Lina's POV

I had injured my knees when I threw myself in front of a hail of bullets to protect Dante four years ago. As a result, they ached terribly on rainy days.

I knew that I couldn't oppose Dante's orders, so I slowly sank to my knees.

A fierce glint flickered in Dante's eyes. He swiftly pressed his hands on my shoulders and shoved me to the ground.

My knees collided against the marble with a loud thud. Sweat beaded across my skin from the pain as the color drained from my face.

Guilt flashed through Dante's eyes for a split second. He grabbed a glass and approached me, bringing it close to my lips.

"Admit your mistake," he murmured. "If you admit that you hired someone to start the fire and put on an act, I'll call the doctor immediately to tend to your wounds."

I looked at the glass of water before staring into his eyes that used to look at me with affection.

I lifted my hand and knocked the glass out of his hand.

"It wasn't an act. Papa is dead! Are you blind, Dante?"

The glass crashed on the floor and shattered into a million pieces.

Bianca shrieked and shrank back in her seat.

"How scary! Is she trying to kill me, Dante?"

Dante's expression darkened instantaneously. Any sympathy he had for me disappeared completely. He snatched the whip from the punisher and hissed, "I see that I'll have to personally discipline you since you insist on being stubborn."

The whip cracked loudly as he brought it down on my back. Both the back of my shirt and my skin split open from the impact.

Dante's eyes flashed. His fingers subconsciously trembled as he gripped the whip.

It was obvious that he was holding back when he whipped me again.

"Why must you be so stubborn, Lina?" he demanded as he continued whipping me. "Why must you target Bianca? I can sweep everything under the rug as long as you admit your mistakes!"

I bit my lip harshly and refused to make a sound, staring at Dante with hollow eyes.

My silent resistance only stoked the flames of his frustration even more compared to if I had cried and wailed.

Dante raised the whip high in the air. He tightened his grip on it, but he didn't bring it down on my back for a long time.

Just then, Bianca's teary voice cut through the air.

"Stop it, amore mio! I'm begging you. Please don't hurt Lina anymore."

Tears streamed down her face as she trembled.

"It's all my fault. I'm too cowardly. I shouldn't have been scared of the fire, and I shouldn't be here. I'll leave right now so Lina won't get angry just by looking at me. I don't want her to be punished because of me either."

She then ran toward us, looking like she wanted to put herself between Dante and me. However, her legs suddenly gave out, and she crashed to the floor with a loud cry. Her face was deathly pale as she heaved for breath, looking as if she was seconds away from passing away.

"Bianca!" Dante exclaimed with wide eyes.

He tossed the whip aside before rushing over to her side and picking her up.

"Call the doctor now!"

Dante turned to look at me.

I was still kneeling on the floor. I watched the scene unfold before me with a cold gaze, feeling nothing at all.

The fury in Dante's eyes intensified.

"Don't you feel anything even after she begged for mercy on your behalf? Is your heart made of stone, Lina?"

Dante whipped around and picked up the whip again. This time, his eyes were devoid of hesitation.

"Since you refuse to change your ways, you'll just have to be punished!"

The whip whizzed through the air before it cracked against my back.

I nearly collapsed as black spots exploded across my vision.

Dante continued to punish me, whipping me exactly 20 times. My skin and flesh split open every time the whip collided against my back.

I dug my nails into the gaps between the marble tiles as blood poured from my back. However, I still refused to make a sound.

I fainted after Dante brought down the whip on my back for the last time.

Right before I slipped into unconsciousness, I heard Dante bark an order in an icy tone.

"Throw her into the dungeon. She's not allowed to leave until she admits her mistakes."

Lina's POV

The dungeon was dark, damp, and cold. Somewhere in a corner of the cell, a mouse squeaked.

I was lying on a moldy mattress, and the wounds on my back had become infected. The pus that oozed out clung to my clothes, but I still refused to let go of the scorched watch.

The door swung open.

I struggled to keep my eyes open against the glaring light.

Bianca's high heels clacked against the floor as she entered the cell with two bodyguards trailing after her. She didn't look weak at all. Her face was rosy red, and she looked incredibly smug.

"Oh, you're not dead yet?"

She pinched her nose with a look of disdain and kicked my injured back.

"Dante asked me to check on you. He wanted to know if you were still alive."

I ignored her and clutched the watch closer to my chest.

Unfortunately, Bianca had sharp eyes. She grabbed my wrist and demanded, "What's that?"

She forcefully peeled my fingers apart and snatched the watch from me.

"Give it back!" I exclaimed as I lunged at her, feeling a sudden surge of strength course through me. "That's the last thing that Papa left for me! Give it back to me!"

Bianca stumbled back a few steps when I crashed into her, her back colliding against the wall. Her eyes flashed before she suddenly raised the watch high into the air.

"Isn't this my watch that went missing last week? So, you're the one who stole it!"

"You're lying!" I roared hoarsely like a wounded animal, trying to snatch the watch from her.

As Bianca fell to the floor, she intentionally knocked her forehead against the wall, causing fresh blood to flow down her face.

"Help! Lina's trying to kill me!"

Dante rushed into the dungeon at that moment.

"Bianca!"

He didn't say another word as he dashed into the cell and slapped me hard across the face.

I felt as if my eardrums had been punctured from the force of his slap. The world fell silent for a few seconds as blood leaked from the corner of my lips.

Dante glanced at the watch before looking at me.

"It's just a broken watch. Is it that valuable that you have to act like a lunatic and hurt someone over it?"

I fell to my knees at his feet. I ignored the stinging pain radiating from my cheek and clasped my hands together to beg him.

