Chapter 3

That was the first I had ever heard of this childhood friend of Matteo's.

From then on, Matteo changed.

He began to grow disdainful of me, claiming I wasn't gentle enough, that I only knew how to fight and kill, that I always used my past contributions to walk all over him.

In fact, when I confronted him about his relationship with Isabella, he had impatiently retorted, "Francesca, can you stop being so petty? I only see Bella as a younger sister. As someone older and the Don's wife, can't you be more magnanimous?"

Younger sister, my ass!

What sort of older brother would leave his wife, who was recovering from surgery, alone at the hospital while he went off to celebrate his younger sister's birthday?

What sort of older brother would immediately abandon his wife on their wedding anniversary, all because his younger sister called to say she was afraid of thunder and needed his company?

The icing on the cake was when someone actually addressed Isabella as "Second Donna". Not only did Matteo not correct them, but he even smiled, his silence as good as an admission.

The night we decided on our wedding date, I happened to see his chat with Isabella.

Isabella had asked, "If I had been back earlier, would you have married Francesca or me?"

Matteo's reply was, "You. You're the only woman I love, the one I want to marry. As for Francesca… she's more like a brother to me, a responsibility."

As it turned out, I was nothing more than a responsibility, while Isabella was his one true love.

Yet, how had it never occurred to him that she was nothing but a useless woman?

If it weren't for me, Matteo would've died countless times before. The Costa family might not even exist anymore!

That day, we had a huge fight.

He leveled such a cold stare on me as he said, "Francesca Marino, could you stop bringing up your contributions and achievements for one second? Even without you, I could've brought the Costa family to glory! If you dare harm even a hair on Bella's head, I'll definitely not let you go!"

That was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The next day, I gathered all the necessary documents, feeling utterly disheartened. I planned on requesting a divorce at the family meeting, even though I had only just discovered that I was pregnant.

Unfortunately, I never arrived at the venue.

Isabella had conspired with our enemies, causing the family to suffer significant losses. As a result, Matteo had to cancel the meeting at the last minute to salvage the situation.

I was halfway there when Isabella intercepted me.

"Do you think that being pregnant will prevent me from taking your place? Dream on!"

She first knocked me unconscious with a drug, then, worried that I would retaliate after I regained consciousness, she used a sledgehammer to shatter the bones of all four of my limbs.

Following that, jealousy and hate drove her to smash my stomach, over and over again. At last, she caved the back of my head in with a hard swing of the hammer before tossing me into the mine like a piece of trash.

"Matteo refused to marry me, all because you refused to give up your spot, so you only have yourself to blame for this! And you even got pregnant? In that case, you can't fault me for being ruthless! Only with you dead can I get what I want!"

After cleaning up the crime scene, she broke her own leg before stumbling back and putting on a show. She pinned the crime of colluding with enemies on me, claiming that she had realized something was wrong and went to stop me, only for me to attempt to silence her. Her broken leg became undeniable proof of this.

Not only had Matteo believed her, but everyone else had, too.

Back in the present, I glared furiously at Isabella, the urge to rip her apart with my bare hands surging through me.

What right did she have? How was it that the killer who murdered me and my child could live such a happy, blissful life after my death? Not only had she stolen my man from me, but she was even enjoying the riches that should've been mine! Everything she had now had been gained from my death!

Reaching out a finger, Isabella drew circles on Matteo's chest as she asked shyly, "Matteo, after tomorrow's wedding, I'll be able to officially call you my husband, right?"

Matteo snatched her hand up to press a kiss to it. "Of course. You'll become the new Donna of the Costa family. As for Francesca, she'd better be dead out there somewhere in a ditch. Even if she isn't, she'd better not dare to come back. If she did, I'll cut her up into pieces to take revenge for you."

A bitter laugh left my lips when I heard that.

I thought, "Matteo, you have already cut me up. The body you had the coroner examine earlier was me!"