Chapter 1

Mirena Ricci threw a list onto my desk in a commanding manner. "Those people won't listen to me. Talk to them."

I took the list and kept a calm expression. "Got it."

Seeing that I was not reacting much, she added with a smile, "By the way, the final agreement for the San Luca family's shipping route is being signed tonight. Don Adrian asked me to go. Please also prepare a copy of the terms we previously agreed upon."

After saying that, she left in her high heels, followed by two subordinates who had just been assigned to her by Adrian Veta.

The office fell silent. Several of my long-time subordinates looked displeased.

Everyone knew that I had spent three months negotiating this shipping route. I handled everything from scouting the site to the final negotiation with the San Luca family.

Mirena was pretty much involved in nothing.

Just before the final signing, Adrian suddenly announced that this would be handed to her.

The few people who had worked on this with me immediately expressed their opposition. No one was willing to hand over their three-month work to someone who appeared halfway through.

In front of everyone, Adrian's face turned grim. He thought that these people were fighting for power on my behalf and were challenging his decision.

That day, Marcus Alonso was transferred from the West Pier, while the other two who had spoken up for me also had their warehouses and casinos confiscated.

As for the shipping route, it was left to Mirena to handle.

Adrian simply said to me, "You're already the Donna. Stop trying to keep a hold on everything."

I nodded calmly and did not argue with him. I had never cared about who ultimately sat there to sign the papers. I only ever wanted to do my job well.

That evening, Mirena went in my place to negotiate with the San Luca family.

The next day, she returned to headquarters with the signed documents, and several capos gathered around to congratulate her.

She smiled smugly. "I was just lucky."

The contract retained every term I had drafted, without changing any order.

I remained silent, but Adrian glanced at me from across the room, as if expecting me to fly into a rage.

Instead, I simply picked up my coffee and said calmly, "Congratulations."

He was taken aback.

From then on, he gave me the cold shoulder. He stopped returning to our master bedroom and would not dine with me. After family meetings, he would discuss only the bare essentials.

It had always been this way. He would ignore me whenever we argued. It would last three days, five days, or sometimes up to ten. Ultimately, I was always the one to go to his study and give in. "Are you still angry?"

Only then would he deign to touch me.

At first, Mirena was not eligible to attend the core family meetings.

I reminded him that such occasions involved multiple families' interests and that newcomers should not simply be allowed to participate.

However, he was convinced that I was using Mirena to challenge his authority.

The very next day, he had her formally take a seat in the meeting room.

Later, when I objected to him assigning my people to her, he responded by placing an entire motorcade under her command.

The more dissatisfied I became, the more he gave her.

Eventually, even the docks and shipping routes I had managed for years became bargaining chips for him to teach me a lesson and put me in my place.

Back then, I would get angry and try to explain, but he never listened. Eventually, I began packing up my personal belongings at the Verona Port office. Everything, including the old fountain pen my mother had left behind and a few photographs taken when I first took over the port, went into the cardboard boxes.

Adrian paused when he saw the stack of boxes by the desk. "You finally came to your senses?"

I offered no explanation and simply placed the last ledger into the box.

He assumed I was voluntarily making room for Mirena. "If you'd done this sooner, we wouldn't have been at odds for so long. She's new to the port and unfamiliar with a lot of things. You should just hand over the responsibilities to her willingly."

I closed the box and uttered flatly, "Okay."

Adrian's expression softened. He probably did not realize that I was packing these things away because I no longer felt any attachment to this place and had a new destination in mind.

This time, nearly half a month went by without me seeking him out even once. Adrian's gaze toward me gradually shifted from initial coldness to satisfaction. He thought his tactics had finally worked.

What he did not know was that I had contacted a divorce lawyer that very night.