Kevin Harrison Giordano had the menacing bearing of a man born to command. At twenty-five, he took over his family's business with an iron fist.

The powerful CEO, who secretly ruled the criminal underworld, was married to a young French woman with whom he had fallen madly in love.

The first time he saw Justine Delacroix was at a fashion event, where he accompanied his friend Beatrice to the Dior ready-to-wear, haute couture, and Cruise show.

Instead of supporting his friend, who was walking the runway, Kevin's attention was drawn to a pair of golden eyes. The upturned nose and beautiful smile complemented the delicate features of the fashion design intern, who, at the time, was assisting in the creation and marketing of the brand's clothing and accessories.

That night, Justine wore a red silk dress that fit her body perfectly. The V-neckline showed off her firm breasts, and the slit on the right side of her leg revealed part of her thigh.

Weeks after that event, she was already dating the Italian, who was about 6'3" tall.

One day, Justine feigned surprise when Kevin gave her a sparkling diamond ring during a romantic dinner on the yacht. It wasn't long before she asked him to marry her.

Despite the overwhelming passion that surrounded them, Justine was already showing signs of having a lover after a few months of marriage.

Suspicious, Kevin gave his wife a new cell phone, but before giving her the gift, he installed spyware on the device. Since then, he has been monitoring her every move.

That day, Kevin was filled with rage because he discovered that his wife had taken about seventy thousand euros from their bank account, and after analyzing the images from the cameras in the bedroom where they slept, he saw his wife taking most of the jewelry that was in the safe.

Furious, he left his desk and paced around the office like a caged animal. He ran his long fingers across his forehead as his mind pondered the latest events.

The night before, he had celebrated his first wedding anniversary with his wife at a luxury restaurant in the fashion capital and presented her with a beautiful diamond necklace. When they returned to the mansion, he took her to the garage to show her the red Ferrari 250 GTO with a large white ribbon bow.

"Whose car is this, dear?" Justine asked.

"It's yours, mio amore," the husky, sensual voice replied.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide.

Kevin's muscular arms wrapped around his wife in a warm embrace as he captured her lips and kissed her eagerly.

Instinctively, his mind took him back to the moment when they both reached the second floor of the mansion. Through the wide hallway, he carried his wife in his strong arms until they reached the master suite.

Soon, clothes were scattered on the floor as they made love eagerly.

"Oh, mon Dieu!" The female voice moaned as she felt his large erection sliding into her wetness and thrusting deeper.

Absorbed in his memories, he could still hear Justine's moans echoing in his mind. Kevin remained seated in his office chair when a soft groan escaped his lips. He held the erection that was growing in his black linen pants, but soon after, he shook his head to get rid of the memories that had aroused him.

The CEO's blue eyes refocused on the picture frame with the photo of his wife with long blonde highlights.

Suddenly, the ringing of his cell phone brought him back to the office. He pressed the button, accepting the call.

"Damn, what is it?" Kevin asked.

"We've got your wife," Alessandro said on the other end of the line. "An informant said she was with Andrew Turner in Quarto Oggiaro."

"The detective already told me, damn it." This time, Kevin spoke louder and slammed his clenched fist on the table.

Andrew Turner had done everything he could to destroy his clan's business after his father's death. The Harrison Giordano family empire would soon fall if Kevin didn't have a knack for business.

"Take Justine to the abandoned apartment in Giambellino-Lorenteggio." Kevin gave the order angrily and hung up the phone abruptly.

His long fingers were still smoothing his furrowed brow when he straightened his posture in the tufted back of his armchair.

"That bitch is cheating on me!" He slammed the table again, then picked up the picture frame with his wife's photo.

He took one last look at Justine's photograph before throwing it forcefully on the floor.

Suddenly, the door opened. The tall, slender woman tossed her black locks behind her shoulders as she entered. Beatrice glided gracefully over to the enormous table.

"Need some company, dear?" the sly voice asked.

"I don't want to talk right now, Bia," he grumbled to his friend.

Although the model was beautiful, Beatrice did not attract him the way she wanted her to.

