I don't know how much time passed before they fished me out. By the time I hit the deck, I had gone into hypovolemic shock.  

Alexander jammed a needle of adrenaline straight into my heart, dragging me back from the gates of hell.  

"Since you're not dead, stop acting weak," Alexander spat the words at my heaving chest. Then, he wrapped his arm around a still-trembling Sophia and led her back to the luxury cabin.  

I retched, coughing up seawater onto the teak deck. My hands, shaking uncontrollably, fumbled for the encrypted satellite phone in my pocket.  

The screen lit up. A message from a familiar ID popped up.  

It was a photo.  

The background was a dim, filthy chemical lab. Lily was strapped to a surgical table, tubes inserted into her veins, her eyes unfocused and rolling back.  

The caption beneath it read: [Neapolitan suburbs, abandoned chemical plant. Camorra's new synthetic drug trials. The girl has a high tolerance. The Red Light District was just a cover; this is her real home.]  

The last string of sanity in my mind severed.  

Luca had lied. He hadn't sent Lily to a brothel; he had sent her to a Camorra drug factory.  

That rabid dog was using my baby sister as a live lab rat for high-purity heroin.  

I forced myself up and dropped a spare zodiac boat into the water.  

I tore toward the shore like a woman possessed.  

Naples outskirts. Abandoned chemical plant. Sub-basement level 3.  

I was dripping wet, looking like a nemesis crawling out of the abyss. 

The two Camorra guards at the entrance didn't even see a shadow before I slit their throats. They dropped without a sound.  

I was a top-tier Soldato trained by Cosa Nostra. Even half-dead, slaughtering these watchdogs was child's play.  

When I kicked open the lab doors, my heart stopped.  

Lily... she was barely recognizable. Her pale skin was covered in festering red rashes—rejection reactions from the chemicals. 

Her limbs convulsed, white foam bubbled at her lips, and her eyes were empty. 

Her hospital gown was torn open. Her inner thighs were covered in dark, violent purple bruises shaped like fingers. 

There were bite marks on her neck and chest, and dried blood matted between her legs.

Luca stood there in a white coat. "Increase the dosage! The purity of this Colombian batch is incredible!"  

"LUCA!"  

My scream tore through the lab.  

Luca’s hand jerked, dropping the syringe.  

He spun around in terror, only to see me—covered in blood, holding a submachine gun I’d ripped from a dead guard’s hands.  

Bang! Bang!  

Luca’s knees exploded in a mist of red. He collapsed into a pile of shattered glass, screaming.  

"Aaaargh! My legs! Ivy, you bitch, are you crazy? This is Camorra territory!"  

I didn't listen. I stormed forward and stomped my heavy combat boot directly onto his groin. I ground my heel down until I felt the crush.  

Another sickening crunch echoed. Luca passed out from the pain.  

I frantically cut the restraints binding Lily. I looked at the needle tracks covering her arms, and tears finally broke through. "Lily, I'm here. Ivy is here. I'm taking you home..."  

Suddenly, alarms blared.  

Killers were swarming the facility.  

I raided Luca’s safe, grabbed several bricks of C4, and coldly set the timers. "If this is hell, let's burn it clean."  

BOOM—!  

Amidst the chain reaction of blasts, I carried my semi-conscious sister on my back, crawling through the ventilation shafts.  

After escaping the blast zone, I slumped behind a tree and dialed the number that had sent me the photo. 

It was Viktor, the largest Russian arms dealer in Europe. He had been trying to poach me from Alexander for years.

"It's me," I rasped, my voice laced with finality. "I need a chopper. Now. And I need the best trauma surgeon money can buy."  

The voice on the other end paused. "Did the Sicilian let you go?"  

I looked down at my dying sister. The light in my eyes died, replaced by a bottomless abyss of hate.  

"He didn't. So I'm starting a war."

The line went dead.

Armored SUVs blocked every exit. Alexander stepped out of the lead vehicle.

"In this territory, who would dare pick you up but me?" 

He tossed a signal jammer at my feet.

"Ivy, your audacity is growing," Alexander’s voice held zero warmth. "You dared to touch the only male heir of the Camorra family? Did you want Lily to die in pieces? " 

My knuckles turned white around the grip of my gun. "Luca started it! He used Lily to test poison! He deserved to die!" 

"Alex! She's lying to you! Luca was just playing with Lily." Sophia ran out from behind him, wailing. She threw herself into Alexander’s arms. "My brother is ruined for life! He was the only son to carry on our bloodline! You have to get justice for me! Kill Lily!" 

