Chapter 3

Lucas and Isabella returned to the Gambino estate that evening.

The moment Isabella saw me, she hurried over.

"Sophia, I promise I'll be gone as soon as I find somewhere safe. I don't want to come between you and Lucas."

I said nothing.

Her face flushed with embarrassment.

Lucas stepped forward, his expression dark.

"Sophia, say something. Don't play games with me."

I pulled the divorce papers from my pocket and slapped them onto the table between us.

"Sign it. We end this clean."

He froze.

"You're serious?"

I laughed, sharp and cold.

"Completely. I'm giving you both what you want."

For one brief second, triumph flashed across Isabella's face.

Then she stepped closer and laid a hand on Lucas's arm.

"Sophia, don't do this out of anger. Lucas never meant to hurt you."

Even she didn't sound like she believed it.

"I don't want his love. You can have it."

"Sophia, don't say that. Lucas and I have never crossed a line."

I scoffed.

"You crossed the line the moment you moved under my roof."

Isabella's face went white.

Lucas stepped in front of her, shielding her as if I were the threat.

"Sophia, are you done trying to punish me?"

"I'm not punishing anyone. I want a divorce."

His brows drew together.

"This marriage holds half the city together. You break it, people will choose sides."

"I don't care." I cut him off.

"The Gambino family will give up its claim to the new dock territory—the one you and Vincent bled for. Sign, and it's yours."

One dock territory was cheap, if it bought my family a way out.

Lucas hesitated.

He was already underboss of the Gambino family.

Men like Lucas didn't walk away from power unless they were paid to do it.

"No—"

I cut him off before he could finish.

"You brought another woman into my house without asking anyone. Do you really think the Gambino family will ever accept you as one of us now? If you don't sign, my father will strip you of your underboss title and cut you out before sunrise."

I looked him in the eye. "I'm giving you a way out with your dignity intact."

Lucas stared at me for a long moment, weighing the offer.

Finally, he grabbed the pen.

"Fine. I'll sign."

The papers were only the first step.

A marriage like ours still had to be unwound in front of both families, and that alone would take at least a month.

A month was enough.

Enough time to convince my parents to leave New York.

Enough time to get them to Miami before the war started.

If my memory was right, the war between the Gambino family and the Bellandi family would break out in a little over a month.

I gave Lucas and Isabella one week to move out of the Gambino estate.

Lucas had kept a townhouse in Brooklyn for years.

I used to wonder whether he had prepared it for himself and Isabella, waiting for the day he finally got rid of me.

The thought made me laugh. Bitterly.

Before she left, Lucas's mother grabbed my hands, her face tight with worry.

"Sophia, your parents... they won't come after Lucas, will they?"

I squeezed her hand.

"My parents won't touch him."

She let out a long breath, relief washing over her face.

I turned to head back upstairs.

Isabella stood there in a fitted black dress, blocking my way.

"Well?" she asked softly. "How do I look? Lucas bought it for me this morning."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Move."

"You—"

I brushed past her hard enough to make her stumble and kept walking toward the stairs.

"Sophia."

Lucas grabbed my hand, his voice rough.

I stopped, but I didn't turn around.

"I'll fix this," he said. "Once this is over, I'll come back for you. We can marry again. I swear."

"Don't bother."

I wrenched my hand out of his grip and kept walking.

I didn't look back.