LOGINThree years later, Geneva, Switzerland.Early spring sunlight bathed the lakeshore.I stood in my top-floor office of the investment tower, holding a cup of coffee, looking down at the city.In these past three years, the transnational fund I spearheaded had achieved massive success.My portrait graced the covers of mainstream European business magazines.My assistant, Emily, walked in and handed me a transoceanic briefing."Boss, this is the summary sent over from the New York team."I flipped open the file.Celine had suffered endless torture in the family's underground water cell and had gone completely insane.Meanwhile, to repay the massive debts he incurred by embezzling syndicate funds to search for me, Sean had sold off all his assets. The family empire had crumbled to dust.The once untouchable Don was now crammed into a damp basement apartment with Leo, who had developed severe autism, scraping by on odd jobs.Clipped to the last page of the brief was a photograph.Amid a New
After the exhibition ended, I walked toward the side exit.The head of security informed me that Sean and the child had been waiting on a bench outside for three hours.The moment I stepped out, I saw Sean holding Leo's hand, standing in the freezing wind.Leo broke free from Sean's grip, crying and throwing himself at me:"Mommy, I was wrong! I don't want Aunt Celine anymore! Will you come back to New York with me?"Sean also stepped forward, looking at me with pleading eyes:"Chloe... Leo cries for you every single night.""Even if you hate me, could you please not abandon him?"I crouched down, looking Leo straight in his little face. My tone was hard and cold:"Leo, when you called me a bad woman at that banquet and took Celine's side, you made your choice.""Everyone must pay the price for their own choices."Leo was stunned into silence.I stood up, pulled a legal document notarized by the international court from my bag, and handed it to Sean."This is the notarized custody reli
Eight months later, Boston. The annual special exhibition of a top-tier art trust foundation.As their newly appointed independent partner, I wore a sharp, custom-tailored suit, chatting effortlessly with several European collectors.A faint pink burn scar still lingered on my right forearm.But I made no effort to hide it.Just then, a commotion broke out at the exhibition hall's entrance.A tall but unusually skeletal figure stumbled through the crowd, his gaze locked dead onto me.It was Sean.In just eight short months, the once arrogant, all-powerful Mafia Don looked like his soul had been sucked dry.He wore a slightly wrinkled overcoat, his jaw covered in dark stubble. His eyes were sunken, swimming with broken panic and begging.In his arms, he held Leo, who had also thinned out considerably.The moment Leo saw me, tears welled in his eyes. He struggled frantically to get down:"Mommy! Mommy!"The child stumbled and threw himself at me.The security guards behind me moved to bl
Early the next morning, Celine walked into the penthouse carrying breakfast.Sean had looked haggard these past few days, but Chloe still hadn't shown up. This convinced Celine that she was finally about to take her place as the true Donna.Celine walked in with a beaming smile."Sean, I made some soup for Leo..."Before she could finish her sentence, she saw the scene in the living room.Several heavily armed family cleaners stood in the center.Sean was standing by the window. His hair was disheveled, his eyes bloodshot, radiating a hellish, bone-chilling aura."Se-Sean? What happened?"Panic seized Celine's chest.Sean turned around and swung the laptop toward her.On the screen played the dashcam footage from five years ago.Celine's vicious curses echoed crystal clear throughout the living room.Clatter!The thermos in Celine's hand crashed to the floor.All color drained from her face as she slumped to the ground:"No... Sean, listen to me! Chloe hired someone to fake that! She's
Over the next few days, Sean mobilized the entire intelligence network of the Lockwood family, conducting a carpet search for my whereabouts across New York.But the answer everyone gave him was the same:[Donna Chloe has severed all ties.]On his fourth consecutive day of insomnia, Sean sat red-eyed in his vast, empty study.Exhaustion and violent rage tore at his nerves.These past few days, he hadn't just been looking for me.He started recalling the way I had left the banquet hall that day, my hands covered in blood, resolute and unflinching. That sentence—"Five years ago, I nearly died in that car because of her"—echoed in his ears like a curse.He finally felt a jolt of panic, realizing something was terribly wrong.Sean summoned the syndicate's top intelligence capo, issuing a cold command:"Look into it. Every detail of the car crash on the coastal highway five years ago, including the destroyed surveillance footage and dashcams—I want them fully restored!"Finding out the trut
At 8:30 AM, outside the wedding cathedral.Sean, wearing a crisp black tuxedo, stepped out of the bulletproof Rolls-Royce with an imposing aura.Leo, dressed in a miniature suit, followed beside him. Celine held Leo's hand, wearing the laurel crown that rightfully belonged to me, looking every bit like the Donna of the family.The surrounding reporters instantly swarmed them."Don Sean, where is Donna Chloe? Why hasn't the bride appeared yet?"Sean maintained a smile for the cameras, but impatience laced his tone."She's in the back preparing.""The ceremony will begin in five minutes."However, when Sean and Celine pushed open the doors to the bridal suite, it was completely empty.There was only a cancellation notice issued by the wedding company on the table.Sean's face darkened violently:"What the hell is going on? Where is Chloe?!"The wedding planner handed over a tablet, trembling:"Don Sean... at four o'clock this morning, the Donna came by personally to cancel the wedding, a







