The next morning, the family's Consigliere handed me a sealed manila envelope.

Inside was a new identity for my trip to Sicily and a clean flight permit.

Without a word to anyone.

As I walked out of the family's administrative building, someone suddenly blocked my path.

He frowned slightly. "Scarlett, did you change the codes to your apartment?"

"I went to find you right after I took Chloe home yesterday, but the system wouldn't let me in..."

I cut him off, my voice cold. "Yes, I did."

He looked a little annoyed, but then, as if nothing had happened, he asked gently, "What's the new code? I want to be able to come see you."

I said calmly, "That won't be necessary. The place will be empty once I'm gone anyway. It's more secure with new codes."

Nico glanced at the folder in my hand, feigning a sudden realization. "Oh, right. We're leaving soon. I've been so busy I almost forgot."

"Don't worry, Scarlett. I'll get the paperwork done tomorrow."

There were too many eyes and ears here. I turned and walked into the small family chapel next door.

Candles flickered beneath a large crucifix.

Nico followed me, his act so natural you'd never guess he was lying.

It occurred to me that I hadn't had a quiet, one-on-one conversation like this with Nico in a long time.

Ever since he brought Chloe back from the club, we'd barely had a moment alone.

I closed my eyes, deciding to give our relationship one last chance.

I looked at the statue of the Holy Mother and said softly, "Since when did we need to reassure each other?"

Nico clearly hadn't expected the question. After a long silence, he began abruptly, "Scarlett, the truth is..."

Before he could finish, a chirpy voice shattered the chapel's solemn silence.

"Oh, I knew I'd find you two here!"

Chloe appeared out of nowhere, hopping over to Nico's side like an innocent little rabbit.

She was holding an unfolded map, which she spread out on the prayer kneeler, pointing excitedly:

"Look, Nico! According to the plan, in two years, our smuggling routes can expand here, and here!"

I glanced down.

It was a map of the territories around that northern outpost.

Marked in red were not only the paltry resources meant for me, but also greedy notes about further expansion.

I couldn't lie to myself any longer. He was using my resources to plan a future with another woman.

A future without me.

I struggled to maintain my composure, but a bitterness spread through me like a shot of cheap liquor burning its way down.

I dug my nails into my palm, forcing myself to stay sharp. "You two seem busy. I'll be going."

Chloe acted as if she'd just noticed me, fumbling to hide the map in a way that only drew more attention to it.

"I'm sorry... Miss Scarlett, I didn't mean to interrupt."

As she spoke, her voice choked up again:

"I just wanted to help ease Nico's burden. I know I'm not worthy, that my background isn't good enough for a sacred place like this..."

I had no intention of playing along with her act. "Get out of my way," I said coldly.

The flicker of guilt in Nico's eyes vanished. He grabbed my wrist, his voice laced with anger.

"Scarlett, what's with that tone?"

"She stayed up all night studying routes to help me, and what do you do? Nothing but cause trouble, lock me out, and throw tantrums."

Without another word, he dragged me in front of Chloe. "You scared her. Apologize to her."

And Nico, this man who fancied himself so clever, was eating up her pathetic performance.

The last untouched corner of my heart silently crumbled into ruins.

I looked at Nico, and I smiled.

My smile seemed to unnerve him. His brow tightened. "What are you smiling at? I told you to apologize..."

Smack!

Without hesitation, I slapped Nico hard across the face.

His head snapped to the side, a red welt already forming on his cheek.

I rubbed my tingling palm, my voice dangerously soft. "Nico Moretti."

"You're the one who should be apologizing."

"But not to her. To me."

After that day, I started clearing out everything Nico had left behind over the years, one by one.

This gold-plated Desert Eagle was his "token of love" to me.

He once held my hand, tracing the engravings on the grip, and whispered passionately, "Scarlett, this was custom-molded for your hand. It's the only one in the world, and it's just for you."

But not long after, I saw an identical gun on Chloe's social media.

The caption read: "Nico says they're a matching set."

And then there were the missing cufflinks.

They were engraved with the ancient Falcone family crest, an honor given to me by my adoptive father on my eighteenth birthday.

Nico claimed he'd lost them.

Now, they were pinned to the cheap suit cuffs of Chloe's gambling-addict father, visible in the corner of a casino surveillance feed.

And the diamond earrings from my confirmation ceremony, the custom perfume...

Every honor I thought was mine alone had been cheaply replicated or tossed aside like trash to impress his low-rent friends.

I thought of how Nico doted on Chloe, indulging her every whim.

A wave of nausea churned in my stomach.

If that was the case, then none of these things were worth keeping.

I threw all those so-called gifts, along with their tainted memories, into a high-temperature furnace.

The molten metal was the final testament to his death in my heart.

At two in the morning, the private jet's engines were already warming up.

The encrypted satellite phone suddenly vibrated.

Half-asleep, I groggily answered it, only to be met with dead silence and the sound of breathing.

Just as I was about to hang up, Nico's voice came through, strained with anxiety.

"Scarlett, I'm sorry."

My mind snapped awake. If he was finally going to confess, I thought maybe I could...

Nico's heavy voice continued, "Chloe was slashed in the arm. She took a knife from a rival family for me."

The flicker of hope in my chest was extinguished, pathetic and absurd.

So he was escalating his little act?

"And?" I asked.

Nico's voice went on. "Apologize."

I thought I'd misheard. "What did you say?"

His voice was crystal clear. "Scarlett Falcone, you really should apologize to Chloe."

"Are you telling me her getting hurt had nothing to do with you?"

I was suddenly speechless.

Because I realized that in moments like these, every word I said would be wrong.

Between Chloe and me, he had never chosen me. I was always the one to be sacrificed.

Nico spoke again, his voice cold and sharp. "Scarlett, you are a real disappointment."

"Go to the Don right now, admit you were being childish, and then apologize to Chloe. We can still go back to how things were."

"You wouldn't want to break the alliance between the Falcone and Moretti families over a little tantrum, would you?"

He called me childish. He said I was throwing a tantrum.

He threatened me with my family name, held my position hostage.

But now, I no longer felt a shred of resentment or heartache. I just wanted to escape this suffocating mess.

Besides, there was one thing Nico always forgot.

I let out a soft laugh, my fingers tracing the cool glass of the jet's window.

"Nico, have you forgotten? The only reason that alliance exists is because I do."

Without waiting for a reply, I ended the call, took out the top-secret encryption chip, and snapped it between two fingers.

With a click, the chip broke in two. I tossed it carelessly into the trash.

Ten hours later.

The Sicilian sun was bright and intense, carrying the salty humidity of the Mediterranean.

On the private airstrip, my eyes met a man's deep gaze. "Scarlett. Long time no see."

His well-tailored suit was unbuttoned at the neck, revealing the faint outline of a tattoo on his collarbone, the mark of the true Moretti heir.

I extended a hand, my smile radiant. "It's good to see you, Vincent."

The ring of my personal cell phone interrupted our greeting.

I glanced at the screen. It was a call from Nico's right-hand man.

I answered, curious. Over a noisy background, Nico's voice came through, laced with panic:

"Scarlett, where the hell are you?"

"Why are all our contacts in the North saying they have no record of your arrival?"