"Calm down, dear," Beatrice said as she positioned herself behind the armchair and rested her hands on Mr. Harrison's broad shoulders. "Relax!"

Beatrice's slender fingers began to massage his tense muscles. A slight smile appeared at the corner of her lips the moment her eyes fell on the cracked glass of the picture frame lying on the floor.

"I always told you your wife was unfaithful," the female voice said.

"That's enough, Bea!" He shouted as he pushed her hands away and stood up abruptly.

Kevin grabbed his black overcoat and put it on. He quickly left the office.

"I hope you teach that traitor a good lesson," Beatrice added as she followed Kevin into the hallway. "Do you want me to go with you, dear?"

"No," Mr. Harrison replied vehemently in a guttural tone.

In the elevator, Kevin pressed the button, and the doors closed.

He ran his hands through his short, straight hair just before stepping out into the parking lot and heading straight for the silver Lamborghini, where the driver was waiting.

As the car pulled out onto the streets of Milan, Kevin ran his hand over the goatee that framed his tense jaw. He couldn't wait to confront his wife and find out what she was doing in his rival's territory.

❛ ━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━❜

Half an hour later, one of the men put a hood over Justine's head, preventing her from seeing where they were taking her.

"Get your hands off me!" Justine struggled to free herself from the men who were holding her.

When they arrived at their destination, she was placed in a chair where her hands and legs were tied with duct tape.

"I'm suffocating!" Her voice came out muffled. "Take this off me..."

With an abrupt movement, someone pulled off the hood. The place was dimly lit, and the few pieces of furniture around were worn out.

Suddenly, the man with the intimidating gaze opened the double doors as soon as he heard the screams.

"Here's the traitor, sir!" Kevin's assistant pointed to the woman tied to the chair.

Justine's red face was bathed in tears.

"Honey, ask this idiot to let me go..." she begged through her tears.

With a simple glance, Kevin made the men in black suits move away from Justine.

"How could you betray me?" Mr. Harrison's inquisitive eyes assessed her.

"No!" Desperate, she began to shake her head. "I never betrayed you, my love."

Her mind and heart were troubled. Her amber eyes focused on the stern face of her ruthless husband.

"Enough!" Kevin's teeth were bared as he shouted. "Don't you dare lie to me again."

Justine's heart was pounding. As he got closer, Kevin clenched his right hand.

"Get that off her!" He pointed to the duct tape around her wrists and ankles.

After they freed her from her bonds, Justine rubbed her red wrists and then stared into her husband's dark gaze.

"I can explain everything, my love!" Her voice faltered.

"Start talking." The three words were laden with fury.

Justine tried to get up to hug him, but suddenly her arm was grabbed by Kevin's long hand, which pushed her back into the chair roughly.

"Don't get up again..." He ordered rudely.

"I went to Beatrice's house to show her some dress sketches."

The cruel laughter reverberated through the dimly lit room of captivity where they had taken her.

"Yes, go on..." The thick voice was full of sarcasm. "I want to see how far you'll go with your lies."

Crying, she insisted: "I'm telling the truth."

"Enough!" Driven by hatred, Kevin grabbed the envelope the counselor had given him and pulled out the photographs before throwing them at Justine. "You were in Quarto Oggiaro with my enemy. Isn't that right, Alessandro?" He hissed the question through clenched teeth.

"Yes, boss. Your wife was with Andrew Turner before we picked her up."

Justine's gaze flew until it found the handsome face of the tall man, and then she aimed at her husband's clenched jaw.

"I loved you... but now, I can only hate you with all my strength." Frowning, Kevin raged. "You were a beautiful mistake and my downfall, Justine Delacroix." He took the Glock from his subordinate's hand.

"Please, don't hurt me," she cowered in her chair, protecting her belly. "I'm pregnant." Her trembling voice confessed.

Shaken by the revelation, the cold man scrutinized the woman hugging her belly. Even though he hated her, he still didn't have the courage to punish a pregnant woman.

Touching Justine's thin arm, he forced her to stand up.

"Get out of my sight before I do something I'll regret." Kevin resumed his usual authoritarian posture.

