Riccardo Volsi, the youngest Don of Altamura, has an arm wrapped around my enemy, Sofia Greco, as they step over my dying body.

On the night before, he had a hand clamped over my mouth and his other hand gripping my thigh as he thrust into me repeatedly in throes of passion.

Yet, today he's the one who personally locks me into the workshop that will kill me.

I've begged him for mercy before. I even crawl over to him like a bitch on all fours just so I can tug at his pant leg and gesture to him to save me.

But Riccardo just looks at me as though I were a filthy mutt.

"Sofia is the principessa of the Greco family. The fact that she likes your designs is enough for you to kneel and beg her for the right to work for her."

They think I'm just a mute designer who's a nobody in this world. That's why they can trample all over me and humiliate me all they want without giving a damn about my life and death.

What they don't know is that I've gotten reborn. Not only can I make them kneel before me, but I can also destroy them once and for all.

Sweat trickled down Don Riccardo Volsi's chest, seeping deep into where our bodies joined.

I knelt on the bed as he held me tightly from behind.

His firm abs pressed against me, and his broad palm gripped the base of my thigh while his lower body slammed into my buttocks with fierce, rapid thrusts.

It was too fast. The overwhelming sensation of being penetrated made me long to hold him.

"Don't touch me." Riccardo tilted his head away from my outstretched hand.

Was it because my hands were too dry and chapped? Was that why he only allowed me to grasp the cold brass bedpost?

Annoyed by my distraction, he bit hard into my shoulder.

"Cover your mouth. Don't make a sound," he reminded me.

I nodded, feeling him move inside me.

A stifled groan rose in my throat again and again, cold sweat soaking the hair at my temples.

Noticing my discomfort, Riccardo leaned down to whisper in my ear, "What's wrong? I rarely come back, yet you're not doing your best to please me. Are you unhappy about something?"

After saying that, he pulled away as if losing interest. Then, he put on a ring engraved with the Volsi family crest and donned his suit.

From beginning to end, he never once looked back at me.

Just as Riccardo was about to leave, I finally snapped out of my daze and grabbed the hem of his clothes.

He immediately brushed my hand aside and warned, "Liliana, remember your place. You're just a bug who has no right to ask me to stay."

Then, as if something else occurred to him, he added in a low voice, "If you're feeling unsatisfied, I'll allow you to use something else on yourself. Perhaps you could use your little toy hammer?"

I shook my head frantically, my face flushing red. But that only seemed to displease Riccardo further.

"Or do you want to go to those bodyguards?"

No! I wouldn't!

"Liliana, I like it when you're obedient," he said flatly. "Do your job well. You should feel honored that Sofia appreciates your talent in design."

As if wanting to sear the words into my brain, he continued, "Your work is what keeps you alive. Do as Sofia asks, understand?"

The Principessa of the Greco family, Sofia Greco, was in charge of smuggling high-end antique jewelry and laundering the proceeds.

At the sound of her name, the memory of that torment came flooding back, and I could scarcely keep myself from shaking.

Three years ago, after my parents died and my family was wiped out, I ended up in Sofia's factory. I was almost raped by the foreman when Riccardo saved me and brought me to his home.

Once, while Riccardo was dozing off, I stole a kiss from him.

His eyes snapped open, and the way he looked at me was as if he wanted to devour me whole. The next moment, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me boldly, his tongue entwining with mine.

It wasn't until I was struggling to breathe that I heard a rare, low chuckle coming from him.

And that was exactly when Sofia saw us. The fleeting venomous expression on her face filled me with dread.

Right in front of Riccardo, she declared that I was extraordinarily talented and would entrust all her jewelry to my care.

Riccardo readily agreed to it.

But as soon as Riccardo went abroad, Sofia threw me into an airtight basement studio and ordered me to work endlessly. Once, I even worked for 72 hours straight.

She had me dismantle large quantities of smuggled goods and create counterfeit pieces that were indistinguishable from the authentic pieces.

