By nightfall that same day, I was escorted back to Fog Harbor Estate.

There was no stretch limousine waiting at the gates or butler bowing in greeting.

I was not taken back to the top-floor master bedroom. Instead, the Soldati shoved me into a confinement room. The space was bare, with only a narrow iron window letting in a draft.

"The Don ordered you to reflect in here. Do not disturb the little Principessa."

After that, the man turned and left.

I braced myself against the wall and sank to the floor. The memories I had sealed away came rushing back, sharp with irony.

Two years ago, Lucas had pulled me out of the ruins of St. Laurent. He told me that since the world had no place for me, Fog Harbor Estate would be my sanctuary.

Back then, Lucas would finish handling the gang's blood-soaked business, wash away the stench of gunpowder, and drive across half the city late at night just to buy me a slice of cake I had casually mentioned.

He would tirelessly read bedtime stories to me and accompany me through night after night of brutal morning sickness during my pregnancy.

When he learned that the child I carried was a girl, his affection never wavered.

He personally oversaw the construction of the manor's tower, ensuring it was a luxurious palace for our unborn child with the finest natural light.

I still remembered how Lucas had wrapped his arms around me from behind, his palm resting on my swollen belly, his voice low and gentle.

"Zoe, our daughter will be the most noble Principessa in all of Sicily."

He had kept his word.

He even personally inspected the length of the fibers in the nursery carpet.

Every fragment of that former tenderness had now turned into blades, slicing me apart piece by piece.

I once believed I was his one true love.

In reality, I was nothing more than a shadow filling Serena's absence.

Now Serena wore the season's latest couture, standing under spotlights with his arm hooked through hers, appearing side by side at every public event.

Meanwhile, I had just given birth and was discarded like trash in this dark corner, burdened with the accusation of abusing my own child.

[I did not do it!]

[I would never hurt my daughter!]

I cried as I signed desperately into the empty air, trying to plead my case to gods who were not there.

No salvation came.

I did not know how much time had passed before the heavy iron door opened again.

Lucas walked in against the light. The black Italian suit outlined his tall, rigid frame. The face I once adored was now coated in frost.

"Serena is raising the little Principessa now. You had better put away your filthy thoughts."

I struggled to my feet and tried to reach for the hem of his pants. Before my fingers could touch him, he flicked my hand away in disgust, as if brushing off dust.

[I just want to see my daughter. Please.]

My signing was frantic and pitiful, terrified that even this request would be denied.

"You think you are worthy of seeing the little Principessa?"

[Why am I not worthy? I am her mother! And you? What am I to you?]

Lucas suddenly grabbed my chin, his fingers digging in hard, as if he wanted to crush my bones.

"Then I will make it clear for you. You are nothing more than a toy I picked up to pass the time when I was lonely abroad. The child was an accident!

"If it were not for the fact that you resemble Serena, why would I have spoiled a lowly cripple like you? Luna was only allowed to live because Serena begged for mercy. Do you understand?

"Dare to pull any more tricks, and I will make sure both of you disappear from this world."

The violence surging in his eyes sent my heart plunging into an icy abyss. There was a time when he could not bear to speak a single harsh word to me.

Now, he spoke as though sentencing traitors to death, telling me to die alongside my child.

Serena had not lied.

From beginning to end, I was nothing more than a mute substitute kept alive inside a cage of lies.

Only when I lowered my gaze and stopped resisting did he finally release me.

He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his fingers with visible disdain.

"Behave yourself. Do not force me to clean house."

The days of confinement were a slow execution.

That afternoon, I was leaning against the frost-covered window when I unexpectedly saw Luna on the lawn below. The cradle stood near the grass.

No one was around.

By sheer chance, the main door had not been locked properly. My heart surged as I slipped out.

Before I could reach her, I saw the cradle sliding toward the pool.

No!

"Get out of the way!"

Lucas moved faster than I did. He lunged forward and caught the cradle in time.

He turned on me at once, fury blazing. "Were you trying to drown her while no one was watching? Zoe, just to get back at me, you would even hurt your own flesh and blood?"

[Not me! I was trying to save her!] I flailed, signing frantically, only to hear him laugh coldly.

"The blood of the Langs really is filthy to the core."

What did that mean?

Was he talking about my family? Did he know them?

Why had he never mentioned this before?

"Since you like water so much, then go cool off in it."

With Luna cradled securely in one arm, Lucas shoved me hard into the pool with the other.

He knew I could not swim. The icy water soaked into my C-section wound, pain flooding my body until I went numb.

Through the rippling water, I saw him standing by the pool, watching my struggle with indifference.

Just before my consciousness faded, I thought I heard someone shouting in panic.

It had to be an illusion.

The Don who once loved me was already gone. The Lucas Vaughn standing there only wished for my death.

When I woke again, I heard his voice outside the door.

"Do not let her die in the manor. If the police or the media catch wind of it, it will be a headache. I do not have time to deal with that mess."

