Chapter 1
On the day of the clan’s grand sea banquet, my mafia husband Victor took his beloved white moonlight Lilia to race jet skis in restricted sea waters without permission.
She twisted the throttle all the way open, and the jet ski crashed violently into the my luxury yacht.
The yacht quickly flooded and began sinking, yet Victor completely ignored the people screaming for help on board, only clinging tightly to the terrified Lilia and comforting her softly.
"Don’t be afraid. They trespassed into the restricted sea zone of their own accord; they deserve everything that happened to them."
Not until the entire yacht sank deep into the ocean and everyone aboard vanished without a trace did Victor dial my phone unhurriedly.
"Vera, your mom and Dante are gone in the sea."
In an instant, overwhelming terror swallowed me whole.
The very next second, I saw Mom shoving freshly cooked meat into my mouth just as she did when I was a child.
My brother hurried over with a grin to snatch a bite.
"Mom, you always favor my sister."
They are standing right beside me. Then who on earth was trapped inside that sunken yacht?
“BOOM—”
A deafening explosion ripped through the quiet coastal night sky.
A towering wall of fire blazed, turning the black ocean as bright as midday. Thick gasoline fumes and acrid burning stench washed over me on the sea breeze, burning straight into my nostrils.
I stood aboard my family’s bulletproof speedboat, staring at the lavish private yacht sinking slowly out on the water.
It was my personal vessel, the Neptune.
From the crowd of onlookers, I caught hushed whispers floating over.
“Those two are absolute monsters, no humanity at all.”
“They were the closest boats out there—they could’ve saved them. Two people dead because of them.”
“That man would do anything to coddle that woman. He’s utterly heartless.”
My husband, Victor, stood on the safe deck of a rescue craft nearby. He shrugged off the custom Burberry trench coat I’d gifted him just last week and wrapped it tight around a trembling woman, Lilia.
"Don't go into the water! The waves are too big, Lilia is frightened, get the boat back to the dock immediately!" Victor roared hysterically at the rescue team, trying to stop them from approaching the burning wreckage.
“Sir Victor, there are still people trapped on that yacht…” The rescue captain shifted uncomfortably, conflicted.
“I said we leave! Whatever happened to them is just their rotten luck! If a single hair on Lilia’s head gets hurt, I’ll feed every last one of you to the sharks!” Victor snarled, his face twisted with rage.
My speedboat pulled alongside. I stepped onto the rescue deck in military combat boots, my face void of any emotion.
When he spotted me, panic flickered across Victor’s face—only to be quickly replaced by arrogant self-righteousness. He didn’t loosen his grip around Lilia; if anything, he pulled her tighter against his chest.
“Vera, you’ve come at the right time.” Victor preemptively struck, using his absurd logic to turn the tables. “Don’t be unreasonable. Lilia was just drunk and wanted to go for a spin on the jet ski. It was your yacht’s lights that weren’t on, which is why she crashed into it!”
Lilia peeked half her face out from under the trench coat, eyes glistening with fake tears.
“I’m so sorry, Vera… I truly didn’t mean any of this. Victor’s just beside himself worrying about me, please don’t hold it against him.”
I ignored the scheming, performative woman entirely, my gaze sharp enough to slice steel as I locked eyes with Victor.
“The rescue team says two people were still aboard that yacht. Why did you stop them from diving in?”
Victor scoffed, malice dripping from every word.
“Those gawkers out there are spouting garbage. There’s no way I’d stand by and let anything happen to your mom and brother.”
“I’m your husband—can’t you trust me? Besides—” His voice softened, filled with fake pity for Lilia. “Lilia nearly passed out from shock. I had to prioritize the living first.”
I’d never heard anything so absurd.
“Her little scare matters more than two human lives?”
Victor’s expression darkened instantly.
“Your brother’s always been a troublemaker stirring up nonsense down at the docks. And your mother’s far too old to be sailing out this far—this tragedy’s just their bad fortune.”
The absurdity hung thick over the deck. Every family bodyguard and rescue crew member stared at their feet, unwilling to witness this power clash.
“Just their bad fortune?” I echoed his words, my tone cold as the frigid depths of Sicily’s winter seas.
“What else do you want me to say? Are you really gonna drag this whole mess up before the Elders’ Council and ruin our family’s reputation?” Victor frowned, trying to use the clan’s standing to pressure me into backing down.
Lilia piled on the act, fat fake tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I know you’re devastated, Vera. This is all my fault alone—don’t take it out on Victor. He’s only thinking about what’s best for the clan…”
Victor leaned in and hissed a warning at me.
“They’re already gone. Digging this up further won’t bring them back—just let it go.”
“This is about Lilia now. You can’t afford to act recklessly.”
SMACK!
Without a single extra word, I raised my hand and struck Victor across the face with full force.
The blow whipped his head hard to the side, blood instantly welling at the corner of his mouth.
SMACK!
Before he could recover, I backhanded him again.
“Victor!” Lilia shrieked.
“Vera, take your anger out on me instead! Don’t hurt him—he hasn’t done anything wrong!”
“Beat me as much as you want if it’ll make you forgive him.”
SMACK!
This time my palm connected straight with Lilia’s tear-streaked face. She let out a shrill cry and crumpled onto the deck.
If she wanted a slap so badly, I’d happily oblige her.
Victor stared at me in total disbelief.
We’d been married for years, and I’d always bent over backward to accommodate him—never once raised my voice or fought with him.
His chest heaved with fury.
“How dare you lay a hand on Lilia?”
“They’re dead and buried already. The rest of us still have lives to live—don’t push this too far!”
“She even came over to pay her respects. Your mom and brother are gone; what more do you want?”
“The bodies aren’t my mother and brother!” I snapped at Lilia, burning with rage.
“You two are murderers—and you stand there spouting garbage like this? Do you even have souls?”
Victor lost the last shred of his self-control and roared.
“Enough! You think you’re still some untouchable mafia heiress? I run every inch of this dock now!”
“Oh, do you?” I let out a cold laugh, drawing my Beretta pistol from my waist holster and pressing the barrel firm against Victor’s forehead.
Dead silence crashed over the entire deck. Victor’s pupils blew wide with terror.
I didn’t spare him a single glance, turning to bark a frigid order at the rescue captain.
“All men, dive in immediately. Recover every soul alive or dead. Anyone who dares block this operation gets shot on sight.”
“Yes, Miss Vera!” The crew looked relieved beyond measure, plunging one after another into the icy ocean waves.
Victor’s eyes turned pitch-black and venomous in an instant.
“Fine, just fine, Vera. If you’re gonna throw all our marital ties out the window, don’t blame me for forgetting we’re husband and wife!” He ground the words through clenched teeth and snapped his hand up in a sharp gesture.
His personal crew—the goons he’d secretly recruited over the past few years—stepped forward from all sides, boxing me in tight.
The air dropped to freezing point instantly.
