At my father's wake, with all Five Families gathered to pay their respects, my betrothed dropped to one knee before my father's illegitimate daughter and pledged his loyalty to her in front of every made man in attendance.

Then he ordered the footage to be played.

There they were, locked in each other's arms, their intimacy projected onto the screen for the entire underworld to witness.

That night, I became the greatest joke in Wildore. From private clubs to Family backrooms, my humiliation spread through every corner of the Five Families.

Just as I was on the verge of breaking, my betrothed's older brother, Lorenzo, stepped forward.

He personally had the two of them thrown out of the wake before every capo and underboss present.

Then he knelt before me on one knee and made a solemn vow.

"As long as I live, no blade will ever reach you. I will be your shield for the rest of my life."

Moved by his devotion, I accepted him.

Three years later...

One week before our union ceremony, I happened to pass the study and overheard Lorenzo speaking with his Consigliere.

"There are far easier ways to seize the Marchetti territory," the Consigliere said quietly. "Is entering a blood-bound union with Signorina Adriana really worth the risk?"

Lorenzo answered without a moment's hesitation.

"Only by becoming her husband will Adriana lower her guard completely. Vittoria deserves the place that should have been hers all along. If marrying Adriana is the price I have to pay to put Vittoria where she belongs, then so be it. For Vittoria, there is nothing I won't sacrifice."

In that instant, every illusion I had clung to shattered.

The man I believed had saved me had only been carrying out a carefully orchestrated deception.

The union I had waited three long years for was never a promise of salvation.

It was simply another grave waiting to bury me.

If that was the future they had chosen for me...

Then I would be the one to grant their wish.

……

Inside the study, Lorenzo held the signed agreement in his hands, a smile of quiet devotion softening his features, the very expression I had once believed belonged to me.

"The Signora doesn't have long," he said evenly. "Before she dies, Adriana will insist on having her attend the ceremony. Once the old woman is buried, the Marchetti name dies with her. Adriana will have no one left to rely on except me."

His lips curved into a faint smile.

"And that's when we make our move."

"Has the transfer agreement been finalized?" he continued. "Make sure nothing goes wrong. Every inch of Marchetti territory comes into my hands first. Once every obstacle has been removed, I'll transfer everything to Vittoria."

Standing across from him, the Consigliere looked down at the stack of documents spread across the desk, unease written plainly across his face.

"Don Falcone, Vittoria was born outside the Family. Doesn't this seem... too cruel to Signorina Adriana? These past three years, she's truly fallen in love with you. If she ever discovers that this entire union was nothing more than a scheme to hand her Family's empire to someone else..."

Before he could finish, Lorenzo's expression hardened.

"That's enough."

His voice dropped, cold enough to freeze the room.

"I've warned you before. Vittoria is the Marchetti Family's second daughter. If I ever hear you call her a bastard again, you'll answer for it."

Silence settled over the study.

After a long moment, Lorenzo spoke again, his tone noticeably softer.

"Besides, this marriage is compensation in its own way. Even after losing the Family, Adriana will still have me. She'll never have to live a difficult life."

He slowly brushed an invisible crease from the lapel of his suit.

"My brother has always envied everything I've had. Now Vittoria has chosen him instead. As the older brother, the least I can do is clear every obstacle from their path."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"As long as they're happy, nothing else matters."

The Consigliere quietly removed his glasses and folded them in his hands.

After a long silence, he sighed.

"...Very well. I'll review the agreement one last time. I only hope you never come to regret this."

As he reached the door, Lorenzo spoke again.

"One more thing."

"The footage from the wake three years ago... destroy every copy."

His gaze turned icy.

"Adriana must never see it."

Footsteps echoed toward the hallway.

My heart lurched.

I stumbled backward, hurrying to my room before either of them could open the door.

The tea in my hands splashed across my fingers, scalding my skin.

I felt none of it.

Only a coldness so deep it seemed to seep into my bones.

So...

The footage shown before every Family at my father's wake had never been Matteo's doing.

It had been Lorenzo.

Every humiliation.

Every carefully timed act of heroism.

Every promise.

All of it had been planned from the very beginning.

Three years ago, when Matteo abandoned me before the Five Families, I became the greatest disgrace the Marchetti name had ever known.

Everyone believed Lorenzo had appeared to save me.

How laughable.

He hadn't come to pull me out of the fire.

He had simply delivered the final push.

I thought of my mother.

With her last breath, she had placed my hand in his, believing she was entrusting me to the safest man alive.

He had sworn before every Family that he would protect me for the rest of his life.

Every word.

Every look.

Every promise.

Performed so flawlessly that even the oldest Dons at the sit-down had believed him.

For three years, I had trusted him without question.

I had placed the Marchetti territory in his hands.

Its businesses.

Its laundering routes.

Its soldiers.

Its fortune.

Never once realizing that every decision he made was another stone laid beneath Vittoria's feet, paving her road to the throne that should have been mine.

