A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

He carefully lifted Lola horizontally in his arms.

Joy was unmistakable in every crease of his brows and corner of his eyes.

"Don't be scared. We're heading to the hospital right now."

Daniel hurried outside with her in his arms. He only tossed over his shoulder a sharp remark:

"Anna, you need to calm down and learn to be a mafia's wife properly."

From that day on, Daniel didn't return home for three whole months.

He took Lola to Switzerland to see the snow.

When she casually mentioned loving the alpine scenery of the Alps, he immediately bought a vacation manor at the foot of the mountains-with only her name on the deed.

Then they traveled to Venice.

Lola posted photos on social media of the custom-made antique jewelry set Daniel had commissioned for her as a Chrismas present; an 18th-century sapphire necklace shimmered brilliantly around her neck.

[Someone will quietly fulfill all your wishes without fanfare. So this is what it feels like to be cherished.]

Daniel's favoritism had always been bold .

The night wind, thick with salty moisture, drifted over the carved balcony of Daniel's waterfront villa. Lola ended the video call, still twisting the platinum lighter Daniel had casually tossed her between her fingers.

The "D&A" initials engraved on its surface were scored twice fiercely with her nail polish.

The bathroom door clicked open.

Daniel emerged wearing only a towel slung low around his waist, water droplets glistening as they trickled down the grooves of his abs to his hip bones.

He grabbed his phone from the sofa, glanced at the three missed calls from "Anna" in the call log, and his brows furrowed so tightly .

"She's bothering you again?"

He took the cigarette Lola offered, and with a sharp whoosh, the lighter flared to life with a blue flame.

Lola wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her chest against his warm back, her voice sickeningly sweet: "Mm-hmm. She asked where you were, but I told her you were showering. Daniel, when are you going to break it off with her?"

Daniel stubbed out the cigarette, turned around, and gripped her chin tightly.

His thumb caressed the fresh hickey on her collarbone-the one he'd left that morning on his yacht, when Lola had worn a bikini and moaned so loudly the entire marina could hear her.

He loved her wild, untamed energy, like a feral beast-completely opposite to Anna's perpetually calm demeanor.

"What's the rush?"

He leaned down and nipped her lower lip.

"Once I have full control of the Browns, I'll kick her out for good."

Lola's eyes lit up:

"What about the trust fund her grandfather left her.?"

Daniel scoffed coldly.

"That old man thought he could tie me down with collateral? Wait until I cut off the entire cash flow. Anna's just a hollow socialite with no real power-what's she going to do to stop me?"

What he didn't know was that, at that very moment, in a manor far away in New York, Anna was sitting at a mahogany desk, her fingertips brushing over encrypted documents her butler had just delivered.

These were the latest updates from a mole her grandfather had planted long before his death: Daniel had been embezzling company funds to buy Lola manors and custom jewelry, and had even secretly transferred a sum of dirty money to a Swiss bank account-a sum originally intended to cover the quarterly dividend shortfall for the mafia family "Blood Pact."

Anna set the documents aside and picked up her cup of Earl Grey tea.

Her grandfather had been the "Godfather" of New York's underworld, and her mother had been the family's sole heir.

Daniel had only courted her for her family's influence.

Born into poverty, he'd clawed his way up in the mafia with sheer ruthlessness, but had always been looked down on by the older generation.

Anna had thought he loved her sincerely-until Lola appeared.

On the night of the charity auction, the top-floor ballroom in Manhattan, New York, blazed with lights.

She clung to Daniel's arm, accepting the guests' compliments with poise, acting as if she were already the lady of the house.

Daniel stepped onto the auction stage, picked up the microphone, and was about to announce: "Lola will be the new brand ambassador of the Whites"-a "title" he'd prepared for Lola, and the first step in his declaration of war against Anna.

But before he could finish speaking, the ballroom's carved wooden doors were suddenly smashed open.

A dozen burly men in black suits and earpieces flooded in.

Their waists bulged noticeably armed.

They spread out quickly, blocking all exits.

The guests fell silent instantly; anyone reaching for their phone was roughly restrained by the men.

The leader, dressed in a tailored suit with a silver iris badge pinned to his lapel walked straight up to Daniel.

He held out a document with a gold-embossed cover:

"Daniel, by the late Godfather's order, you are accused of embezzling mafia family funds and betraying your allies. Effective immediately, you are dismissed from all positions at the Whites, and all your assets are frozen."

Daniel's face was ashen gray in the dim glow of the remaining wall lamps.

"Who gave you the right to do this?"

His voice was cold as ice.

I paused at the auction stage, my fingers tracing the cold marble surface.

I gently placed the divorce papers on top of the equity freeze notice, the rustle of paper unusually sharp in the deathly quiet ballroom.

"It was my order."

I lifted my eyes, my gaze sweeping past Lola, whose face had turned deathly pale behind him. "By the way, sign this too."

