I sat in the dark of my walk-in closet, the glow of my tablet illuminating my face. On the screen, a grainy black-and-white video played. It was a live feed from the hidden camera I had installed in Tavio's study.

"I can't believe she fired me!" Carina shrieked. "After everything I've done! I've been covering for you for years, Tavio! I've been feeding you inside information! And she just... cuts me off like a dead limb?"

"Calm down," Tavio said, pouring himself a drink. "She's unstable. The miscarriage messed with her head more than we thought. It's just a tantrum."

"A tantrum?" Carina laughed. "She locked me out of the communications network, Tavio! She revoked my access to the Family's front operations! I can't even get into the social club to delete the files! If she finds the dummy accounts... and what if she already knows about us?"

"She won't," Tavio assured her, walking over to wrap his arms around her. "If she does, surely she will not sit tight, and confront me."

"I want her dead," Carina sobbed into his chest. "I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of pretending to be her friend. I want her gone, Tavio. Now."

"It's okay, baby," Tavio cooed, stroking her hair. "We're close."

"When?" Carina demanded, pulling back to look at him.

"The Family Feast," Tavio said. His hand moved to his tie, smoothing it with a slow downward stroke from knot to sternum. "Next Friday. It's the perfect stage. She'll be surrounded by the Commission, the press, every Boss in the Northeast. I've already planted the seeds about her mental instability. We'll stage a breakdown. A public, undeniable psychotic break. I'll have the doctors ready to commit her that night. Once she's in the facility, I get power of attorney by default."

"And then," Tavio kissed her forehead, "she'll be ruined. And I'll get everything. The Family, the estate, the empire. And you."

They kissed. It was hungry and desperate, a celebration of my impending destruction.

I turned off the tablet, my hand trembling slightly.

My phone buzzed in my lap. It was Arturo.

"Everything is ready, Madam," Arturo's gravelly voice came through. "The offshore accounts are active. The domestic holdings have been liquidated and transferred. The estate deed has been moved to the blind trust. The separation papers are drafted and ready for filing."

"Good," I breathed. "And the forensic accounting on Carina's operations?"

"Complete. We have evidence of embezzlement, infiltration, and fraud. It's enough to put both of them away for twenty years."

"Hold onto it," I said. "I want to drop the hammer when it hurts the most."

"And your departure, Madam? When will you leave?"

"A few days," I said, glancing at the closed closet door. "Prepare the lake house. The one my parents gave me for my twenty-first birthday. It's off the grid. Tavio doesn't even know it exists."

"It will be ready. Be careful, Ambra."

"I will."

I hung up and took a deep breath.

I walked downstairs. Tavio was in the living room, nursing a scotch. He looked up as I entered, his face instantly composing itself into a mask of concern.

"Hey," he said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," I lied. "I'm sorry about dinner. I just... I snapped."

"It's okay," Tavio said, standing up. "But Ambra... we need to talk about Carina."

"There's nothing to talk about," I said, walking past him to the kitchen. "She's out."

"She has nowhere to go," Tavio pleaded, following me. "She's been living in the guest house because she can't afford a place in the city. Her cut from the Family was her only income. If you fire her and kick her out... she'll be on the street."

"She should have thought of that before she became incompetent," I said, pouring myself a glass of water.

"She's your blood-sister!" Tavio argued. "She's been there for you through everything! The funeral, the wedding... she loves you, Ambra. You're punishing her for trying to help."

"I'm protecting my Family," I shot back. "And frankly, Tavio, I don't care where she goes."

Tavio opened his mouth to argue, but his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and frowned.

"It's the hospital," he said, answering it. "Hello? Yes, this is Tavio Nero. Who? Carina?"

I watched him. His face went pale. He looked at me with wide, accusing eyes.

"Oh my god," he whispered. "Is she... okay? We're on our way."

He hung up, his hand shaking.

"Carina is in the ER," Tavio said, his voice trembling with manufactured outrage. "She tried to kill herself. She took a bottle of pills."

I felt a cold knot in my stomach. It was a move. A desperate, manipulative move to force my hand.

"This is on you," Tavio spat, pointing a finger at me. "You pushed her to this! You fired her, you humiliated her, and now she's lying in a hospital bed because she felt like she had nothing left!"

We drove to the hospital in silence. When we arrived, Carina was awake, looking pale and fragile in the hospital bed. Her wrist was bandaged — a hesitation mark, I noted. Enough for attention, not enough for death.

"Ambra," she croaked when she saw me. Tears filled her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I just... I didn't know what else to do."

Tavio stood by her side, holding her hand. The nurses looked at me with thinly veiled judgment. I could hear the whispers in the hallway.

The narrative was already spinning. If I didn't act now, I would be the villain before the Feast even started.

"I'm so sorry, Carina," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "I didn't know you were struggling this much. I was just... I was projecting my own pain onto you."

"It's okay," Carina sniffled. She tucked her hair behind her left ear with a quick, almost nervous motion. "I just want my friend back."

"You have her," I said, taking her other hand. "And you have a home. You can't stay in the guest house alone. It's too isolated."

Tavio looked up, surprised. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying she should move into the main house," I said, looking Tavio dead in the eye. "With us. Until she gets back on her feet. I'll reinstate her in the Family's operations, too. On probation."

"Really?" Carina asked. "You'd do that?"

"Of course," I smiled. It was the warmest, most loving smile I could muster. "We're famiglia, aren't we? Families stick together."

"Thank you, Ambra," Tavio said, squeezing my shoulder. "You're doing the right thing."

