The night before my alliance was to be sealed, my betrothed looted my Family's tribute, emptied the Vitale purse to the last coin, and vanished across the water with Bianca Marchetti.

My parents, hounded by debtors to the edge, threw themselves into the dark. I went to the Falcones demanding the blood I was owed.

Instead, the old men of the Falcone house drugged me and put me aboard a yacht where the powerful played their cruelest games.

Dozens of men dragged me into a private lounge and filmed every shameful second of it.

At the exact moment I climbed onto the deck, ready to throw myself into the sea, my betrothed's brother appeared. He became my one and only salvation.

He cleared every obstacle from my path, made every person who had hurt me pay.

He told me he had loved me for a long time, that he didn't care what had been done to me.

To marry me, he walked away from his place in the Falcone Family and gave me a wedding every made man in the city still spoke of.

Five years into our marriage, I boarded that same yacht again as the Don's Donna.

And by accident, I overheard him speaking with his Consigliere.

"Lorenzo, back then you drugged Adriana Vitale and destroyed her, all for Bianca. Now she's finally with child, and you've brought her here to run the same play again. Isn't that too cruel?"

"Cruel? I gave Bianca my word that only her blood would carry the Falcone name. The little parasite in Adriana's belly cannot be allowed to live. Besides, a soiled woman like that doesn't deserve to bear my son."

"Will the men come the way they did last time? Same as five years ago, no holding back, until Adriana loses it. And remember, don't let her catch on."

So the salvation I'd believed in was just another abyss.

The love I'd believed in was nothing but a lie he had carefully spun.

If that was how it was, then I would help him get exactly what he wanted.

——

On the deck, Lorenzo Falcone stood facing the sea wind, every word soaked in grief, every syllable dressed up as regret.

"Since Bianca has already bound herself to my brother, the most I can do is clear away every obstacle in her path. Looting the Vitale tribute was only the first step. Their territory, their fortune, call it my wedding gift to the happy couple."

"Adriana's already soiled. A woman like that doesn't deserve to bear my child."

Beside him, Matteo Russo drew his brows together, his face unable to hide its discomfort.

"But the men who dragged her into that lounge five years ago, you put them there yourself. For years now she's fought the dark inside her because of it, and you've sat at her bedside through every treatment. No one knows that better than you. You run the same play again, how do you expect her to keep living after that?"

Lorenzo's face went cold. He raised a hand and lit himself a cigarette, the flame steady in the wind.

Smoke curled around him as he spoke, his voice flat.

"Worst case, I keep sitting through her treatments. No matter what, her child cannot be born."

"I gave Bianca my word that Adriana would never be a threat to her."

He ran his thumb slow along the edge of his wedding ring as he said her name.

"And Adriana? Does she deserve to be schemed against like this? She's innocent. She loves you so much. How could you——"

Before Matteo could finish, Lorenzo cut him off, his voice ice.

"Enough. I told you, do it the way I laid it out. If anyone's to blame, blame her for showing up at the wrong time."

"Give me the drug. I need to go back and watch her swallow it with my own eyes."

Seeing there was no moving him, the Consigliere set his glass down without a sound, laced his fingers a moment, then simply turned and walked away.

The tears slipped free before I could stop them.

The sea wind carried them up into the night sky.

I held my arms tight around myself, shaking all over and unable to stop.

Five years ago, Salvatore Falcone drove my Family's tribute into ruin and left for another country with all our money and Bianca Marchetti.

Cornered by debtors with nowhere left to turn, my parents chose to jump.

I went to the Falcones alone, wanting the justice owed in blood.

Instead they drugged me and put me on this yacht.

I became a thing for the powerful to use in their darkest little games.

Dozens of men dragged me into a private lounge and filmed countless videos of my disgrace.

In despair, I crawled out to the deck, ready to throw myself into the sea and be done with it all.

It was Lorenzo Falcone who appeared out of nowhere and pulled me into his arms.

