I was with a fishmonger for seven years. Every night, he pinned me beneath him, reckless and wild.

Until one day, he took off his bloodstained apron and came clean–he was getting engaged to Sophia, the Bilotti heiress.

Only then did I learn that he was the Don of the Colleo family.

“Hahaha! You fooled around with Ms. Mancini for seven years, only to take another delicate young lady’s hand in marriage. Surely, she’s going to come at you.”

“Don Colleo, you should keep things sweet with her.”

His men’s laughter echoed in my ears.

“What’s the rush? I’ve broken her well enough these past seven years. If you don’t mind, you can have her for a couple of days. Evelyn… flexible.”

On the day of Vincent’s engagement party, I handed the evidence of his crimes to the police.

As the sirens ripped open the city night, someone called out my name.

I smiled and leaped from the eighteenth floor.

The family lawyer stared at me through a projection screen.

“Are you sure you want to hand over all the evidence? Every power will retaliate, and there won’t be a place in the city for Evelyn Mancini.”

“I’m certain.”

“The stakes are incredibly high. You have 24 hours to think it over.”

The projection flickered out.

Just as soon as my phone shut off, a soft click came from the door lock.

Carrying a faint, almost undetectable trace of scent, Vincent Colleo strode in.

“Why are your hands so cold?” He gripped my hands.

Without withdrawing my arms, I said calmly, “Congrats, you’re about to become the son-in-law of the Bilottis.”

His jaw clenched tight.

I knew that he had given a strict command.

No one was to reveal his engagement to Sophia Bilotti to me.

Violators would be disciplined as dictated by the code.

“Evelyn.” Vincent pulled me to him, his expression shifting into resigned tenderness.

“The Bilottis can offer me a clean slate. You know the struggles I’ve been through to get where I am today.”

He traced the outline of my chin. “Once I gain my foothold, things will be as they were. You will always be my one and only.”

“Really?”

I turned around to meet his gaze.

Vincent’s eyes bore into mine with intensity.

Those green eyes that I once lost myself in showed no signs of deceit.

“Of course. Sophia is the sole heiress to the Bilottis. I need her to legitimize my business.”

Vincent persuaded, “You’ve always been sensible.”

It seemed to have slipped his mind.

I knew he’d planned Sophia’s abduction and taken a bullet for her, all to earn her father’s trust.

“My heart only belongs to you, sweetheart.”

His hand slipped under my blouse.

I pressed against the scar on his chest. “Oh? Or do you just need someone old and reliable to handle your dirty books?”

Vincent took my lips in an attempt to silence my questioning.

“I only love you.” His rugged breath brushed against the skin of my neck.

“Marry me,” I uttered.

He froze.

The lust in Vincent’s eyes faded away, replaced by calculated manipulation. “I’m only doing this so that we can have a better future together, Evelyn.”

“What if I can help you?” I looked him in the eye.

A hint of annoyance and disdain fleeted across his eyes.

It felt as if he was mocking my misplaced confidence.

Just then, his phone rang. It was Sophia calling.

Furrowing his brows, Vincent wanted to reject the call, but Sophia sent a real-time photo.

I glanced at the mobile screen.

The picture showed a ward, with Sophia’s wrist wrapped in white bandages.

She stared at the camera with teary eyes.

The call connected. “Honey, I’m scared. The pain is horrible. Dad said that you promised you wouldn’t let me suffer.”

Vincent grimaced.

He talked on the phone, his voice softening,” Don’t be scared. I’ll be there right away.”

After the call ended, he turned to me. “Sophia is very emotional right now. I need to go.”

Once Vincent took off, I approached the window.

I watched as his car sped into the night.

My phone screen lit up dimly.

A message came from an encrypted channel. “What’s the final confirmation? Is the Sweeper operation a go-ahead? All evidence is lined up. Once it’s set in motion, there’s no turning back.”

I closed my eyes, and upon opening them, only absolute certainty remained.

My finger hovered over the send button.

There lay the concrete proof of Vincent’s years-long smuggling, money laundering, and connections to key murders.

“Proceed with execution.”

From here on out, the empire of the Colleo family, along with the Bilottis, was destined to fall.

“Once the evidence is released, you’ll be at the center of the storm. All records of Evelyn will be wiped from existence.”

The lawyer’s warning hung heavy in my mind.

I let out a soft breath.

So be it.

I entrusted the crucial part of the plan to Gray.

For the final takedown, I would need a distraction big enough to grab everyone’s attention.

“Ms. Mancini, are you planning to strike at the engagement party? With every major player present, the risk is too high,” Gray cautioned.

“That will be the day.” I balled my fists, my fingers digging into my palms.

My complicated history with Vincent went back seven years.

It was about time I ended the game that started with lies.

I slipped out of the temporary hideout and took a detour to get to Vincent’s private club.

The valets’ gossip reached my ears. “Don Colleo spoils Sophia silly. He rented out the penthouse for the night and hired a jazz band.”

“Tsk. When I went to deliver the drinks, Sophia was sitting on the Don Colleo’s lap, serving fruit up to his mouth. Imagine that.”

“Seriously, how many times has this happened now? The last time she sulked, Don Colleo gave her a beachfront mansion straight away.”

