Chapter 3

Six months ago.

Ruby was just a pole dancer at a Rinaldi nightclub.

Nico broke the rules. Brought her into his inner circle. Called her his "personal secretary."

She showed up at the office maybe once a week.

The rest of the time? She was in his penthouse. His yacht. His sports cars.

Meanwhile, Nico dumped all the real mob work on me. All the dirty, dangerous business. Like it was my job.

The first red flag? My promise ring. It showed up on Ruby's finger.

At first, Nico would explain. He would coax me. Tell me sweet lies.

But soon, he just got annoyed.

I stayed. I endured. I tried to please him. And it only made his favoritism for Ruby worse. Wilder. More brazen.

She sat right beside him at family sit-downs.

Openly rubbing her chest against his arm. Fixing his collar in front of the capos. Flirting.

Nico didn't push her away. He pinched her chin. Teasing her right back.

She'd sip a martini and hand him the rest.

Nico wouldn't even change the straw.

He'd place his mouth right over her red lipstick stain. His Adam's apple bobbed. Swallowing her taste. Zero shame.

I would make him homemade seafood stew. Ruby would giggle and steal a bite.

Nico would just stare at her like she hung the moon. Then he'd look at me. "Isabella. Ruby likes it. Make more tomorrow."

Whenever I got mad, he'd snap.

He'd look down at me with cold eyes. "Isabella! She's just a naive girl! You're a De Luca princess. Why are you so damn insecure?"

The real heartbreak was three months ago. Our five-year alliance anniversary.

I booked the penthouse at the city's finest restaurant. Filled it with his favorite white roses. I waited six hours.

He never showed.

Why? A rival family shot up one of his clubs. Ruby was "startled."

So Nico stayed at her apartment. All night. Playing the hero to save her from her nightmares.

I confronted him the next day. He smashed a vase in a rage.

"She was scared of the guns! So what if I stayed?!" He screamed in my face. "Isabella, you're a heartless psycho!"

He forgot.

When I was fifteen, I took a bullet to the thigh for him. Covering his escape.

I bit down on the agony. I never made a sound.

I was terrified too. But I thought being strong would earn his respect.

And for what?

He snuck Ruby into closed-door arms deals. Inner circle only.

He treated her like a queen. And dragged my pride through the mud.

My father noticed the freeze. He sent a quiet warning.

Nico came running back. Pinned me to the bed. Kissed my neck. Whispered in his raspy voice.

"Isabella. You're my future wife. The stripper is just a toy."

It was all a show. All for power and profit. A toxic, endless loop. It made me want to vomit.

Enough.

The cycle stops today.

I snapped back to reality. I walked to the roaring fireplace.

I opened my hand.

The black diamond ring. Ten years of my life. It rolled into the flames.

The fire swallowed it whole.

I opened another drawer. I pulled out a stack of letters.

His old apology notes. From back when we were kids.

Full of garbage. "Love you forever." "Never betray you." "My queen." So damn pathetic.

I didn't even read them. I ripped them to shreds. Tossed them into the fire.

The paper turned to ash.

Just like my love for him. Gone.

My phone buzzed on the bed. Crazy vibrations.

I glanced at the screen. A Rinaldi group chat. Messages flying by.

"The Boss was ruthless tonight! A million-dollar bet just to make Miss Ruby smile!"

"She is smoking hot. Looked amazing on his lap."

"Isabella ran off crying. Honestly? Good. She's a total ice queen. Ruby knows how to treat a man."

"Lmao! Boys, start sucking up to the new Donna!"

They were kissing Nico's ass. Worshipping Ruby with cheap words. Stomping all over me.

I laughed out loud.

God, they were stupid.

They had no idea. Whose money ran the Rinaldi empire? Whose guns? Whose smuggling routes? Mine.

I grabbed the phone. I ignored the clowns in the chat. I called the family Consigliere.

He answered on the first ring.

"Miss Isabella. Your orders?"

I stared into the flames. My voice was ice.

"Accelerate the withdrawal. Strip the Rinaldis of our money-laundering networks. Cut the guns. Cut the smuggling routes. Leave them with nothing."