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.