It just so happened that my brother had come from Ferrante Bay that night to persuade me on behalf of our parents, hoping I'd stop being stubborn with the family. He arrived just in time to pull me away from a group of men who had been looking to take advantage of me.

Who would have thought that him bringing me to a hotel to rest would be caught on camera by someone with ulterior motives?

No wonder Nico had been acting so strangely ever since that night, distant yet still tried to act warmly. Turns out, he had been holding it in all this time. He waited until I had secured major clients for him and quietly leveraged my family's influence to help push his crew toward recognition by the Commission. Tonight, he finally chose to lash out.

I was disappointed by his lack of trust in me.

Yet, he was also the first man I had ever truly fallen for. I don't want us to drift apart because of a misunderstanding.

Even more, I didn't want my parents to find out that my first all-consuming love had ended before it even truly began. After all, I had fled Ferrante Bay to escape the alliance marriage they had arranged for me.

I wanted to choose my own partner, to stand beside someone as equals, not be trapped in a loveless arrangement brokered between Dons like a land treaty. But I had never told anyone this. Not even Nico.

I was afraid that if he found out I was La Regina of the old families, he would feel insecure, overwhelmed, crushed by the weight of it all.

Since childhood, every man around me had only liked me because of my bloodline. I hated those calculated displays of affection, those compliments laced with ulterior motives. But Nico, when he looked at me, his eyes were filled with stars.

The memories of how beautiful things once were made me laugh uncontrollably.

"What are you laughing at?" Nico frowned, his voice laced with disdain. "How could you laugh at a time like this?"

The room had gone quiet around us. Not the natural quiet of a conversation ending, but the held-breath quiet of soldiers who sensed the temperature dropping. Somewhere behind me, a glass was set down without a sound.

I lifted my head and met his gaze head-on. "Do you really think I'm the kind of woman who sleeps her way to the top?"

"Then what else did you do?" He let out a cold scoff. "Do you think you have anything left that's worth my respect?"

It felt like an invisible hand had clenched around my heart, squeezing so tightly that even breathing became painful.

I took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "The man in the photo is my brother."

"Your 'brother'?" Ginevra burst into laughter. Her fingers drifted to the hollow of her throat, two fingertips resting there, soft and feminine, before the next words came out sharpened to a point. "Do you think we're idiots? Calling some random 'sworn brother' your real brother? What, do you call every man you sleep with 'brother'? Gotta admit, that does add a certain... spice to things!"

The laughter around me grew sharper. Someone even whistled.

Nico's gaze was full of contempt. "Enough. Stop embarrassing yourself. Take your termination letter and get out. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other."

I clenched the letter in my hand, feeling nothing but cold emptiness inside. For five years, I hid my true identity, working as an ordinary associate to help him grow his outfit as quickly as possible.

Now, after I personally paved his way to the top, he was ready to cast me aside like a used tool. I could handle losing, but I refused to be played for a fool. I'd just consider the last five years of my youth wasted on an ungrateful oaf.

"Nico, you'll regret this."

Hearing my quiet murmur, Nico reacted as if I had just told the world's funniest joke.

"Regret?" He let out a mocking laugh. "The only thing I regret is ever meeting a faithless whore like you!"

With that, he extended his hand toward Ginevra. The two exchanged a knowing smile and walked hand in hand toward the center of the banquet hall. The crowd parted for them the way men part for a boss and his woman, instinctively, without being asked.

It was only then that I noticed. Nico's tailored suit and Ginevra's low-cut evening gown were a matching designer set. He raised their interlocked fingers high, his voice loud and confident.

"Tomorrow marks the most important moment in our organization's history: the blood-oath ceremony before the Commission. None of this would have been possible without the hard work of everyone here. Let's continue striving for greatness together!"

Thunderous applause erupted, followed by waves of cheers.

The fawning praises of Nico and Ginevra as the perfect golden couple echoed clearly in my ears. Nico's gaze swept over me without a hint of recognition. I felt like nothing more than an insignificant stranger.

Staring at the man I had loved for five years, I finally understood why my parents always said my judgment was lacking. Turns out, they were right. I had been utterly blind.

I never realized Ginevra, Nico's ever-loyal personal courier, had been in a relationship with him all along.

