That night, I heard my baby crying somewhere in the dark. I ran toward him, calling his name, begging him to stop, but Nico was there, looming over him.

"You think this baby's yours? You cheated on me. That child isn't even mine. From the moment he was born, his fate was to die."

I screamed, "No! Stop! He's your child! Don't say that! Don't do this!"

Before I could reach them, he tossed my baby to the fire like he was nothing. Serafina stood beside him, laughing.

"Go ahead," she jeered. "Run faster, scream louder. It won't change anything."

I ran, I begged, I tried to grab him but my feet felt like they were glued to the floor, then I woke up.

The lights of the private clinic burned my eyes. The smell of disinfectant clawed at my nose.

For a moment, I didn't know where I was. Then the memory of the dream and everything else hit me, and my chest tightened again.

The doctor was standing by my bed, scribbling on a clipboard. He cleared his throat. "Mrs. Valente… you really shouldn't move around yet. If this happens again, you might not be able to have children anymore."

I stared at him, numb. "Tell me something. How much did he give you?"

He blinked, confused. "I'm sorry?"

"How much did Nico pay you to take my baby's stem cells… and let him die?"

His hand froze in midair. The pen stopped scratching. In the hallway beyond the door, I could hear the low murmur of one of Nico's soldiers posted outside, the dull rhythm of the compound never quite going silent. "Mrs. Valente, that's not—"

"Don't." I cut him off. "Don't you dare lie to me."

He looked down, pale. He didn't answer. That silence said everything I needed to know. Tessa Enzo set the clipboard on the side table and washed his hands at the basin, slowly, mechanically, though they were already clean.

"Give me the papers," I said flatly. "I'm leaving."

He hesitated, then handed them to me. My hands shook as I signed.

"You should stay a few more days," he said quietly. "You're not strong enough—"

"I don't care," I said. "I just want out of this place."

He didn't stop me again.

I pulled the blanket away and stood up. The pain hit me immediately, but it wasn't nearly as sharp as the memory of the dream. My legs trembled, my vision blurred, but I kept going.

…

When I finally reached the compound, the same estate I'd helped choose the furnishings for on our first anniversary, my chest felt like it was being crushed. Every corner, every curtain, every stupid little color choice. I'd imagined this as our family home, where our kids would run and laugh. Now it just felt dead.

The iron gate had opened without question when the car pulled up. The soldiers at the perimeter hadn't even looked at me twice. I was still the wife. For now.

I pushed the door open. The sound of laughter hit me like nails.

Donna Valente was in the living room, hovering over Serafina with an espresso cup in her hand. She was fussing like a mother hen, telling the household servant to bring food, insisting Serafina eat, insisting she drink. The matriarch's pearl rosary caught the lamplight as she adjusted a cushion behind Serafina's back, those beads wrapped tight around her wrist like a second skin.

I stepped forward. "Looks… cozy in here."

Donna Valente's gaze snapped to me, sharp and cold. She set the cup down with a deliberate clink against the saucer. "Why are you back now? Your child is dead. All because of your clumsiness, that stupid fall down the stairs. Honestly, I don't know why you even bother showing your face."

I froze, my blood turning to ice.

"Mother, don't blame my sister." Serafina leaned back on the couch, her swollen feet sticking out, her hands resting on her belly. Her fingertips drifted up and touched the hollow of her throat, a gesture so quick you'd miss it if you weren't watching. "She's always been clumsy ever since we were kids. It's not her fault. She tried…"

I wanted to speak, to scream that it wasn't true, that Nico had killed my child, but before I could get a word out, the front door opened.

Nico walked in, carrying a cake. Serafina's favorite. Two of his soldiers trailed behind him and then peeled off toward the kitchen without a word, the quiet choreography of men who knew the house's rhythms. My stomach twisted, bile rising, rage burning. He froze when he saw me.

"What… why are you here? You're supposed to be at the clinic." He frowned as if I had interrupted his perfect little world.

