My heart raced as I answered, hoping it was just a coincidence—until I heard his voice, spewing the same crap, word for word. Suddenly, it was like I was starting that nightmare all over again.

“Damn you, Adriana! Won’t you ever get out of our lives? If anything happens to Talia, I swear you’ll regret it!”

I stared at my phone in disbelief. Could it really just be a string of coincidences?

With my mind in a fog, I instinctively repeated the same words I had in the dream. "What the hell are you talking about?"

“Don’t play games with me, Adriana. You know what you did! Where did you hide Talia?” Dominic screamed, his response eerily identical.

I unconsciously laughed. Once or twice, I could brush it off as a coincidence, but three times? The universe was playing some weird joke on me.

That wasn’t a dream.

Dominic and I were heirs to the most powerful crime families in Viridian City and Ravensgate. While he was the obvious choice to lead the Russo family, I was far down the line of succession in mine. Yet, that didn't stop our paths from crossing.

As I clawed my way up the ranks with bloodied hands to become the Madame of the Salvatori family, our encounters grew increasingly frequent. One way or another, we would have ended up killing each other.

But fate has a twisted sense of humor. What began as heated clashes, fueled by generations of hatred and rivalry, soon ignited into something far more passionate. He and I became lovers.

For once, our families finally found some peace. But it all fell apart when I trusted Talia, who used to be a close friend of mine. I had no idea she was hiding deep-seated envy, so I believed the lies she fed me. She drove a wedge between Dominic and me. Then got me framed for sabotaging Russo's deal with the Russians. I was sure Dominic wouldn’t believe the accusations, but instead, he rallied his people and reignited the old war between our families.

That night, the streets of Viridian were soaked in blood. We both lost so many lives, and I had no choice but to pull all Salvatori operations back to Ravensgate. And the worst part? Talia used our rift to worm her way into Dominic’s life and marry him.

I felt betrayed and wanted revenge, but I couldn’t afford it. I had to swallow my pride and keep my family strong. Eventually, things cooled down as our families started avoiding each other. Years later, I moved on, found someone new, and got engaged. Life was never better—or so I thought.

“Adriana!” Dominic’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Listen, Mr. Russo, Salvatori isn’t a center for missing persons. We don’t care where your damn wife is, so try looking somewhere else,” I snapped, the words coming out like I was reading from a script.

“Damn you! I’ve put up with your crap for years, but this is the last straw! The world doesn’t revolve around you, Adriana!”

Dominic’s voice was full of rage, pressing hard on one of my peeves. I should be feeling hurt and mad from here and acting like an ass, but I felt nothing. My head was clear.

I was never the angel he wanted, and that was exactly why Talia had him under her thumb. She knew how high my pride was and played her cards well to get what she wanted.

But something was not clicking. I was too hot-headed to notice it before and missed such an important clue. Dominic was talking like I’d been meddling in their lives all this time when I hadn’t.

“Are you that bitter because I dumped you?” Dominic kept going.

I scoffed. “Get over yourself, Dominic. You’re not the only man in the world. Why would I waste my time on you?”

“Talia is pregnant, Adriana. You’d better bring my wife and child back safe, or I’ll burn everything you’ve built to the ground,” Dominic warned. “You’ve got less than twenty-four hours.”

And just like that, he hung up.

For whatever reason, my clock started ticking again. I don’t know who or what I owe this second chance to, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to waste it.

I hated that Dominic knew me so well because he was right—I was arrogant. He gave me that same warning once before, and I shrugged it off. I took pride in Salvatori’s security and power. The Russos could never breach our defenses. But he did, and he destroyed everything, just like he said he would. The only way that was possible was if he had help from the inside.

I got out of bed, scrolled through my contacts, and made a call.

“Hey, it’s me,” I said as soon as it connected. “I need your help with something.”

I swear to God, Dominic and I would be doing this dance again, and I’m going to do it better.

