My best friend Chloe and I married into the mob. We married two brothers.

I married the monster, Don Adriano. She married his wild younger brother, Lorenzo.

It was an arranged marriage. I expected nothing. His heart belonged to his childhood sweetheart, Isabella.

Then my father died. My autistic brother, Leo, became my world. I signed over my family’s entire shipping empire to Adriano.

He held me that night. Kissed the tears from my eyes. He swore he’d protect us forever.

I believed him.

That was my mistake.

Three days ago, a rival family hit us. They left Leo bleeding out in my arms.

I got him to our private hospital. It was empty. Not a single doctor on duty.

I called Adriano, screaming for help. He had sent every last doctor to Isabella’s villa.

"A storm's coming. Isabella is terrified of thunder. The stress could trigger her heart condition. I can't risk it. Your brother has a scratch. Patch him up. I’ll deal with it tomorrow."

He hung up.

While Isabella slept safely in his arms, I lost my brother.

I cried all night, holding Leo's cold body. When I woke up, I told Chloe I wanted a divorce.

She held me, sobbing. She said she was leaving Lorenzo, too.

The Moretti brothers didn't know a thing until they were both served divorce papers. Then they went insane.

My brother died in my arms. My hands shook as I texted my husband, Don Adriano.

"Adriano, I want a divorce."

Three seconds later, he called.

"Carina, that's enough," Adriano's voice was ice. "Stop this nonsense."

"I'm not."

"Leo gets a scratch, and you file for divorce? When the hell did you become so pathetic?"

I closed my eyes. Tears streamed down my face.

I could still feel Leo's cold body in my arms.

"He's dead, Adriano."

"Bullshit. If Isabella's heart condition flares up, she could die. Leo has a scratch. I'm warning you, stop using these pathetic little tricks to get my attention. I'm busy."

The phone went dead.

I saw Leo’s bloody face in my mind. I saw yesterday. My birthday.

Adriano promised us a celebration. Me and Leo. My favorite French restaurant.

Leo and I waited for him all night.

He wore the new suit I bought him, sitting quietly in the corner of the restaurant.

He didn't talk much, but the hope in his eyes said it all.

When the waiter asked for the third time if we wanted to order, Leo tugged on my sleeve.

"Sister, he’s not coming."

Leo barely spoke. When he did, each word was a knife to the heart.

I didn't take Leo home until the restaurant closed.

Just as we stepped outside, a car sped right for us. Bullets from a rival family rained down.

Leo pushed me out of the way. The bullets hit his chest.

I screamed, hauling him to the Moretti family's private hospital. The guards at the door stopped me.

"Mrs. Moretti, I'm sorry. The Don's orders. The entire medical team is on standby at the villa tonight. No one gets through. Miss Isabella can't be disturbed."

I knelt. I begged. I told them I was their Don's wife. But no one dared to defy Adriano's order.

My phone screen was red with blood. My hands shook as I dialed Adriano's number.

First call, no answer.

Second call, still no answer.

The tenth, the twentieth...

On the twenty-eighth try, Adriano finally picked up.

"Carina! Are you crazy? Calling all night!"

"Leo's been shot. There are no doctors at the hospital. He's dying—"

"What doctors?" Adriano cut me off, impatient. "There's a thunderstorm warning. Isabella is afraid of thunder; it could trigger her heart condition. I moved all the doctors to the villa. I can't risk anything happening to her."

"What about Leo? He's bleeding—"

"It's a flesh wound. Stop making a scene." His voice was devoid of all humanity. "Put pressure on it. I'll send a doctor tomorrow."

"Please," I begged, my dignity shattered on the floor.

"Enough! Stop being ridiculous!"

He hung up.

Leo's breathing grew faint. His lips turned blue. "Sister, I'm so cold..."

I wrapped my coat around him, but it did nothing to stop the life draining out of him with his blood. "Leo, hang on. The doctors will be here soon."

I lied. The doctors were never coming.

Leo died at 3:17 AM.

He died in my arms. On a night Isabella slept peacefully.

I don't know when I passed out.

When I woke up, Chloe was sitting by my bed, smoking. Her mascara was smeared. A fresh bruise bloomed on her cheekbone.

"Carina, I'm so sorry."

"He's really gone, Chloe," I said to the ceiling, my voice hollow.

Chloe crushed out her cigarette, her eyes holding the same resolve as mine. "Then let's go, Carina. It's time for us to wake up, too."

"Last night, Lorenzo ditched my security detail. A 'gift' for some model he was screwing. A rival crew found me in an alley. They almost... while he was popping champagne on a yacht."

Chloe let out a cold, shaky laugh. "I'm divorcing him. And I'm sending those bastards to hell."

"Yes, let's leave," I stared at the ceiling. "I want a divorce."

Five years ago, my father called me into his study. He told me that for Leo's future, for our family's survival, I had to marry Adriano Moretti.

"Love is a luxury, Carina," my father had said. "Security is a necessity."

I became Adriano's wife. A stranger he treated with politeness, but no warmth.