That was how he acted with his subordinates, but he had never treated her that way.

"But I'm expecting your child!" She showed him the pregnancy test she was holding.

"Find Andrew Turner, I'm sure it's his son." His anger was so great that he refused to believe it.

"No. The baby is yours!" Justine said as he left that place with moldy walls, leaving her behind. "Kevin, please, let's talk," she pleaded.

Stopping in the hallway, he clenched his fist at his side, feeling a growing anger take over every fiber of his being.

"What about the rules, sir?" The advisor adjusted his glasses as he asked. "She should be punished."

"Damn it, shut up!" The hoarse voice yelled. "Get her out of my sight, but don't touch her. Capisci?" The inquisitive gaze stopped on the consigliere.

"Sì, capisco!" The short man replied in Italian, and took a step back.

Before her husband abandoned her to her fate, she stood up and ran her hand over the fabric, adjusting her red dress.

"Kevin..." Justine called again.

It was too late. Mr. Harrison was not willing to give her another chance. His inscrutable expression blended with the morbid atmosphere of that moldy-smelling place. The betrayal made him even colder and more resentful.

For half an hour, Justine's anguished crying echoed through the room.

"You bitch!" Alessandro's voice was full of contempt when he cursed her. "Get out of here before the boss comes back and changes his mind."

Exhausted, the pregnant young woman stood up amid the mockery of the employees who had once obeyed her orders. Not knowing what to do, Justine wiped her tears with her hand as she staggered, looking for a way out of that place.

"My mother was right," she lamented mentally as she took slow steps down the dimly lit hallway. "He'll never forgive me."

❛ ━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━❜

With nowhere else to go, Justine headed to a subway station. She was wearing only the clothes on her back and carrying her bag with her documents when she arrived at a sumptuous two-story luxury penthouse just a few minutes from Piazza Gae Aulenti.

"Mom, let me stay here tonight!" Justine asked the woman.

Sophia took a drag on her cigarette and then exhaled the smoke. She walked through the living room decorated with classic furniture as her silk nightgown slipped between her shins.

"Oh, ma chérie, I'm sorry, but I can't." She left the rest of the cigarette in the ashtray.

"It's just for tonight. I'll try to talk to Kevin on the day I sign the divorce papers. I'm sure he'll change his mind."

"Really?" There was a certain disdain in the question when Sophia raised a well-shaped eyebrow. "I think your husband has chosen to stay with his mistress." She turned her cell phone screen toward her daughter so she could see the image of Kevin at a party with his young companion.

Justine didn't want to believe what she saw. That woman had pretended to be her friend for months and wasted no time before making her move. In the photo, Beatrice Drummond was holding hands with Kevin at a company event.

"Incompetent!" Andrew shouted as he entered the room and slapped her across the face, leaving Justine stunned. "Everyone is saying that your marriage to Kevin is over. You're a useless whore."

"I gave you the money," Justine replied in a bare voice.

Touching her face, which still burned from Andrew's slap, she blinked, fighting off the dizziness.

"You idiot!" Andrew yelled. "Get out of here."

"I need a place to stay tonight." Justine's request echoed through the living room.

"No. You're not staying here." The burly man raised his voice.

Andrew was over forty. The alliance with Kevin Harrison was of utmost importance to expand the business, and Justine was a risk he couldn't have around. She just had to convince her husband to make a deal with his rival, but she wasted time, giving in to the sensuality of that Italian and her work as a fashion designer.

"Please, Mom!" Justine's pleading gaze fell on the woman sitting on the sofa.

"You'd better go, Chérie." Sophia repeated Andrew's order, unshaken.

"How could you do this to me?" Tears burned in Justine's eyes. "First, you abandoned me with my grandmother after my father died, and now you're rejecting me again!"

"I never wanted children, Justine!" Sophia's voice changed, cold as ice. "Your father was the one who insisted. It's a good thing he died." Sophia confessed. "I wasted ten years of my life taking care of an unwanted daughter."

"So that's why you abandoned me with my grandmother?"

