Rumors said Fabrizio Medici, Don of the Medicis, was ruthless in everything he did.

Yet he was nothing but devoted to me, his mother, as if I were his lifeline.

Ten years ago, my husband, Victor Medici, betrayed us all. He conspired with foreign enemies, abducted Fabrizio, and staged a coup from within.

To save my child, I blew up a car, destroying my leg and face, and erased myself from the world by faking my own death.

Fabrizio hardened and lay low. Ten years later, he wiped out our enemies, killed Victor with his own hands, and reclaimed everything that had been stolen from him. Afterward, he spent a fortune rebuilding my body, piece by piece.

But when I returned to the country under a new identity to attend Fabrizio's engagement party, his fiancée, Giovanna Valery, mistook me for a hidden mistress.

She stormed in with her friends and humiliated me in every possible way.

By the time Fabrizio finally arrived, I was covered in blood.

Giovanna pointed at me, her voice shrill as she screamed, "No wonder I never see you messing around. So this is your type? Older women?"

I arrived at a standalone villa in the Queen's District of Southwold.

As the former Donna of the Medicis, I had hidden in Holbeck for ten years. Today, I finally returned here under the name "Ella".

I had just set my suitcase down in the entryway and hadn't even caught my breath when the front door was kicked open from the outside.

Five women barged in aggressively. Leading them was Giovanna Valery, my future daughter-in-law, whom I had only seen in photos.

I stepped forward in surprise, about to greet her, when she lunged at me like she had lost her mind. She grabbed my hair, yanking so hard that it felt like my scalp was being torn off.

"Well, look at you, you shameless old hag! You hid yourself pretty damn well!"

She raised her hand and slapped me twice. My cheeks burned instantly. The corner of my mouth split open, and the taste of blood flooded in.

"No wonder Fabrizio's been distracted lately! Turns out he's been cheating on me with you!"

Giovanna's voice was sharp and piercing, her eyes filled with hatred.

Her gaze swept over the bronze candlestick on the coffee table. It was a Medici family heirloom.

My son, Fabrizio Medici, had personally shipped it over from the old family estate, saying I would definitely like it.

"He gave you the candlestick I begged for and never got. What kind of spell did you put on him? You're halfway into the grave, and you think you're worthy of touching Medici property?"

She grabbed the bronze candlestick and brought it down on my forehead without hesitation.

A burst of pain exploded through my head. My ears rang, and my vision went black as I dropped to my knees. Hot blood streamed down into my eyes, blurring everything.

"You've got it wrong. I'm…" I struggled to explain, but before I could finish, Giovanna swung the candlestick again, straight at my mouth.

The metal smashed into my teeth. I heard enamel crack as bloody foam rushed into my throat, making me cough violently.

"I've got it wrong?" Giovanna let out a cold laugh and stepped on the back of my hand. Her high heel ground down hard. "You've lost your mind. I'm Fabrizio's only woman. You think you can compete with me, you shameless old hag?"

The four women behind her immediately crowded in. Two yanked my arms back while the other two pinned my shoulders.

"She needs to be taught a lesson so she knows who's the real lady of the house," one of them sneered.

I struggled and screamed, "Let go of me. I'm Liliana Medici. I'm Fabrizio's mother!"

Giovanna burst into laughter, as if she had just heard the biggest joke in the world. "Give me a break! Liliana died ten years ago in a fire. With that plastic face of yours, how dare you pretend to be the Donna!"

She abruptly released my chin and pulled a dagger from her waist.

She crouched down sharply and ripped open the left shoulder of my shirt, exposing the smooth skin after grafting.

That spot should have held the Medici family crest tattoo passed down through generations. But back then, when I detonated the car to save Fabrizio, the flames destroyed it completely. The skin graft only left a faint trace, almost impossible to see unless you looked closely.

"See that? You don't even have the family tattoo, and you say you're one of them?"

Giovanna grabbed the front of my clothes and yanked me forward. Staring at her face twisted by jealousy, I felt both furious and desperate.

Fabrizio had praised her endlessly, calling her gentle, kind, and well educated.

Yet, the woman in front of me was clearly a spoiled lunatic.

"I'm not lying…" I gasped weakly.

Giovanna cut me off impatiently and drew the dagger again. "Looks like you don't know your place. I'm taking your arm so you learn your lesson!"

The blade moved closer and closer. I could feel its icy chill, and despair swallowed me whole.

The instant the dagger was about to sink into my skin, I twisted my body hard. The blade grazed past my shoulder, slicing open a bloody gash.

"Hah, how dare you dodge!" Giovanna shouted furiously and slapped me across the face. "Hold her down!"

Two of her friends increased their grip, pinning my arms flat against the floor. Another woman pulled out a cigar, lit it, and pressed it straight onto my arm.

A sharp sizzling sound filled the air. The stench of burned flesh spread as my whole body convulsed in pain, cold sweat soaking through my clothes in seconds.

"Talk! What tricks did you use to seduce Fabrizio?" Giovanna held the dagger, the tip pressed under my chin.

"I didn't," I said, my voice shaking from the pain. "Ten years ago, the Camorras kidnapped him. I blew up a car to save him. How could I ever seduce my own son?"

