Chapter 6

Luca froze on the spot.

Carmela gently patted him and whispered, "Luca, there are still urgent matters back at the headquarters that need your attention. Why don't we go back first and let Elena calm down in the meantime?"

Luca glared at me for a long while. Some time later, he gritted through his teeth, "Fine."

He cast me a final glance and said, "You're emotionally unstable right now, so I won't hold it against you. I'll return in a few days to bring you back."

Just as the door closed, I saw Carmela turning around and giving me a challenging, contemptuous grin.

Later that night, a glaring rumor began spreading wildly through the secret communication network within the Gambino Famiglia.

The anonymous post said, "The orphan of a former elder threw a tantrum and deliberately faked their SOS location after the attack in an attempt to blackmail the future Don and nearly caused the entire operations team to be attacked in the West District."

The post even included photos of the team's disheveled state with wounds and injuries after their failed rescue attempt in the West District.

My phone then began buzzing nonstop with notifications as countless messages and emails from the Gambino Famiglia filled with swears and insults flooded my inbox.

"How could you do this after the Gambino Famiglia raised you for so many years? You're nothing but a traitor!"

"You don't deserve to inherit your father's name! Get lost from the Gambino Famiglia!"

"Future Donna? You're not even worthy to lick the mud off Signorina Coppola's shoes!"

I saved every single message and forwarded them all to Bianca.

…

The next day, Bianca called me. She sounded angry on the phone.

"We found it. Your SOS coordinates were indeed tampered with and forcibly modified that night. Data traces show that the modification command came from the Famiglia's intelligence office server.

"The Famiglia Arbitration Tribunal indictment and the statement announcing the dissolution of the engagement have been drafted. We can convene a trial anytime as long as you agree to it. Are you ready, Elena?"

Bianca's voice was laced with concern.

"Submit them immediately," I said icily as I gripped my phone.

"Okay."

Bianca sighed softly on the other end of the line. "Can you handle it all, Elena?"

I pushed the window open and watched the sunlight stream onto the old, dusty streets. A gentle breeze brushed my cheek, and I felt a sense of freedom with it.

"I've never felt this relaxed," I said with a curve of my lips before hanging up.

…

The tides in the Famiglia dramatically shifted that very night.

Bianca uploaded the system log of Carmela's location modification to the Elders Council group chat, and all Famiglia members who'd been criticizing me previously instantly took my side and began pointing fingers at Carmela instead.

Just as I was about to take a closer look, the door was suddenly kicked open, and Luca appeared at the door with a dark look on his face.

"Elena! What the hell were you thinking? The Elders Council is now launching an investigation on Carmela! You were the one who instigated this, weren't you?

"Carmela would never have done anything of the sort! Go and clarify everything with the Elders Council at once and say that you were the one who slandered her!"

I questioned him coldly, "You said she wouldn't have done anything of the sort, but did you think I would risk my own life to make such a pathetic joke like this?"

My voice began trembling. "So, in your eyes, I'm nothing but an idiot who would allow myself to die in a pool of my own blood all because of jealousy?

"You've never trusted me once, Luca. Not even once."

Luca swallowed thickly. Yet, he still stubbornly claimed, "So what if Carmela really did something wrong? You could have just told me about it privately instead of taking it straight to the Elders Council! How do you think the rest of the Famiglia are going to look at me, their future Don, now?"

I stared straight into his eyes.

"I clearly told you about it last time. I said that my coordinates had been tampered with, but you insisted that she would never have made a mistake like that."

Tears then gushed from my eyes and streamed down my face silently.

"Did you know, Luca? When I was lying in the alley in a pool of my blood that night, pressing a hand to my wound, I swore that I would forgive you and forget about all this as long as you gave me a backward glance. Just one."

I then chuckled self-deprecatingly. "But you never did. You held her in your arms and vanished without even giving me another look."

The house was quiet, the silence only perforated with the sounds of our heavy breathing.

Just then, footsteps appeared at the door. I turned and saw a handsome young man in a dark, bespoke suit approaching us.

"Good day, Signorina Pasquini. My name is Antonio Zani. Signorino Gatti personally appointed me to help you."

He smiled and nodded at me, his actions smooth and elegant. Then, he cast Luca an icy gaze.

"I already have everything prepared, Signorina. It includes your request to dissolve the engagement with the Gambino Famiglia and submitting the lawsuit against Signorina Coppola for premeditated murder to the Famiglia court."