"Why? So you could pretend I don't exist?"

He stepped closer, narrowing his eyes. "Don't start. Serafina's pregnant. You should just… stay out of the way."

My voice went cold. "You… you let her take my baby."

He flinched, a shadow of guilt crossing his face before he hardened it into anger. His right fist clenched at his side, then released. Clenched again. "Stop. If you weren't so… fragile, maybe your child would still be alive."

The words hit me like a fist to the chest. My knees threatened to buckle, but I turned my back so he couldn't see me shaking.

"I'll be gone soon," I muttered, more to myself than to him. And I meant it.

…

When I reached the top of the stairs, I stopped in front of the nursery.

My hand hovered over the door. The smell of baby powder used to linger here, soft, warm, safe. I'd painted clouds on the ceiling myself, laughing when Nico told me I was too obsessed with the details.

I pushed the door open.

And everything inside me went still.

The room wasn't mine anymore.

The crib was new. The curtains were pink. The walls that used to be baby blue were now painted white with gold stars. And above the new twin cribs were names I didn't even recognize: "Baby Jaxton" and "Baby Jasmine."

For a second, I couldn't breathe.

I stepped inside, slowly, my hands shaking. Everything I had built, every tiny dream I had stitched into this room? It was gone. Just gone.

Then I saw it. My baby's ultrasound photo lying on the floor, the glass frame cracked. I knelt and picked it up carefully, brushing the dust away.

"My sweet boy… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry—"

Something in me snapped.

I grabbed the pink curtains and yanked them down. The rods hit the floor. I tore the name sign off the wall, ripping it in half. The sound echoed. A scream tore out of my chest, raw and broken.

I kicked the crib until it cracked. I didn't even care that my hands were bleeding, that glass was everywhere. I just wanted all of it gone. Every piece of them out of his room.

That's when I heard it. Serafina's shrill, fake cry from the doorway.

"Oh my God! What are you doing?!" she screamed, clutching her stomach. "You're going to hurt the babies!"

Her sobs were so loud that Donna Valente came rushing in. "Serafina! Sweetheart, are you alright?" She rushed to her side before turning her glare on me. "Bianca, have you lost your mind? How could you destroy this nursery?!"

My chest heaved. "This was my baby's room! You took everything from me. Even this—"

"Enough! Serafina's pregnant." Donna Valente cut me off, shouting. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Then Nico appeared in the doorway. "What the hell is going on here?"

Serafina was sobbing into his chest before I could even speak. "She… she came in here screaming! She ripped everything apart, Nico. Our babies' nursery!"

"That's because you all killed my son!"

"Stop," Nico said, voice flat. "You need help, Bianca. You're acting crazy."

Something in me broke completely. I pointed at the walls, at the mess, at everything I had once loved. "This was our baby's room, Nico. Ours! And you let her take it? You let her take everything!"

Nico stormed into the room, face twisted with rage. Before I could even speak, his hand came flying. The slap cracked across my face so hard I stumbled back. Warm blood ran down my nose.

"Nico—"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he shouted. "You've completely lost it!"

Donna Valente rushed to Serafina, wrapping her arms around her like a precious doll. "My poor child. Are you alright?" she cried.

Serafina sobbed harder. "Ever since we were kids, you've hated me, Bianca. You had everything. Our parents' love, the perfect life, and I was the one always left behind! And now you're still jealous?" she screamed. "Even after losing your baby, you can't stand that I'm carrying Nico's twins. At least my children are the true Valente heirs!"

I froze, her words slicing through me. She smirked through her tears. Her fingertips drifted to the hollow of her throat, resting there, featherlight.

"You have no right to hate my babies just because your bastard child died!"

The room went silent. My blood roared in my ears.

Nico turned away from me like he couldn't even stand the sight of me. "Guards!" he barked. "Get her out of here. Now."

Two soldiers came in and grabbed my arms. I tried to fight, but they dragged me across the floor like I was nothing. My blood smeared the tiles.

