The air in Luca’s private underground casino was thick enough to choke on. 

"So, this is the Alexander family's loyal bitch? Not bad to look at." 

Luca swirled the amber liquid in his whiskey glass, his laugh echoing off the walls. "Go on then. Take off that Kevlar vest. Give the Capos a little show. If you keep everyone entertained tonight, I might just let you see your sister." 

My nails dug into my palms until the skin broke.

I wanted to snap his neck. But then I thought of Lily.

I forced my hand to unclench.

"Fine," I said, my voice dead and cold.

The room went quiet, dozens of eyes sticking to me like tar. I reached for the buttons of my tactical shirt. One by one, they came undone.

I stood there in nothing but my black lace lingerie. The cool air bit at my skin, but it was nothing compared to the burning humiliation.

I could feel their gazes crawling over my skin.

"More," Luca commanded, his eyes darkening with lust.

I reached behind me to unclasp my bra. My hands shook, but I let the straps fall. I was about to be completely bare.

"Wait. Watching is boring." Luca stood up abruptly.

His hand reached out, aiming for my breast. "I want to taste what the Don of Cosa Nostra plays with."

Every muscle in my body coiled tight. I wanted to grab his wrist and snap the bone. I could do it in a second.

But if I fought back, Lily died.

I squeezed my eyes shut, holding my breath, waiting for the violation.

Just as his filthy hand was about to graze me— 

Crash. 

The heavy, carved oak doors of the private suite were kicked open with violent force. 

Alexander stormed in. Behind him, two rows of Soldatos in black suits flooded the room, Thompson submachine guns raised. The pressure in the room dropped instantly, suffocating everyone. 

Silence fell like a guillotine. 

Luca froze, then forced a greasy smile. "Don Alexander, I was just helping you train your—" 

He never finished the sentence. 

Alexander strode forward, snatched a heavy crystal ashtray from the table, and smashed it directly onto Luca’s kneecap. 

"Aaaargh!" 

The scream tore through the room, drowning out the opera music playing in the background. 

Alexander’s face was a mask of stone. He placed his handmade Italian leather shoe on Luca’s shattered leg and ground his heel down. 

"I said you could look. I never said you could touch. Do you think my words are just the wind blowing over Sicily?" 

Before I could even exhale, Alexander ripped off his long black trench coat and wrapped it tightly around my body.

He scooped me up into his arms.

The drive back to the estate was silent. The moment we entered the master bedroom, he dragged me into the bathroom and shoved me into a tub filled with ice-cold water. 

The freezing temperature shocked my system, seizing my muscles and stinging my open wounds. 

"Boss..." 

"Shut your mouth! Have you forgotten Omertà?" 

Alexander grabbed a stiff-bristled horse brush from the shelf. He began to scrub the skin where Luca’s fingers had hovered. 

"Did you enjoy that? Are you that desperate for a man's attention?" 

Cold sweat mixed with tears on my face. "I didn't... I did it to save Lily..." 

"Don't you dare talk back!" 

He scrubbed harder. "If this skin is so dirty, then scrub it until it's clean! You belong to me. Who gave you permission to carry the scent of another man?"

After that night, Alexander threw me into solitary confinement. I didn't see the sun for a week.  

The scabs on my body had barely formed when the order came down.  

Sophia was going to Milan for a high-profile jewelry auction—a classic front for money laundering. She specifically requested me as her detail.  

I wanted to refuse. But the Consigliere delivered the message with icy precision: "Ivy, the Don says this is a direct order. A Soldato does not have the right to say no. If you refuse, he cannot guarantee Lily's safety."  

I let out a hollow laugh, grabbed my gun, and climbed into the passenger seat of the armored Lincoln limousine.  

In the back, Sophia was snuggled deep into Alexander’s embrace, playfully twisting his silk tie around her finger.  

When she saw me in the rearview mirror, a flash of triumph lit up her eyes. She pitched her voice high and sweet. "Darling, aren't you being too careful making Ivy come along? With you here, who would dare touch me? Didn't Naples and Sicily sign a truce?"  

Alexander glanced at the back of my head, his tone indifferent. "The blade might be dull, but it can still block a bullet if necessary."  

Block a bullet.  

Those three words were nails driven straight into my heart.  

We were winding along the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast when hell broke loose.  

"Ambush! It's a Vendetta hit from the rival family!"  

Before I could react, a heavy-duty truck loaded with explosives roared out from a side road, T-boning the limousine.  

BOOM.  

The impact crumpled the chassis like aluminum foil, sending the car spinning out of control and slamming into the mountain face.  

In that split second between life and death, Alexander didn't hesitate and threw himself over Sophia, shielding her body with his own.