Daniel's eyes darted between the two documents before fixing firmly on my face, a sarcastic grin twisting his lips: "Is this because I'm accompanying Lola during her pregnancy? Anna, in today's circle, who doesn't keep a few mistresses on the side? You grew up in this environment-how haven't you learned to handle these things yet?"

Lola immediately snuggled tightly into his arms, her eyes brimming with triumphant contempt as she looked at me.

I glanced at her still-invisible baby bump, then at the newly healed scar on Daniel's collarbone. Three months ago, Lola had "accidentally" been scalded.

To curry favor with her, Daniel had actually asked his private doctor to take skin from his own collarbone for a transplant.

"When you carried her away three months ago, you told me to learn how to be a mafia head's wife."

I leaned slightly forward, picking up the ten-million-dollar sapphire necklace on the auction stage, my fingers caressing the pigeon's blood ruby pendant-Chrismas gift my father had personally placed around my neck on my sixteenth birthday.

"Now I've learned."

"What a mafia princess should do. is clean house."

I tossed the necklace casually into the champagne tower behind me.

The sharp crack of shattering crystal mingled with the fizz of bursting bubbles.

Lola's scream died in her throat .

"Daniel, sign."

A collective gasp echoed through the ballroom.

Several timid guests tried to stand, only to be forced back into their seats by the crossed muzzles of the bodyguards at the door.

Daniel's face turned livid, he just stared at me intently, as if confirming whether I was the same woman who had smiled at him in a white wedding dress on Christmas six years ago.

Lola gently shook his arm, her voice overly sweet with feigned grievance: "Sister Anna, can't we talk about this at home? Do you really have to humiliate Daniel in front of so many people. I never wanted to replace you. I just want to stay by Daniel's side. After all, I only love him for who he is."

She turned to me:

"Sister Anna, you'll always be the rightful mafia head's wife. Why make everyone unhappy like this?"

Daniel's expression softened slightly as he put his arm around her shoulders.

Watching Lola's masterful performance, I suddenly remembered when she first arrived at Ivan House.

She'd thought the Browning pistol I kept in the hallway was a decoration. Now she'd memorized the lines of a wealthy socialite perfectly.

I smiled at her, my tone laced with the playful sarcasm:

"That haute couture dress you're wearing-1.2 million dollars. I bought it at an auction in Milan last year. The tag's still on the hem, isn't it?"

Lola's face blanched instantly.

I took a step closer, my fingers brushing lightly over the diamond earrings in her ears.

"Those earrings are 3.5 million. The Alpine manor was my father's wedding gift to me. And the pigeon's blood ruby ring you stole from the Venice jewelry vault was the Godfather's gift for my eighteenth birthday."

I paused, my gaze falling on the diamond-encrusted bra strap peeking from her shoulder. "Even the bra you're wearing."

I raised my hand, and a bodyguard immediately handed me an asset evaluation report. I slammed the paper down on the divorce papers with a crisp thud: "It's all bought with Daniel's and my marital assets. If Lola can't pay it back-"

I leaned in close to her ear, my voice dropping to a low, bloodstained whisper:

"Your youth is still worth something. But let me warn you-when my mother dealt with the woman who stole her man, she sealed her in a concrete barrel and dumped her into the Hudson River."

Lola's body trembled violently, and she almost collapsed to the floor.

Lola's face turned as white as a sheet instantly.

Tears streamed down like broken pearls, splattering on the custom-tailored suit Daniel wore-she shrank deeper into his arms, her nails digging into the inner pocket of his jacket.

Daniel immediately wrapped his arm tightly around her, his gaze fixed on me with unmasked reproach.

His Adam's apple bobbed, as if suppressing a violent rage:

"Anna, she's pregnant! Do you really have to make a scene like this at the Nightingale Club? Are you declaring war on Boss Ivan by bringing these 'bodyguards' here?"

Before I could speak, a sudden realization dawned on him.

His tone softened abruptly, patient as if coaxing a child, and he even reached out to touch my hair: "I get what you're doing. Isn't it just because I've been busy with the arms deal with Italy and haven't come home much? Once Lola gives birth, I'll send her to a safe house in the suburbs. We can go back to how we were-you'll still be the most respected 'Mrs. Brown' in Ivan House, and no one will dare touch you."

I suddenly burst out laughing.

If I'd listened to my family's arrangement and married into that mafia clan on New York's Fifth Avenue, I wouldn't have cared how many mistresses my husband had.

I could've even smiled as I handed his pregnant mistress a bottle of prenatal vitamins, along with a vial of poison labeled "accidental death."

But Daniel was different.

It was he who, on that Chrismas eve, risked having his legs broken by Boss Ivan to steal a bunch of red roses from the warehouse.

He knelt in the slums of the Bronx and promised me the purest marriage:

"Anna, I won't let you get your hands dirty. I'll shield you from all the darkness."

It was he who, when I was kidnapped by a rival family, charged in alone. He took three stab wounds to the back, yet looked at me with red eyes and swore our love would never be as hypocritical as other mafia marriages.