Without stopping, I shifted my gaze to the shadowed area of the club.

The emergency exit was left ajar.

“Does your chest still hurt, Vincent? You can only have eyes for me. Stop thinking about Evelyn.” Sophia pouted.

It took a short pause before Vincent’s voice, persuasive and upbeat, echoed. “Yes, of course. I’ll only have eyes for you.”

The door swung open soon after.

Vincent stepped out while straightening his collar.

Sophia trailed behind, her hair tousled.

The smile on Vincent’s face stiffened the moment he saw me.

Sophia took several steps forward, a smile, both innocent and defiant, playing across her lips.

Her voice was sickly sweet. “Oh, Evelyn. Vincent said you once made him a little good-luck charm. I’ve been trying to make something for him too, but it never turns out right. Mind if I take a look at yours?”

Speaking of the lucky charm, I spent six months stitching it by the lamp late at night after closing time at the fish market.

The coarse fabric had the initials V and E stitched into one corner.

They were the initials of our names—V and E.

Drawing a deep breath, I turned on my heel to walk away.

“Don’t go, Evelyn! I’m not done talking.” Sophia caught up to me and grabbed me by the wrist.

I yanked my arm away, but anticipating my reaction, she held on tightly.

Amid the struggle, Sophia tumbled back with a shriek.

She slammed against the scrap metal rack.

Meanwhile, I lost my footing.

I fell right into a puddle of grime and broken glass.

A sharp pain shot up from my thigh.

Lunging forward, Vincent nervously helped Sophia up and examined her arm.

He turned to look at me, curled up on the ground, his brows furrowed. “Evelyn, you should know better! Sophia is delicate. You can’t be rough with her!”

The looks of disdain around made me feel as if I were the unreasonable, wicked woman.

“Ms. Mancini, your leg!” A server exclaimed.

It wasn’t until then that Vincent noticed that my leg was bleeding.

As his eyes widened in shock, he released Sophia and drew close. “How did that happen?”

Pushing myself off the ground, I straightened my back.

I met his anxious gaze.

My lips curled slightly.

I had to wonder how many pieces Vincent’s heart had been carved into.

In each piece, how much of it was true?

“All the best with the engagement,” I uttered with composure.

Vincent stared at me, hard and long, before loosening his collar in frustration.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Evelyn.”

Vincent shifted his gaze to Sophia, who was crying her eyes out in distress.

He snapped at the people nearby, “Escort Ms. Bilotti back! Get her a doctor!”

Vincent then turned his attention back to me. “Come with me.”

“It’s just a minor injury. There’s no need to trouble you.”

“Evelyn! Stop being so stubborn!” He raised his voice.

I was taken to a lounge room on the floor above.

“Stay put for the time being. Don’t wander around or start any drama.” He slapped a quick band-aid on my wound before turning away.

Silence fell over the room.

I sauntered to the window and watched his car drive away with Sophia inside.

It was just a superficial wound.

‘Enjoy your last moments of peace, Vincent.

‘I will be sending you an engagement gift that you’ll never forget for the rest of your life.’

The media gathered at the pier where a super yacht was anchored.

A red carpet was rolled out from the shore right up onto the deck of the Pearl.

No one spared a second glance at the cleaner I was disguised as.

Pushing the cleaning cart, I brushed past Vincent.

The delicate trim of his engagement attire grazed my cart as we crossed paths.

His face beamed with pride.

Next to him, Sophia looked dazzling in her white gown.

Before boarding the yacht, Vincent murmured to his men, “Secure all entries and exits. Don’t just let anybody come through.”

“Understood, Don Colleo.”

Little did Vincent know, the Pearl would become the end of his ambition.

We would never meet again.

The pier erupted in clamor as champagne-colored bubbles rose into the air.

I backed into the utility room and locked the door behind me.

That was when I turned on my microcomputer.

Without a doubt in my mind, I pressed the button to engage execution.

A command was issued.

A stream of data burst through to the agencies’ databases.

On deck, the ceremony had reached the part where the couple raised their glasses.

Every device on board blew up with breaking news alerts.

The commotion escalated fast.

“Don Colleo! The ledgers… the deals… They are all leaked to the public. The media and the cops…” A pale-faced subordinate rushed to Vincent.

The piercing wail of police sirens blared from the pier, growing louder by the second.

The noise tore through the celebratory music and chatter.

Standing on the platform, Sophia was horrified, staring at her mobile screen.

Vincent clenched his fists, veins on the back of his hands bulging.

He hissed through clenched teeth furiously, “Where did the leak come from?”

On the opposite end of the deck, Gray’s operative articulated the well-rehearsed response, “It’s Evelyn.”

Color drained from Vincent’s face.

The entire city was engulfed in the storm of the sudden scandal.

The flashing police lights bounced off the waters, casting the sea in an unsettling glow.

My mind and body were overcome with a sense of detachment and fatigue when I hit the final key and watched everything unfold.

It felt like a part of me was taken away when I sent out the evidence.

I figured it was the lingering obsession I had carried with me in those seven years.

With a leap, I dove from the yacht’s eighteenth story.

Faint, frantic cries echoed from somewhere.

I slowly shut my eyes.