone, the new Don of the Falcone family. Alessandro's greatest rival. The man he wanted dead more than anyone.

"Hold on. Alessandro's men are right behind us," Salvatore said, wrenching the steering wheel as the tires shrieked against the pavement.

Before I could even buckle my seatbelt, the rearview mirror filled with a line of black, armored Cadillacs barreling toward us.

Just moments ago, I had been desperate to escape him, and I should have been terrified of him finding me, but my eyes were still drawn to the lead car.

As our vehicles passed each other, I couldn't help but look at the man in the window.

"Alessandro..." I whispered, a sharp pain piercing my heart.

But then I realized how wrong this was. "Stop the car! Let me out!"

My senses returned, and I shouted at Salvatore, "I can't be in your car! He'll never believe me now!"

"Celeste, use your head!" Salvatore floored the gas pedal, the car rocketing forward.

"He treats you like a piece of property he can buy and sell! If someone hadn't tipped me off, you'd be in a hotel room with those animals by now!"

"Someone from his circle told you? Who?" The urge to jump from the car vanished, my shock complete. Someone had betrayed Alessandro.

"His most trusted person. You'd never guess who. Celeste, come with me, or else..."

Before Salvatore could finish, the car jolted violently.

"Dammit!"

I whipped my head around in terror. Alessandro's lead car, like an out-of-control beast, was roaring up behind us.

He didn't care that we were in a busy downtown area. He slammed right into our rear bumper.

"Hold on!" Salvatore yelled.

The next second, the black Cadillac fishtailed, its tires screeching as it swerved to cut off our Lincoln.

CRASH!

The impact threw me against the airbag. The world spun, and a deafening ring filled my ears.

The car door was ripped open.

An icy hand seized my wrist, dragging me out of the Lincoln and onto the rough asphalt.

I looked up into a pair of bloodshot, violent eyes.

Alessandro stood against the light, his suit still impeccably smooth. He held a black Beretta, its muzzle pointed at Salvatore, who was still coughing in the car.

"Alessandro, are you insane? She's carrying your child!" Salvatore wiped a smear of blood from his lip. "Is this how the Santoros do business? Trying to kill your own wife?"

"My child?" Alessandro let out a short, derisive laugh. "I imagine that's just an excuse to protect your own bastard seed, Falcone."

"Don, I found it."

A Soldato pulled a black leather notebook from under Salvatore's car seat and respectfully handed it to Alessandro.

Alessandro took it. As his long fingers slowly flipped through the pages, his face grew terrifyingly dark.

I recognized it. It was the Santoro family's secret ledger, detailing all their smuggling routes and warehouse locations.

Why was it in Salvatore's car?

Before I could even try to explain, the heavy ledger was slammed into my face. The hard corner broke the skin on my forehead, and a warm liquid trickled down.

"Celeste, what do you have to say for yourself now?"

Alessandro crouched down, his powerful hand yanking my hair, forcing my head up.

"I loved you so much, I was so good to you, and you betray me again!"

"You stole the family's lifeblood for this man? Huh?"

"It wasn't me, I didn't!" I cried, shaking my head. Blood and tears mixed in my mouth, the taste bitter. "Alessandro, this is a trap..."

"Alessandro, what is wrong with you? I only saved Celeste because I couldn't stand to watch you..."

"Enough!" he roared, cutting Salvatore off. His fingers tightened. "Liliana, take Falcone to the basement. 'Entertain' him properly."

He stood, taking a handkerchief from Liliana and wiping his fingers with disgust, as if to clean my touch from them.

"As for her," he said, looking down at me, "take her to the lake house. Nail the windows shut. No one lets her out without my order."

"Alessandro! It's not true! Let me explain!"

I cried out in despair, my hands grasping at the air, only managing to catch the hem of his suit jacket before it was ruthlessly pulled away.

The black car door slammed shut, extinguishing all my light.

Late that night, in the top-floor office of the Santoro estate.

The lights were off. The room was thick with the heavy scent of whiskey.

Alessandro slumped on the sofa, his tie loosened, his normally decisive face now etched with pain and intoxication.

"Don, please stop drinking. It's bad for your stomach."

Liliana moved toward him in the moonlight, reaching for his glass, her body brushing intentionally against his chest.

In his drunken haze, Alessandro thought he caught the familiar scent of iris flowers.

"Celeste..." he whispered, instinctively wanting to embrace the warmth.

Liliana didn't hear him clearly. Overjoyed by what she thought was a show of affection, she leaned into his embrace.

But the next second, Alessandro's hand brushed against the warm tattoo on his chest, a blooming iris he had gotten for Celeste, in the spot closest to his heart.

The jolt of pain sobered him instantly.

"Get off!"

He shoved the woman away. The crystal glass in his hand smashed against the wall, sending shards flying.

"I'm a bastard! A goddamn fool!"

"She sent word that she wants to see me… and god help me, every time I hear it, I can't control the urge to go to her."

He gasped for air as the alcohol finally consumed him. He fell back onto the sofa, grabbing Liliana's wrist, his gaze unfocused. "Liliana..."

"I'm here, Don," Liliana said, hiding the pain from his tight grip as she leaned in.

"Arrange the meeting. I'm going to see her," Alessandro's voice was barely a whisper, filled with endless struggle. "Get the best doctor to the lake house. Don't let her die."

Liliana's expression changed, hatred flooding her eyes.

After saying this, Alessandro passed out.

He never expected that family business would consume him for the next few months.

And he would never know that his order to save her, once in Liliana's hands, had become her death warrant.