And I...

Like a complete fool...

Had treasured the love he pretended to give me.

Believing that, after losing everything else, I had finally found someone who would never betray me.

How utterly ridiculous.

The study door clicked open.

The Consigliere left first.

A moment later, Lorenzo walked toward me with hurried steps.

His hands gently cupped my face as though I were something precious, and he pressed a tender kiss against my forehead.

His eyes, faintly clouded with wine, were filled with what looked so convincingly like concern.

"Adriana?"

"What are you doing standing out here?"

I slowly turned my father's heavy signet ring around my finger.

The metal felt colder than ever.

"It's nothing," I said quietly.

"I wanted to bring you some tea."

A faint smile touched my lips.

"But I accidentally spilled it."

"Leave these things to the staff, tesoro," Lorenzo said softly. "You've been at the clinic every day looking after your mother. No woman should have to carry that much. If you wear yourself down, I'll be the one who can't forgive himself."

With that, he leaned down and kissed my forehead once more.

His touch was as gentle as it had always been.

Yet for the first time, I felt nothing.

How far could a man go for the sake of another woman?

I closed my eyes.

A tear slipped silently down my cheek.

I helped him onto the bed, pulled the blanket over him, and before long, the wine carried him into a deep sleep.

Only then did I quietly reach for his phone.

I entered the password.

It unlocked on the first try.

It was Vittoria's birthday.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

I opened his chat with her.

The screen was filled with confidential Family business, messages no Don would ever entrust to someone outside his inner circle.

And the conversation had never stopped.

Not for a single day in the three years since my father's funeral.

Every piece of Marchetti territory that came under Lorenzo's control was carefully explained to Vittoria so she could learn how the Family operated.

Every alliance he forged with another Family was forwarded to her in detail, laying the foundation for the future he envisioned.

Even the transfer agreement for the Marchetti holdings had been drafted three years ago.

All he had been waiting for was my mother's death...

And my signature.

My fingers trembled as I opened his private photo album.

Every photograph belonged to Vittoria.

Some showed her attending Family gatherings as the Falcone Family's second lady.

Others captured her celebrating successful operations beside Matteo.

The resemblance between Matteo and Lorenzo was striking enough that, at a glance, anyone could mistake one for the other.

Beneath the photographs were records from private auctions.

Every necklace.

Every bracelet.

Every diamond.

Purchased by Lorenzo, yet sent to Vittoria under Matteo's name, disguised as gifts from an elder of the Family.

His love had always been hidden.

Quiet.

Lavish.

Carefully woven into the smallest details.

And every detail drove another knife into my heart.

Only then did I recognize those pieces of jewelry.

He had once handed them to me with a smile, telling me they were complimentary gifts from the auction house.

I had believed him.

I let out a quiet, self-mocking laugh.

There was no need to keep looking.

I closed the album and sent a message to every Capo, calling for a sit-down in three days.

At that table...

I would reclaim everything that belonged to the Marchetti Family.

For three years, Lorenzo had taken what was mine.

Now...

He would return every last piece of it.

I didn't sleep that night.

At first light, I washed and dressed.

Just as I finished, a notification appeared in the Family communication channel.

Lorenzo immediately called.

His voice carried an urgency that made it sound as though a rival Family had crossed into our territory.

"Adriana? Since when are you checking Family business?" he asked. "Your mother's condition is getting worse. We agreed I'd oversee everything in your name. You shouldn't burden yourself with these matters. If you make yourself sick, your mother will blame me for failing to take care of you."

I set my phone aside and smiled faintly.

"It was nothing. I must have enabled the notifications by accident. I'll mute them in a moment."

I paused.

"Don't you have a meeting with the Capos about the new venture today? You should go."

The tension in his voice disappeared instantly.

I could almost picture the relief settling across his face.

He stepped closer and wrapped me gently in his arms.

"Thank you for understanding, cara."

He kissed the top of my head.

"I just want to finish everything as quickly as possible, so we can finally have our union."

I simply lowered my eyes.

I didn't answer.

After a moment, I quietly turned off my phone.

"You're going to the clinic today, aren't you?" he asked. "Stop by the hotel first. I had them prepare your favorite meal. You've lost weight lately."

"All right," I replied with a smile. "I'll bring some for Mother too."

My mother had remained in that clinic for an entire year.

Lorenzo had hired the finest caregivers money could buy, insisting he couldn't bear to see me exhaust myself.

Once, I believed that was love.

Now I knew better.

If he truly cared...

How could he have visited her fewer than twice in an entire year?

He had handed her life over to strangers.

People loyal not to my family...

But to the man who paid them.

Everything he had done...

Every thoughtful arrangement.

Every gentle word.

Every act of concern.

Had been nothing more than a carefully constructed cage.

One designed to keep me occupied...

While ensuring Vittoria never had to worry about me standing in her way.