Donna Valente's voice rang behind me, cold and sharp. She adjusted the pearl rosary on her left wrist, one deliberate rotation of the beads. "I don't ever want that woman stepping foot in this house again, Nico. Do you hear me? Ever."

The last thing I saw before they threw me out was Serafina clutching Nico's shirt, pretending to cry, while he held her like she was the only thing worth protecting.

Then they dumped me in the basement of the compound.

Then I heard it.

A hiss.

My eyes flew open, and I froze.

Snakes.

There were snakes all around me. Big ones, small ones, dark ones coiled in the corners, their bodies sliding over the stone floor. One of them brushed against my leg, and I bit back a scream.

The single bulb above flickered and the wire door was padlocked shut. My whole body started shaking. The compound walls were thick enough to swallow any sound I made. No soldier posted at the door. No one had been told to check.

"Nico!" I screamed, my voice cracking. "Please! Get me out! You know I can't—please!"

The door creaked open after a few seconds, and there he was, standing with his hands in his pockets, looking down at me like I was something disgusting. His right fist clenched and unclenched at his side, slow and rhythmic.

"Maybe this will teach you to stop losing your mind," he said flatly.

"Nico, please," I begged, tears burning my eyes. "You know I'm terrified of snakes. Please, I'll do anything, just get me out!"

He didn't even blink. "You should've thought of that before you ruined Serafina's nursery."

A hiss came from behind me. I turned just as one of the snakes, thick, black, and slow, slithered closer. I kicked back, screaming, but the thing lunged and sank its fangs into my ankle.

Pain exploded through me. I screamed until my throat went raw. "Nico! It bit me! Please, please, it bit me!"

But he didn't budge. He left me down there for ten hours. And when he opened the room again, I was shaking and crying. He ordered his soldiers to drag me out by my wrist and dump me in the car. I could barely breathe, my leg was burning, my skin felt like fire. Everything blurred.

I woke up again to the sound of rain hitting the windshield. My body was shaking uncontrollably. Nico was driving, his jaw clenched tight. No driver. No enforcers in the back seat. Whatever he was doing with me, he didn't want witnesses.

"N-Nico…" I whispered, barely able to speak. "It hurts. Please, the hospital—"

He didn't answer. He didn't even look at me.

Then his phone rang.

Serafina's voice filled the car. "Nico! Please come home! The babies… something's wrong! They're not moving inside me."

Nico's hands tightened on the wheel.

"Nico…" I croaked, "please don't—"

He slammed the brakes and pulled over. The rain was coming down hard now. He didn't even look at me when he spoke.

"Get out."

I stared at him, confused. "What?"

"Get out, Bianca," he said again, his voice flat. "Serafina needs me."

"You're leaving me here? I can't even stand—"

He finally looked at me, and there was nothing in his eyes. Nothing. "You'll live. Those snakes are mildly venomous. You won't die," he said.

Then he pushed open my door and shoved me out. I fell to the wet pavement, the rain soaking through my clothes. The road was dark. No streetlights. The territory between the Valente compound and the nearest neutral ground, a stretch where anyone found alone at night was assumed to be a message left for someone else.

The car door slammed shut.

Then he was gone.

I tried to stand, but the pain in my leg was unbearable. The world tilted, my vision blurred, and before I could take another step, a gunshot rang on the air.

I winced from pain and dropped.

…

When I came back, everything was wrong.

A man in scrubs stood over me, his face careful and tired. "Mrs. Valente, you were brought in with a gunshot to the abdomen. You were in a coma for five days. We did emergency surgery. I am sorry. The damage was too bad. You won't be able to carry a child anymore."

The words hit like a door slamming. "What do you mean?" I croaked.

He looked down. "The bleeding was severe. We removed what we had to to save your life."

My hands grabbed the sheet. My thumb pressed hard against the inside of my ring finger, against the skin where my wedding band sat, pressing until the knuckle ached and the rage had somewhere to go that wasn't my voice.

