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.

The moment Giovanna heard the footsteps, her face changed completely. She turned to her friends in a panic. "Quick, hide her! Don't let Fabrizio see her!"

The women fumbled as they unlocked the chains on my wrists and dragged me toward the kitchen storage cabinet.

The chains scraped against my wounds, and the pain nearly made me pass out.

They shoved me inside the cabinet, locked the door with the chains, and stuffed a cloth into my mouth so I couldn't make a sound.

"Make a noise, and I'll kill you," Giovanna hissed, pressing herself against the cabinet door as she threatened me.

The cabinet was pitch-black. The cramped space made it hard to breathe, and the pain from my injuries grew worse by the second. Blood trickled down my body and pooled on the cabinet floor.

Soon, the villa's front door opened, and Fabrizio's voice came from outside. "Giovanna? Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to take a look at our future home and start planning a bit," Giovanna said, forcing her voice into something gentle.

I could hear Fabrizio walking around the living room, as if he were taking in the space. "She'll like this layout."

The "she" he meant was me.

Tears flooded my eyes instantly. My son was right outside, yet I was trapped in this dark cabinet, unable to tell him what I had been through.

"Why do I smell blood?" Fabrizio's voice suddenly turned cold.

I heard Giovanna panic. "R-Really? Maybe I nicked my hand while cutting fruit earlier."

"Is that so?" Fabrizio clearly didn't believe her. His footsteps moved closer, heading toward the kitchen. "My mother really likes kitchen designs. I'll take a look."

My heart jumped into my throat. I clawed at the cabinet door, my nails digging so hard that they nearly broke.

The footsteps stopped at the kitchen entrance, then slowly approached the cabinet.

"Why is there a chain here?" Fabrizio asked, confusion in his voice.

Giovanna hurried to explain. "It's nothing. I was worried about break-ins, so I prepared it ahead of time."

I could feel Fabrizio's gaze settle on the cabinet. His fingers slowly reached for the handle.

In the darkness, I opened my eyes wide, silently begging him to open it and pull me out.

The cabinet door shifted slightly, and a thin line of light slipped inside. Giovanna's breathing grew rapid. I could almost see the tension on her face.

"What's in this cabinet?" Fabrizio's voice grew colder by the second.

Just as the door was about to be fully opened, Giovanna suddenly screamed, "Ah! A rat!"

She rushed to Fabrizio's side, trying to distract him.

"Honey, let's get out of here. I'm terrified of rats!"

Fabrizio frowned, clearly hesitating.

Inside the cabinet, I struggled desperately, trying to make noise to get his attention. The cloth in my mouth reduced everything to muffled sounds.

His footsteps paused for a few seconds, then he slowly moved away.

"Fine. Let's go out first."

The cabinet door shut again, and darkness swallowed me whole.

I collapsed inside the cabinet, overwhelmed by pain and humiliation. I was on the verge of breaking down.

Just when I thought Fabrizio was really leaving, the kitchen door was suddenly kicked open.

Giovanna screamed in panic, "What are you doing?"

"I want to see exactly what's hidden in this cabinet," Fabrizio said, his voice cold enough to freeze the air.

I heard the chain being torn loose, then the cabinet door was yanked open. Blinding light poured in, and I instinctively squinted.

Fabrizio stood there.

When he saw me inside, covered in blood and barely recognizable, the cigar slipped from his fingers and hit the floor. His pupils shrank instantly.