Racing against time, I headed into my office at dawn. Since midnight, I’d been relaying diversion orders to set up a trap and gain the upper hand. At this point, I couldn’t trust anyone inside the fold, so I had to bring in an ace from the outside.

Not long after I sat down at my computer, an encrypted video call came through. I quickly logged in the password and answered.

“Heya, darling! Looks like you’ve gotten yourself caught in a tricky snare. Getting out won’t be easy,” he greeted me.

This guy was a notorious hacker in the business—no one had ever tracked him down or figured out his background. He always hid behind a silly mask, and having his contact was pure luck. Although he looked quite untrustworthy, he would never turn on a client and risk a bad reputation.

“What’ve you got for me, Fox?”

“Everything, darling. Everything, for the right price.”

I frowned. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew he had a smug smile behind that mask.

“I’m in a bind here, Fox. Name your price later. Spill.”

“I’ll hold you to that, hun!” His tone shifted, and he immediately shared a file on the screen.

The anger I hadn’t felt last night erupted with the force of a supernova as I looked at the information.

“Someone in the Russo family played you like a fiddle,” Fox began, his tone serious. “That busted Russian deal five years ago wasn’t the end of it. Salvatori has been sabotaging Russo operations from the shadows ever since the Viridian bloodshed.”

“How the hell did I miss all this?” I was in disbelief. Massive operations were happening right under my nose, and I hadn’t caught a whiff of it.

“You would’ve noticed if you hadn’t locked yourself away in Ravensgate.”

I slammed my hand on the table, frustration boiling over. “There’s no way the Russos would take that quietly. Why didn’t they raise hell?”

Fox chuckled, opening another folder. “Oh, they did. Someone’s been busy sweeping everything under the rug.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered, dumbfounded.

The folder was filled with investigation files dating back six years ago—secret transactions, unauthorized psyops, records of Russo’s deals getting compromised, and countless attacks on their businesses. And all of it was being traced back to me.

I was starting to think I was the idiot and not Dominic.

There was only one person who could’ve hidden something this big from me, and I was boiling with rage just thinking about making him pay.

“Don’t get too worked up yet. We’re just getting to the best part.”

He showed me another file, this one detailing Talia’s activities over the past five years. Subtle, but there were clear signs of her involvement in each incident linked to Salvatori. Not only that, but the missing Salvatori funds were being funneled straight into her pockets.

“That swine bitch!”

“I know, right?” Fox’s voice took on a jubilant tone. “Here’s the kicker—Talia’s been missing for the last 24 hours, and Don Russo’s been tearing through every city trying to find her. But guess what? I caught her on CCTV last night.”

“Where was she?”

“She went to a countryside hospital, pregnant, the day she disappeared. But by midnight, she slipped out quietly, and let’s just say, the balloon had popped.”

A dry laugh escaped my lips, almost involuntarily, as the pieces started to click into place.

As I watched the footage, something caught my eye—she wasn’t alone. A man was waiting for her inside an unidentified car, but the footage was too dark to make out his face.

I leaned closer to the screen. “Did you get an ID on the guy in the car?”

Fox went silent, the line thick with tension. “Amore,” he finally said, his voice low, “you know the rules. I can’t divulge a client’s information.”

“Hah!” I laughed in disbelief. Every piece of intel from Fox made me want to set the world on fire.

This guy was part of the reason nothing was reaching me, and I hired him to help me out. Damn irony!

“Do you flirt with all your clients, or just me?” I asked, needing to distract myself from making him an enemy too.

“Only because I like you,” he teased, but I could hear a serious edge to his voice.

“Fine. I'll pay you whatever you ask. I want everything you can dig up on her and the scum she’s working with, especially this guy,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Now, we’re talking!” He rejoiced.

Fox forwarded me all the intel I requested, and as I read through it, a mix of anger and disbelief churned in my gut. Having that snake, Talia, slithering in the shadows was bad enough, but Marco Russo too? Dominic’s own brother?

“These motherfuckers!” I cursed with every bit of my being.

