Chapter 1

Leone Vieri told the bodyguards to drag the model out, then fixed his eyes on me and asked in an icy voice, "Where did he touch you?"

My head still felt foggy. I laughed like I didn't have a care in the world.

"My lips, my chest, my thighs... He touched every place you like."

Leone's gaze went dark. A vein stood out sharply on his neck as he gave the order to the men behind him. "Cut him into 18 pieces and throw them away."

I took off my sweat-soaked clothes and walked into the bathroom. "Do whatever you want."

In my last life, I'd been married to Leone for a full seven years.

People called me the "Queen of Cards." I helped him win every casino in Navarro and stayed by his side as he clawed his way up from a hunted criminal to a mafia Don.

Once he made it, he fell head over heels for a new dealer at the casino.

Her name was Bliss Mancini. Someone had sold her into the casino. She was as clean as a blank sheet of paper.

Leone set her up in the VIP dealing room and personally taught her how to shuffle and count.

One day, I'd opened our internal family system and had seen that my marital status had changed to "divorced".

Leone couldn't have cared less when I questioned him.

"Bliss has no one. If she takes the title of Madre, no one will dare lay a hand on her. Everyone in the Navarro casino sees you as the woman in charge. Why did you care about a title like that?"

I lost control and stormed into the dealing room, slapping Bliss across the face in front of everyone.

That night, Jason Russo, my younger brother who'd been risking his life for Leone, got dragged back.

They snapped both his legs in front of me and tossed him in the back alley.

"Anna, this is the price for laying a hand on Bliss!" Leone said coldly.

I begged him to stop, but he didn't show a shred of mercy. I watched the blood drain from Jason's face as he died right in front of me.

Heat flooded between my legs. Pain ripped through my lower belly, and my vision went black.

When I woke up again, I was back on the day I'd discovered my status had been changed.

This time, I didn't make a scene. I quietly sold every piece of jewelry I'd hidden away and booked a flight.

All I wanted was to take Jason and run from that devil, Leone.

...

After I confirmed in the internal system that my status really said "divorced", I went to city hall.

The clerk told me, "Ma'am, the system shows you're already divorced for seven days."

Only then did I know for sure that my last life wasn't just a dream.

The divorce date was actually my birthday.

That day, I'd even tried to be understanding about how busy Leone was. I booked out the rooftop restaurant with the live band and ordered fireworks.

From dusk until midnight, Leone never showed. All I got were 300 photos of him and Bliss in bed.

I dragged myself out of the memory. When I got back to the casino, I saw Leone's black limousine parked at the entrance.

In my last life, I had charged straight up to question him like a madwoman.

He was afraid Bliss would see me, so before she even got out of the car, he yanked me into a corner.

This time, I slipped behind one of the marble pillars.

The car door opened, and Leone got out first.

He walked around to the passenger side and personally opened the door for Bliss, every movement gentle in a way I had never seen before.

A young woman in a pale blue dress climbed out of the car, timid and nervous.

Standing next to that gleaming car, she looked completely out of place.

Leone took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders, then wrapped an arm around her waist and led her toward the casino.

"Leone..." Bliss hesitated and stopped walking. "I don't have anything but you... I can't afford to lose..."

He turned and pulled her into a tight hug. His voice was firm and tender in a way I had never heard from him.

"What are you afraid of? From now on, you're the woman in charge of the Navarro casino. No one but you deserves that.

"If you don't like this place, I'll find somewhere quiet and build a resort for you."

All the staff who had always shown me respect were now bowing to Bliss instead.

They surrounded that young woman who looked like a frightened fawn and escorted her into that glittering, gilded hell.

I clutched my belly with both hands. Only after they all went inside did I stumble out from hiding.

I wiped my tears away. All that was left in my eyes was cold, hard resolve.

Later, I went to the hospital alone and scheduled an abortion.