Bianca Bellandi was the most renowned criminal-defense attorney in Astoria, boasting a win rate of ninety-nine percent.

No one expected that intimate photos of her and a client would flood the internet overnight.

An anonymous source claiming to be an insider at the legal front alleged that she had no real legal talent at all, that every case she'd ever landed came from sleeping with her clients.

She denied it immediately, insisting the photos were doctored and the accusations fabricated.

No one believed her.

Especially after reporters caught her husband, Dante Vitale, on camera. The sorrow in his eyes and his careful refusal to comment convinced the public it was all true.

Within hours, the internet was drowning in vitriol aimed at Bianca.

When she watched the interview clip, her expression remained as composed as ever. But in a corner where no one could see, her hands trembled.

Every one of those intimate photos had been edited from her private pictures. Pictures only Dante had access to.

She drove straight to the Vitale Family's front headquarters on Mulberry Street. The social club occupied the top floor of a shipping-company office that smelled of old wood and espresso and the particular stillness that settled over any room where men discussed things that could never be repeated. She needed to hear from Dante himself why those photos had been leaked.

And why he hadn't cleared her name in front of the cameras.

She had just reached the door to the back room when a familiar voice stopped her cold:

"Mr. Vitale, are we really going to keep paying people to attack Attorney Bellandi online?"

"The hate is everywhere already. If she finds out we're behind this, won't she be furious?"

It was his shadow aide, Luca Conti.

Dante's tone was clipped with impatience:

"She has no one to blame but herself. She hoards every case and refuses to give younger counsel a chance."

"Viviana's been working the Family's legal front for ages, and Bianca hasn't handed her a single case. A little lesson was overdue."

"If Bianca finds out Viviana was behind this, you know how she is. She never lets anything go. She'd destroy Viviana."

"Besides, Bianca is obsessed with her work. The only way to get her to stay home where she belongs, by my side, is to take her career away from her. I can't give up either of them..."

"Start planting more stories about Bianca. Keep her too busy putting out fires to trace any of this back to Viviana. If she does figure it out, tell her someone beneath me acted without my knowledge."

Luca nodded:

"You really do care deeply for Miss Caruso, going to such lengths against your own wife for her sake."

"Then again, if Attorney Bellandi hadn't forced her way in and pressured you into marrying her, you and Miss Caruso could have been together openly this whole time."

Dante said nothing. His silence was confirmation enough.

Bianca's hand, raised to knock, shook so violently she couldn't control it. The shock tore through her like a physical blow.

So it had been Viviana all along. And Dante had approved every bit of it.

He must have given Viviana her private photos. Let her doctor them. Let her frame her.

All because Bianca hadn't handed over the Vittorio Marino case the way Viviana wanted.

What Luca said. Dante's heart belonged to Viviana?

But he had told her, to her face, that Viviana was just the girl next door. Like a little sister.

He had been lying to her all along.

The color drained from Bianca's face. In that instant, it was as if ice water had been poured over her from head to toe, soaking through to the bone. Her heart went cold with it.

The hallway outside the back room was silent. A bodyguard at the far end of the corridor stood with his hands folded, eyes forward, trained not to see. Somewhere below, the espresso machine hissed, and it was the loneliest sound in the world.

She clenched her jaw, forcing the tears back by sheer will.

She had just turned to leave when the door swung open. Luca stared at her, wide-eyed:

"Attorney Bellandi, what are you doing here?"

Dante heard the commotion and stepped forward, reaching for her hand:

"Bianca, how long have you been standing there?"

Guilt flickered across both their faces, terrified she had overheard.

Bianca forced the faintest trace of a smile:

"Just got here."

Dante exhaled, the tension leaving his shoulders almost imperceptibly. He shot Luca a look. Luca caught it, nodded, and slipped out of the room.

Bianca pretended she hadn't noticed the exchange. She let Dante lead her by the hand into his back room. The door closed behind them with the heavy, deliberate click of a lock built for rooms where secrets lived and died. His signet ring pressed cold against her fingers where he held her.

She looked at him, swallowing the storm raging inside her, and said quietly:

"I saw your interview this morning."

A flash of panic crossed Dante's eyes, but he recovered quickly:

"I'm sorry, Bianca. I know you want to ask why I didn't speak up for you."

"The interview this morning was supposed to promote one of the Family's legitimate ventures. The whole thing caught me off guard. I didn't know how to respond without making it worse."

Bianca cut him off. Her voice wavered:

"So you chose to say nothing at all?"

"Because of your silence, the whole world thinks it's true now. You're the one who wanted those photos taken. Why won't you admit it?"