Enough.

Three years of lies...

Would end with me.

I slowly turned my father's heavy signet ring around my finger as the car pulled up outside the clinic.

Before I even reached my mother's room, I heard several nurses whispering to one another in the hallway.

"The Marchettis are one of the oldest bloodlines in Wildore," one nurse whispered. "The Signora has been in this clinic for over a year, and they still haven't approved the surgery. When I changed her dressings this morning, she could barely breathe. How can her own Family be so indifferent?"

"Keep your voice down," another warned. "The Falcones have already given their instructions. Even the director refuses to interfere. They aren't trying to save her anymore. They're simply waiting for time to do the work."

She lowered her voice even further.

"They even replaced her medication with glucose. At this point... she doesn't have much time left."

"Maybe a day or two," the first nurse murmured, shaking her head. "For a Family that launders millions, they're unwilling to spend anything to save one woman."

My heart stopped.

I rushed into my mother's room.

Only then did I realize how much she had changed.

Just days ago, there had still been color in her face.

Now she looked frighteningly pale.

I had stayed by her side every single day...

Yet I hadn't noticed.

The cardiac monitor screamed beside her bed while each breath grew weaker than the last.

Even so, her thoughts remained fixed on me.

She reached for my hand with trembling fingers.

"Adriana..."

Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Mamma... probably won't live long enough to see your union."

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Lorenzo is a good man. After I'm gone... he'll take good care of you."

She gently patted the back of my hand twice, just as she always had whenever she spoke about the future she hoped I would have.

"Can you... ask him to come?"

"I'd like... to speak with him one last time."

My vision blurred with tears.

I tucked the blanket around her before running into the hallway to find the attending physician.

After examining her, he slowly lowered his stethoscope and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Signorina."

"Her condition has deteriorated too far. Her body can no longer survive surgery."

He hesitated before quietly adding,

"You should begin preparing for her funeral."

I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

Without another word, I drove straight to the Falcone headquarters.

It was the legitimate front where Lorenzo met with capos, signed contracts, and conducted Family business.

Before I reached the office door, Vittoria's voice drifted out.

"Lorenzo... you've already done so much for me over these past three years. The Signora is still alive. If I take over the Marchetti territory now, my sister will be heartbroken."

Lorenzo answered in a low voice filled with practiced restraint.

"You're my brother's future wife. Looking after you is only natural."

I heard papers sliding across the desk.

"Sign it."

"You'll have to learn how the Family operates sooner or later."

"As for the Signora..."

His tone remained frighteningly calm.

"She won't survive much longer."

"You don't need to concern yourself with her."

A flash of triumph crossed Vittoria's face before she quickly concealed it beneath a look of carefully rehearsed sympathy.

"Then... I'll visit the clinic today."

She lowered her eyes.

"Even if Mamma never acknowledged me as her daughter... I'd still like the chance to earn her forgiveness."

The rage inside me finally snapped.

I shoved the office door open.

"Save your performance."

"My mother doesn't want to see you."

Lorenzo froze.

For the first time in years, genuine panic flashed across his face.

He immediately stood and hurried toward me, unconsciously smoothing the front of his jacket as he walked.

"Adriana... why are you here?"

"You've misunderstood."

"I was only discussing the new territory with Vittoria. She brought it up in passing. It isn't what you're thinking."

Vittoria rose gracefully and smiled as though nothing had happened.

"Adriana."

"It's been a long time."

I didn't even look at her.

I turned and walked away.

Lorenzo hurried after me, explaining himself over and over, speaking faster than I had ever heard him speak.

Watching him scramble after me...

I almost laughed.

Three years ago, he had sacrificed my dignity before the Five Families to clear Vittoria's path.

Now he had sacrificed my mother's life.

He had already obtained everything he wanted.

Who was this performance still meant for?

I stopped walking and looked at him calmly.

"Don't worry."

"I'm not unreasonable."

"I won't interfere with Falcone business."

"I was only passing by on my way to the clinic."

"I thought I'd come see you."

"Since you're busy..."

"I'll leave."

Only then did the tightness leave his shoulders.

He personally walked me downstairs, every bit the attentive fiancé until the very end.

Halfway back to the clinic, my phone rang.

It was the attending physician.

"Signorina..."

"I'm sorry."

"Your mother passed away a few minutes ago."

My hands tightened violently around the steering wheel.

The brakes screeched.

The car lurched to a stop at the roadside.

I couldn't breathe.

Grief...

Rage...

Betrayal...

They crashed together inside my chest until everything around me became painfully silent.

After what felt like an eternity, I turned the car around.

Instead of returning to the clinic, I drove to the Marchetti estate.

Someone had to pack away my mother's belongings.

As I folded the last of her clothes into a wooden chest, I slowly turned my father's heavy signet ring around my finger.

Just then...

Footsteps echoed outside the room.

When I looked up, Vittoria was standing quietly in the doorway.