He gave me the only warmth I had.

Gently, stroke by stroke, he wiped away my tears and the blood.

He said:

"Wait for me. Every single person who hurt you, I won't let a single one go free."

That night, the Don's vessel had been full of screaming.

My body kept the trauma long after, dragging me into nightmares every night.

And it was him, always him, who stayed beside me.

The moment I jolted awake from a bad dream, his hand was there, stroking my back, soothing me.

He told me he couldn't rein in Salvatore, but Salvatore owed me a blood debt.

He swore he'd pay it back tenfold, a hundredfold.

To give me a wedding, he broke from the old Falcone line and built his own name in the territory.

He declared his devotion to me before every made man and his wife.

But in the end, five years of happiness had been nothing but a mirage.

The man who pulled me out of the abyss was the same man who shoved me into hell.

I stumbled back into the private lounge below deck.

Lorenzo saw how pale I'd gone, and his eyes flushed red with panic.

He gathered me into his arms and, just like before, patted my back gently.

"What's wrong, Adriana? Did you remember something again? Don't be afraid. This time I'm here with you. Those men won't ever come back."

"Before we boarded, I had the doctor send your medicine up. Drink it when the water's cooled a little."

Watching the false tenderness in his eyes, I said softly,

"Lorenzo, I don't want to take the medicine anymore."

"I'm better now. I want to go home."

The warmth in his eyes dropped a few degrees. Somewhere on deck, a clock ticked into the silence between us.

He reached out and tapped the tip of my nose. His thumb moved once along the edge of his wedding ring.

"Be good, Adriana. These things come back easily. The medicine helps you recover faster."

"Once you take it, you won't have nightmares anymore."

Before I could say another word, he'd already pushed the pills past my lips.

The warm water went down, but the cold spread through every inch of me.

He seemed certain I'd lose consciousness soon after taking it.

Lorenzo didn't stay with me any longer.

He turned and hurried out of the lounge, the door clicking shut behind him.

I knew where he was going. To find those men from five years ago.

The memories, shattered like a nightmare, came flooding back.

Cold sweat broke out over my whole body.

I collapsed onto the floor, writhing.

As my mind blurred, warm lips brushed my forehead.

"Good girl, Adriana. It'll be over soon. I'll be waiting for you."

What came next was a tearing, splitting pain.

Blood kept pouring out from beneath me.

That familiar feeling swallowed me whole.

Countless rough hands dragged across my skin.

I don't know how long it lasted before I heard Lorenzo's voice again.

"Did she lose it?"

"She did, Don Falcone. But the men couldn't rein it in. Went a little too hard, looks like. Miss Vitale probably won't be able to conceive again."

"Well done. Double the cut. Collect it when you're off the boat."

When I opened my eyes again, five hours had passed.

Lorenzo was clutching my hand tight in his, his eyes brimming with tenderness and grief.

"I'm sorry, Adriana. I didn't protect you."

"It was those men from five years ago. They learned you were aboard and came for the vendetta. We couldn't save the baby. The doctor said you'll have trouble ever conceiving again..."

"Don't worry. This time I caught every last one of them. They'll never surface again. Don't cry. No matter what happens, I'll be right here beside you. If the baby's gone, then it's gone. All I need is you."

I stared straight at the deck.

So numb I couldn't even feel the pain anymore.

I was the one who'd been violated, the one who'd lost a child.

Yet he wept harder than I did.

His acting was flawless. The performance of a man who'd ordered killings without blinking and could still summon tears on command. I couldn't be bothered to expose it.

After a while, when his voice finally fell silent,

I spoke slowly.

"Avenging me must have worn you out."

"Get some rest, Lorenzo. I'm fine."

Seeing that I wasn't making a scene, he let out a breath of relief, closed his eyes, and lay down beside me.

His breathing gradually evened out.

I quietly picked up his phone. My hands lay still after, no longer reaching for the ring on my finger.

