Chapter 3

Chips clattered loudly across the Vegas casino.

Up in the top-floor VIP lounge, you could hear a pin drop.

With Gabe directing me from afar, it took me less than two hours to break the old bastard. I got his signature on the deed to Pier No. 1 and forced him to clear three years of bad dark web debts.

Staring at the bright red seal on the agreement, I tasted real, ruthless power for the first time.

On the drive back, I sent the Rossi Family Five-Year Plan directly to the Elders, along with the proof of the Vegas takeover.

Gabe's message sat quietly on my encrypted screen: [You were born to be a queen.]

Three days later, the first trial results dropped: First place, Clara. Second place, Vincent.

Before my men could finish celebrating, the core group chat went dead silent.

An Elder tagged Vincent directly: [Vincent, what do you think of Clara's numbers? Not even the old Godfather moved this fast.]

Ten whole minutes passed before Vincent finally dropped a cold reply: [The numbers look too good. I suggest the Elders audit her accounts. Don't let someone fool us with fake deals traded for family secrets.]

The whole chat exploded. As the Underboss, his first move was to publicly accuse me of working with enemies and faking my wins!

Right on cue, Bianca sent me a private text: [Congrats, Clara! But I'm dying to know—how does fifty dollars get you a mastermind who controls guns and docks? Is he some dangerous mob boss playing you?]

Before I could reply, a screenshot of our chat "accidentally" leaked into the main group.

The crowd turned on me instantly.

[I knew it! The girl couldn't even read a ledger before!]

[Fifty bucks? She probably traded her body for those secrets!]

[Selling out the Rossi family to outsiders! What a disgrace!]

Vile accusations flooded the screen. Dark web forums exploded with hit pieces, plastering me with disgusting labels: traitor, whore, fraud.

My phone vibrated like crazy as Vincent's call slammed in.

"Clara! What the hell did you do?!" His voice roared with pure rage. "You threw away your dignity just to win? You took our core secrets and fed them to a dog outside? Don't gamble with the Rossi family's life just to show off!"

Listening to his self-righteous rage, my heart froze. I laughed back coldly. "Vincent, you think I faked it too? You think I can only win by selling my body?"

"You couldn't even pull a gun's safety switch!" Vincent interrupted with sharp disgust. "Without me holding your hand, you're nothing! Who are you trying to fool?"

Those words cut through the last remaining piece of my past with him like a dull blade.

I hung up on him.

At 3 PM, bad news hit.

A mandatory call from the Elders' enforcement team forced its way onto my screen. A cold, mechanical voice boomed out: "Clara Rossi, you have been reported for working with enemies, faking records, and making illegal deals. Report to the Council Room within one hour. Failure to appear will be treated as treason."

Trapped on all sides, ice ran through my veins.

Then my dark web phone lit up. Gabe's message broke through the dark: [Don't be afraid. You didn't stand up because of a man. You are finally in the right place. Go tear their lies apart.]

Looking at those words, every doubt vanished from my eyes.

A second later, Vincent's high-priority text flashed on my screen: [I'll walk into the Council Room with you. Nobody knows you better than I do. After all, you are still my fiancée.]