Chapter 1
Ninety-nine times.
I was sent to the punishment chamber ninety-nine times by my mafia don fiancé.
Each time, he watched through bulletproof glass with cold, detached eyes—watching me being deprived of sleep, injected with drugs, tortured until I was barely clinging to life.
"Elara, you're paying for what you did to the Mancuso family."
For the sake of sweet, innocent Yvette—his precious savior—he personally destroyed everything I had.
After the ninety-ninth time, the doctor handed me a critical condition notice. I stopped begging, signed the confession, and vanished completely with my broken body.
The result? When the truth finally came to light, the ruthless don went completely insane.
Elara's POV
"Elara, still won't tell the truth?"
Blood dripped onto the concrete floor. I curled up in the corner of the Mancuso family basement, my entire body aching like I'd been hit by a truck.
This was the ninety-ninth time.
The iron door scraped open, footsteps approaching from the distance.
I struggled to lift my eyelids. Under the harsh fluorescent light, Stefano stood there in his black suit. He looked down at me, those gray-blue eyes now ice-cold with disgust.
"Say what?" My voice came out hoarse. "That I didn't kill your parents? Or that I didn't plant the bomb in Yvette's car?"
Blood filled my mouth. I swallowed it down hard, forcing out a bitter smile.
"SHUT UP!" Stefano bent down abruptly, his leather-gloved hand gripping my chin with crushing force. "Don't you DARE say her name! If she hadn't taken that bullet for me, you would have killed her by now, you fucking psycho!"
I stared at him, suddenly feeling exhausted.
When someone doesn't love you, even existing is wrong.
Five years ago, the Mancuso family was hit by a bloody massacre. Stefano's parents were gunned down in their villa. All the evidence—money transfers from my accounts, family crest shell casings at the scene—pointed to me.
And Yvette, that pharmacist's daughter, had "heroically" taken a bullet for Stefano during the attack.
Since then, I'd fallen from being his treasured mafia princess to the family's greatest traitor.
Whenever I displeased Stefano, or whenever Yvette felt wronged, he'd lock me in this punishment chamber.
"Stefano." I used every ounce of strength to speak. "Are you really that certain I killed them?"
His eyes turned even colder. "I have all the evidence. Still gonna lie to me?"
"Then why, after ninety-nine times, won't you just kill me?" I lifted my head with difficulty. "Is it because you can't bear to?"
Stefano's expression froze for a moment before he snapped back, "Can't bear to? If it weren't for that damned blood oath, I'd have killed you already, you crazy bitch!"
I let out a bitter laugh. "So that's it. Of course—the marriage oath between two families. Unless I, as your wife, voluntarily confess to betrayal and dissolve our engagement, you can never legally marry her. And if you break the oath..."
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" He tightened his grip violently.
If he broke the oath, both families would be locked in a blood feud to the death. So Stefano tortured me ninety-nine times to make me willingly sign a confession and let him go.
Just as Stefano was about to punish me further, Dr. Enzo's trembling voice came from outside: "Don... the lady's vitals are critical. Without immediate treatment, she might not survive the night."
"Won't survive the night?" Stefano laughed coldly, releasing my chin. "She's faking it. How long is this bullshit gonna last? Ninety-nine times and counting."
Urgent footsteps echoed down the hallway. Yvette ran in wearing a white cashmere sweater, her face pale. She didn't even glance at me before throwing herself into Stefano's arms.
"Stefano... I had that nightmare again, the gunshots from that night..." she sobbed.
Stefano rubbed her back, his voice gentle and soothing. "Don't be afraid. I'm here. No one will ever hurt you again."
I collapsed back onto the cold floor. The blood in my stomach finally spilled out, trickling from the corner of my mouth onto my filthy prison uniform.
Enzo gasped. "Don! The lady is hemorrhaging! She needs the medical ward immediately!"
Stefano turned, his gaze coldly scanning the blood at my lips.
Yvette shrank in his arms, clutching his coat tightly. "Stefano, am I being too selfish? Elara looks so hurt... you should go take care of her. I can go back to my room alone, even if I have more nightmares..."
"Go check if Yvette was frightened." Stefano cut her off coldly, addressing Enzo.
Enzo stared. "But the lady, she—"
"I SAID check Yvette!" Stefano's voice exploded with violence. "Elara's been faking illness for ninety-nine times! Let her keep rotting in here until she's ready to sign that confession."
He scooped up Yvette and walked out of the punishment chamber without looking back.
The iron door slammed shut, cutting off all light.
In the darkness, I heard Yvette's soft laughter against his shoulder. Light, triumphant.
I lay in the cold, stagnant water, numbly staring at the dim light overhead.
Ten years. I'd spent ten years helping him rise from an overlooked bastard son to the head of the family. I thought my love could melt the ice in his heart. Instead, he used that ice to pierce mine.
Yvette's coy voice drifted from outside: "Stefano, tomorrow I want to see that oceanfront villa, the one you said you'd buy for me..."
"Sure, we'll go tomorrow." Stefano's indulgent voice faded. "Once she signs that confession, we can finally be together officially."
I closed my eyes.
I was done explaining. I didn't have the strength left.
This man would never believe me, just as I would never love him again.
The ninety-ninth time. And the last.