Years of grueling work had worn down my hands, leaving them covered in scars. One time, the blowtorch's flame came within an inch of blinding me.

My parents had been renowned antique jewelry restoration masters in Nexia. I also had been hailed as a prodigy since I was young, yet now I was enslaved by a mafia Principessa.

The painful memories had me urgently signing to Riccardo, "I can't work anymore. I'm sick, and my body hurts."

Riccardo froze. Then, he took a step back, his expression turning cold.

"But Sofia said you were doing well. She even built a private studio just for you. From what I know, she appreciates you greatly."

I wanted to explain that wasn't true. But just as I started to gesture, urgent footsteps came from outside the room.

"Don Volsi, Principessa Sofia is on her way here."

Hearing this, Riccardo gave me a brief glance. "What are you waiting for? Go."

All my movements came to an abrupt halt. I could only scramble to put on my clothes in humiliation and stumble out the door on shaky, aching legs.

As I staggered out, the bodyguard standing at the entrance, Alberto Santoro, grinned maliciously.

"You little tramp. The moment Don Volsi returns, you're already crawling into his bed. Principessa Sofia won't let you off when she finds out."

My face went pale, and I practically fled from the scene.

Maids whispered and pointed behind me as I made my way back to my room.

"The mute hussy is back. Look at the way she flaunts herself. Who knows what tricks she used to seduce Don Volsi."

"I heard that studio is where she services men. Male workers are always going in there."

I pushed those filthy comments out of my mind. Back in the cold room, I lay down on the bed and curled into a ball.

Thankfully, Riccardo was back. He would protect me, just like before.

I must've fallen asleep at some point.

Suddenly, the door crashed open.

Before I even knew what was happening, ice water was dumped over me.

As I shivered from the cold, Sofia entered with a group of maids.

She lifted my chin, her eyes filled with undisguised mockery.

"Do you know why I'm here? Because with just a casual remark from me, Riccardo agreed to let me do whatever I want with you. That means, from now on, whether you live or die is up to me."

No! That was impossible!

I looked at Sofia furiously and signed with all my might, "You're lying! Riccardo said he would protect me!"

But all that earned me was a merciless slap from Sofia.

"How despicable of you! A Don's name isn't for a cheap hussy like you to utter!"

She raised her hand, and the maids standing by immediately stepped forward. Then, they pried my mouth open and roughly shoved several pills down my throat.

I could barely breathe, while Sofia said with a cruel smile, "A worthless nobody doesn't deserve to bear Riccardo's child. Today it's just contraceptive pills, but next time it'll be…"

She pulled out a whip and lashed it across my stomach.

The searing pain made my eyes slowly redden, and tears threatened to spill at any moment.

Sofia looked at me with malicious amusement. "Are you going to cry? Then, cry louder! I can't hear you!"

I gritted my teeth and dug my nails into my palms. Even if my skin broke and blood welled up, I refused to make a single sound.

"You've got quite the spirit, I'll give you that."

Just as she was about to strike me again, I somehow mustered the courage and ran toward the door with whatever strength I had left.

Alberto stopped me with ease and sent me crashing to the ground with a kick.

They were going to kill me quietly without anyone knowing!

In my moment of despair, Riccardo's cold voice rang out.

"What's going on here?"

When he saw me collapsed on the floor, my face ashen, Riccardo instinctively stepped forward to help me up.

But then, Sofia suddenly lowered her stance and threw herself into Riccardo's arms.

At the same time, Sofia's personal maid, Anna Marchetti, dropped to her knees with a thud.

"Don Volsi, Liliana has shown complete disrespect to Principessa Sofia!"

"Anna, don't!" Sofia leaned against Riccardo, her expression sorrowful and troubled. "I am merely Riccardo's partner, whereas Liliana is his woman. I don't want to cause him any trouble."

Upon hearing this, Riccardo frowned and instinctively wrapped his arm around Sofia's shoulder to comfort her.