With a polite smile, Sophia replied, "Of course! That old woman adored you, and I wanted distance from you."

At eighteen, Justine left rural France to find Sophia, seeking help for her grandmother who had cancer. Instead of help, she entered into an agreement with two con swindlers who destroyed her life.

Andrew ran his hand over his beard, flashing a cruel smile as he listened to the argument.

"That's enough; you can leave." Sophia threw the words into the air as she stood up. "I need to give my husband some attention." As she spoke, Sofia walked gracefully until she stopped next to Andrew.

Justine had never felt so much resentment toward her mother. The only person who should have supported her had just turned her back on her in her moment of greatest despair.

In tears, Justine left the luxurious penthouse. She had no idea how she would take care of a baby on her own.

Within a few hours, she took the diamond ring off her finger, along with her earrings and necklace, and sold everything. 

With the money, she rented a hotel room on Via Padova in Milan. The next morning, she tried to open the studio but stopped when she saw two men standing at the entrance.

"Mr. Harrison ordered the studio to be closed," one of her ex-husband's henchmen said, blocking her way.

"But my collection and sketches are in there," Justine argued tearfully.

"All of that belongs to Mr. Harrison," the shorter man warned. "Get out!" he ordered.

No henchman had dared to speak to her in that tone a few months ago. Everyone respected her and did everything she asked. But at that moment, she was being shooed away with contempt.

Returning to her inhospitable hotel room, she tried to advertise her work but found that many customers were badmouthing her clothes on social media. 

Days after the separation, the fashion designer, who barely had any space in her schedule, didn't even have a decent place to sell the clothes she created.

On the day of the divorce, Kevin barely paid any attention to her. He just initiated the document and left in a hurry. She ran to catch up with him but stopped when she saw him hugging another woman.

​"Excuse me, can we talk?" Justine's voice sounded weak.

He didn't even look back; he just kept walking.

"Kevin!" Justine stopped in front of him and Beatrice.

"Get out of my way," the bitter man muttered. "I don't want to see your face in this town again."

Looking up, Justine caught a brief glimpse of Beatrice, who was shaking Kevin's hand. 

Devastated, Justine returned to the room where she had signed the papers and took what Kevin's lawyer handed her.

"You signed a separation of property agreement. What each of you owned before the union remains the exclusive property of the parties."

"I can't keep the car?" Justine asked, looking at the lawyer.

"Mr. Harrison gave his car to his girlfriend. He also claimed that there was a shortage of seventy thousand euros and demanded that this amount be returned as soon as possible."

"How am I going to pay?" Justine asked, exasperated. "I'm out of work and barely have enough to eat..."

Despair consumed her. The pregnant young woman couldn't hold back her tears.

"Mr. Harrison's employee left some bags with your belongings," the lawyer said. "Follow the secretary to the room where the luggage is."

"What about my baby?" she asked. "I'm pregnant!"

"Have you talked to Mr. Harrison about this?" Suspicious, the lawyer adjusted his glasses as he examined her still-flat stomach.

"I told him, but Kevin thinks the child isn't his," she stammered.

"Ask your lawyer to contact me. See you soon, Miss Delacroix." 

Where would he find a pro bono lawyer who would defend his rights? Besides, no one in that town would dare to sue Kevin Harrison Giordano.

She left, carrying one piece of luggage at a time to the taxi.

Soon, Justine sold some designer clothes, shoes, and accessories on an online store. With the money she made, she rented a small apartment downtown.

In a few days, Justine found work as a seamstress in a clothing studio and excelled at everything she did. But one day, she was fired without explanation.

"It was Mr. Harrison Giordano who had me fired, wasn't it?" Justine wanted to know at all costs.

It was obvious. Her ex-husband was cruel and vengeful. He didn't want to kill her, but he would do anything to make Justine pay for her betrayal.

"Please don't complicate my situation. Go away!" The owner of the studio dismissed her without further explanation.

Every day it became more difficult to find a job.

"How am I going to pay off the seventy thousand euro debt?" she thought desperately as she rode the subway back to her room. "Kevin won't stop until I leave Milan."