Chapter 1

On the seventh anniversary of my marriage to Alexander Moretti, I finally understood something.

In the Moretti family, loyalty was a rule everyone had to follow.

Everyone except the Don's son.

Over the past seven years, women had come and gone from Alexander's life. Actresses, models, daughters of allied families, and even my own personal assistant, whom I had once personally promoted.

Through it all, I maintained the dignity expected of Mrs. Moretti.

I managed the family's accounts, kept rebellious branches in line, represented Alexander at charity galas, and smiled for the press whenever another scandal broke, assuring reporters that my husband was simply too busy with work to entertain himself with other women.

Until the day I went into labor.

Alexander's latest mistress showed up with a group of hitmen from a rival Mafia syndicate and came straight for my mother and me.

My mother was shot dead while trying to protect me.

And the child I was carrying was forcibly taken from my womb.

I begged Alexander desperately to come save us, but he was too busy enjoying himself with his new lover.

When I finally regained consciousness in the hospital, I stared numbly at the elderly man standing beside my bed.

Vito Moretti, Alexander's grandfather and the current Don of the Moretti family.

"This is an amendment to the family trust. As long as you agree to remain by Alexander's side, the Moretti family will provide for you for the rest of your life. You will still be the only woman of this family."

I looked at the agreement and suddenly found the whole thing ridiculous.

"Just let me go."

——

At that moment, my phone began vibrating incessantly. Message after message appeared on the screen.

They were all intimate pictures of Alexander and his new lover, Isabella Rivers.

While I had been fighting desperately against those hitmen, watching my mother die before my eyes, the two of them had been making love beside a private swimming pool.

Isabella was covered in love bites, nestled in Alexander's arms with an unmistakably triumphant smile.

Still unaware of the truth, Vito made one last attempt to persuade me.

"Elena, Alexander isn't really a bad person at heart. You've loved him for so many years. Why not give him one more chance?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I casually opened a video Isabella had sent me.

The sounds of their intimacy immediately filled the hospital room.

Isabella's breathless voice came through the speakers.

"Alexander, you left Elena alone with all those hitmen. Don't you feel even a little guilty?"

Alexander was kissing her neck.

"What is there to feel guilty about? Even if Elena had actually given birth to my child, you're still the woman I love most."

Those filthy words made Vito's veins bulge with rage.

After a long silence, he finally relented.

"The Moretti family has wronged you. I'll personally handle the dissolution of your marriage contract. Seven days from now, you'll be free."

As the future heir to the family, Alexander's marriage and any decision to dissolve it required approval from the family council.

"As for your mother and the baby..."

The doctor had already brought my child over.

I turned my head away, desperately suppressing my emotions.

"Bury the baby in the Moretti family cemetery. I'll take my mother's ashes with me."

Vito nodded.

"This is all my fault. I should never have forced you to stay here."

With that, he carried the baby out of the hospital room.

The tears I'd been holding back finally came pouring down.

My marriage to Alexander had been arranged by Vito from the very beginning.

Vito needed a sensible, dependable wife to help Alexander learn how to manage the family business, understand the rules of the Mafia, and fulfill his future responsibilities as Don.

And I needed someone to pay my mother's enormous medical bills.

Both of my parents had once been loyal members of the family.

They had fought in a brutal gang war to repel an invasion by a rival syndicate and protect Moretti territory. My father had been killed in action, while my mother had suffered severe injuries that left her with lasting complications. She needed expensive medical treatment just to stay alive.

So we made what seemed like the perfect deal.

I resigned from my former job, accepted the Moretti family's marriage arrangement, married Alexander, and became the future lady of the family.

After our wedding, I gradually learned about the trauma Alexander had suffered as a child.

His parents had died in a brutal Mafia war when he was still very young.

I'd even witnessed him crying out for his mother in the middle of nightmares.

Our similar experiences gradually made me fall in love with him.

Determined to fulfill my responsibilities as the future lady of the family, I devoted myself to caring for every member of the household. I even took on the dangerous responsibility of training the family's security personnel on Alexander's behalf.

To become a good wife, I forced myself to overcome my natural fear of gunfire.

I even went out of my way to learn all sorts of ways to please him, simply to satisfy his desires.

I once believed we were destined to have a happy future together.

But on our wedding anniversary, he shamelessly took my best friend to a bar.

I rushed there like a madwoman and demanded an explanation.

Alexander only sneered and flung the agreement I'd signed with Vito straight into my face.

"Elena, what exactly do you think you are? You spent a few days entertaining me, and now you actually believe you're the lady of the Moretti family?"

"You're nothing but a decorative object my grandfather paid for. What makes you think you have the right to control me?"

"If you ever pull a stunt like this again, I'll cut off every penny of your mother's medical expenses!"

His words struck me like lightning. I was so stunned that I couldn't even speak.

After that, Alexander's behavior only grew worse.

He even started bringing his mistresses directly into our home.

On one side was my mother, who still needed ongoing medical treatment.

On the other was a marriage that had rotted beyond repair.

I was being torn apart by both.

I was close to breaking.

My health gradually deteriorated as well. During one of the family's security training sessions, I realized I could no longer dodge my opponent's attacks in time.

That was when I discovered I was pregnant.

Vito pleaded with me.

"Elena, please keep the baby. Perhaps this child can turn things around between you and Alexander. Besides, he'll one day inherit the Moretti family."

After struggling with my conflicting emotions, I finally agreed.

I never imagined that after everything I'd done, after fighting so desperately to hold on to what I had, I would end up losing it all.