All this time, they’d been conspiring together to pit me and Dominic together like fighting dogs. I couldn’t believe I’d ever trusted that wench. She was more vile than I’d imagined. Even the controversial hallucinogenic drug that surfaced at the black market auction years ago was being linked to her.

And ever since she married Dominic, his standing in the Russo family had been on shaky ground. Dominic had started acting differently too. The faction supporting him suspected Talia of infidelity and was already questioning the legitimacy of her unborn child.

They might have been right, but it didn’t matter. That innocent soul passed away not seeing the light of the day—murdered by its mother before the second trimester.

I just couldn’t wrap my head around what those two lowlifes were thinking. If even half of those allegations were true, they were far worse nutjobs than I’d ever been.

I needed to smoke out her mole and get to the bottom of it!

Grabbing the telephone, I dialed a number.

“Julio. Get everyone to the courtyard at ten. I want them suited up,” I ordered then hung up with a slam.

Later, under the scorching morning sun, I marched toward the courtyard with the executives trailing behind me. Their confusion was obvious, and I understood why—I’d never called for a gathering with such urgency since I’d taken the Don’s chair.

My mood darkened the second I spotted my target as I stepped into the courtyard.

“Signora,” he greeted, taking my hand and kissing my ring. “You’re killing us with suspense. You didn't need to bother coming down. I could've handled it all for you.”

“I’m in the mood to handle things personally today, Julio,” I snapped, walking past him. “So shut your trap and do as I said.”

“Is everyone here?” I asked, inspecting the line of armed men before me.

“Yes, ma’am,” Julio responded.

I nodded, then grabbed two Glocks—and without warning, I bashed Julio’s head and shot dead anyone who dared reach for their weapon.

“Signora?” Julio gasped, no longer hiding the hatred in his eyes.

If I could’ve breathed fire, I would’ve incinerated him on the spot.

“Is there anyone else who wants to defy me?” I shouted, pressing a gun to Julio’s head. “Speak now, and I’ll do you the honor of sending you to your grave!”

Silence fell over the estate. No one moved a muscle.

I scoffed, looking down at the trembling fools. “You idiots must’ve thought I’d gone soft. But did you forget who I am?” I kicked Julio hard in the gut, watching him writhe in pain. “Tell me, Julio, who am I? What do they call me?”

“B-Bloody Mary,” he stammered, glaring up at me with eyes full of hate.

“That’s right, you bastard. I'm Bloody fucking Mary!” I let out a crazed laugh and shot him in the leg. His scream echoed through the halls.

“You didn’t think you’d betray me and walk away unscathed, did you?” I crouched down, lifting his chin with the barrel of my gun. “How long did you think you could keep this from me?”

“How did you find out?” he spat, defiant even in his agony.

“You thought you could outsmart me? You’ve grown cocky, you little shit! Let me remind you how I took over this family.” Without warning, I shot his other knee. Julio howled in pain again.

“Talk! What are Talia and Marco planning?”

Julio sneered, blood dripping from his mouth. “Why does it matter? You’re gonna die either way, bitch!” he spat, his defiance burning bright.

I chuckled, leaning in close. “That’s the funny thing, Julio—I already did.” My grin turned devilish as I snapped my fingers, and a chair was brought in while the others bound him tight.

“Make him sing,” I ordered, lighting a cigarette and watching with cold satisfaction.

They tortured Julio relentlessly, prying out every twisted detail of the plot. The plan was almost laughably simple—I felt like a fool for being played by these idiots. The goal was to destroy the fragile peace between our families and push Dominic and me to each other’s throats, while they seized power from the shadows. Julio was to play his part on my side, waiting to become the new godfather after my downfall, while Talia and Marco ruled from above.

“Pathetic!” I scoffed, cocking the gun to his head.

“You can’t kill me! They’ll send in their men if they don’t hear from me in the next few hours!” Julio bargained desperately.

I chuckled, “So what?” firing bullets into his head.