My fiance, Luca Rossi, cuts off my finger with a cigar cutter to seize Ossuary Signet, my famiglia heirloom.

Afterward, he parades it like a trophy and slips the ring onto the finger of Sofia Constanzo, the heiress of the Constanzo famiglia.

He mocks me openly. "An orphan like you has no right to wear the ring meant for the future Donna of the Rossi famiglia."

Sofia lifts her hand to flaunt the ring, feigning concern as she says, "Alessia, don't be angry. At worst, I will have Luca compensate you with a golden finger later."

Everyone present watches me as a joke, yet I laugh out loud.

I wipe away my tears and start to applaud. "Congratulations, Luca. You traded one of my fingers for the Rossi famiglia's one and only lifeline."

I look at his stunned expression and smile cruelly. "Do you think it's just a ring? No. It is the sole key to unlock the billions in assets under my name. The moment it leaves my hand, the Rossi famiglia begins its countdown to bankruptcy and liquidation."

My ring finger hit the floor before the pain reached me. All I heard was a clean, brittle crack. The severed finger, still wearing the Ossuary Signet, rolled across the expensive, handwoven carpet.

Blood sprayed out, splashing over the crystal-studded heels of Sofia Constanzo.

"How horrible. There is so much blood," Sofia screamed and collapsed into Luca Rossi's arms.

The man gripping the bloodstained cigar cutter was someone I had trusted for 20 years and loved for ten.

He was the future Don of the Rossi famiglia, Luca Rossi.

When he looked at me, his gaze was icy. "Alessia, stop playing dead over there.

"Sofia can't stand the sight of blood. You dirtied the carpet. Get lost and deal with it."

I clutched the stump where my finger had been cut off. Blood flowed uncontrollably through my fingers, dripping onto the floor and pooling into a glaring red stain.

Only then did the pain finally explode along my nerves. It was a piercing, soul-splitting agony.

I didn't cry, nor did I scream.

I just stared at Luca and asked, "Luca, the Ossuary Signet was a famiglia heirloom. I never took it off. How could you sever my finger just to put it on Sofia?"

Today was my 22nd birthday. It was also the day Luca publicly annulled my status as his fiancee and announced he would marry Sofia instead.

Luca impatiently toyed with the cigar cutter, which was still dripping blood. With a cold, contemptuous smile, he said, "Alessia, you must know your place. The Ossuary Signet is meant for the Rossi famiglia's Donna. Sofia is the only blood of the Constanzo famiglia. She is the future Donna here. And you?"

He bent down and picked up my severed finger. With a rough tug, he forcibly stripped the Ossuary Signet from the mangled flesh.

"You're nothing but an orphan with no name. The Rossi famiglia took you in out of pity. For 20 years, we fed you, clothed you, and sent you to the finest schools. As long as it makes Sofia happy, even your death would be worth it," he said.

He held the blood-warmed ring and turned to Sofia. In an instant, his cold gaze melted into a tender expression. He wiped the ring carefully and slid it onto her finger.

"Sofia, this is the symbol of the Rossi famiglia. Only you are worthy of wearing it."

Sofia looked down at the ring. A glint of triumph flashed in her eyes, though her face carried the pretense of tears.

"Luca, this isn't right. Alessia lost so much blood, and she has worn that ring since she was a child…"

"Alessia?" Luca cut her off coldly. "She doesn't deserve it."

The guests around us sipped champagne and watched the scene as if it were a performance. Not a single person spoke for me.

To them, I was a parasite, surviving only by clinging to the Rossi famiglia.

Now that the future Donna had returned, it was only fitting to tear a parasite apart.

My body trembled with pain, cold sweat soaking my back. Even so, I laughed until the laughter gave way to tears.

"Luca, you're right," I said. "I don't deserve it."

I rose to my feet, staring past the shameless couple at the roaring fire.

I staggered forward and bent down to pick up the severed finger from the floor.

Luca frowned. "Alessia, what are you doing?"

I lifted the finger and looked at him. "Luca, remember this day. You cut the last bond between us with your own hands."

Then I raised my hand and threw the finger into the blazing fireplace.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air. The flames consumed the finger and devoured the last shred of mercy I had left for the Rossi famiglia.

The room fell completely silent.

Everyone stared at me in horror, as if they were looking at a madwoman. Even Luca froze, shocked by my actions.

"You…"

I pressed my bleeding hand to my chest. My face was pale, but my smile was wild and unrestrained.

"You're wrong, Luca. The Ossuary Signet doesn't belong to the Rossi famiglia. It's a chain meant for dogs. Since that is how you choose to live, wear it proudly," I said.

I didn't look at them again. I turned and headed for the front door.

Blood dripped with every step I took. Beyond that door, I would no longer be Alessia, the Rossi famiglia's discarded fiancee.

I was Alessia Marino, the sole heir of the richest famiglia in the world, the Marino famiglia.