Alexander patted Sophia’s hand soothingly, but his brows knitted. A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes. He knew how important Lily was to me.

Sophia saw the hesitation in his eyes, and a flicker of jealousy crossed her own.

Sophia wiped away her tears, stood on tiptoe, and pressed her lips to Alexander's ear.

It's unclear what she said, but Alexander showed a relieved expression.

"Fine," Alexander said, his voice lighter now, almost casual. "If it will calm your anger, Sophia, do it. Teach Ivy a lesson she won't forget."

Alexander’s eyes remained cold and fixed on me. "Drop the gun. This is your last chance." 

I looked at Lily. She was barely breathing. 

For her... I had no choice. 

I dropped the gun. I raised my bloodied hands and slowly sank to my knees. 

"Godfather," I choked out. "I surrender. I hurt him. Kill me. Torture me. Just please... let Lily go." 

Alexander snapped his fingers. 

The bodyguards dragged Lily’s unconscious body and loaded her onto the chopper. 

"What are you doing?!" My pupils dilated in horror. I tried to lunge forward, but a soldier behind me slammed my face into the rough concrete. 

"Since Luca lost his legs, your sister's life will pay the balance." Alexander adjusted his bespoke cufflinks. "This is the explanation the Camorra requires. And this is your lesson for disobedience. Only this will stop a war between the factions." 

The helicopter climbed rapidly, hovering a hundred meters above the black water. 

The side door opened. 

"NO!!!" I screamed, a sound that tore my throat raw. "Alexander! She’s innocent! How can you be this cruel?! Please! DON'T!" 

I slammed my forehead against the concrete, over and over, until blood masked my vision. "I was wrong! Boss, I was wrong! I’ll be Luca’s dog! I’ll die for you! Please bring the plane down!" 

Alexander remained unmoved. He spoke one word. 

"Drop." 

High above, a tiny silhouette was pushed out of the cabin like a bag of trash. 

I watched the shadow disappear into the pitch-black waves. 

"Hrk—!" 

A mouthful of heart’s blood sprayed from my lips, painting the concrete red. 

Alexander walked over, his polished shoes stopping right in front of my face. He crouched down, gripping my chin and forcing me to look at him. There was no guilt in his eyes, only annoyance.

"Enough, Ivy. The show is over," he scoffed, wiping the blood from my lip with his thumb. "It was just a mannequin. A silicone doll. Did you really think I would kill your sister over this? I just wanted to show you what happens when you defy me."

A mannequin?

"It... it was Lily..." I whispered, my voice broken shards of glass. "That was my sister! That wasn't a doll! YOU KILLED HER!"

I looked at the dark water, then back at the man I had worshipped.

Alexander, I hate you. 

I curse you. May you lose everything you love. May you never find peace.

After Lily died, I didn't go crazy. I didn't scream. 

The trauma was so massive that my mind simply shut down. I engaged a kill switch on my emotions. 

I became an exquisite, soulless marionette. Alexander locked me in a villa on the Sicilian coast. 

No matter how he humiliated me, I did it.

Everyone thought the wildest dog in the family had finally been tamed. 

One month later. The engagement gala for the union of the Alexander and Camorra families. 

Alexander ordered me to attend as a server. To pour wine for Sophia. 

That night, I didn't wear a maid's uniform. 

I wore a deep V-neck red dress. I had bought it with the commission money I had saved for years. 

I looked like a poppy blooming on the edge of a cliff—dangerous and mesmerizing. 

Tray in hand, I wove through the crowd of Mafia royalty, stepping closer and closer to the perfect couple on the dais. 

Sophia clung to Alexander’s arm, beaming with triumph. When she saw me approach, her eyes glittered with malice. "Ivy. Pour the wine. Do it on your knees." 

"Of course, Miss Sophia." I obediently dropped to one knee, raising the wine glass. 

The moment Sophia reached out to take it— 

I thrust a sharp blade upward, aiming straight for Sophia’s heart. "Go to hell and apologize to Lily!!!" 

It happened too fast. Sophia’s smile froze into a mask of terror. 

But Alexander was faster. 

Just as the blade was a centimeter from her chest, the gunshot echoed through the ballroom. 

A blossom of blood exploded just below my left collarbone. He missed my heart, but the impact lifted me off my feet and threw me backward. 

Behind me was the terrace railing. Beyond that, a hundred-foot drop to the sea. 

As I plummeted, I looked up.

“No! Ivy!” Alexander cried out in terror, reaching out to grab me.

But Sophia clung to him, slowing his pace.

The corner of my mouth lifted in a smile of pure relief. 

Alexander. Never to see you again.