Meanwhile, in the front seat, the dashboard had collapsed, pinning my legs, and shrapnel pierced my abdomen.  

Blood gushed out, soaking the driver's seat.  

My vision blurred, but I could hear the sirens and the screech of tires as our Quick Response Force arrived.  

Someone was prying open the rear door.  

"Don! Are you alright?"  

Alexander climbed out, carrying Sophia bridal style. 

Sofia had only a small scratch on her forehead, yet she let out a piercing scream.

"Check Sophia! Now!" Alexander roared, his voice thick with panic.  

The team leader looked at the front of the car, where flames were licking at the engine block. "Don, Ivy is trapped in the front. She's critical, we should..."  

"I said save Sophia first! Her face can't be damaged!" Alexander cut him off with a violent shout. He didn't even glance at the wreckage where I was bleeding out. "Ivy is an experienced Soldato. She won't die that easily. Let her wait for the second wave!"  

Let her wait...  

But the fire was already eating through the firewall.  

I slumped over the steering wheel, watching through the smoke as the man I loved sprinted toward the ambulance with an unscathed Sophia in his arms. He didn't look back. Not once.  

So, that was the answer.  

Instinct never lies.  

Ten years of bleeding for this family, ten years of loyalty, couldn't outweigh a shallow wound on the forehead of a Mafia Princess.  

The heat began to sear my skin. I didn't feel pain anymore. I felt relief.  

Maybe it's better to die like this.  

Alexander, I am returning this life to you.  

If there is a next life, I pray we never meet again.

But I didn’t die. They pulled me out before the car exploded. My abdominal wound was crudely stitched up. 

Before the thread was even tied off, Alexander ordered his men to take me onto the aft deck of his private yacht. 

I shivered uncontrollably, blood already seeping through the fresh gauze. 

Alexander sat under a parasol on a plush leather sofa.

“She's the one who leaked our whereabouts!” Sophia kicked me in the injured stomach, causing blood to gush out.

A flicker of worry crossed Alexander's eyes, but he quickly concealed it, his face turning icy as he asked, “What evidence do you have?”

Sophia smiled smugly, tossing out a bunch of photos of me meeting with rival families.

My vision was already blurry. “I didn’t… these are photoshopped…”

"The metadata matches!" Sophia interrupted, pulling her hand free and pouting. "Alex, the Commission has seen them. If you don't punish a traitor, the other families will think you are weak. They will think you are protecting a rat just because you slept with her!"

Alexander rubbed his temples.

"She needs to be punished," Sophia insisted, her voice softening into a reasonable, manipulative coo. "But I know you care about old times. So, let's just do a 'Drag Run'. It's traditional, it satisfies the family laws, but it doesn't have to be lethal."

Alexander hesitated. "A Drag Run with fresh stitches? It could kill her."

"Not if we go slow," Sophia lied smoothly, stroking his shoulder. "Just a few minutes at low speed. Just to show the other boats we are enforcing the law. I'll drive. I promise, I’ll just create a little foam. I won't hurt her."

Suddenly, his satellite phone rang. It was the frantic ringtone reserved for the Elders.

He answered it, his face darkening immediately. "What? The shipment in the harbor is under fire? I'm on my way to the comms room."

He stood up, looking at Sophia sternly. "Fine. Do the Drag Run to satisfy the code. But listen to me, Sophia—keep the yacht under 10 knots. If she dies, there will be hell to pay."

"I promise, darling. Go handle business," Sophia smiled like an angel.

Alexander glanced at me one last time before turning and rushing into the cabin.

After he left, bodyguards stepped forward. They tied a thick hemp rope around my wrists, securing the other end to the tow hook of the speedboat. 

It was a punishment Cosa Nostra reserved for traitors.

It was usually a slow torture, dragging a traitor through the water to simulate drowning.

But Sophia shot me a look of pure, venomous malice, jumped into the driver's seat, and slammed the throttle all the way down. 

VROOOM! 

The speedboat shot forward like an arrow. 

I was yanked violently off the deck and into the churning wake. 

At this speed, water hits you like concrete. 

My body smashed against the surface, skipping like a stone. Every impact was a sledgehammer to the chest. 

The fresh stitches in my stomach tore open instantly. Saltwater flooded the cavity—a pain so blinding it felt like a thousand knives twisting at once. 

"Gah—!" I tried to gasp for air, but a wave slammed into my face, filling my lungs with brine. The suffocation was instant and terrifying. 

Sophia wasn't done. She started cutting S-turns, weaving the boat aggressively. 

Centrifugal force whipped me back and forth. I tumbled through the wake, consciousness fading in and out. Behind me, the white foam of the sea was stained with a long, trailing ribbon of red.