I destroyed everything connected to Sebastian in my study—cheap trinkets, old photographs, and letters full of empty promises. Just then, the doorbell rang three times.

My gaze darkened. By the time I rose from my seat to open the door, my fingers were already wrapped around the dagger hidden in my sleeve.

As soon as the door opened, the first thing that came into view was Sebastian, his arm wrapped around Angelina. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her face streaked with tears. Clutching a cheap fruit basket, she shrank into his arms as if she'd suffered some great injustice.

"Why are you so pale, Bella? Are you feeling unwell?" Sebastian's voice was still warm and gentle. He reached out and tried to touch my forehead.

I stepped aside to avoid him. "You're not welcome here. Get the hell out!"

Angelina immediately choked back a sob, clinging to his arm. "I was just worried about you, Signora Valerini. I heard you've been in a foul mood lately, so I brought some fruit to check on you.

"I know I don't deserve him, but what we have is real. Can't you just give us your blessing?"

"You want my blessing?" As I stared at her pretentious face, I immediately called her out. "The two of you teamed up and scammed me out of four million dollars, used my famiglia's soldati, and now you want my blessing? You're nothing but a clown to me, Angelina."

Angelina's sobs grew louder as she turned to Sebastian. "I didn't… Look at her, Sebastian! She's always looked down on me, and now she's accusing us of scheming against her. I swear I didn't do anything!"

Sebastian's expression hardened in an instant, and he seized my wrist.

"You've gone too far, Isabella! Angelina came to check on you out of kindness, and this is how you treat her? Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you're a Valerini?"

I watched him pull Angelina behind him, and whatever foolish illusion I had was shattered in a heartbeat. I yanked my hand free and slapped him across the face. The sharp crack echoed down the hallway, prompting my soldati downstairs to look up.

"You want me to apologize?" Contempt was written all over my face as I gazed at him, who was clutching his cheek.

"You're an illegitimate child of la famiglia Passini, Sebastian; you're only alive because my family supported you, yet you turned around and plotted against me. Who do you think you are?

"That injury on your arm was self-inflicted. The four million dollars you asked for went straight to Angelina's house, her car, and her luxury goods.

"There was never any crisis. Did you really think you could fool me?"

His face contorted, and he bellowed, "Have you lost your mind? Who told you that? What kind of lies have you been fed?"

"Lies?" I pulled out my phone and played the recording. Their conversation from the secret chamber immediately rang out.

"Should I send this to all the mafia families in Bellano right now? Then, everyone will know what a traitor you truly are and how you played me like a fool!"

The blood drained from Angelina's face. Then, she hurriedly grasped his arm and dragged him outside. "Let's go, Sebastian! Don't argue with her anymore."

"Where do you think you're going?" I stepped forward, blocking their path. "Do you think you can come and go as you please? What do you take my house for, a flea market?"

Sebastian's gaze hardened. He reached out, attempting to snatch my phone away. "Give it to me. Isabella, if I go down, I'm dragging your whole famiglia down with me!"

I had seen that coming. So, I twisted aside and pressed the alarm on the wall. My soldati downstairs flooded upstairs and surrounded them in no time.

"How dare you lay a hand on me, Isabella?" he roared. "My famiglia won't let this slide. The Aurelis are on my side. Your famiglia's days are numbered!"

"Your famiglia?" I arched my brow and let out a mirthless chuckle. "A famiglia that survives on betrayal won't last long in this city."

I took a step back and ordered my soldati, "Throw them out. If they show their faces near any of our operations again, feed them to the sharks!"

My soldati acted immediately. Sebastian was thrashed, and he swore, while Angelina shrieked as the two of them were hauled off. I closed the door and changed all the villa's access codes, from the front gate to the garage and the study.

Sebastian's roars and Angelina's shrill curses echoed outside the door. Ignoring them, I walked to the window, picked up my phone, and called my Madre.

"It's time, Mamma. The Passinis and the Aurelis are going to pay!

"Also, look into our own people. Sebastian couldn't have had access to so much information on his own. We have a traitor in our famiglia."

Camilla's voice was calm and resolute. "I've been prepared for this. Are you safe over there? Do you need reinforcements?"