"Drag her out. Lock this lunatic in the storage room. No doctor unless I say so. If she's so stubborn, let the pain finish her," said Luca.

As two bodyguards hauled me out like a dead dog, my blood streaked the floor behind us.

Before I passed out from the pain, I caught sight of a thin man in the corner of the ballroom.

In a shabby, ill-fitting suit, his bangs hid most of his face. He held a glass so tightly his knuckles stood out like bone.

That was Silas Rossi—the bastard of the Rossi famiglia, Luca's older half-brother, a child nobody in the famiglia had ever claimed. Rumor had it he was mute.

They threw me into a damp, dark basement. The pain in my left hand woke me. The wound on my hand hadn't been treated, and blood still poured freely.

Luca really wanted me dead.

Just when I thought I would die here quietly, the door creaked open. A faint beam from a flashlight cut through the darkness.

Through the haze, I saw Silas slip in like a shadow, crouching beside me with a medical kit in hand.

In the faint light, I made out his face. It was the first time I'd ever heard him speak. His voice was hoarse and rough from years of silence.

"Hold still. I don't have any anesthetic," he rasped.

So he wasn't mute.

The kit held nothing but the strongest alcohol and some disinfectant powder. His hand trembled over the bottle of alcohol. He couldn't bring himself to pour it on my bleeding wound.

"Do it," I said through gritted teeth, staring at the severed flesh. "Silas, I'm not afraid of pain."

He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and poured the alcohol over my wound.

Pain stole my vision, almost blacking me out.

I bit into Silas' shoulder, tasting blood.

He didn't flinch. He cleaned the wound, applied medicine, and wrapped it tight. Drops of sweat dripped from his jaw onto my cheeks, mingling with my tears.

When it was over, I gave in to weakness and rested against him. Silas held me firmly, caressing my cheek as he wiped my tears away.

"Revenge," he murmured.

His eyes sparkled in the shadows. I smiled.

"Of course. Silas, do you want to rule the Rossi famiglia?"

He hesitated. "I just want you alive."

At that moment, it felt like something had hit my heart hard.

That freezing winter night, as Luca severed my finger for Sofia, only this despised bastard cared if I lived.

Suddenly, loud footsteps approached outside the door. Silas' eyes sharpened. He shielded me and grabbed a wooden bat, staring down the doorway.

The door burst open, and several bodyguards charged in. But faced with Silas' fierce presence, they froze.

Luca followed, strolling in slowly.

In a sharp, clean suit and cigar in hand, he looked down at us with complete arrogance.

"So, here you are," he said, casting a disdainful glance around the storage room and then at us. "Like attracts like, and here we have a truly perfect pair."

Silas' veins bulged. He was about to charge.

I held him back and stepped out from behind him. My face was pale, but I stood tall and met Luca's gaze without flinching. "Luca, what brings you here? Are you here to see if I'm dead?"

Luca blew out a swirl of smoke, looming above me. "Alessia, I'm here to inform you that the Rossi famiglia's succession will be held together with my engagement party to Sofia next Wednesday."

He pulled a white invitation from his pocket and slammed it onto my face. "Nonna said that since you were my fiancee and you've been in the Rossi famiglia for so many years, you are allowed to attend the ceremony.

"You're here only for appearances. On the day of the ceremony, you'll kneel and hand over the 5% of Rossi famiglia shares under your name to Sofia."

Only then did I realize he had come for the shares. Luca's grandfather, the late Don of the Rossi famiglia, had forced the shares into my name on his deathbed.

Luca had always treated it like a thorn lodged deep in his flesh. I caught the invitation before it hit the floor.

"Are you telling me to hand over my shares?" I asked.

"Yes," Luca said, closing the distance between us. "If you refuse, I'll break your legs and throw you into the ocean. You know how simple it is for us to kill someone."

I could sense Silas tense up behind me, fighting to contain the murderous intent threatening to burst out.

I lifted my chin, stared at Luca's arrogant face, and smiled.

"Fine. I'll go. Next Wednesday, I'll give you and Sofia a gift you'll never forget."

He blinked, surprised I agreed so readily. "Smart of you."

He reached out as if to pat my cheek in approval, but the wooden bat in Silas' grip forced him to stop short.

Luca let out a scornful snort and turned away. "Dress properly. Don't embarrass us."

As his footsteps faded, all my strength seemed to leave me at once, and I sank against Silas' chest.

Silas looked at me anxiously. "You can't go. They'll humiliate you."

I closed my fingers around him, my gaze turning cold as ice. "No, Silas. That's not humiliation. It's the opening act of their funeral."

Over the next few days, I was locked away in the storage room.

Luca seemed to savor the thrill of holding my life in his hands. Each day, someone would drop off scraps of food, barely enough to keep me alive.

My wounds festered, and the fever wouldn't break.