"I know," I said.

But as I walked out of the hospital room to get some air my smile remained.

In just a few days, they will be ruined.

"Thank you so much, Ambra! You have no idea what this means to me."

Carina was practically vibrating with excitement. She stood in the center of the grand hall at the Santoro estate, directing the florists with a manic energy that bordered on frantic. The Annual Family Feast was her baby now. I had handed it over to her on a silver platter two days ago, citing my "fragile state" and need for rest.

"It's been my dream to host this," Carina gushed. "I've always wanted to be the one on stage, welcoming everyone. You're the best, really."

"You deserve it," I said, forcing a weak smile. "You've worked so hard. And honestly, I don't think I could handle the crowd right now. The noise... it's too much."

"Don't worry about anything," Carina said. "I'll make sure everything is perfect. You just focus on getting better."

Later that evening, I sat in the library, staring blankly at a book I wasn't reading. The room smelled of old leather and the faintest trace of my father's cigars, a scent the upholstery would never fully release. Tavio came in, closing the door softly behind him.

"Hey," he said, sitting on the arm of my chair. "How are you feeling? You look pale."

"I'm... okay," I lied, letting my voice tremble. "Just tired. My head feels foggy."

"Is the medicine helping?" he asked, watching me closely. "Maeve Ferrante said it might take a few days to kick in fully."

"I think so," I said, rubbing my temples. "I just feel... heavy. Like I can't wake up."

"That's normal," Tavio soothed, stroking my hair. "It's the sedatives. They're supposed to help you sleep. You need rest, Ambra. You've been through a trauma."

I leaned into his touch, suppressing the urge to recoil. I knew exactly what the "medicine" was. I had been chewing the pills every night and flushing them down the toilet. But I had to play the part. I had to be the broken, medicated wife who was slowly losing her grip on reality.

That night, as I lay in bed feigning sleep, I heard Tavio on the phone in the hallway. His voice was low, the way men in this life spoke when they were saying things that could get them killed.

"It doesn't seem to be working fast enough," he whispered. "She's still lucid. She's tired, yeah, but not... broken. We need to up the dosage before the Feast. I need her completely out of it when she signs the papers."

The next three days were a performance. I stumbled. I slurred my words. I "forgot" conversations we had just had. I spent hours staring at the wall, crying over nothing. Tavio and Carina watched me with predatory satisfaction, convinced their plan was working.

On the morning of the Feast, I didn't get out of bed.

Tavio came in with a tray of breakfast and a stack of documents. He looked sharp in his tuxedo, ready for his big night. He smoothed his tie with his right hand, a slow downward stroke from knot to sternum, already composing the lie before he opened his mouth.

"Hey, sleepyhead," he said, setting the tray down. "You need to eat something. And... I need you to sign these."

"What are they?" I mumbled, squinting at the papers.

"Just some routine authorizations for the Feast," Tavio said smoothly, uncapping a pen. "Vendor contracts, liability waivers. Nothing important. But we need your signature to release the funds for tonight."

I looked at the papers. Buried in the stack of invoices was the Power of Attorney transfer. The document that would hand him control of the Santoro Family's legitimate holdings, every front business, every account with my name on it.

"Okay," I whispered. "I trust you."

I signed.

"Perfect," he said, kissing my forehead. "You're doing great, babe. Now, try to get some rest. I know you said you wanted to come later, but honestly... maybe you should just stay here. It's going to be overwhelming."

"I'll try," I said weakly. "But if I feel up to it... I want to see Carina shine."

"We'll see," Tavio said, already backing out of the room. "I have to go help her set up. I'll call you later."

"Okay. Have fun."

The moment the front door closed and the sound of his car faded down the driveway, I threw off the covers.

I grabbed the duffel bag I had hidden under the bed days ago. Inside was cash, a burner phone, my passport, and the hard drive containing every piece of evidence Arturo and I had gathered. Every laundered transaction. Every intercepted call. Every photograph that proved Tavio Nero had conspired to destroy the Santoro bloodline from within.

I walked out of the house.

As I drove away from the estate, I felt a pang of sadness for the girl who had moved into that house full of hope, but it was quickly replaced by the cold resolve of the woman driving away. The gates of the Santoro compound shrank in my rearview mirror and then disappeared behind the tree line.

I pulled over at a rest stop an hour later. I took out the tablet and connected to the Feast's live stream.

The grand hall was packed. Every Family of consequence in the Northeast was represented. Politicians. Judges. The legitimate faces the Families wore for the cameras. And there, on the stage, stood Tavio and Carina.

"Thank you all for coming," Tavio said into the microphone. "My wife, Ambra, sends her deepest regrets. As many of you know, she has been struggling with... health issues recently. The loss of our child was devastating, and she is taking some much-needed time away to heal."

"But," he continued, brightening, "she insisted that the show must go on. And she wanted to share a special message with all of you tonight. A video tribute to the resilience of the human spirit, and to the future of the Family."

Carina beamed beside him, clutching his arm.

"Please," Tavio gestured to the massive screen behind them. "Turn your attention to the screen."

I smirked.

I had swapped the file on the server ten minutes before I left the house. Arturo had given me the backdoor access codes. They hadn't even checked it. They were so arrogant, so sure of my incompetence, that they hadn't bothered to verify the file.

Now, in front of every Boss, every Consigliere, every wife and associate and bought judge in that room, it would ruin them.

I turned off the tablet.

I picked up my phone and typed a single message to Tavio's number.

Have a happy life without me, ex-husband.

I tossed the phone out the window and drove into the night.