After leaving Simone, I headed to Luminara Opera House, where Lucio and I had agreed to meet.

My phone rang.

"Viola, you should go in and watch the opera yourself. I might not make it," Lucio said. "Bella had a sudden heart attack. I need to stay with her."

His voice came through the receiver, and beneath it, I could faintly hear Bella's weak, trembling sobs in the background.

"But—"

"That's it. I'll make it up to you next time," he added.

Before I could say another word, the call ended with a cold, final beep.

Just as I put my phone away and took a step forward, a thick cloth clamped down over my mouth and nose from behind. A sharp, pungent odor rushed into my lungs.

There was a sedative on it. I struggled for less than half a minute before darkness swallowed my vision.

When I came to, the drug hadn't fully worn off. My head felt unbearably heavy, as though it had been filled with molten lead.

My hands were tightly bound behind the chair, and the tape over my mouth had been ripped off roughly, leaving my skin raw and burning.

A rough, chilling male voice spoke near my ear, "Don Ferrari, your fiancee is in our hands. If you want her back alive, be ready to pay the price. We'll be waiting at the old warehouse in the South Pier."

As his words ended, a masked man crouched beside me and pressed a phone to my ear.

"Listen. This is the voice of your beautiful fiancee."

Before I could utter a sound, a sharp, icy blade pierced my wrist, tearing a scream of pain from my throat.

"Viola!" Lucio's panicked voice rang out on the other end, but it was quickly drowned out by Bella's weak, deliberately pitiful moans.

"Lucio, my heart hurts so much. Am I going to die? I don't want to die…"

"Bella, don't be afraid. I'm here," Lucio said softly.

Then, his voice returned through the phone. "Viola, hold on a little longer. With your abilities, you can handle this, right? I'll stabilize Bella here first, and then I'll come find you. Va bene. That's decided."

Before I could say anything, Lucio ended the call.

I couldn't tell if it was shock or numbness, but I found myself completely speechless.

The flat tone from the disconnected line pierced straight through my chest. His words, "With your abilities, you can handle this", echoed in my ears again and again.

It almost felt absurd. In his eyes, my strength had become a justification for my sacrifice.

I met the abductors' eyes with a hollow, cold smile that held no warmth. "Do as you please."

…

After the call ended, Lucio paced outside the operating room, repeatedly checking his watch.

During the brief wait, he called Underboss Marco Russo and gave quick orders. "Send a small, trusted team to the old warehouse in the South Pier. Make contact, negotiate, and buy time. Don't let them harm Viola. I'm coming. Make sure she's safe."

About 20 minutes later, the doors of the operating room opened. Lucio stepped forward at once. "Is Bella alright?"

The doctor frowned in confusion. "Are you certain this is the right patient? According to our checks, everything appears completely normal."

Lucio froze. "There's nothing wrong with her heart?"

The doctor shook his head. "No, Mr. Ferrari. All her indicators are normal."

Just as Lucio was about to ask more, the phone in his pocket rang.

It was Marco, the one he had sent to the old warehouse in the South Pier.

He answered immediately, and Marco's hoarse, strained voice came through, "Mr. Ferrari, there's been an explosion at the warehouse. After we extinguished the fire, we found only one female body."

A photo was sent immediately afterward.

In it, the body was burned beyond recognition. Around its neck hung the emerald necklace he had once carefully placed on me.

As soon as Lucio saw it, the phone slipped from his grasp and hit the floor.