Silas was going crazy.

He sneaked out to get anti-inflammatory medicine and a fever reducer, then clumsily gave me the injection and fed me the medicine.

Through my fevered haze, I noticed fresh bruises marring his skin.

I knew Luca had found him out and beaten him, but he never said a word.

When I woke, he was there with that goofy, warm smile, peeling a soft-boiled egg in his hands like it was the most precious thing in the world and offering it to me.

I brushed my fingers against the bruises at the corner of his mouth, my chest tightening with pain. "Silas, was all this really worth it for me?"

He pressed his hand against my mouth to silence me. Tears brimmed in his eyes as he whispered, "You're my light."

I spent 20 years thinking that if I were dutiful and smart enough, Luca would care for me, and the Rossis would finally acknowledge me.

I threw myself into everything—piano, chess, painting, and anything that might make me useful. I handled Luca's business, covered his mistakes, and even risked my life to save him from a car crash. And for all that, I was nothing more than a dog to the Rossi famiglia.

The only person who ever treated me like a human being was Luca's mute brother, whom I had ignored for 20 years.

By Wednesday, Luca had sent a dress. It wasn't couture—it was a maid's uniform, designed for nothing but pure humiliation. He expected me to wear it at his engagement party and kneel before Sofia like I was nothing.

Rage flared in Silas when he saw the dress. Just as he was about to tear it to shreds, I stepped in and held him back. "Don't."

I picked up the black-and-white uniform and calmly said, "It doesn't matter what I wear. What matters is who owns this place after tonight."

The gauze on my left hand still oozed blood. I slid on a black velvet glove to hide my mangled fingers.

"Silas, help me out."

He pulled on an old, ill-fitting suit—one Luca had thrown away years ago. Even so, his broad shoulders and narrow waist gave him a commanding presence that made even Luca pale in comparison.

We stepped out of the storage room and toward the grand ballroom.

Rossi Manor was drenched in opulence. The city's elites packed the room, and the press swarmed the entrance like a tide.

Luca looked like a prince in his white suit.

Sofia clung to his arm in a gown worth a fortune. The Ossuary Signet on her hand glinted coldly under the lights. She had wrapped it with thread just to make it fit, but that didn't stop her from showing it off.

"This is a gift from Luca. He said it's an heirloom of the Rossi famiglia, meant only for the Donna to wear."

"Wow, Mr. Rossi really spoils Ms. Constanzo, huh?"

"Didn't Alessia show up today, too?"

"For what? To humiliate herself?"

The murmurs grew as the grand doors slowly opened.

Silas and I entered, and the cameras went wild.

I stood in the maid uniform beside Silas, wearing a calm expression.

"Well, well, if it isn't Alessia. Why are you dressed like that?"

Sofia feigned shock, covering her mouth. "Alessia, you may not be part of the Rossi famiglia, but today's a day of celebration. Why are you dressed like a servant? Are you upset that Luca didn't get you a new haute couture gown?"

Sofia's act flipped the situation, making me look small and ungrateful in front of everyone.

Luca snorted and stepped forward.

"This is exactly what she deserves," he said, looking at me coldly.

Then he gestured to the red carpet and added, "Alessia, get down on your knees. Serve Sofia her tea like the servant you are."

A maid brought the cup. Luca grabbed it and held it in front of me.

"Get down on your knees," he ordered.

A hush settled over the ballroom. Everyone was waiting for the show to unfold.

I looked at the tea, then at Sofia's smug smile.

I didn't take it. Instead, I looked up at the crowd, then shifted my gaze to the doors.

Just then, the massive doors creaked open, and an elderly woman appeared in a wheelchair, wheeled forward by the household staff. Her face was gaunt, yet her authority remained undiminished.

She was Donna Valeria Alberto, the true ruler of the Rossi famiglia. She had been abroad recuperating, and everyone had assumed she was on her deathbed. Even Luca hadn't expected her sudden return.

Luca's face went pale as he rushed forward. "Nonna, when did you get back? You didn't even tell me…"

I had Silas track down the butler and pass the message to Valeria so that she would return for me to transfer the Marino family's assets.

Her gaze was fixed on the Ossuary Signet gleaming on Sofia's finger.

"You fools!"

Luca froze. "Nonna, what's the matter? Today is supposed to be a celebration of my rise as Don and my engagement to Sofia—"

"Celebration?"

Valeria shook with fury. She grabbed her cane and brought it down hard on Luca. "What celebration? You blind, worthless stupido! Do you even know whose ring that is? Do you know who Alessia is?"

Luca flinched but didn't move, whining, "She's just an orphan. The ring belongs to the Rossi famiglia."

"Shut up! Who dares call her an orphan? You have no idea the disaster you've unleashed. Your arrogance has pushed the Rossi famiglia to the brink! How did we end up with a stupido like you in the famiglia?"