As the daughter of Don Aurelio Ferrante, my blindness didn't necessarily prove my incapability to move in the old blood circles. No matter what, I had the power to lift him to the top and I could just as easily send him crashing down from the heights.

Clutching the resignation letter in my hand, I turned to leave this suffocating place. You don't leave the Family. But I was never truly part of his.

However, just as I took my first step, Salvatore Vecchio stepped in front of me, a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Rosalia, there's no need to rush off so soon."

He adjusted his glasses, his tone carrying an undeniable firmness. "The outfit has rules. Before you walk out of here, you sign a statement declaring that everything you did during your time with us has no connection to the crew. You'll also sign an Omertà pact. Just to make sure you don't use what you know to poach our contacts and our arrangements once you're on the outside."

Not long ago, everyone in the social club knew me as Nico's promised woman. With my ability to secure high-profile connections and broker arrangements with the other families, I was treated with nothing but the best hospitality. Sal was especially eager to involve me in his dealings. He would bow his head and sweetly address me as "Signora Bracciale." That was in the past though. Now, he looked down at me with a self-satisfied smirk, as if belittling me could somehow restore his own sense of superiority.

I took in his pathetic display and said coldly, "A statement? An Omertà pact? What makes you think I'd ever sign them?"

Sal's smile vanished in an instant, his tone turning sharp. "Why? Because of your dirty little schemes! The crew has already shown you mercy by not making this worse. Don't mistake kindness for weakness."

I let out a mocking laugh and asked, "Dirty schemes? Do you even have proof? Or are you just talking about those doctored surveillance photos?"

"Proof?" Ginevra strutted over in her high heels, her manicured finger jabbing toward my phone. She touched the hollow of her throat with two fingertips, the picture of wounded dignity.

"Isn't the proof right there in your phone? Who knows how many contacts you've hoarded, how many associates, how many arrangements. For all we know, the moment you step out of here, you'll start working them one by one to secure yourself a new crew."

As soon as she finished speaking, Sal lunged for my phone. I was caught off guard and before I could react, it was snatched from my hands.

"Give it back!"

Ginevra snatched the phone from Sal's hand and quickly stepped back, a smug smirk playing on her lips.

"Look at how nervous you are now. There must be plenty of things you don't want anyone to see."

She turned to Nico, asking for my passcode, but after trying both his and my birthdays, along with the anniversary of his pledge to me, the screen remained locked. Growing impatient, Nico yanked the phone from her grip and barked at the soldiers by the door to restrain me.

He tried to unlock it using facial recognition. But after multiple failed attempts, the phone defaulted to passcode entry.

"What's the password?"

Since the day we got together, my passcode had always been the date he first confessed to me. How ironic that he had forgotten. Then again, I wasn't surprised at all.

Failing to unlock my phone in front of his men only deepened his humiliation. His face darkened, thunderous with rage, his pride crumbling with every passing second. The room had gone quiet. Even the soldiers holding my arms had stopped shifting.

"Rosalia, you keep insisting those photos are a misunderstanding. Then why did you secretly change your password?" His accusation was beyond tedious.

"It's the date you first confessed to me," I responded.

Nico froze, his expression shifting as he struggled to recall that day.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember. His face twisted, a chaotic blend of emotions, like a ruined painting.

I wrenched myself free from the soldiers' grasp and snatched my phone back from his hands. Nico watched in silence as I effortlessly unlocked it. His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Nico snatched my phone without warning. His fingers swiped furiously, hunting for proof of my so-called betrayal. Then he stopped.

He went stiff as he stared at a close-up selfie of me and my brother. A second later, his fury erupted like a storm.

"Rosalia, how wonderful. The evidence is right here. What excuse do you have now?"

"I told you, he's my brother! Give me back my phone!" I continued to protest. "This is theft! Slander! A complete violation of my privacy!"

Nico raised his hand and struck me across the face. The sharp sting spread instantly, but before I could react, he lifted my phone and smashed it against the ground with brutal force. The screen shattered on impact, shards of glass scattering across the marble floor of the social club's back room.

I clutched my burning cheek, fury surging through me as I lunged at him. But before I could get my hands on him, two of his soldiers restrained me once more.

Nico was provoked by my reaction, his expression dropping to an icy sneer.