Then the door opened and Serafina glided in like she was a cloud. Soft pink dress, hand over her belly.

"Oh, sister," she cooed. "I heard. How terrible about… your womb. What a tragedy. But think about it this way. Now you can focus on helping me raise my babies."

I tightened my fingers until the fabric bit my skin. "Why are you here?" I said, weak and burning. "Why are you always here?"

She laughed. "I just wanted to admire my work," she said and looked around the private clinic room like she owned the air. "I told them what needed doing. You survived the shooting, unlucky for you. But at least now you can never replace what I have."

A hot, stupid rage flared and I lunged for her hair. "You shot me!" I sobbed. "You had someone shoot me. How could you?! My baby is dead because of you."

Serafina screamed then, high and sharp. "Help! Help me! Nicooo!" she called, clutching at her belly, stumbling like I'd hurt her.

The door burst open.

"You fucking attacked her again?" he barked, shoving me away roughly. I toppled off the bed. Pain exploded along my side where the stitches tore. My blood ran warm and sticky on my gown.

"Nico! She had me shot—"

He cut me off with a cold laugh. "Stop. I caught the guy who shot you. He says you paid him to stage it. Do you hear me? You staged your own attack."

My hands went numb. "No, no, I would never—"

"Of course you would," he snapped. "You crave attention. You always have. You would do anything for it."

He leaned close, voice low and sharp. "How far will you go, Bianca? You even hurt the woman carrying my children. You are dangerous."

I tried to tell him I did not do it. I tried to tell him the truth. But he already turned away. "Serafina has a baptism celebration tonight. Be decent and help. Try to act human."

Serafina stepped forward, all sweetness. "Don't worry," she said, patting my arm like I was a stray dog. "I'll save you a piece of cake."

They left together, shoulders brushing, the family physician closing the door behind them.

I sat there while my phone buzzed on the bedside table. Salvatore Ferrante.

I opened the message with fingers that felt foreign.

Dissolution papers have been delivered.

When I got home, the compound was full of laughter. Music, clinking glasses, people talking like life was perfect. Pink and blue ribbons hung along the iron-railed balcony, and a banner stretched across the great room:

Welcome Baby Jaxton and Jayden Valente.

It hit me then. Tonight wasn't just the baptism celebration for Serafina's twins. It was supposed to be my wedding anniversary too.

But there was no sign of it. No flowers. No card. Not even a glance from Nico that said he remembered I existed.

People turned when I walked in, voices dropping to whispers.

"There she is."

"She still lives here? Poor thing."

"I heard she can't have children anymore. No wonder Nico stays with Serafina."

I didn't say a word. Just walked past like I didn't hear them. My legs still hurt from the clinic, but I climbed the stairs anyway. I couldn't stay there another second.

When I reached the master bedroom, my hand froze on the doorknob. The door was slightly open. Inside were pink curtains, baby clothes folded on the bed, framed photos of Serafina and Nico smiling.

My room. My bed. My memories. Gone.

Serafina had taken everything.

I stood there for a long time, then turned and went down the hall. The guest room was cold and smelled of dust, but I shut the door and lay down anyway. Maybe if I closed my eyes, the noise downstairs would disappear.

A few minutes later, the door slammed open. Nico stood there, still in his dark suit, face tight with anger. He threw a folded uniform at my face.

"Wear that. One of the waitresses didn't show. You'll serve food."

I looked at him. For a moment, I almost asked why. But then I realized it didn't matter. I picked up the uniform, my hands steady even though my chest felt hollow.

"Okay," I whispered.

He hesitated. For a second, something flickered in his eyes, but he turned away before it could stay.

"Just don't cause trouble," he muttered and left.

I changed quietly. The black uniform hung loose on me. I didn't even look in the mirror before stepping out.

As I was walking toward the stairs, Serafina's voice floated up from below, all sweet and fake.

