“Get on your knees!”

At Jonah’s cold command, I was roughly forced to the ground by a soldato.

“Do you admit your mistake?” Marcus asked coldly.

“I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Still lying,” Marcus concluded. “Since that’s the case, you’ll kneel in the punishment room until you realize the mistake you’ve made.”

I was left alone in the punishment room for three days. From upstairs, laughter and cheerful voices carried down clearly.

“Alyssa, be good and take your medicine.”

“I don’t want to. It’s too bitter.”

“I know you hate bitter things, so I prepared your favorite candy.”

“Still no… unless, Elio, you feed me.”

Those voices were like knives, stabbing into my already tattered heart.

I thought I was numb from the pain, yet the sharp ache in my chest remained painfully clear.

On the fourth day, I was released.

I leaned against the wall. My knees were bruised and purple from kneeling for so long, and I could only move forward one step at a time.

Elio’s cheerful voice reached my ears.

“I heard Alyssa’s favorite singer is having a concert today. Didn’t she always want to watch them?”

My brothers immediately agreed. “Then let’s go today. It’ll be good to take Alyssa out and lift her spirits.”

I froze where I stood, unwilling to move forward.

Alyssa suddenly looked up, her gaze locking onto me. “Luna, you finally decided to come out?”

I pulled at the corner of my mouth, feeling only bitterness.

Alyssa didn’t care about my response. She skipped over and warmly looped her arm through mine.

“Luna, even though you ruined my reputation and made the family lose face… I don’t have much time left, anyway. I don’t want to argue with you anymore.

“Let’s make up and go to the concert together, okay?”

Alyssa’s deliberate closeness pressed against my injury. I instinctively tried to pull my arm back, which immediately drew Elio’s anger.

“Alyssa is being generous and taking the initiative to reconcile, and this is your attitude?”

Jonah lifted his head and sneered. “Look at Alyssa, then look at you! The difference is obvious.”

I bit down hard on my lip until I tasted blood.

The four people who should have been closest to me now felt like strangers.

In the end, I was hurriedly changed and pushed into the car.

All just to make Alyssa happy.

Inside the VIP room at the venue, Alyssa watched the performance. As her mood lifted, she said she wanted to have a seafood party.

The four men immediately arranged for the freshest ingredients to be airlifted in by helicopter. Then they rolled up their sleeves and prepared everything themselves right there in the room.

“You’re not eating?” After the food was grilled, Elio suddenly asked me.

“I’m allergic to seafood.”

He looked embarrassed.

After all, when the soldati were instructed to prepare the ingredients, everyone had only thought about Alyssa’s love for seafood. The entire table was filled with food, yet there wasn’t a single thing I could eat.

Elio frowned, opening his mouth as if to give another order.

At that moment, several armed soldati suddenly burst in through the door.

Gunfire erupted instantly.

“It’s the Saalfelds!” Elio shouted, throwing himself toward Alyssa and shielding her tightly with his body.

My three brothers rushed over as well, nervously protecting Alyssa.

As for me, there was no one beside me. I was completely exposed.

A bullet hit my shoulder. As the bodyguards clashed with the attackers, another stray bullet grazed the back of my hand.

“Ah!”

I screamed in pain. However, no one turned around to even look at me.

The Saalfelds’ last soldati was killed on the spot.

Concerned, the four men immediately checked Alyssa for injuries. After a moment, they finally noticed that during the struggle, a small patch of skin on her arm had been pulled red.

“Alyssa is hurt!”

“Let me see!”

“It’s red already! Get the medicine, quick!”

In the end, it was a young bodyguard who noticed my gunshot wound and helped me up.

“Hang on!” the bodyguard shouted in panic as he looked at my terrifying injuries.

Meanwhile, the four men only focused on carrying Alyssa toward the car, as if she were the one who had suffered a life-threatening wound.

By the time I was carried back home, I was in so much pain that I couldn’t even speak.

The bodyguards hurried off to call a doctor, and in no time, I was left alone in the room.

My phone suddenly rang.

“Miss Luna, we still need some additional information for your private island order.”

Enduring the intense pain, I replied hoarsely, “Alright. Please handle it as soon as possible. I’m in a hurry to get to the island.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Elio’s voice sounded in the room.

“Who were you talking to?”

My expression didn’t change as I hung up the phone. “No one important. Just an ordinary friend.”

Elio frowned slightly, suspicion flashing in his eyes. Then his gaze landed on the gunshot wound on my body.

“How did you get hurt this badly?” He walked over quickly, rare panic showing in his eyes. “Why didn’t you call me?”

I lowered my head and let out a quiet laugh.

I had screamed so loudly back then, but he hadn’t turned around even once.

What was the point of asking now?

Since I was leaving forever anyway, I shook my head and didn’t argue. “It’s fine. The soldato already called a doctor. Go be with Alyssa. She needs you more.”

Unexpectedly, Elio stubbornly sat down by my bed. “She has people taking care of her. I’ll stay here with you.”

He reached out and gently brushed aside the loose hair on my forehead, just like he had countless times over the past five years during our ordinary moments together.

However, this time, my heart no longer reacted like it once did.

He had already registered his marriage to Alyssa.

Who would fall for someone else’s husband?

He asked softly, “Does it hurt?”

I only shook my head lightly. I didn’t even have the energy left to talk to him.

Elio stayed in my room until the doctor finished treating my wounds.

That night, when Elio finally left, my phone lit up.

“B*tch! You still have the strength to seduce men after getting shot? I’ll make you see who they care about more!”