Dante's voice dropped:

"Bianca, I'm the head of this Family. If people found out I have that kind of... preference, what would they think of me?"

"Stop making a scene. I know you're innocent. Isn't that enough? Why do you care what strangers think?"

Bianca almost laughed:

"What they'd think of you? Do you have any idea what they're saying about me right now?"

She held on to her last shred of hope, locked her eyes on his, and spoke each word with deliberate weight:

"Dante. I'm asking you. Please. Hold a press conference and clear my name."

"If this isn't dealt with now, my career is over."

Dante glanced at her, something conflicted stirring behind his gaze. His thumb moved once against the signet ring on his right hand, then went still.

After a few seconds of silence, he took her hand. His voice turned soft, almost tender:

"Bianca, why don't you just... resign?"

Bianca stared at him in disbelief as he continued:

"The Family's business is big enough now. You don't need to work. Use this as your exit. Come home. Be my partner behind the scenes."

"My mother's been asking when we're going to have an heir. You could focus on that."

"As for the front firm and all the clients you've built up, you can hand everything over to Viviana. She's smart and capable. She'll do a great job."

Bianca's heart shattered into countless pieces, each one sharp enough to steal her breath.

This was the man she had defied her parents to marry. The man she had crossed bloodlines for, left the Bellandi name at the altar for, bound herself to in a union her father had warned her she would one day regret.

His childhood sweetheart had smeared her name and destroyed her reputation, and his answer was to give that woman everything Bianca had built.

Her mother had been right. Dante Vitale was not a man worth trusting with a lifetime.

She thought of the extraction documents her mother had sent her the night before. Papers for safe passage to Bellandi-protected territory overseas, a private hangar, an offshore account already funded. And finally, the decision settled into place.

She would leave the country with her parents.

As for Dante Vitale, she was done.

Bianca lifted her gaze to Dante, searching his face as though she could see straight through to whatever was left of his conscience. Her eyes were bleak with despair, but her voice held steady, grief and resolve wound tight together.

"Absolutely not. I will never give up my career."

"If you won't help me clear my name, then I'll find the evidence myself."

Even if she had to leave, she would leave with her reputation intact.

She turned without waiting for his reaction and walked toward the door.

She didn't make it two steps past the threshold before she saw Viviana Caruso.

Viviana stood in the hallway holding a box of pastries from the bakery on Mulberry Street, her gaze sliding over Bianca with undisguised satisfaction, her tone bright with the kind of cheer designed to cut.

"Oh, Counselor Bellandi, you're still here? I came to see Dante. I wanted to thank him personally for renewing the retainer with our firm this year."

The words drove into Bianca's chest like a cluster of needles, each one small enough to ignore on its own, unbearable together. She turned to Dante.

"You already signed a new pact with the firm? Why didn't I know about this?"

Viviana pressed a hand to her lips in exaggerated surprise.

"You really didn't know? It just happened. The Vitale Family's aide signed the renewal with the firm a few minutes ago."

"But it doesn't matter whether you knew or not. Dante specifically requested that I replace you as their lead counsel. The Vitale Family's affairs have nothing to do with you anymore."

Bianca's heartbeat faltered. She stared at Dante, unable to process what she was hearing.

"Is what she's saying true?"

Dante pulled Viviana behind him, shielding her as though Bianca were the threat.

"Bianca, Viviana isn't like you. She needs this retainer to establish herself at the firm."

"You have plenty of cases. You won't miss this one. Besides..."

His gaze flicked over her face, his tone flat, almost clinical.

"Your situation still isn't resolved. If the Family keeps you on as counsel, it reflects poorly on us."

The signet ring on his thumb was perfectly still. He wasn't weighing the decision. He'd already made it.

Bianca studied his face and realized, for the first time, that the boy she remembered no longer existed behind those eyes.

Perhaps this had always been who he was. Perhaps the Dante Vitale she thought she knew had never been real.

She still remembered the day they first met. She had been proud and solitary by nature, and her classmates had made her pay for it.

They spread rumors with gleeful abandon: her money came from a sugar daddy, her designer bags were gifts from a patron, even the awards she'd won in competitions were bought with her body.

She became the entire school's favorite target.

Back then, Bianca believed the truth would speak for itself. She refused to dignify the lies with a response.

But the rumors only grew. Those people started showing up at her classroom door to hurl insults to her face.

Not a single classmate spoke up for her. Even her teachers believed the accusations and wanted to suspend her pending an investigation.

It was Dante who stepped forward.