As if emboldened, Anna pointed at me furiously. "Liliana said she's the only one capable of climbing into your bed. She also declared she'll become the Donna of the Volsi family and that Principessa Sofia is unworthy of wearing the jewelry she designs."

With that, she produced a letter, written in what was unmistakably my handwriting.

"While you were conducting business in Verantia, Liliana couldn't bear the loneliness and wrote letters seducing the male procurement staff. This is the proof!"

No! I'd sent messages to a friend in charge of procurement to ask him to help me gather information from the outside world.

But how could I explain this to Riccardo?

In the moment I hesitated, Riccardo looked at me, his eyes already filled with disappointment. His face was dark and stormy, and the thin piece of paper in his hand looked like a little bird about to have its neck snapped at any moment.

"Liliana, is this true?"

I'd never seen Riccardo like this before. For a moment, I was so intimidated by his presence that I couldn't form any signs at all.

Anna's voice rang out again.

"It's being whispered all over the estate that Liliana's mouth is far more skilled at pleasuring men than what's between her legs and that she's driven the male workers out of their minds with lust."

Just how shameless could Anna get?

The taste of blood flooded my throat, and I shot Anna a venomous glare.

As the Don, the quality Riccardo valued above all else was loyalty. It was said that any member of the family who betrayed him was thrown into the ocean to feed the sharks.

There was no way I'd die for a crime I didn't commit!

I lunged at Anna like a madwoman, grabbing her arm and striking at her while letting out guttural roars.

Anna was howling in pain under the fists of someone as slight and fragile as me.

"Enough," Riccardo commanded coldly.

I suddenly pointed at Anna and signed rapidly, "She's lying!"

Seeing me like this, Riccardo sensed that something was wrong.

"Do I need to tell you what happens to those who lie?" Riccardo snapped icily at Anna.

Anna fell silent in terror.

"Riccardo, don't be angry. If Anna is in the wrong, I'll certainly discipline her. However…" Sofia deliberately paused. "In a week, we have a business meeting with Don Alessandro Corleone of the Corleone family in Marasalto.

"To make a perfect appearance, I asked Liliana to restore a set of jewelry that belonged to my grandmother. But she refused."

Riccardo pondered for a moment, then lowered his head and said gently to Sofia, "I will handle this."

He looked up, his eyes swirling with impatience and severity.

"Lock Liliana in the studio. She is not to leave until Sofia is satisfied with the restoration."

Riccardo fixed his gaze on me and said in a tone colder than ever before, "If she can't do it, don't bother letting her out. Let her die in there for all I care."

His words left my heart completely frozen.

It turned out that those nights of intimacy and everything I thought made me special meant nothing compared to his family business.

How foolish of me. How dare I long for the love of a mafia Don?

In that moment, I finally woke up.

Back in the studio, my fingertips were raw and bloody, and I was so exhausted that I nearly had my entire finger crushed by the machinery.

The door creaked open, and Riccardo appeared at the threshold.

Had he come to save me? A flicker of hope ignited in my eyes.

His expensive custom-made leather shoes stopped just outside the door. His gaze was as cold as a blade of ice. When he saw my bloodstained hands, his expression didn't soften in the slightest.

"You have quite the nerve to deliberately ruin Sofia's gemstone necklace just to embarrass her. Do you think your worthless life could ever repay it?"

"I didn't! My restoration work was flawless," I signed with trembling hands.

"How dare you make excuses?" Riccardo's face was contorted with rage. "While I was away, you stole gems and embezzled diamonds. Liliana, since when did you become so despicable?"

I opened my mouth, but no defense came out.

Despicable? I'd suffered through inhumane torment while waiting for him to come back, only to be met with his scorn and disgust.

The hero who'd once saved me was now standing with the executioner, wounding me deeply.

"Sofia is generous enough to give you one more chance. You have 48 hours to restore the necklace. If even one diamond is missing or there's the slightest mistake, your fate will be no better than being fed to the sharks."