On our wedding night, he told me he loved a girl named Isabella. He never touched me.

I thought I could live with a marriage like that. Until my father died.

That night, I was sobbing my heart out. Adriano walked into my room and awkwardly held me.

"Carina, I will protect you and Leo. I swear it."

He kissed the tears from my face, so gently, so sincerely.

"Do you trust me?"

I nodded.

The next day, I signed over all my family's shipping lines to the Moretti family.

We started living like a real husband and wife.

Adriano would buy me flowers, watch movies with me, and stay up all night to care for me when I was sick.

For a while, I thought I was the happiest woman in the world.

Until a year ago, when Isabella returned.

Every time it rained, Adriano would drop everything and run to her side.

He would publicly gift her the most expensive jewels at auctions. He would drop everything to fly her to the southern hemisphere for a vacation, just because she asked.

He once promised to take care of me.

Then he started calling my brother "the retard," or just "your burden."

And when my brother was dying, he had to be with his precious Isabella.

A second later, my phone rang again.

"Carina, I don't want to hear the word 'divorce' again," Adriano's voice was a threat. "Leo gets a scratch and you're talking divorce? I didn't realize your jealousy had gotten this pathetic."

Chloe snatched the phone from my hand.

"Adriano Moretti, you listen to me, you son of a bitch!" she screamed into the phone. "Leo is dead! His body is in the morgue right now! If you want to fight this divorce, you can tell it to his corpse at the morgue!"

"A body?"

Adriano scoffed on the other end of the line.

"Chloe, I didn't think you'd get sucked into Carina's little drama."

"Drama?" Chloe's voice was sharp as a knife. "You want me to send you a picture of Leo's corpse?"

"Send it. I want to see what kind of pathetic bullshit you two cooked up."

Chloe's hand was shaking. She opened her photo gallery and found the picture.

Leo, lying on a metal table in the morgue, his face ashen, the bullet hole in his chest a shocking wound.

The photo was sent. Not ten seconds later, Adriano called back.

"Nice try," his tone was ice. "But I already had my guy at the city morgue run a check. No John Doe matching Leo’s description. No Leo Rossi. Nothing. You're lying."

I grabbed the phone.

"Carina, are you done with this act?" Adriano's patience was gone. "I'm giving you one last chance. Come home, apologize, and we'll pretend none of this ever happened."

"I want a divorce."

"Not a chance."

He hung up.

I was going home. But not to apologize. I was going to pack.

I dragged Chloe back to the estate.

Five years of marriage, and my things barely filled one suitcase.

Most of it was stuff Adriano bought me. Jewelry, designer bags, expensive gowns.

I didn't want anything that reminded me of him.

"Carina, look at this." Chloe handed me her phone.

A new post from Isabella on Instagram.

She was wearing a champagne-colored evening gown, and around her neck was a brilliant diamond necklace.

The Star of Moretti.

What was supposed to be my wedding gift.

The caption read: "He always shows up when I'm most vulnerable."

In the photo, Isabella was smiling like a princess, the diamonds glittering under the lights.

The comments were exploding.

"OMG Isabella, that necklace is gorgeous!"

"Adriano is so good to you!"

"When's the official announcement? We can't wait!"

My phone dropped onto the carpet.

"That's my necklace," my voice trembled. "When we got engaged, he said it was a family heirloom. That only the matriarch of the Moretti family could wear it."

Chloe stared at the photo, her face turning grim.

"That bitch."

The door was suddenly kicked open.

Lorenzo stormed in, his face a mask of fury.

"Chloe! Are you out of your mind?"

He pointed at the clothes scattered on the floor like an enraged beast.

"You shouldn't be encouraging Carina to do these stupid things!"

Chloe stood up, glaring back at him, refusing to back down.

"Stupid? Fighting for justice for a dead loved one is stupid?"

"Leo's not dead!" Lorenzo roared. "Don't you two have anything better to do than cook up this melodramatic bullshit?"

"We have Leo's death certificate—"

"It's fake!" Lorenzo cut her off. "Adriano had the hospital records sourced. There is no Leo Rossi. He never existed!"

I froze.

"That's impossible, we..."

"You what?" Lorenzo sneered. "You can buy a body with a little money. A good actor can play dead. You can't even get your forgeries right."

Chloe's face flushed red.

"Lorenzo, you really think—"

"What do I think?" He walked towards Chloe, his eyes filled with a humiliating contempt. "I think my wife has more sense than to get tangled in Carina's hysterics."

"I'm not!"

"Then why are you playing along with this divorce crap?" Lorenzo reached for Chloe's face. She slapped his hand away. "Because you're jealous of Isabella? Or because you feel neglected?"

"Because you're two inhuman bastards!"

Lorenzo paused, then burst into a brutish laugh.

"Inhuman? You're a pretty little vase, Chloe. Useful for decoration. But don't forget your father's business only exists because we allow it to. You're not going anywhere."

Tears welled in Chloe's eyes.

"What did you say?"

"I said you're a vase. Expensive, beautiful, but just a toy," Lorenzo said, satisfied by her wounded expression. "You better convince Carina to cool it, or I can't guarantee how long my protection will last."