"No," I responded firmly. "I can take care of it. Keep your eyes on the Passinis' core businesses. Wait for my signal. Then, we'll strike them from both directions."

After Sebastian and Angelina were thrown out, one of my subordinates informed me that Matteo had arrived.

Matteo had just walked in when Sebastian's call came through. His tone was vicious as he spat out, "How dare you betray me, Isabella? Do you think you can get away with this?

"I have documents detailing the illegal trade moving through your famiglia's ports. Believe it or not, I can sell them to the FBI and wipe your entire famiglia out!"

"Go ahead." My voice was calm and edged with a hint of mockery.

I continued, "Half of what you have is information I deliberately fed you. The other half was invalidated by my IT department half an hour ago. This is child's play to me, Sebastian."

"Stronza!" he snarled into the phone. "Did you collude with someone else? Let me make this clear: no one can save you!

"Once my famiglia and the Aurelis join forces, your famiglia is finished. When that happens, I'll make you wish you were never born!"

"Is that so?" A low male voice sounded from beside me.

I turned around and found Matteo seated across from me. Dressed in a black suit, his gaze was as sharp as a hawk's.

He let out a mirthless chuckle and asked, "What about my famiglia? Do you still think that's not enough?"

Sebastian went silent for a beat before bursting into laughter. "Matteo? You're the son of a traitor, and you think you have the right to stick your nose into the business of the Valerinis and the Passinis?

"Your madre was dumped by my padre. You're nothing but a bastard nobody wanted. Who do you think you are, running your mouth here?"

"I'm the son of a traitor?" Matteo's tone became ice-cold in a heartbeat. "Your padre, Giovanni Passini, betrayed mia madre, swallowed two-thirds of my famiglia's assets, and sent his men to hunt us down.

"I've held this grudge for two decades. Now, you dare scheme against Isabella. Seriously, your famiglia is still the same, rotten to the core. Betrayal runs in your blood."

I gazed at Matteo. He was the heir of la famiglia Rossi.

Back then, after his mother, Andreina Lombardi, was betrayed by Giovanni, she didn't swallow the humiliation. She carved a bloody path out with her young son, rebuilt the Rossi famiglia overseas, and returned stronger than ever. Now, the Rossis were a force to be reckoned with.

"Your men already filled me in. Let's work together," Matteo cut to the chase.

His gaze landed on my face. "Your famiglia wants to take down the Passinis. My famiglia wants revenge for what happened back then. We have the same enemy, and our interests align.

"I'll provide intelligence and armed forces, and you can provide the funds and connections. In less than a month, the Passinis and the Aurelis will be gone from this city."

Sebastian was still yelling on the other end of the line. "How dare you join forces? I'll leak all of the Valerinis' secrets to the big players and paint targets on your backs. I'll turn all the families against you!"

"Be my guest," Matteo sneered. "We're prepared. The moment you do, we'll release proof of how you fabricated crises and scammed Isabella's trust.

"Then, the world will know you're a sorry excuse of a man who got ahead by riding a woman's coattails and lives off deception." Right after saying that, he hung up on Sebastian and turned to me.

"Mia madre and your madre go way back. She warned you years ago that Sebastian was ambitious and untrustworthy. You didn't listen, and you paid the price. Still, it's not too late."

"I was a fool back then," I admitted. "I let my emotions mess with my head. I forgot that in the end, only interest and loyalty truly last forever. Everything else is bullshit."

"That's not entirely true," he said solemnly, holding my gaze. "At the very least, my loyalty to you is real. It hasn't changed since the day I met you at that famiglia gathering when we were 12."

My heart fluttered. I remembered that year. He had stood in the corner in a small suit, and his gaze never left me. In the end, he had worked up the courage to hand me a brass bullet casing and promised he would protect me for the rest of his life.

I hadn't taken him seriously. I never imagined he would carry it with him all these years.

"Deal." I extended my hand. "I'll take the Passinis' core businesses, and you can have the Aurelis' drug routes and casinos.

"Sebastian's life is mine to end. That's what he gets for scheming against my famiglia and betraying me."

"No problem." Matteo took my hand. His palm was broad and warm. It put me at ease.

"From now on, your enemies are mine. If you want him dead, I'll help you. If you want the Passinis and the Aurelis wiped out, I'll see it through with you."