The silence of the night shattered—a frantic pounding on the door, a guard's deep shout.

"Don! It's an emergency!"

Livia's name cut through the commotion.

Caius shot up from the bed.

"What is it?" He threw on a shirt and yanked open the heavy oak door.

"It's Livia, Don!" The guard's voice was tight with panic. "She's locked herself in her room. Hysterical. Says she's going to... harm the baby!"

The color drained from Caius's face.

He shoved past me. I stumbled, my hip cracking against the sharp corner of the dressing table.

Tears sprang to my eyes from the pain, but I bit back any sound.

He didn't even spare me a second glance, rushing past me like a storm.

I steadied myself against the wall and watched him tear down the hall, his men close behind, a storm headed for Livia's room.

Pushing myself off the dressing table, I slowly followed.

The hallway was brightly lit, a dozen men crowded outside Livia's door.

"Livia! Open the door!" Caius slammed his fist against the wood. "Don't do anything stupid!"

A heart-wrenching sob came from inside.

"Caius… I'm scared… I'm so scared…" Livia's voice trembled. "If I don't make it, at least let the baby…"

"Don't talk nonsense! You'll be fine! We'll both be fine!"

"Just open the door!"

His voice was laced with pure panic.

I leaned against the far wall, saying nothing.

"Break it down!" Caius ordered his men.

Marco and two others slammed their shoulders into the door.

On the third impact, the lock gave way.

Caius was the first one through.

I walked to the doorway, ready for the rest of the show.

Livia was sobbing brokenly, her voice pitiful.

"Caius… I didn't want to say anything… but this afternoon… Alessia sent a maid with some special broth…"

"She said it was a tonic, to help with the pregnancy…"

"But after I drank it, my stomach started to hurt, and I broke out in a cold sweat."

Caius spun around, roaring at the men in the hall. "Get the family doctor! Now!"

Livia grabbed his hand, feigning reassurance. "Don't worry, the doctor has already been here. He gave me some medicine. I feel much better now."

My blood ran cold.

I had never sent her anything.

"And the maid…" Livia choked on a sob, pausing for effect. "She said this child… was a curse."

The room fell into a dead silence.

After a few seconds, I heard Caius's low, resolute voice.

"Livia, you and this child are the future of the Falcieri family. No one will harm you."

"I promise."

The words were followed by the sound of an embrace and soft, comforting whispers.

Ten minutes later, Caius emerged from the room.

His eyes burned with a cold fire.

He saw me standing in the hallway and strode toward me.

"Alessia!" His voice was a low, dangerous growl. "What did you do to Livia?"

"I did nothing," I said, meeting his gaze calmly.

Caius trapped me against the wall, his hands slamming down on either side of my head. "Did you try to kill my son?"

"Your son?" I laughed, the sound brittle. "Caius, are you really so blind you think that baby is yours?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" He slammed his fist into the wall next to me. "Don't try to change the subject."

I looked at the rage in his eyes, a fire hot enough to consume me.

This man was completely blinded.

"I sent her nothing," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "But you'd rather believe her tears than listen to a single word from me."

"Then why would she lie about it?"

"Because she needs an enemy to secure her position."

His expression hardened into pure fury.

"Alessia, this is your last warning. Livia is carrying the Falcieri heir. If you dare to hurt her again…"

"You'll what?" I stared directly into his eyes. "Shove me aside like you did tonight? Or just throw me out of this house for good?"

He opened his mouth, but he was speechless.

I turned and walked back to my room, my hip still throbbing with a dull ache.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I watched the sky outside the window slowly turn gray.

Dawn was breaking.

I opened a drawer and took out a new, untraceable burner phone.

I dialed an overseas number.

"It's me," I whispered into the receiver. "Initiate Plan B."

A low, steady voice came back from the other end.

"Understood, Lady Ares. Your new workshop in Antwerp is ready."

The next morning, before the sun had fully bathed the estate in light, I heard a sharp knock on my door.

"The Madre requests your presence in the living room. Immediately," a guard said, his tone leaving no room for refusal.

I had just stepped out of the shower, my hair still dripping.

But the matriarch of the Falcieri family doesn't wait for anyone.

I dressed quickly and descended the spiral staircase.

In the living room, Caius was feeding imported cherries to Livia, one by one. She was half-reclined on the leather sofa, her pregnant belly prominent.

As if she were already the Donna of this house.

Caius's hand froze mid-air when he saw me enter.

"Alessia, you look pale," he said, rising and walking toward me, a hint of concern in his eyes. "Didn't you sleep well last night?"

The Madre scoffed. "Why wouldn't she look rested? She bears none of the weight. Unlike our Livia, who barely slept, worrying over the little Don in her womb."

Her gaze was as sharp as a knife. "Alessia, after you frightened her last night, Livia's condition has worsened. I had the best fortune-teller come, and he said the east wing guest room she's in has bad energy, harmful for the fetus."

"Of all the rooms in this house, only your jewelry studio in the south wing gets the best light. It's the only place suitable for her to rest."

"What?" Though I knew they would find a way to target me, I hadn't expected them to come for my studio.

It was my sanctuary. My design table, my tools, every piece I had ever crafted with my own hands…

"I need that studio," I said, my voice low and firm.

Caius knew better than anyone how much that place meant to me. He used to come there himself, to sit with me and find inspiration.

But now, when I looked at him, he avoided my gaze.

"A woman's hobby?" she sneered. "You think your trinkets are more important than the Falcieri heir?"

"A hobby?" My voice was quiet. "That's my work."

"Work?" The Madre scoffed. "Alessia, you married into this family five years ago. Your only duty was to continue the bloodline. Now that Livia is fulfilling that duty, what 'work' do you need?"

