The Torres family and the Nostra had been enemies for generations.

When I was ten, I was betrayed by my own blood and left for dead.

Leon Torres was the one who saved me.

So I buried my identity as the daughter of a powerful Cosa Nostra family and stayed by his side, helping him from the shadows.

For years, I used my father's underground network to eliminate every obstacle in Leon's path, helping the overlooked second son of the Torres Don rise step by step until he claimed the throne for himself.

Then he brought home a woman named Anrina.

His childhood sweetheart.

Anrina claimed she was the one who had helped Leon seize power all these years.

And Leon believed her.

From that moment on, every ounce of his protection, trust, and affection belonged to her.

"Look at yourself. Covered in blood like a filthy stray."

"Go clean yourself up. Don't scare my sweetheart."

Leon stripped me of my position as Capo and forced me to become Anrina's servant.

When pizza fresh from the oven burned her mouth, he made me kneel at her feet and cool every bite before feeding her myself.

When a rose thorn pricked her finger, he blamed me for failing to protect her and ordered ten lashes in the punishment room.

I endured it all.

Because years ago, after saving my life, Leon once said:

"You want to repay me?

"Then repay me a hundred times."

I lowered my gaze to the child growing quietly inside me.

"Ninety-nine," I whispered.

"Just one more, little one... then Mommy will take you home."

Anrina strode into the room in stiletto heels and tossed a bunny-girl outfit straight at my face.

There was barely enough fabric to cover anything. A pair of cheap little bells hung from the chest.

"My birthday banquet is tonight. Put this on and serve drinks to the guests."

Arms crossed, she looked down at me like a queen passing judgment.

I picked up the outfit and threw it back at her feet.

"I'm not a hostess."

Anrina let out a cold laugh and stepped closer.

"Leon already gave the order. It's my birthday tonight, which means everyone listens to me.

"If you refuse to wear it, I'll have you thrown into the punishment room for the night."

Those were indeed his words.

He had said the exact same thing on my birthday last year.

That night, he had personally fastened a necklace around my neck called Heart of Protection.

He promised he would always protect me.

Then Anrina appeared, and everything changed.

I went from a feared Capo to a servant anyone could humiliate.

Seeing my silence, Anrina suddenly raised her hand and slapped me.

I caught her wrist before she could touch me.

My gaze lowered instinctively to my stomach.

If I were sent down to the dungeon for punishment, the baby would not survive.

"I'll wear it."

A smug smile spread across Anrina's face. She looked ready to continue tormenting me, but then her phone rang.

The moment she saw the caller ID, her entire voice turned soft and sugary.

"Leon... I'll come find you in the main hall right away. Mm... I missed you, too."

After hanging up, she shot me a vicious glare.

"Just wait. I'm not done with you yet."

The door slammed shut behind her.

I lowered my head and stared at the outfit for a long moment before slowly putting it on. The old scar across my collarbone peeked through the revealing neckline of the costume.

I tugged at the fabric, trying to cover it.

It was useless.

The banquet was being held in the villa's back garden.

I carried a three-tier champagne tower out through the side entrance. The thing weighed nearly twenty pounds, and the old injury in my arm was already throbbing again.

Just six steps away from the main table, Anrina suddenly stretched out one foot and hooked it against my ankle.

I fell forward instantly.

The champagne tower crashed to the ground with a deafening explosion.

Glass shattered everywhere.

I slammed hard into the sea of razor-sharp shards.

Pieces of glass pierced my palms, my forearms, my knees.

Leon rushed over immediately.

He grabbed the screaming Anrina first and pulled her tightly into his arms before finally lowering his gaze to me, covered in blood on the floor.

For a split second, something complicated flickered across his face. Pain. Conflict. Regret.

Then he buried it.

Anrina lifted her hand, revealing a tiny bead of blood on her fingertip.

"Ah... it hurts... Leon, the glass cut me..."

Leon's expression darkened instantly.

"You can't even handle something this simple?"

Anrina leaned weakly against his chest, pretending to plead on my behalf.

"Leon, don't be angry with her.

"Isabella used to be a respected Capo. Of course, she resents being made to do servant work.

"It's my fault for not thinking it through. That's why she did this on purpose... she's taking her anger out on me."

I ignored Anrina completely and looked straight at Leon as I forced myself back to my feet.

"She tripped me on purpose."

Anrina's eyes reddened instantly, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Isabella... I didn't... why would you accuse me like this..."

She cried delicately as she buried herself against Leon's chest.

Leon slowly pulled the pistol from his waist.

The dark barrel pressed against my forehead.

"Apologize."

Three years ago, he used this gun to teach me how to shoot, guiding my hands with his own wrapped around my wrist.

One year ago, he used this same gun to kill a man who had insulted me.

And now, the barrel was pressed against my forehead as he forced the victim to apologize to the woman who framed her.

"I won't confess to something I didn't do."