He didn't just vouch for her. He went out of his way to obtain a recording of the very people who had set her up.

In that moment, Dante Vitale had been nothing short of a god in her eyes.

And now he was standing with the people smearing her name, helping them do it.

Worse, he knew she'd been framed, and he was using the frame-up as his excuse to hand everything she'd built to the woman who had orchestrated it.

Bianca's breathing turned ragged. She felt as though the ground had been pulled from beneath her, her body swaying, barely upright. She dug her nails into her palms hard enough to leave marks, forcing herself not to show a shred of weakness in front of Viviana.

She was about to argue her case when her phone rang. It was Vincent Rinaldi.

"Bianca, what the hell did you do?!"

"Vittorio Marino's sealed files have been leaked. All of them. Do you have any idea what this is going to do to the case?"

"Marino says you were the only person who had access to those books. His people are here at the office right now demanding answers. Get back here. Now."

The color drained from Bianca's face. She didn't spare Dante or Viviana another glance before rushing out.

Viviana watched her retreating figure, a mocking smile curling at the corner of her lips. Her fingertips drifted to her pearl earring, adjusting it with a delicate turn.

"Dante, you promised you'd help me. Right?"

Dante looked at the expectation shining on Viviana's face and nodded without thinking.

Bianca barely made it through the firm's doors before Vittorio Marino was in her face, jabbing a finger at her. The knuckle of his right index finger cracked once before the first word left his mouth.

"You still haven't explained those photos, and now our files have been leaked? Counselor Bellandi, are you trying to destroy us?!"

"We trusted you with those sealed books because we believed in you. Is this how you repay our trust?!"

"Is this your idea of professional ethics? Did you cut a deal with opposing counsel to take us down?!"

"I'm telling you right now, if this isn't resolved, I will make sure you never work in this city again!"

Bianca swallowed everything churning inside her and kept her voice level.

"Mr. Marino, I give you my word. I will get to the bottom of this."

"But please believe me. I did not leak those files. Give me time, and I will find out who did..."

Before she could finish, a voice cut through the room.

"No need to investigate. I know exactly who leaked them."

Bianca turned and found Viviana standing right behind her, a laptop cradled in her arms.

"Counselor Bellandi, I've always looked up to you as a role model in the profession. I never imagined you were this kind of person. Colluding with opposing counsel for personal gain, deliberately leaking Marino's sealed files."

"You don't deserve to call yourself a lawyer."

Bianca locked eyes with her, her brow drawn tight.

"Viviana, if you're going to make accusations, you'd better have proof."

"I have never colluded with opposing counsel, and I have never leaked those files."

Viviana let out a cold scoff.

"Of course you'd deny it. But lucky for us, I have a witness."

The words had barely left her mouth when the door swung open and Dante walked in. The back room at Rinaldi & Associates went quiet the way rooms did when a Don entered. Two associates near the window straightened without being told. Dante crossed the room to stand before everyone.

"I can testify. Those sealed files were leaked by Bianca."

The moment those words left his mouth, the last shred of warmth in Bianca's heart vanished without a trace.

She never imagined Dante would go this far for Viviana.

A sharp sting flooded her eyes. Her throat locked tight, and she forced herself to stay standing. The conference room had gone quiet in the way rooms only went quiet when blood was in the water. Even the bodyguard posted by the far door had stopped shifting his weight.

Dante glanced at Bianca, a flicker of guilt crossing his face.

"I apologize for my wife's conduct. I'll personally bear all losses suffered by the Marino crew. Please... forgive her."

Before he even finished, Vittorio Marino hurled the stack of documents straight at Bianca. The papers hit her chest and scattered across the floor, and not one person in the room moved to pick them up.

"Personally bear it? With what?"

"Forget the case involving two hundred million in claims. Marino Holdings' stock price tanked today alone. How exactly do you plan to cover that?" He cracked the knuckle of his right index finger, the sound sharp as a pistol slide in the silence.

"Bellandi, and you had the nerve to call yourself some undefeated attorney. What a joke. You'll be hearing from my lawyers."

Tears pooled at the rims of her eyes. Her throat was raw and parched. She clenched her jaw so hard her teeth ached, every breath a trembling sliver of pain. Bianca's voice shook as she spoke.

"Mr. Marino, I'm begging you, trust me just this once. I swear on my career, I had nothing to do with this."

"Give me two days. I will find the truth."

Vittorio cut her off, his patience spent.

"Bianca Bellandi, you really have no shame."

"Your own husband already admitted it, and you're still trying to weasel your way out? Instead of groveling here, you'd better start thinking about how you're going to handle the investigation."