I stood up and walked right up to Lorenzo.

"Are you threatening us?"

"I'm reminding you of reality."

I raised my hand and slapped him as hard as I could.

The sharp crack echoed in the room.

Lorenzo touched his cheek, a dangerous light in his eyes.

"Carina, you're both going to regret this."

"Get out."

Midnight. Chloe and I were in a safe house. Chloe raised a glass of whiskey.

"To the bastards who are about to get what they deserve."

We clinked glasses. The liquor burned my throat.

"I'm going to destroy them," I said. "Not just a divorce. Total destruction."

"How?"

"I know where every secret account is. Every illegal shipment." My voice was eerily calm. "I know where the bodies are buried, Chloe. The real ones. The kind the FBI has been trying to find for years."

Chloe's eyes lit up.

"Are you sure about this? Once you start, there's no turning back."

"Turning back?" I laughed, a sound colder than tears. "There was no turning back the moment Leo died."

I picked up my phone. My thumbs moved with cold fury.

"Grant the divorce. Nullify the marriage contracts. This is your only warning."

The message showed 'Read.'

Minutes later, a reply came:

"You think a Moretti marriage is something you can just walk away from? Carina, keep this up, and I'll chain you in the cellar and I will teach you what it means to be my wife."

"I'll be getting my divorce. See you at the law firm tomorrow morning," was my cold reply.

The next morning, I sat at one end of a long table, a folder in my hands.

Inside was Leo's death certificate, the autopsy report, and the bill for the funeral.

"Carina, they're twenty minutes late," my lawyer murmured. "We can reschedule."

"We wait."

The moment the door was pushed open, I knew this wouldn't be easy.

Adriano strode in, followed by six bodyguards in black suits.

Clinging to his arm was Isabella, dressed in a pristine white Chanel suit, with my necklace sparkling at her throat.

"Sorry we're late," Adriano said, taking the head seat. "Isabella insisted on coming to 'pray' for you. She said you're not mentally well, cursing your own brother."

Isabella let go of Adriano, her face a mask of fake concern. "Carina, I know you'd do anything to get Adriano to come home, but how could you joke about Leo's life? That's such bad luck."

She touched the necklace, batting her eyes innocently. "Carina, stop this. Apologize to Adriano. We can all move past this."

Her hypocrisy made my stomach turn.

"An act?" I slammed the cremation certificate down on the table in front of him. "Adriano, Leo was burned to ashes! Because you locked down the hospital! Because of your damn order! And now you're telling me this is an act?"

Adriano didn’t even look at the details. He tossed the folder aside.

"Impressive forgeries." He didn't even glance at them.

"What?"

"You think I can't tell?" he scoffed. "You think you can fool me with this garbage? Carina, I overestimated you."

"They're not fake."

"Of course they are. Because Leo isn't dead," Adriano leaned back in his chair. "This whole thing is just a trap you set to get me to come home."

Isabella clutched her chest, pretending to be shocked.

"Oh my god, Carina, you'd wish death on your own brother? That's horrible..."

I stood up and walked toward Adriano.

"What proof do you want? Leo's body? His ashes?"

"If I have to."

I took a step closer, my voice shaking with rage. "You will look at it. You will look at what you did."

Isabella suddenly shot to her feet, pointing a trembling finger at me.

"You're sick! Using your brother’s fake death for attention! You're disgusting!"

"I'm not lying."

"Yes, you are!" Isabella's voice grew shrill. "You liar! You vicious woman!"

One of her bodyguards suddenly stepped forward. "Don't be disrespectful to Miss Isabella."

Before I could react, he shoved me. Hard.

I lost my balance.

I tumbled backward, crashing down the handful of steps by the conference room door.

My back hit the hard floor. Pain shot through me.

But a sharper pain ripped through my stomach, like something tearing apart.

A crimson stain bloomed on my white dress, spreading fast.

"Carina!" Chloe ran up from downstairs, kneeling beside me.

For the first time, I saw panic on Adriano's face.

He shoved the bodyguard aside and strode towards me.

"Are you okay?"

I wanted to answer, but the pain in my stomach stole my voice.

Isabella followed Adriano, her face a mask of concern.

"Oh my god, Carina, are you alright? My bodyguard didn't mean to, he was just trying to protect me..."

"Call an ambulance," Adriano ordered a guard.

"No need," Isabella said, gently pulling Adriano's sleeve. "She just fell. It's probably nothing serious. She scared me just now, and I'm not feeling well..."

His gaze flickered from the blood on my dress to Isabella’s pale face. He made his choice.

"Apologize to her. You scared her."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Blood was pouring out of my body, and he wanted me to apologize to her?

Chloe's face turned terrifying.

She slowly stood up, walked step by step toward Adriano.

And slapped him with all her might.

The sharp crack echoed through the hall.

"Adriano!" Chloe’s voice was a blade. She pointed a trembling finger at the blood pooling on the floor. "She's pregnant, you fucking bastard! That's your heir bleeding out on the floor!"