I closed my eyes and rested both hands over my stomach.

Silence stretched through the room for ten long seconds.

In the end, Leon did not pull the trigger.

Instead, he slammed the gun down onto the liquor table with a violent crack.

"Get out.

"Kneel in the courtyard. You can stand back up when you're ready to apologize."

A storm was raging outside.

Rainwater poured from the roof like a curtain as I knelt on the stone pavement in that ridiculous bunny-girl outfit.

The shards of glass still embedded beneath my knees hadn't even been removed yet. Soaked by the rain, they throbbed with sharper pain every passing minute.

The storm only grew heavier.

By the second half of the night, my vision had begun to blur.

A dull ache spread through my lower abdomen. I clenched my fists with everything I had, forcing myself not to collapse.

In the end, I still fell.

The moment my body hit the muddy ground, I felt someone lift me into their arms.

Warm body heat.

The familiar scent of pinewood cologne.

Leon.

When I woke again, I was lying in bed inside my room.

Leon sat beside me.

He reached toward me, intending to remove my soaked clothes so he could treat my injuries.

I immediately jerked away from his hand.

Leon's expression darkened instantly.

"Who are you pretending to look pitiful for?"

He grabbed both my wrists and pinned them above my head against the pillow.

Riiip.

He tore open the drenched uniform still clinging to my body.

The dull pain in my abdomen surged again.

The nausea churning inside my stomach finally became impossible to suppress.

I turned my head sharply and retched violently over the side of the bed.

Leon froze.

Then he suddenly stood up and kicked over the chair beside him.

"So disgusted by my touch?"

He strode back over and gripped my chin, violent possessiveness swirling in his eyes.

"That night, you were the one begging me not to stop."

He suddenly leaned down and forced himself over me–

His phone rang.

Caller ID: My Sweetheart.

Anrina.

Leon immediately straightened up and left the room without a second glance.

The next morning, I dragged my feverish body to the infirmary.

My temperature was 39.7 degrees Celsius. The doctor put me on two IV drips.

I fell asleep face-down against the pillow, drifting in and out of consciousness.

Beneath the pillow was a crumpled ultrasound report.

The date printed on it was from one month ago.

That night, Leon had been drunk when he ran into me in the hallway.

He pinned me against the wall while calling my name.

The next morning, he pretended that night had never happened.

But the child growing inside me reminded me every second just how reckless that night had been.

Reckless enough that I actually believed he loved me.

During the two hours I was asleep, one of the maids discovered the ultrasound report while changing the bedsheets.

She took a photo of it.

Then sent it to Anrina.

I stood in the corner at the back of the meeting room.

The family Consigliere hurried in, his expression grim.

"Don Torres, the shipment of arms we stored near the edge of the Mexican desert was hijacked by the Camorra. They took the goods and wiped out our men. We need someone to recover it."

Four Capos sat around the conference table.

Not one of them spoke.

That stretch of desert was a graveyard. Last year, twenty men had been sent there.

Only three came back alive.

Silence settled over the room for nearly half a minute.

Then Anrina walked in.

She went straight to Leon, dropped herself onto his lap, and looped her arms around his neck like she belonged there.

"Leon," she said sweetly, "why not send Isabella?"

"Wasn't she your best Capo once?"

She turned and flashed me a smug smile.

"Isabella would definitely bring it back for you, wouldn't she?"

Leon's brows drew together slightly.

He glanced at me, lips parting as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Anrina leaned close and whispered into his ear.

"If Isabella succeeds, then give her position back, okay?"

Leon was silent for a few seconds before finally nodding.

"Isabella."

He looked at me across the room.

"Go retrieve the shipment. Come back alive, and I'll restore your position as Capo."

I stood there quietly, staring at the man I had personally helped place on the throne.

Now he sat there holding the woman who had stolen everything from me, using the power I bled for to send me to my death.

And suddenly, I smiled.

Something inside me that had been stretched tight for years finally snapped.

"Fine," I said softly. "I'll go."

Leon's hand tightened slightly against the armrest.

He could not explain it, but the smile on my face unsettled him for a brief moment.

The night before departure, he summoned me to his study.

The fire in the fireplace burned fiercely, shadows flickering across the room as he stood with his back to me in silence.

After a long pause, he opened a drawer, took out a pistol, and tossed it toward me.

A black suppressed handgun.

Custom-built.

My initials were engraved into the grip, and the barrel had been modified for an extra thirty meters of range beyond standard models.

"Come back alive," Leon said coldly. "Then you can have your seat back."

He never looked at me while saying it.

I slid the gun behind my waist and turned toward the door.

"No need."

My voice was calm.

Behind me came the sharp crack of a glass slamming onto the desk.

Leon's voice darkened with anger.

"Don't push your luck, Isabella."

I did not turn around.

Leon.

This is the hundredth debt I repay for you.

From this day forward, if we ever meet again, we'll meet as enemies.