He shoved her aside and stormed out. The bodyguard at the door stepped back to let the capo pass, then resumed his post as if nothing had happened.

Vincent Rinaldi fixed Bianca with a vicious glare.

"Bianca, do you have any idea how much trouble you've brought down on this firm?"

"Well? How do you propose we fix this?"

Bianca turned and looked around. Every single colleague was pointing, whispering, their voices carrying just enough to reach her.

"So Bianca's been sleeping with clients to land her cases. Guess that explains a lot."

"She always looked so prim and proper. Turns out she's been playing all kinds of games behind closed doors. Poor Mr. Vitale, marrying someone like that."

"I always said there was no way someone that young could be that good. Dirty tricks, obviously. Disgusting. Can't believe I've been working alongside her."

Bianca stood trapped between Vincent and Viviana, forced to absorb every whisper and sneer. The fluorescent hum of the conference room lights seemed to grow louder, filling the space their respect had vacated.

Viviana's lips curled upward, her eyes bright with undisguised mockery.

Bianca looked at Vincent. She had always been composed, but now her voice was nothing but tremors.

"Vincent, we've worked together for years. You don't trust me either?"

Vincent looked at her, then at Viviana, and spoke in a low, measured tone. He removed his glasses and polished the lenses with his pocket square, taking his time.

"Bianca, the evidence is right in front of us. I'd be a fool not to believe it."

"This isn't just about Marino's people needing answers. The firm needs answers too."

Viviana smiled faintly.

"If you ask me, Vincent, the simplest solution is to let Counselor Bellandi leave the firm."

"It's the only way to keep her from dragging the rest of us down."

The words hit Bianca like a physical blow. She couldn't believe Viviana intended to destroy her completely. She opened her mouth to speak, but Dante cut in first.

"That works. I'll compensate Marino and the firm for their losses on her behalf. But I have one condition."

"After she's gone, Viviana takes her position."

His signet ring was perfectly still against his thumb. No rolling, no fidgeting. Just a man who had already decided and saw no reason to pretend otherwise.

Vincent considered this for a moment, then nodded.

"Fine. Bianca, for the sake of our years together, I'll let you resign on your own terms."

Bitterness surged through her chest.

Just like that, in a handful of sentences, they had decided her fate. A sit-down she hadn't been invited to, conducted right in front of her face.

Not the husband she had devoted herself to. Not the colleague she had trusted with her life. Not a single one of them had spared a thought for how she felt.

All they wanted was to push her out the door fast enough to make room for Viviana.

Something seized Bianca's heart and squeezed. The bitterness spread through her veins like poison. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Her face was white. She bit down hard on the tip of her tongue, the sharp pain forcing her mind back into focus.

"On what grounds are you convicting me without hearing my side?"

"You all know perfectly well who's really behind this. Don't even think about pinning it on me."

"Marino wants to investigate? Fine. I'll cooperate fully. But until that investigation is complete, I am not leaving this firm."

She reached for her phone.

Viviana hadn't expected that. A flash of panic crossed her eyes, and she looked at Dante with a silent plea. Her fingertips went to her pearl earring, adjusting it in one quick, reflexive motion.

In the next second, Dante snatched the phone from Bianca's hand and smashed it against the floor. The crack of glass against marble echoed through the room like a gunshot, and every person in it flinched except Dante.

"Bianca, enough! Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough already?"

"Stop making a scene. Come home with me quietly, or things are going to get worse for everyone."

He was threatening her. The Acting Don of the Vitale Family, the man who wore her ring and shared her bed, was threatening her in front of people who answered to him.

Vincent stared at Bianca, his voice flat and detached.

"Bianca, whether you stay at this firm is no longer your decision. If you won't resign, I'll have no choice but to terminate you."

"And when that happens, your reputation in this city will be finished."

A chill settled deep inside her.

She looked at Vincent, the man who had once fought beside her, who had been both mentor and friend. He wore a different face now.

When she first joined, this firm had been a failing practice on the verge of shutting its doors. She had worked around the clock, hunting down cases, building connections with made men and legitimate clients alike, pulling it back from the brink and growing it into what it was today. Rinaldi & Associates survived because she had made powerful people believe it was worth protecting.

Back then, Vincent had taken her hand and told her the firm was as much hers as his. That they would watch it thrive together.

But somewhere along the way, he had changed. And now he was siding with outsiders to force her out.

For the first time in her life, Bianca felt completely lost.

Without her realizing when it happened, Viviana had turned every person around her. Bianca was truly, utterly alone.