"The watch doesn't belong to her, Dante… It's the last thing that Papa left for me. I'm begging you. Please don't give it to her."

Dante flexed his fingers as he gazed at my tear-streaked and bloody face.

Bianca threw herself into his arms with a loud wail.

"Dante, I just wanted to give her some medicine because I felt sorry for her. But not only did she steal my belongings, but she also tried to kill me to silence me."

She lifted the scorched watch and continued, "Look. This is the evidence."

Dante turned to look at the blood flowing from Bianca's forehead. He hardened his heart and hissed at me, "We should get rid of that since it turns you into such a despicable person."

He grabbed the watch and walked toward the drain. He then loosened his grip on the watch right before my eyes.

"No!" I screamed in anguish before I lunged at him like a maniac.

The watch was the last thing that Papa left for me. I couldn't afford to lose it.

The drain cover was extremely heavy, and the spaces between the bars were very narrow.

My fingers turned into a bloody mess when I squeezed them past the bars. I could feel my skin and flesh peeling back, but I didn't feel any pain at all.

I only wanted to retrieve the watch.

"Have you lost your mind, Lina?"

Dante panicked when he realized I was willing to sacrifice my fingers just to retrieve the watch. He rushed to my side and grabbed my wrist, shouting, "Do you want to lose your hands? Let go!"

"No! Papa… That's the last thing that Papa left for me…"

I was struggling to breathe from how hard I was crying. Blood continued to drip from my fingertips.

Just then, Bianca's knees suddenly buckled, causing her to fall on Dante's back.

"I'm so dizzy, Dante… Am I going to die?"

Dante's body stiffened. He looked between my bloody hands and the unconscious Bianca before shouting, "Call the doctor now!"

He then abandoned me, turning around to pick up Bianca. He didn't even spare a single glance at me before he dashed out of the cell.

Dante ordered the doctors who rushed to the dungeon to tend to the minor scrape on Bianca's forehead.

No one cared about my well-being.

The door to the cell was locked again.

I remained sprawled next to the drain, watching the watch completely disappear under the mud.

I looked at my twisted fingers that were covered in blood.

In that moment, I stopped crying.

I could feel something shattering in my heart.

Lina's POV

The moldy smell that permeated the air of the cell and the stench of rotting blood that wafted from my back nearly made me suffocate.

I wasn't sure how long I teetered on the edge of unconsciousness before the metal door was slammed open.

I mustered all the strength I had to peel my eyes open, thinking that Dante had finally sent his men to deal with me.

However, the intimidating thugs who entered the cell as light shone behind them were from the Genovese family.

They had realized that Dante still hadn't paid any attention to them even after they killed Papa in the explosion. They became even more furious when they learned that Dante assumed that it was just a farce.

Thus, not only did they abduct me this time, but they also abducted Bianca.

I was once again brought back to the ruins.

Bianca and I were tied on opposite ends of a huge mountain of explosives with about 30 feet separating us.

The Don of the Genovese family video-called Dante and said, "Long time no see, Don Luciano. I have both your woman and your lover. Either hand over your territory to the port, or choose only one of them to take with you. The one you leave behind will be blown into smithereens with the ruins."

Dante rushed to the ruins with his subordinates in tow. A steely expression crossed his face when he saw Bianca and me tied to the poles.

Bianca began screaming and crying before he even opened his mouth.

"Save me, Dante! These people are so scary! Hurry up and save me! Lina's the mastermind who's pulling the strings behind the scenes. She wants to kill me! She's jealous of me, so she worked with outsiders to put on this farce!"

Dante looked at me.

I was covered in wounds. I kept my head lowered. I couldn't even muster the strength to defend myself.

However, after hearing Bianca's accusations, Dante assumed my silence meant I was admitting to my crimes.

"Lina," he hissed through gritted teeth, sounding incredibly disappointed. "Why can't you be more mature? You actually worked with the Genovese family to stage this farce just to force me to choose?

"You crossed the line. Did you really think that your actions would force me to go along with what you want?"

He took a deep breath before making his final decision.

"Since you're so fond of acting, I'll allow you to act out your little farce till the very end!"

There was only a minute left on the countdown timer.

Dante rushed over to Bianca and untied her. He then picked her up and dashed away. He paused for a split second when he passed me. There was a complicated look in his eyes, along with frustration and fury.

"Drop the act, Lina. You can forget about coming home ever again if you don't return and admit your mistakes tonight."

I struggled to lift my head and looked at the man I had loved for so many years. I couldn't make a sound, feeling as if there was something stuck in my throat.

I could only shake my head hopelessly.

"There's no future for us, Dante," I thought to myself.

I watched Dante's retreating figure as he turned around and carried Bianca away. My gaze turned hollow, the hopeless glint in my eyes morphing into indifference.

I didn't struggle, and I didn't beg for help.

Instead, I silently watched the timer until the numbers counted down to zero, feeling as if I was watching the end of a ridiculous drama.

…

As Dante carried Bianca to safety, he couldn't help but think about my hopeless gaze.

My eyes had been completely devoid of light, replaced by a dead silence.

Fear suddenly gripped his heart, causing him to slow his steps.

Just then, a sports car rushed onto the scene, the deafening roar of its engine cutting through the air.

Dante's Underboss was covered in blood as he stumbled out of the car and staggered toward the former. He lifted a confidential report into the air and exclaimed, "It wasn't a farce, Don Luciano! The report is out! The DNA test has confirmed that the man in the ruins was Ms. Vittori's Padre!

"Her Padre died during the explosion three days ago. Ms. Vittori wasn't lying! They… The Genovese family is actually planning to kill her!"

In the next second, the sounds of a thunderous explosion came from behind Dante.