"Oh, Bianca! You're helping tonight? That's so kind of you." Then she lowered her tone. "Could you give this to Nico? I need his signature to finalize a few things… you know, the villa in the old neighborhood, the fleet of cars, the five resort properties he signed over to me, and those new storefronts the family launders through. You know how generous he is."

I took the documents from her hand, glanced at them, then slid another paper beneath them: my dissolution papers.

She blinked, surprised. "What's this? You're not even angry?"

I didn't answer. I just gave her a faint, tired smile and walked away.

In Nico's study, he was talking on the phone. Two soldiers stood near the door, eyes forward, pretending not to exist. When he saw the papers, he took them without question and started signing.

"All this for Serafina?"

He didn't look up. "Yeah. She deserves it."

His pen didn't stop moving. Not once.

And just like that, without even realizing, he signed everything. Her properties. And our dissolution.

By the time the guests arrived, the whole compound looked like something out of a magazine spread for one of the family's legitimate fronts. Lights everywhere, expensive food on every table, capos and their wives laughing like their lives were clean. Serafina was in the center of it all, glowing like she owned the entire world.

I stood at the back, in my black uniform, trying to look small.

Donna Valente walked in like the compound belonged to her alone. Pearls, perfume, and judgment filling the room. She adjusted the rosary wrapped around her left wrist, a single deliberate rotation of the beads, and surveyed the space as if taking attendance.

She saw me and her face twisted.

"Why is that woman here, Nico? I told you I don't want her stepping in this house again."

Nico didn't even look up from adjusting Serafina's shawl.

"We're short on staff, Ma."

Donna Valente laughed.

"Well, she does look better in that uniform. Go, get me my drink."

I didn't argue. I just nodded and went to fetch it. My hands shook a little, but I didn't let myself feel anything.

When I came back, Serafina suddenly slid her foot out just as I walked past. I stumbled. The tray tipped. The wine splashed right onto Donna Valente.

She screamed like I stabbed her.

"You ruined everything. Again. Just like how you ruined your own child's life. No wonder the baby died. And now look at you. Barren, useless, clumsy. You can't even carry a drink."

Her words hit harder than the fall. My throat tightened.

Serafina rushed in, acting shocked, acting worried.

"Oh Ma, please don't be angry. She's been through a lot. It's not her fault. Just forgive her. My sister is trying."

The room went quiet.

My sister.

She said it like she was some saint.

Donna Valente softened immediately, her gaze melting as she turned to Serafina.

"See, this is why I adore you. You're kind, pure, patient. Why can't you be like her, Bianca?"

My chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe.

I wiped my face, stood up slowly, and looked straight at Serafina.

"Kind?" I said, my voice shaking. "You want me to be like her? The same woman who took my husband, my home, and my baby? The same woman who lied about being sick so Nico would take my son's stem cells? The same woman who let my child die so she could get better?"

Gasps exploded around us. A capo's wife set her glass down too hard. One of the soldiers near the doorway shifted his weight.

Serafina blinked, her smile cracking just enough for me to see the truth under it.

Donna Valente glared at me, furious.

"Stop lying. Serafina would never harm a child!"

"She already did," I said. "Mine."

Nico stepped in then, jaw tight, eyes cold.

"What the fuck are you doing? This is Serafina's day. Don't ruin it with your nonsense."

My hands shook, but I didn't look away.

"You don't even remember what today is, do you."

He frowned.

"What now."

"Our anniversary."

Laughter broke out from the guests. Donna Valente smirked proudly. Serafina hid behind Nico's arm like she was scared.

Serafina suddenly grabbed her belly and let out a piercing scream that echoed through the whole hall.

"Ah! My stomach—" she cried, doubling over. "Nico! It hurts! My babies, oh my god—"

People froze. Music stopped. Every head turned.

Nico rushed toward her instantly.

"Seri! What's wrong? What happened?!"

"I… I just remembered… earlier… I saw Bianca standing near my drink. I—I thought she was just fixing the glasses but… what if she put something in it? I don't know but oh god, what if she wanted to hurt my babies?"

The room exploded.