After that, Lorenzo's attitude toward Sofia had a subtle but unmistakable change. Whenever Sofia objected to his decisions, he would often listen to her quietly.

Sometimes, he would even give in to her excessively as he teased, "Yes, you're right, Lady Consigliere."

The day I got pregnant, Sofia cried once more. She got herself rather drunk on whisky that night, sobbing while drinking.

She said, "Vittoria, I'm really happy that you're about to become a mother…"

She trailed off before saying, "I don't think I'll ever get married in this life. Your child will be mine too, in the future…"

She was so drunk she could barely finish her sentence, but at that time, I thought that she was just happy for me.

It was Lorenzo who took her home. He was gone for a long time.

When he came home, his eyes were a little reddened. The corner of his lip was split. He said that the stairs were too dark, and that he accidentally bumped into a wall.

Sofia was not a person who cried a lot, but whenever it came to matters between Lorenzo and me, her tears somehow seemed to flow freely.

Once, I asked her, "Sofia, all these years, have you never fallen for anybody?"

She suddenly looked up and swept Lorenzo a glance before replying to me with a smile.

"Of course. I have my eyes on a soldato that just joined us. I'll show you one day."

As if on cue, the glass in Lorenzo's hand shattered.

As for that soldato, I had never met him.

It turned out that the signs were there all along, but I had never once paid any attention to them, nor did I want to.

…

As if trying to cover up the truth, for the following few days, Lorenzo and Sofia treated me well, even much better than before.

I had never brought up the 300 love letters. It seemed to have become an unspoken secret between us.

The days passed as if nothing had happened, but I no longer felt as happy as before.

One day, Lorenzo decided to bring me to attend talks with the ancient Cecile Island family, the Cecilia family.

He claimed that it would help me take things off my mind, but I knew that he only wanted to have the perfect Don image.

A Don who cared about his wife and family..

Sofia, as the Don's Consigliere, naturally went along as well. She donned a wide beige trench coat and flats with minimal makeup on. She looked every bit the smart and professional woman that she was.

She would only occasionally touch her abdomen, her eyes gleaming with a motherly pride.

The tension was razor sharp on the negotiation table.

The Don of the Cecilia family was Valentino Cecilia. According to the rumors, he was even more ruthless and bloodthirsty than Lorenzo. He was a master of more than half of Oropa's weapons shipping routes, a true king of the sea lanes.

Lorenzo brought with him his best interpreter, who failed at the worst possible moment.

Valentino spoke an ancient dialect of the Cecile Island, mixed with slang that only the older generation of smugglers understood.

The interpreter stuttered through as he sweated profusely.

Lorenzo started to lose his patience. He knocked his knuckle on the table, eyes looking sharp.

"Tell him that if he doesn't agree to a seventy-thirty split, we'll go to war."

Lorenzo placed his gun on the table as if trying to intimidate with force.

Sofia backed him up, not understanding a word Valentino had said but defending Lorenzo's authority all the same.

"Mr. Cecilia, just a reminder that you're on our turf."

Fools. What a bunch of fools.

I sat on the couch in the corner, watching the entire scene unfold. None of them understood what Valentino had said.

Valentino was not refusing. He was testing them. His coded phrase actually meant, "If you help me clear the cargo sitting at the port, I'll agree to a 10-90 split."

His bodyguards had their hands in their coats the entire time, ready to fire.

If Lorenzo had truly declared war, the negotiation table would become a bloodbath in the very next second.

I looked at Lorenzo's arrogant expression and Sofia fanning the flames beside him. How confident of them, yet so foolish.

I thought about my child who did not even get to come to the world. I thought about the safe of love letters. I thought about Sofia in Lorenzo's arms.

I should not have interfered. I should have just let them die there. Perhaps that would be the best revenge for me.

However, I looked at Valentino in the main seat, playing with his ring distractedly, scanning everyone with a mischievous look.

In the end, his eyes landed on me.

I realized that it was perhaps my only chance.

A wild thought sprang to mind and spread like wildfire.

Rather than granting them a quick death, which would be too merciful, I would rather have them alive and ruined.

Also, I needed a ship that could take me away from there.

I took a deep breath and walked out of the shadows. My voice was not loud, but it rang clearly in the room.

"Hold up."

Lorenzo suddenly looked back and frowned at me. "Vittoria, stand back! This isn't a place for you to fool around!"

Sofia sneered, "Vittoria, go back. You'll get everyone killed."

I ignored them. I stood up and tidied my clothes before walking over to the long table and pouring myself a glass of red wine.

Then, I raised my glass to Valentino and replied to him in the most fluent ancient dialect of Cecile Island, replying to his coded phrase.

"The wind at the port is strong, but we have the best captain. We can ship the cargo to a place where even God can't find."

Lorenzo and Sofia looked at me as if they had just seen a ghost. They never knew I could speak this ancient dialect.

All they knew of me was just a materialistic housewife who only knew how to shop and cook, but nothing else.

They had forgotten that my parents were the previous generation's best smugglers. That dialect was like a lullaby I had heard since I was a young age.

Valentino stopped playing with his ring. He slowly sat up and fixed his hawk-like gaze on me.

A few seconds later, he chuckled.

"Deal."

He got up, walked past Lorenzo, and headed straight to me. Then, he held my hand up and kissed the back of it like a gentleman.

"Beautiful Signora, your talent delights me."

Lorenzo's face turned green with jealousy. He pulled me behind him, looking rather on guard.

"Valentino, she's my wife."

Valentino stood up straight. His gaze instantly darkened. He looked at Lorenzo with condescension and said, "What a pity. If you don't know how to cherish her, she'll leave you sooner or later."

That night, the family had bagged an unprecedentedly huge deal. Everyone celebrated with wine and cheers.

Lorenzo was the center of attention, being flattered by everyone. Sofia was next to him, too, equally basking in the glory.

No one seemed to remember what I had done. No one remembered me, except for Valentino. He stuffed a business card into my hand before he left.

On it was a personal phone number and one sentence.

[My ship will always have a place for you.]

Late at night, Lorenzo was passed out drunk in bed. I sat in front of the vanity, staring at the pale woman in the mirror.

I took off my wedding ring and placed it in the empty jewelry box. Then, I took out that business card and dialed the number.

The call was picked up after one ring.

I could hear the sounds of waves mixed with the man's voice, saying, "I thought you would wait until dawn to call me."

I looked out at the dark sky and smiled in relief.

"Take me away. Right now."