So saving me was only to avoid trouble.

A few nights later, rain lashed the darkness.

The door to the confinement room was kicked open. The heavy smell of whiskey mixed with blood rushed in.

Lucas staggered inside, his collar torn open. The sharp, commanding eyes he once had were now bloodshot. He looked like he had just finished a gunfight. The violence had not yet faded, yet beneath it was a fragility on the edge of collapse.

I recoiled in fear, but he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into his arms.

"Do not hide from me."

He buried his head in the hollow of my neck, his breath scorching my skin.

"Zoe... let me hold you for a while."

My rigid body slowly softened. Against all reason, I wrapped my arms around his waist.

Half-asleep, he murmured my name, the long-lost warmth unmistakable.

I hated myself for still longing for him, for foolishly hoping our shattered relationship might still turn around.

Morning came, and the dream ended.

When Lucas realized who was in his arms, he shoved me off the bed without hesitation.

"Are you that desperate for a man?" He straightened his suit, his cold authority restored. "Do not misunderstand. I drank too much last night. I thought you were Serena."

He stepped over me, slammed the door, and crushed my heart completely.

That night, breaking news aired.

"The Vaughn Group and the Vale Group announce a historic alliance. Don Lucas Vaughn will marry award-winning actress Serena Vale by the end of the year."

On screen, Lucas held the beauty by the waist and declared to the cameras, "She will be my only wife, and the most noble Donna of the Vaughn family."

A mouthful of blood burst from my lips without warning.

So this was my ending.

When I woke up, the dull, crushing pain in my organs was still tearing through my nerves.

Lucas still had not come to see me. Of course, he had not. He was probably busy preparing for his wedding.

Suddenly, chaotic footsteps echoed down the hallway. I braced myself against the wall and staggered toward the door, catching fragments of hushed voices drifting through the air: "kidnapping", "Naples syndicate", "hostage exchange". Each word sent a chill down my spine.

The door was kicked open.

Lucas stood at the boundary between light and shadow. Beneath his black trench coat, the outline of a holster was visible. The man who always controlled the board with cold precision now carried a restlessness he could not fully conceal.

At the same moment, Serena's shrill, unhinged scream burst from the phone in his hand.

"Lucas! Save me! These lunatics grabbed the wrong person! They want to kill the last of the Lang family. I’m innocent! That illegitimate child isn’t mine either! They made a mistake! Give them Zoe! Hurry!"

"Take her."

Lucas ended the call. His gaze fell on me, stripped of all warmth.

The Soldati moved immediately, dragging me toward the door.

I did not resist, just staring at him in a daze.

So there was no need to weigh anything. Not even a second of hesitation. To save the woman he loved, I was a bargaining chip he could sacrifice at any moment.

…

The abandoned Sicilian port reeked of salt and decay, the sea wind heavy with iron and rust. Floodlights mounted atop shipping containers stabbed into my eyes.

Serena was bound beneath a crane tower, her makeup smeared, her elegance in ruins.

My Luna, the child I had fought so hard to bring into this world, had been tossed onto a rust-coated oil drum. Her cries shattered in the wind, each one carving into my heart.

"Let Serena go. She’s the one you’re after."

Lucas shoved me forward with one hand tucked casually into his pocket. As a Don forged in gunfire and blood, he knew exactly what would happen to me after that push.

The entire world mocked my foolish devotion, painfully clear in the cold rain of that night.

I finally understood.

I was Serena’s substitute. His plaything. Everything except a human being.

Yet I no longer cared. If it meant getting my daughter back, I would do anything.

I stumbled forward and took that cold, trembling little body from the masked thug’s hands, clutching her tightly against my chest. The warmth we shared in that moment—mother and daughter pressed together—was the last comfort I had left.

Then everything unraveled.

There was never meant to be a fair exchange.

The deal was broken without warning. A thug suddenly lunged forward, dagger flashing as it drove toward Serena, who had just been untied.

"You’re asking to die!" Lucas roared, drawing his gun, but his body reacted faster than the bullet ever could.

To shield Serena, he yanked me violently toward him and shoved me straight into the gleaming blade.

I held Luna and turned back in disbelief.

In those eyes that once consumed me, there was not a trace of remorse, only relief that Serena had been saved.

The blade sliced into my arm. Blood sprayed.

Police sirens wailed in the distance. The thugs scrambled into their vehicle, fleeing the scene without even noticing me collapsing to the ground.

All I saw were headlights growing brighter and brighter, my shadow stretching suddenly enormous before my body felt strangely weightless.

Bang.

The violent impact hurled me into the air.

Shattering pain exploded through my bones, the screech of tires ripping open a sealed corner of my mind.

Memories came crashing back like a tidal wave.

Another stormy night. Blinding high beams. Behind the windshield, a cold, shadowed face filled with murderous intent…

Lucas Vaughn.

It was him.

The car accident that stole my memory was never an accident.

I remembered.

I remembered everything.