Chapter 2

As I shivered from the cold, Sofia entered with a group of maids.

She lifted my chin, her eyes filled with undisguised mockery.

"Do you know why I'm here? Because with just a casual remark from me, Riccardo agreed to let me do whatever I want with you. That means, from now on, whether you live or die is up to me."

No! That was impossible!

I looked at Sofia furiously and signed with all my might, "You're lying! Riccardo said he would protect me!"

But all that earned me was a merciless slap from Sofia.

"How despicable of you! A Don's name isn't for a cheap hussy like you to utter!"

She raised her hand, and the maids standing by immediately stepped forward. Then, they pried my mouth open and roughly shoved several pills down my throat.

I could barely breathe, while Sofia said with a cruel smile, "A worthless nobody doesn't deserve to bear Riccardo's child. Today it's just contraceptive pills, but next time it'll be…"

She pulled out a whip and lashed it across my stomach.

The searing pain made my eyes slowly redden, and tears threatened to spill at any moment.

Sofia looked at me with malicious amusement. "Are you going to cry? Then, cry louder! I can't hear you!"

I gritted my teeth and dug my nails into my palms. Even if my skin broke and blood welled up, I refused to make a single sound.

"You've got quite the spirit, I'll give you that."

Just as she was about to strike me again, I somehow mustered the courage and ran toward the door with whatever strength I had left.

Alberto stopped me with ease and sent me crashing to the ground with a kick.

They were going to kill me quietly without anyone knowing!

In my moment of despair, Riccardo's cold voice rang out.

"What's going on here?"

When he saw me collapsed on the floor, my face ashen, Riccardo instinctively stepped forward to help me up.

But then, Sofia suddenly lowered her stance and threw herself into Riccardo's arms.

At the same time, Sofia's personal maid, Anna Marchetti, dropped to her knees with a thud.

"Don Volsi, Liliana has shown complete disrespect to Principessa Sofia!"

"Anna, don't!" Sofia leaned against Riccardo, her expression sorrowful and troubled. "I am merely Riccardo's partner, whereas Liliana is his woman. I don't want to cause him any trouble."

Upon hearing this, Riccardo frowned and instinctively wrapped his arm around Sofia's shoulder to comfort her.

As if emboldened, Anna pointed at me furiously. "Liliana said she's the only one capable of climbing into your bed. She also declared she'll become the Donna of the Volsi family and that Principessa Sofia is unworthy of wearing the jewelry she designs."

With that, she produced a letter, written in what was unmistakably my handwriting.

"While you were conducting business in Verantia, Liliana couldn't bear the loneliness and wrote letters seducing the male procurement staff. This is the proof!"

No! I'd sent messages to a friend in charge of procurement to ask him to help me gather information from the outside world.

But how could I explain this to Riccardo?

In the moment I hesitated, Riccardo looked at me, his eyes already filled with disappointment. His face was dark and stormy, and the thin piece of paper in his hand looked like a little bird about to have its neck snapped at any moment.

"Liliana, is this true?"

I'd never seen Riccardo like this before. For a moment, I was so intimidated by his presence that I couldn't form any signs at all.

Anna's voice rang out again.

"It's being whispered all over the estate that Liliana's mouth is far more skilled at pleasuring men than what's between her legs and that she's driven the male workers out of their minds with lust."

Just how shameless could Anna get?

The taste of blood flooded my throat, and I shot Anna a venomous glare.

As the Don, the quality Riccardo valued above all else was loyalty. It was said that any member of the family who betrayed him was thrown into the ocean to feed the sharks.

There was no way I'd die for a crime I didn't commit!

I lunged at Anna like a madwoman, grabbing her arm and striking at her while letting out guttural roars.

Anna was howling in pain under the fists of someone as slight and fragile as me.

"Enough," Riccardo commanded coldly.

I suddenly pointed at Anna and signed rapidly, "She's lying!"

Seeing me like this, Riccardo sensed that something was wrong.

"Do I need to tell you what happens to those who lie?" Riccardo snapped icily at Anna.

Anna fell silent in terror.

"Riccardo, don't be angry. If Anna is in the wrong, I'll certainly discipline her. However…" Sofia deliberately paused. "In a week, we have a business meeting with Don Alessandro Corleone of the Corleone family in Marasalto.

"To make a perfect appearance, I asked Liliana to restore a set of jewelry that belonged to my grandmother. But she refused."

Riccardo pondered for a moment, then lowered his head and said gently to Sofia, "I will handle this."

He looked up, his eyes swirling with impatience and severity.

"Lock Liliana in the studio. She is not to leave until Sofia is satisfied with the restoration."

Riccardo fixed his gaze on me and said in a tone colder than ever before, "If she can't do it, don't bother letting her out. Let her die in there for all I care."

His words left my heart completely frozen.

It turned out that those nights of intimacy and everything I thought made me special meant nothing compared to his family business.

How foolish of me. How dare I long for the love of a mafia Don?

In that moment, I finally woke up.