Chapter 3

My escape plan was fully set in motion the next day.

Knowing Victor was scheduled to inspect the docks, I tucked the envelope containing my passport and ferry ticket safely against my skin. I was finally ready to walk out of this cage forever.

But the second I stepped into the grand foyer, the front doors were violently pushed open.

"Going somewhere?" Victor’s massive frame blocked my path.

He was dressed in an immaculately tailored, dark-patterned black suit, his brows pulled together in a heavy scowl as he stared me down.

I subconsciously tightened my grip on my purse straps. "Just going out for some fresh air."

"Save the pathetic hard-to-get act, Elena." Victor raked a contemptuous look over me.

"Go change into a gown. The Five Families are holding a joint banquet tonight, and you’re coming with me."

"I'm not going," I refused without a second thought, not even wanting to look at him. "Your little mafia dinner has nothing to do with me. Move."

I barely took a step before his hand clamped down on my wrist like a vice.

Victor violently yanked me back, his grip so brutal I thought he was going to snap my bones.

He leaned in close, his eyes dark and menacing as they bore into mine.

"Not going? Elena, did you forget exactly who you are?" He dropped his voice to a lethal, warning whisper. "As long as you are my wife in name, even if you're just a fucking ornament, you will stand exactly where I tell you to stand!"

"Lilia will be there tonight, too. If you dare throw a tantrum and ruin this..." He narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I promise you, you won't be walking out those doors at all today."

I stared at the raw, undisguised cruelty in his eyes. My heart was so completely numb that it didn't even hurt anymore.

If I tried to force my way out now, he would definitely search me and find the passport and ticket hidden under my clothes.

To ensure my final escape, I swallowed my pride, forced down the bile in my throat, and turned back toward the guest room.

The banquet was held at the most lavish underground estate in Palermo.

Forced into a conservative, high-necked black evening gown, I followed silently behind Victor like a shadow.

Meanwhile, Lilia was draped in a striking, deep red dress, clinging intimately to Victor’s arm as if she were the true lady of the house.

I grabbed a flute of champagne and retreated to the darkest, most unnoticeable corner of the room, just praying for this absolute torture to end.

But of course, that wasn't enough for Lilia.

Drink in hand, she swayed her hips as she sauntered over to me, wearing that toxic, vicious little smirk she only ever showed when we were alone.

"Sister... hiding all by yourself over here. How pathetic," she whispered, leaning into my personal space. "Look around. Victor doesn't even know you exist."

I looked at her with dead eyes. "Tell me, Lilia... do you sleep well at night, knowing everything you have is stolen?"

That clearly hit a nerve.

Lilia’s face twisted into an ugly sneer. But a split second later, catching sight of Victor and several other cartel bosses heading our way out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly let out a blood-curdling shriek.

Without missing a beat, she violently hurled her crystal glass straight into a nearby display case.

With a deafening CRASH, the impact actually sent a spiderweb crack through the reinforced glass. Inside sat an antique ruby ring—the ultimate symbol of the Falcone family’s absolute power. With a swift motion, she intentionally knocked it off its pedestal onto the floor.

Without a shred of hesitation, she stomped her stiletto heel directly onto it. The sheer force instantly crushed the fragile, antique gold setting out of shape.

The entire room went dead silent. Every single pair of eyes instantly snapped toward us.

Lilia dramatically collapsed to the floor, burying her face in her hands and sobbing hysterically. "I know you hate me because Victor pays attention to me, but you didn't have to shove me! And to destroy the family's sacred ring in front of everyone?!"

Victor closed the distance in long, lethal strides. His face was terrifyingly dark, radiating a murderous aura that dropped the temperature of the room to freezing.

He looked at the crushed heirloom on the floor. Then at the weeping Lilia. Finally, his eyes locked dead onto me.

"Did you do this?" he growled through clenched teeth.

"No." I kept my spine ramrod straight, refusing to back down as I met his furious glare. "She smashed it herself."

SMACK!

A brutal, backhanded slap whipped across my face.

The sheer force of it made my vision go black. I stumbled backward, slamming hard against the wall, the thick, metallic taste of blood instantly flooding my mouth.

"Even now, you're still lying through your teeth!"

"Lilia was willing to die to save my life! You really expect me to believe she’d destroy my family's heirloom?!"

Around us, the other mafia bosses began to whisper—some mocking, some just enjoying the show.

In this underworld, where power and absolute loyalty were everything, destroying a family token was an unforgivable offense. A death sentence.

To maintain his absolute authority—and to protect his flawless, innocent "savior"—Victor threw me straight to the wolves without a second of hesitation.

"Kneel," Victor roared.

I stared at him in utter disbelief, wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth. "What did you just say?"

"I said, ON YOUR KNEES!"

He viciously drew the pistol from his waistband and jammed the cold steel barrel directly between my eyes.

"Apologize to Lilia, and apologize to everyone in this room! Because if you don't, I swear by the laws of this family, I will blow your fucking brains out right here, right now!"