Chapter 5

The moment she was in the car, Serafina wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed uncontrollably.

Years of effort had come to nothing, and years of love had ended in betrayal.

In that instant, she wanted nothing more than to throw herself into Cosima's arms the way she had as a child.

But Cosima had left this world because of a man's betrayal, too.

The car slowly rolled to a stop. Thinking of the scheme between Alessandro and Matilde that was about to succeed, Serafina slowly wiped her face dry.

The first thing she did after returning to the Greco residence was check the pinhole cameras the private investigator had installed.

Just as she was done confirming everything was working, Niccolo kicked the door open.

"Serafina, come out here! If Alessandro hadn't told me about your research, I wouldn't have known you were holding something back.

"Stop dreaming about taking Greco Group. No matter how capable you think you are, it'll never belong to you. Greco Group won't be inherited by the granddaughter of our father's killer!"

Serafina's heart sank.

If she were the granddaughter of their father's killer, then what was he? The son of the man who drove Cosima to death?

In Niccolo's eyes, she had always been an outsider.

What he didn't know was that Greco Group was already hers. She never needed to take it.

Cosima's final words pricked at her nerves. "Don't tell your brother… You grew up together. From now on, you're the only family each of you has left."

A quiet laugh escaped her. She had no family left.

After all these years of endurance, Serafina was exhausted.

The Niccolo she knew had died the summer she was 13. Only she had kept pretending otherwise, thinking they could go back to how things were.

Serafina took out the phone she had once believed she would never need and dialed the only number stored inside.

"Don Graviano, my grandfather once said I could ask you to fulfill three requests. Is that still true?"

After receiving confirmation, she continued steadily, "For the first request, I'd like you reveal the truth about the Greco family's succession at the Don succession ceremony in six days."

Just as she finished speaking, Alessandro entered. "What truth?"

Serafina's bodyguard blocked him at the door. "Mr. Madonia, Ms. Greco has instructed that she'll be keeping her distance from men for the time being."

Serafina stood by the window, her posture straight. It was as though she had returned to the distant, untouchable woman she had been four years ago.

When she turned to face him, the iciness in her gaze made his heart clench.

He took a deep breath and handed his personal seal to the bodyguard. "I know you're upset. To make it up to you, you can take whatever you like."

She stared at the seal, lost in thought. With it, transferring the assets she had left under his control would be much easier.

They held each other's gaze in silence until the sound of high heels approached.

"Serafina, why were you being so hasty today?"

Matilde walked in wearing Alessandro's suit jacket. She held her phone up in satisfaction.

"Look at this. Your photos and videos are all over the internet. Do you know how bad this looks for the Greco family?"

On the screen, a man mocked Serafina as he reached toward her tugged-open collar. "You have an aversion to men, huh? Cut the act! I'm going to have a taste of you today."

The video continued to play.

Serafina's face turned pale as her blood went cold, and she struggled to breathe.

Her bodyguard quickly gave her medication, but she still clutched her chest, the pain rendering her speechless.

Alessandro's expression shifted. He grabbed the phone and smashed it against the floor. "Stop provoking her!"

Matilde's eyes reddened at once, and she sobbed, "I didn't mean to…"

Seeing Serafina on the verge of collapsing, Alessandro picked her up and put her in the car. "To the hospital!"

Matilde got into the car as well. "Take her to my brother's psychiatric hospital. It's the best in Astora," she said.

At those words, Serafina struggled to get up.

From the back seat, Matilde ruthlessly pinned her against the seat, her eyes flashing with obsession. "Don't worry, Serafina. I'll make sure you're assigned the best doctors."