I stared down at him, no longer bowing my head.

Riccardo's expression darkened at my stubborn defiance.

"What? You don't want to do it? Do I have to remind you that you're the one in the wrong?"

"The only thing I did wrong was falling in love with you," I signed rapidly, and that completely enraged him.

He barked a command toward the door, "Alberto, watch her closely. If she dares to slack off or try any tricks, she's yours to deal with."

With that, he left resolutely.

"Don Volsi has long been tired of you. Since you're nothing but a hussy anyway, why not let us have some fun?"

Alberto, grinning menacingly, stepped forward with two other bodyguards.

I grabbed a sharp file from the corner of the table and swung it wildly at them. Even if it meant taking them down with me, I would never let anyone humiliate me!

"Stupid mute!" Alberto lunged forward, grabbing my hair and yanking my head back. Then, he slapped me across the face several times.

My cheeks instantly swelled up, my mouth filling with blood.

"Lock the door! Cut off her water and food! It'd be better if she died. Don Volsi will just think a dog has died."

Pain and hunger consumed me. If I didn't work, they'd continue to torture me.

Sofia came by once. She looked down at me from above, every word she spoke a fatal blow.

"I have good news for you. Riccardo and I are about to get engaged. The wedding will be the talk of the entire mafia circle in Littoria, and I'll soon be the rightful Donna Volsi.

"Meanwhile, you're less than a rat in the gutter. The family has decided to eliminate you—the most disgusting stain on Riccardo's life—before the wedding. You'll rot in the dirt, and I'll never have to see your face again."

I felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing my heart. I let out a faint laugh and suddenly coughed up blood.

Hatred was all that kept me breathing.

The day I was released, the estate was bustling with grand preparations to welcome distinguished guests.

Sofia wore the full set of jewelry I'd poured my heart and soul into restoring. She nestled in Riccardo's arms, while he gazed at her with eyes full of admiration.

My vision had already blurred, and even the slightest breath sent a pain worse than death through my chest.

Yet, I still walked toward the front hall.

A family member said disdainfully, "Riccardo, is this lowly laborer allowed to appear at such an occasion?"

Riccardo shot me a glance and replied indifferently, as if bestowing a favor, "It's fine. Let her be."

To him, allowing me to stand here was already a great mercy.

"Liliana, this isn't a place for you. Please don't embarrass Riccardo, alright?" Sofia said, clinging intimately to his arm.

In that moment, my mind was clearer than ever before. All my restraint, humiliation, and love immediately went up in flames.

I rushed forward in three quick steps and tore the dazzling gemstone necklace from Sofia's throat. The brilliant gems burst apart instantly, scattering across the floor, and livid deep red welts immediately rose on her neck.

"Have you gone mad?" Sofia's expression turned dark and stormy. "How dare you hurt me and destroy my jewels? I'll kill you!"

I held up my deformed hands, my fingers covered in bloody wounds. Numbly, I used my bloodied fingers to write, "This jewelry is stained with my blood. Every gem is laced with poison. How do you feel wearing it?"

"How dare you harm me, you hussy?" Sofia seethed with rage. She clutched Riccardo's arm and roared, "Riccardo, kill her! Kill her now!"

Riccardo's face was dark with fury. "Liliana, let's discuss this later. We have important guests arriving today."

My eyes held no emotion when I looked at him.

He watched as I signed, "You're not worthy of it."

Alberto forced me down to my knees. I coughed up a mouthful of blood that splattered and bloomed across Sofia's dress like a hideous flower of gore.

Riccardo's expression darkened instantly.

I had humiliated two mafia families. In his eyes, I was probably already a dead woman.

Sofia snatched Alberto's gun and pointed it straight at my head.

"I'll send you to your death right now!"

"Sofia, wait!" Riccardo shouted sharply and immediately grabbed her wrist to stop her.

But it was too late. She pulled the trigger in a frenzy.

In the next instant, two deafening gunshots rang out at once.