Chapter 1

Ten years ago, Elena was tortured to death; every bone in her body was crushed, leaving no piece of her flesh intact.She was my best friend and the fiancée of my foster brother, Alexander, yet I covered for the sadistic murderer.Alexander personally sent me to court for interrogation, but I chose to plead guilty and enter a maximum-security prison rather than speak the killer's name.In prison, the people sent by the Family took turns torturing me to force me to speak. To keep the secret, I bit off half my tongue.Ten years later, I was in the terminal stages of cancer, lingering on my last breath in prison. Alexander, having firmly secured his position as the Don, stormed into the prison hospital.The first thing he did after dragging me back to Sicily was strap me into the memory extraction chair reserved for interrogating traitors."Ivy, you ungrateful wretch! I never should have picked you out of that orphanage!""I treated you like a sister, made you the Family's most cherished

Chapter 2

Even so, the Mafiosi below the stage exploded."Damn traitor!""Go to hell! Pay with your life for the Godmother!"On the big screen, my memories began to rewind crazily.The first memory was one month after Elena’s death, my first night thrown into the maximum-security women's prison.Because I bore the charge of "murdering the future Don's wife," I became the public enemy of the entire prison.In the footage, seven or eight tattooed female prisoners dragged me into the shower room and pinned me against the slippery tiled floor.They grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the wall over and over."You're the one who killed that angel of a girl?""Beat her! Beat her to death!"Countless fists and feet fell like rain. My ribs were broken, my face was bruised and swollen, and I curled up into a ball, shivering.But in my arms, I deathly protected a photo—the only photo of me, Alexander, and Elena together.The scene shifted to a prison cell late at night.Several inmates wanting to e

Chapter 3

"I heard before that she was a snake. The Godmother treated her like a sister, but she threw her heartfelt gift into the sea out of jealousy!""Don Alexander, this bitch isn't worth any sympathy!"Countless curses drilled into my ears.Alexander stood on the high platform, watching this scene coldly.Actually, he knew the truth better than anyone.That necklace hid a high-precision bug installed by a rival family.We discovered it together back then.To prevent the timid Elena from feeling fear and guilt, I volunteered to play the villain, demanding the necklace in front of her to dispose of it.Alexander was right there; he tacitly approved of my method.But now, seeing everyone below condemning me, misunderstanding me as cold-blooded and heartless...Alexander just stood there indifferently.A trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes, but he remained silent, allowing the filth to be poured onto me.In his heart, the current me deserved to be spurned by thousands.Accompanying the crow

Chapter 4

"Ah—!"I let out a gut-wrenching scream.Violent electric currents swarmed like thousands of vipers, drilling into my cerebral cortex through the probes and gnawing frantically at my nerves.My body convulsed, limbs thrashing desperately, clanging against the iron chains. Blood streamed from my seven orifices, dripping onto the cold torture chair.Suddenly, a clear image stabilized on the screen.It was a perspective shot from my own eyes. In the memory, I was holding a gun. My hands were steady, and the muzzle was pointed directly at a woman kneeling on the ground—Elena."Die," my voice in the memory was cold.Bang! The gunshot rang out, and Elena fell into a pool of blood.The torture chamber erupted into chaos instantly. "She did it! We saw it!""This vicious woman executed the Godmother herself!"Elena’s brother, Marco, roared like a beast. His eyes bulged with bloodlust, and he completely ignored the Don's presence. He vaulted onto the high platform, kicking the technician aside,

Chapter 5

The crowd gasped."Look! It's the memory! But... this isn't the night of the murder!"It was a sunny café in Palermo, the days before Elena’s death.On the screen, Elena was sitting in a corner booth. She wasn't her usual innocent self. She wore dark sunglasses and looked around nervously.A man sat opposite her—the Consigliere of the rival Leone family."Did you bring it?" the man asked.Elena took out a thick envelope from her designer bag. The man took the envelope and smiled. "Good girl. You'll be the Queen of Sicily.""What..."Alexander staggered back as if punched in the gut. "No... that's not Elena... that's a fake!"The crowd below was in an uproar. Elena’s mother stopped crying, her mouth agape. Marco stood frozen, shaking his head."Lies! This is all manipulated!" Marco screamed.But the memory continued.The scene shifted to the night of the murder.Elena was tied to a chair, screaming, "I didn't mean to! They forced me! Let me go! I'll tell Alexander you tried to kill me!

Chapter 6

"Ivy! I'm sorry!"I merely tugged at the corner of my mouth, revealing a smile uglier than crying, as a bloody tear slid from the corner of my eye.The gates to the deepest part of my memory were completely smashed open.It was late one night, ten years ago.Smoke swirled in the Old Don’s study.He handed me the gun that killed Elena, along with a suicide note written for Alexander."Ivy, I'm going to the negotiation. It's dangerous this time; I might not come back.""If Alexander finds out the truth, he will hate me to death, and he will hate this Family. He will turn into a madman, and Sicily will run red with blood.""Only you can save him.""Help me take this secret to the grave."Looking at the old man who had loved me like a father, I knelt before him and solemnly bowed my head to the floor three times."I promise you, Papa.""As long as I live, this will remain a secret forever."For ten years, not a day went by that I wasn't in pain.Every time I was beaten in prison, every tim