There was no need to look at the profile picture. I knew exactly who sent it.

I turned off my phone and ignored my sister’s hysteria.

But early the next morning, my bedroom door was kicked open.

Elio dragged me out of bed. “Where did you send Alyssa?”

Sam rushed over as well, demanding, “Why did Alyssa only leave a note saying, ‘Since my sister can’t tolerate me, I’ll leave’? What did you say to her?”

“I didn’t say anything,” I replied hoarsely.

Jonah exploded with rage and slammed his fist down, cracking the bed frame. “Still lying?! She’s terminally ill, and you keep hurting her again and again! I’m telling you. If anything happens to her this time, I won’t let you off!”

“I’m not lying. This has nothing to do with me.”

No one believed my explanation. In the standoff, Elio’s underboss suddenly rushed in.

“We found Miss Alyssa! She’s on the bridge. She’s going to jump into the sea!”

In an instant, the four men’s faces turned dark.

Marcus grabbed me by the collar and raised his hand, trembling as if about to slap me. “Luna, you’re so vicious it disgusts me! Alyssa is terminally ill. How many days does she have left? You’re really this impatient to torture her to death?”

I struggled to pull out a bitter smile.

How ridiculous.

Leaving aside whether this so-called terminal illness was even real, over the past few days, the Rosses and the Costellos had joined forces to hire the world’s top medical team and develop the most expensive treatments for Alyssa.

Even if it were truly terminal, it should have been cured by now.

This was nothing more than an excuse to forgive Alyssa for running away from the wedding all those years ago with a clear conscience.

Seeing my silence, their anger only intensified.

Elio issued a direct order. “Bring her along, too! No matter what it takes, she must convince Alyssa to come back today.”

I was roughly thrown into the car before the vehicle sped all the way toward the bridge.

Since this bridge was under maintenance, all vehicles were prohibited from entering.

When we arrived, Alyssa had already climbed onto the tall steel framework. Her body swayed precariously in the fierce wind.

“It’s dangerous!” My brothers shouted anxiously, “Alyssa, come back!”

Alyssa turned her head. Tears slid down her face. “Brother… Elio… I really can’t bear to leave you. But Luna can’t tolerate me. I’m dying anyway, so I might as well leave early. At least Luna will be happy.”

The four men immediately turned to glare at me, and Elio shoved me forward hard.

“Hurry up! Go convince Alyssa to come back!”

I calmly looked at the person who had caused this farce and said nothing.

Marcus roared, “Are you really trying to force her to death?”

Right on cue, Alyssa began to cry even harder. She deliberately slowed her movements as she turned around, pretending she was about to jump.

“No!”

The four men lunged forward in panic and grabbed her at the same time.

After pulling her back, Alyssa collapsed into their arms, crying uncontrollably.

Elio held her tightly. The voice of this cold-blooded mafia don was now unbelievably gentle. “It’s okay… Don’t be afraid. We’re here.”

My brothers patted her back softly, comforting her in low voices. “Don’t cry, Alyssa. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

After crying for a long while, Alyssa suddenly struggled again.

“No, I deserve to die! Let me die! Luna hates me so much. Being alive only makes people dislike me…”

As she spoke, she rushed toward the edge of the bridge again.

The four men immediately stopped her.

Jonah turned around and shouted at me furiously, “Look at what you’ve done! Are you determined to force your sister to death?”

Sam held Alyssa in his arms, patiently coaxing her. “We’ll all protect you. Don’t be afraid. No one can make you leave.”

They were terrified that Alyssa would try to kill herself again.

Faced with this scene, all I could do was sneer inwardly.

It wasn’t the first time Alyssa had used suicide to gain sympathy, and every single time, they fell for it.

While they were still entangled, Marcus’s anger surged.

He ordered, “Men, hang Luna outside the steel frame to reflect on herself! She stays there until she understands what she did wrong.”

Hearing this, Alyssa avoided the men’s gazes and shot me a victorious smile.

I knew what she was telling me. “Luna, you’ll never win against me.”

Following orders, the soldati tightly bound me with thick ropes and suspended me outside the steel framework of the bridge.

The weight of my body made the rope dig deep into my flesh, yet I didn’t even frown.

Before leaving, Elio glanced back once. His gaze trembled for a brief moment.

However, Alyssa conveniently fainted at that instant. He immediately panicked, scooped her into his arms, and left without looking back.

Just like every previous accident, all the soldati left with them, and I was left alone on the bridge.

The wind howled. The swaying rope rubbed my wrists until they were torn and bloody.

My phone vibrated, but I had no way to check it.

I began twisting my wrists desperately, forcing the rope to loosen bit by bit. Blood flowed along the rope, unexpectedly acting as lubrication.

Finally, when the rope loosened enough, I flipped my body, used all my strength to grab the steel frame, and slowly climbed back inside.

Trembling, I took out my phone and saw the message.

[All transactional procedures for your private island have been completed. You may move in at any time.]

I smiled.

Looking at the rope dangling outside the steel frame, a thought surfaced.

Since I was leaving anyway, I might as well let them think I was dead.

I couldn’t compete with Alyssa, but the living could never compete with the dead.

With that thought, I immediately threw my jacket onto the steel frame, then cut the rope and tossed it down.

The drifting jacket looked exactly like a final farewell from someone who had fallen into the sea.

“Goodbye,” I whispered to the foolish version of myself who once loved them so deeply.

Leaving the bridge behind, I got into a taxi.

“To the airport.”

From now on, I will keep all my love for myself.