Five years of marriage, and this was the first time I unlocked his screen.

The passcode was Bianca Marchetti's birthday.

His messaging app was still open in the background. There was only one contact. Saved under the name Bianca.

I tapped in, and there it was, five years of conversation stretching from then to now. Every single day, the good-mornings and good-nights, never once missed. Bianca lived across the water, yet she sent Lorenzo her schedule each day. Either she was out shopping and taking her coffee, or she was tending whatever front she ran, sitting through her own little sit-downs. No matter what she sent, Lorenzo never let her down. One photo earned her a reward of a hundred thousand dollars. That was how he stayed woven into her life, day after day. Until ten thousand photos filled the album.

And when I shared something with him, all I ever got was one line:

"Adriana, I'm in a meeting. We'll talk when the Family's business is done."

To keep Bianca happy, every gift he bought on this side of the water passed through hand after hand before it finally reached her. The auction-house orders ran on for dozens of screens. A lot of the names looked familiar. Lorenzo had given me one of those gifts too. It was nothing but a complimentary throw-in from one of her auctions.

The newest video in the album was from five hours ago. The thumbnail was me, sunk into unconsciousness after the pills he fed me. Around me stood a dozen faces I knew. Made men. Soldiers who had kissed his ring.

My fingers shook so badly I couldn't make the video open, no matter how hard I pressed. In the end I clumsily hit delete. And switched off his phone.

Lorenzo, since we began with a lie. This time, let me end it with one too.

Without hesitating, I sent a message to Francesca Conti. I told her to bring a boat to the far side and wait for me tomorrow night. Then I found the papers I needed, the dissolution of the alliance, a release I would sign in my own hand, downloaded the digital copy, and attached it to an email.

When it was all done, cold sweat broke out across the sleeping Lorenzo's forehead. He murmured the words over and over:

"Adriana... no, nothing can happen to you."

"Adriana!"

The instant his eyes opened, he pulled me into his arms like a man who'd lost me and gotten me back. Our chests pressed tight together, our heartbeats running at different speeds. After a long moment, he surfaced from the nightmare.

"Thank God you're all right."

His thumb found the edge of his wedding ring and turned it, slow, against my back.

Scenes like this had played out so many times. I used to think it was love run deep, that he ached where I ached. But now I saw it for what it was. A performance. Nothing but masterful acting.

I bowed my head and let him hold me, let him comfort me.

"There now. I'll go bring you something to eat. Wait for me."

Lorenzo had barely stepped out before I slipped after him. He didn't go to the kitchens. He turned instead toward the private lounge downstairs, the one where deals got struck and nothing that happened was ever spoken of again.

The moment he walked in, a slender wrist curled up over his shoulder. And pulled him inside.

I stood outside the door, listening to the breathing inside quicken fast. Lorenzo's voice came low and restrained:

"So you finally decided to come back?"

Bianca's face bloomed into a smile as she rose on her toes and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"If I'd stayed away any longer, I was afraid you'd really fall for Adriana."

"I heard you pulled the same old trick again? She's your wife of five years, sworn to you before every Family, and she'd just gotten pregnant. How could you bear it..."

"If Adriana ever finds out, she'd want to skin me alive." She laughed, that bright, brittle little sound, a half-beat too soon.

Lorenzo laughed softly at her teasing, holding her tighter, pinning her against the back of the door.

"I told you. As long as I'm here, no one would dare touch you."

"As long as you're happy. You'd pave my road with her own flesh and blood."

A passing waiter spotted me and gasped out loud.

"Donna Falcone? What are you doing here? You haven't recovered, you can't be wandering the halls. If the Don finds out, it's our skins he'll have."

"Let me take you back."

The words trailed off.

The made men walking past all looked at me with something mocking in their eyes.

"That's the Don's wife? The one a dozen men dragged into a lounge a little while ago? I heard she's already been used twice. The Don really isn't an ordinary man, swallowing all that down without a word."