Livia chose that moment to start sobbing, one hand on her belly, the other dabbing at her eyes. "Mother, please, let it go. I know I'm just a widow, I have no right to ask for anything. I'd live in the stables if it meant the baby would be born safely."

She lifted her tear-streaked face to Caius. "All I want is to give you a healthy son…"

For a fleeting moment, I saw him struggle, caught between his duty to the family and me. But in the end, he abandoned me.

"Alessia, it's just temporary. After the baby is born, I'll build you a bigger, better studio."

"For the future of this family… can't you make this one sacrifice?"

I looked at this man.

He was destroying everything I held dear for another woman's lies.

My horse, my studio, my dignity.

But none of it mattered anymore.

"Fine," I said, my voice even. "I'll have my things out by evening."

Caius was stunned, clearly not expecting me to give in so easily. "You don't have to be in such a hurry…"

"Thank you, sister!" Livia chirped, cutting him off. The tears on her cheeks were still wet, but a smirk was already playing on her lips. "Caius, I'm craving Italian white truffles. Could you go get some for me yourself?"

Caius's attention shifted instantly. He sat back down beside her, gently stroking her belly. "Of course. I'll have the freshest ones flown in from Milan."

I turned and walked away, every step like walking on knives.

Back in my studio, I began to pack. Every design tool, every sketch.

"Ma'am, what are you doing?" my assistant, Sarah, asked, her eyes wide.

"Pack up all of my personal belongings," I said, my voice like ice. "Don't touch a single thing that belongs to the Falcieri family."

Sarah looked at me with worry. "But your pieces, all your hard work…"

"It won't be wasted," I said, gently touching an unfinished ruby ring. "They will see the light of day in a better place."

Soon. This would all be over soon.

Late that night, Caius knocked on the door of my temporary room.

His eyes were filled with guilt. "Alessia, I know this is unfair to you."

"I want a divorce, Caius." My voice was quiet, but steady as stone.

"A divorce? Over a room?" He sounded incredulous. "Alessia, stop acting like a spoiled child. You are the Donna of this family. Start seeing the bigger picture."

"Once Livia has the baby, everything will go back to the way it was. I promise."

Back to the way it was?

How laughable. The past where he personally destroyed my dreams?

After Livia moved into my studio, she became even more brazen. She acted as the lady of the house, demanding Caius's constant attention and never allowing him to see me alone.

The only time I saw him was at the breakfast table, surrounded by family.

And every time, Livia would cradle her belly, drawing all attention to her and her "future heir."

Three days later, it was my birthday.

To my surprise, Caius remembered.

He found me in the library, his expression apologetic.

"Alessia, it's your birthday. I want to spend the day with you."

"I booked us a private island. It has the best skydiving facility in the state. You always wanted to try it."

Just as I was about to answer, Livia appeared, flanked by two bodyguards.

"Caius," she murmured, her smile a secret. "I think our son wants to say hello."

Livia slowly took Caius's hand and pressed it gently against her swollen abdomen.

"Feel that."

"Our little one just gave me a kick. I wonder if he's unhappy about something."

Caius's eyes widened, his whole body tensing with excitement. "He's moving! My son, he's responding to me!"

"Our future Don has a strong kick. Kept me up all night," Livia purred, melting against him.

"The doctor said the baby needs his father's company, even in the womb. It helps them bond."

"Caius, you have to spend more time with him."

"But today I was…" Caius trailed off, glancing at me.

Livia suddenly bent over, her brow furrowed. "Caius, I'm a little dizzy."

She leaned against his chest, her breathing shallow. "I think I've been on my feet too much today. I feel so weak. The doctor said I need to rest more in the later stages, that too much fetal activity can be a strain."

Caius was instantly on high alert, steadying her. "I'll take you back to your room."

"It's alright," Livia said with a weak smile. "I can go back by myself… you should go with Alessia."

But even as she said it, her hand didn't loosen its grip on his arm.

I held on to one last shred of hope that Caius would keep his promise.

But when he turned to me, his face a mask of guilt and indecision, I wasn't surprised.

It had been this way ever since Livia got pregnant, hadn't it?

He finally looked at me, his expression a mask of guilt. "Alessia… she needs me. The baby comes first. Everything else has to wait."

I saw Livia's triumphant smirk over his shoulder. "Fine," I said, the word barely a whisper.

From now on, she can be your real wife.

"Get the car ready," I told the guard beside me.

With two bodyguards and a skydiving instructor, I was driven by the family chauffeur to the airport, where we boarded a small private plane and flew toward the skydiving base in the mountains.

As dusk fell, Caius sat in the dining room of the Falcieri estate.

An inexplicable unease had been clawing at him all day. His right eye wouldn't stop twitching—a bad omen.

But the family doctor had just confirmed that Livia and the baby were perfectly fine… so was it Alessia?

He immediately dismissed the thought.

The Donna never travels without our best men. She's safe.

"Don," the maid, Maria, approached him, her voice hesitant. "There's something I think you should know."

"What is it?"

"When the Donna was clearing out her studio," Maria said, her voice low, "she left every piece of jewelry you ever gave her."

Caius's heart skipped a beat.

"All of it?"

"Yes, Don. Including… including her wedding ring."

The wedding ring.

The one he had placed on her finger himself.

She had taken it off.

"She also said…" Maria hesitated again. "She said she wouldn't take a single thing that belongs to the Falcieri family."

Just then, frantic footsteps echoed from the hallway.

Tony, one of his most trusted capos, burst into the room.

"Don!" he choked out, his face ghost-white. "The Donna's plane. It went down in the mountains. We lost contact. They've... they've found the wreckage."

He took a ragged breath, his voice cracking.

"Don… there were no survivors."