"Keep making things up. Go on," Giovanna sneered. The dagger in her hand slashed hard across my cheek. "I've seen photos of Liliana. She was a hundred times prettier than you! A plastic freak like you doesn't even deserve to talk about her."

Agonizing pain flared across my face. Blood streamed down my jaw and dripped onto the floor.

Just then, footsteps sounded at the doorway. A scar-faced man walked in.

It was Enzo Cerri, Fabrizio's most trusted Capo. His father had once been my personal bodyguard.

"Enzo, save me," I said with difficulty, as if I had grabbed onto my last lifeline.

Enzo froze for a moment and stared at my face for a long time, his brows drawn tight. "How do you know my name?"

"I'm Liliana. I held you when you were a baby," I said urgently.

Before he could respond, Giovanna beat him to it and shoved the burning cigar into my mouth. I screamed as searing pain tore through my tongue, leaving me unable to speak.

"Enzo, don't listen to her nonsense," Giovanna said, pointing at me. "She's a liar. She's bait sent by a rival family, trying to dig up our secrets."

Enzo's gaze flickered as he crouched down to examine me. "Your voice and your eyes do look a bit like the late Donna."

"So what if they do?" Giovanna snatched the gun from Enzo's hand and aimed it at me. "Her passport says Ella. She's only 38. If Liliana were alive, she'd be 50 by now. Isn't that obvious enough?"

She gave an order. "Search her bag! I want to see what else she's hiding."

One of the women pulled out my fake passport and handed it to Enzo.

He studied the photo and information, his expression gradually turning cold. "Your name is Ella, not Liliana."

"Fabrizio changed my name to protect me." I shook my head desperately. The wound in my mouth tore open again, blood pouring out. "He was afraid of traitors coming after me. That's why I had to live under a fake identity."

"Still lying!" Giovanna said impatiently as she raised the dagger. "Since you won't tell the truth, guess I'll have to force it out of you."

The dagger pointed straight at my throat. I could feel death breathing down my neck.

Just then, Enzo suddenly reached out and stopped her. "Wait. Don Medici isn't back yet. He needs to decide this himself."

"Let him decide?" Giovanna raised an eyebrow. "You think he'd believe this old woman's nonsense?"

"No matter what, we can't kill her," Enzo said firmly. "Don Medici is extremely sensitive about anything related to the Donna. If she really has some kind of background, we can't afford the consequences."

Giovanna shot me a vicious glare and put the dagger away. "Fine! We'll let her live for now. When the Don gets here, we'll see how he deals with this liar."

Enzo stepping in saved me for the moment, but Giovanna clearly had no intention of letting me go.

She had someone bring over iron chains and tied my hands behind my back to the kitchen water pipes. The metal bit into my wrists, and blood from my wounds dripped down the chains.

"Are you going to talk or not?" Giovanna crouched in front of me, casually playing with a dagger. "If you don't, I'll slice your skin open piece by piece."

I clenched my teeth and stayed silent. There was only one thought in my mind: Once Fabrizio arrived, everything would become clear.

While I struggled, the pendant around my neck slipped free and fell out.

It was a family crest, carved by Fabrizio himself. I had worn it close to my body for ten years.

The moment Giovanna saw it, her eyes turned red. She snatched it away. "Fabrizio gave you this? You shameless woman! You're not worthy!"

She gripped the pendant, jealousy twisting her face, then suddenly raised the dagger and drove it straight into my palm.

"Ah!"

Agonizing pain exploded through me. My whole body trembled as blood surged along the blade and splattered onto the floor, pooling beneath me.

"Talk! Who are you, really? What exactly is your relationship with Fabrizio?" Giovanna screamed, forcing the dagger even deeper.

I was in too much pain to speak. I could only bite down hard on my lip as tears mixed with blood and ran down my face.

Seeing that I still wouldn't answer, Giovanna grabbed the phone from my pocket and unlocked it with my fingerprint.

The screen lit up, showing the lock screen photo of Fabrizio and me taken last year in Holbeck.

When Giovanna saw it, she started shaking with rage and rapidly scrolled through the messages.

"Mamma?" she shrieked when she saw the contact name. "You actually made him call you that? You even boss him around like he's a little puppy?"

She lifted the phone and smashed it hard into my face.

"You shameless woman! What kind of sick tricks did you use to brainwash him like that?"

At that moment, she suddenly dialed Fabrizio's number. Her expression instantly softened.

"Honey, the engagement party's in a couple of days. I wanted to ask what kind of gift we should prepare for your mother."

She deliberately covered my mouth with her hand so I couldn't make a sound.

Fabrizio's low voice came through the phone. "No need to overdo it. My mother's coming back tomorrow. Just make her happy when she gets here."

Giovanna's face turned deathly pale. After she hung up, her eyes filled with vicious fury. "So you really are lying. His mother isn't back until tomorrow. You're nothing but a complete fraud!"

She raised the dagger and aimed it at my face.

"Since you love seducing other people's men so much, I'll ruin this face of yours. Let's see who you can seduce after that!"

The dagger crept closer and closer. I closed my eyes in despair.

Just then, familiar footsteps sounded outside the villa, along with the scent of a burning cigar.

Fabrizio was here.