"Rosalia, don't act all innocent. Do you really think you could've achieved those glorious accomplishments without spreading your legs? And don't even try to tell me you did it for me. That's the most disgusting thing I've ever heard."

I lifted my gaze to meet his, disappointment washing over me like a tidal wave.

"Nico, do you really have to humiliate me like this?"

He chuckled, slow and mocking. "Humiliate you? Do you think you even deserve that much?"

Faced with his cruelty and baseless accusations, a lump of frustration and rage formed in my chest.

"Fine. Since you refuse to listen to reason, let's have the Feds settle this. We'll see who's really indecent here. You, with your slander, or me, with my so-called sins."

"The Feds?" He took a slow step toward me, eyes glinting with disdain. His hand went to his tie, smoothing it with a flat palm from knot to sternum. "Do you really think you still have a chance? You may not care about your reputation, but I sure as hell care about mine."

"I'm so glad we were only promised and never bound by oath, because you would've been the biggest disgrace of my life."

I stared at the shattered phone on the floor and at that moment, the fury burning inside me finally erupted.

"Nico, after what you've done to me, you can forget about your blood-oath ceremony tomorrow!" Laughter exploded around the room.

"Rosalia, have you lost your mind?" Ginevra clutched her stomach, doubling over with laughter.

"Who do you think you are? Do you really believe you have the power to stop the ceremony before the Commission?" Nico smirked, his voice dripping with mockery.

"You think you're La Regina or something? Like a single word from you could sink my recognition before the Five Families?"

I lifted my head and locked eyes with him, unwavering. Then I stated with firmness, "That's exactly who I am. And the man in those photos? That's my brother. Cristiano Ferrante."

The laughter only grew louder.

"Rosalia, have you completely lost your mind?" Sal Vecchio laughed so hard he slapped the table, his tongue darting across his lower lip.

"If you're La Regina, then I must be Don Aurelio Ferrante himself, head of the Ferrante Empire!"

"That's right! That's right!" Others quickly joined in, treating me like a joke.

"If you're La Regina, we'll eat shit right in front of you!"

I swept my gaze over them, my lips curling into a slow, scornful smile. "Aurelio Ferrante is my father, not some ignorant fools like you."

Their laughter faltered for half a second, but I wasn't done. "You don't believe me? Of course you don't. Trash like you, who do nothing but spew garbage and blindly follow the crowd, must be used to eating shit every day."

My words struck a nerve and the room erupted in fury.

"Believe you? Believe that you're nothing but a whore who slept her way to the top?" The crowd's laughter swelled, the back room descending into chaos, their ridicule ringing off the paneled walls.

Nico shook his head, looking at me with a mix of pity and disgust, his tone dripping with contempt. "Rosalia, stop making a fool of yourself and get the hell out. You're contaminating my space. Don't you ever dare associate yourself with me again."

I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug deep into my palms. The fury inside me was suffocating, threatening to consume me whole. But I knew. Now was not the right time to lose control.

"Fine. I'll leave."

I took one last look at them, my voice steady and sharp. "But remember this. The humiliation you gave me today? I'll return it a hundredfold."

Laughter erupted around the room.

"Payback? Seriously?"

Ginevra clung to Nico's arm, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. Her fingertips touched the hollow of her throat. "Rosalia, have you been watching too many soap operas? Talking about payback like you're some kind of main character with plot armor?"

Nico smirked and waved me off like a beggar on the street. "Enough with the tragic act. Get out of here and stop wasting our time. We've got a celebration to enjoy."

I gave him one last look before turning on my heel and walking away. Behind me, the laughter and insults kept coming, but I didn't care anymore.

Outside the social club, the night air hit my face like cold water. I bought a new phone from a corner store two blocks into neutral territory and dialed a number.

"Before the Commission convenes tomorrow, I want Nico ruined."

There was a brief silence on the other end before a deep voice responded. "Understood, Miss Ferrante."

I hung up, glanced up at the night sky, and let a slow, cold smile spread across my lips.

I turned my mother's gold signet ring once, slow and deliberate, the crest pressing into my palm.

Nico, you thought you'd won? Too bad. The real game was just starting. Since you showed me no mercy, don't expect any in return.