He'd even forgotten that Lola was originally sent to his side as my "spy" through the Brown family's connections. After all, how could a mafia head keep an unknown tattoo artist close by?

I thought, deep down, he must still have a shred of decency left.

I couldn't bear to look at Daniel any longer.

I turned to Lola, who was still sobbing, and tapped my finger lightly on the table.

"Lola just said she only loves him for who he is?"

Lola's sobs stopped completely.

I slowly flipped through the divorce papers on the table, my fingers gliding over the clauses written in both Italian and English-including the Whites' equity, real estate, the arms channels and underground casino shares he controlled in Ivan House, and even his "dirty money" account hidden in a Swiss bank.

"The Whites' equity, the safe house in Brooklyn, the Cartier jewelry. and 'child support' for the baby in your belly-oh, and Daniel's phantom shares, the kind that pay out five million dollars a year."

I looked up at her, a faint smile playing on my lips:

"Since you only want him, you surely won't care about these trivial possessions."

Lola instinctively clung to Daniel's sleeve, her nails almost digging into his flesh.

Of course she cared-when she'd seduced Daniel, the first thing she'd asked was, "How much is Mrs. Brown's diamond necklace worth?"

I smiled and pushed the papers toward her, clicking open the pen cap with a crisp sound: "Why not sign now to prove you don't want the Whites' money? After all, you must want to be the legitimate '-oh, I forgot to tell you, in Ivan House, only the boss's wife can be called that. A second-in-command's mistress is nothing more than a 'plaything.'"

Lola's face flushed bright red.

She lifted her chin, feigning contempt to hide her unease:

"I'm nothing like you! I love Daniel for who he is-whether he's the second-in-command or a street thug, I'll always love him!"

I clapped softly.

I turned to Daniel,

"Did you hear that? Your 'true love' is so noble, she doesn't even care if you lose your mafia position."

At that moment, Daniel's phone rang.

He answered it, and his already tense expression grew darker by the second.

His fingers tightened around the phone until they turned white, the old scar on his knuckle-from saving me back then-standing out sharply.

"Don. the overseas arms account has been frozen? How is that possible! It's under a Panamanian shell company!"

"What? The Italian clan has terminated our cooperation too? They said. they said the mafia princess issued an order-whoever does business with you is declaring war on the entire Brown family?"

"And. Boss Ivan just sent word. He said you 'harbored an outsider' and broke the rules. He's taking back all your territories and power."

He slammed the phone down on the table.

On the screen, the chat with the Italian clan still displayed their final message:

"The Brown family's cleaners are on their way. Good luck."

His eyes were bloodshot.

He stared at me fiercely:

"You did this? Anna, you actually used the Brown family's power against me? Have you forgotten how I saved your life back then?"

I pushed the pen toward him: "Sign the divorce papers, and I'll ask Boss Ivan to show mercy-spare your life. Otherwise. do you think a 'traitor' who's lost his power and is being hunted by the Syndicate can survive the night with a pregnant woman?"

I paused, glancing at Lola: "Oh, and Lola here-she was my spy all along. Her parents are still in the 'nursing home' I run-or should I call it a 'hostage camp' instead?"

Lola's face drained of all color.

She abruptly let go of Daniel's sleeve, her eyes filled with terror.

Daniel stared at the paper, trembling as he gripped the pen. Under Lola's anxious gaze, he finally picked it up and scribbled his signature-for the first time, he couldn't even write his own name neatly.

He gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse as sandpaper: "Anna, you're going too far. You'll regret this. When I make a comeback, I'll make you.."

"Make me what?"

I cut him off.

"Kneel and beg you like the woman in your arms? Daniel, have you forgotten? I'm the heir to the Brown family-a mafia princess. I was born to die standing."

I nodded, ignoring the sharp pain in my chest.

I turned and handed the signed papers to the Brown family's lawyer, who had a silenced pistol tucked in his waist: "Please handle the rest-including making Lola 'voluntarily' give up all her assets, and. eliminating Daniel's remaining forces in Ivan House."

Then I faced the syndicate members and family guests hiding behind pillars, pretending to drink. My voice rang out clearly across the room:

"From this day forward, the Brown family formally terminates all cooperative relations with Daniel White. Anyone associated with Daniel must surrender to the Brown family headquarters within three days-otherwise-"

I raised my hand and pointed toward the port outside. There, a yacht flying the Brown family flag was approaching slowly. On the deck stood several men in black suits, holding sniper rifles.

"-you'll face the consequences."

My high heels clicked against the marble floor.

Behind me, gasps and whispers erupted:

"Mrs. Brown is really going for the kill."

"I should've never sided with Daniel. The boss will definitely treat us as traitors."

"I heard the Brown family's cleaners never leave survivors."

Lola's tearful voice shrilled:

"Daniel, what do we do now? I don't want to die. my parents are still in their hands."

I pushed open the heavy carved wooden door.

I looked up at the night sky. New York's stars were hidden by neon lights-just like the light that used to be in Daniel's eyes.

Now, that light was gone forever.