The praises rolled through the private dining room, associate after associate lifting their glasses to Salvatore and Vittoria, the golden pair, the Boss and the woman at his side. Every syllable landed clean in my ears. Salvatore's gaze swept past me without a flicker of recognition. I might have been some nameless face pulled in off the street.

Staring at the man I had spent five years building into a Boss, I finally understood why my father always said my judgment was lacking. Turns out, they were right. I had been utterly blind.

I never once suspected that Vittoria, Salvatore's ever-loyal courier, the girl who carried his messages and kept his ledgers, had been sharing his bed the whole time.

But being the daughter of Don Valente, my blindness didn't prove I couldn't move among the families. Whatever else was true, I had lifted this man to the edge of recognition by the Commission, and I could just as easily let him fall from that height.

Clutching the folded oath of silence Enzo had shoved at me, I turned to leave that suffocating room.

I had barely taken a step when Enzo Marchetti, the crew's bookkeeper, planted himself in front of me, a false smile stretched across his face.

"Adriana, no need to run off so fast."

He licked his lips, cleared his throat, and adjusted the set of his collar, his voice reaching for a firmness it didn't own. "The Family has its rules. Before you walk, you sign the oath. Everything you touched while you were with us, none of it connects back to us. And you swear the vow. No sitting down with any other family, no whispering our clients into someone else's ear once you're gone."

Not long ago, every man in this crew knew me as Salvatore's intended, the woman whose name opened doors to silent partners and associate Dons. They treated me like glass they were afraid to crack.

Enzo most of all. He used to duck his head and call me Signora Brancato, sweet as spilled honey. That was before. Now he looked down at me with a satisfied little smirk, as if belittling me might buy back some scrap of his own standing.

I took in the whole pathetic performance and answered him cold. "An oath? A vow? What in God's name makes you think I'd ever put my name to either?"

Enzo's smile died at once, his voice sharpening. "Why? Because of your dirty little arrangements. The Family's already shown you mercy, letting you walk instead of settling it the old way. Don't mistake mercy for weakness."

I let out a mocking laugh. "Dirty arrangements? You have proof? Or do you just mean a few photographs stripped of their context?"

"Proof?" Vittoria came sauntering over on her heels, one manicured finger stabbing toward my phone. "Isn't the proof sitting right there in your hand? God knows how many of our contacts you've hoarded. The second you step outside, you'll start working them one by one, buying yourself a place with some other crew."

The words were barely out of her mouth before Enzo lunged for my phone. I was caught flat-footed. Before I could pull back, it was gone from my fingers.

"Give it back."

Vittoria plucked it out of Enzo's hand and skipped back a step, that smug curl still on her lips. "Look how nervous you are now. Must be plenty in here you don't want anyone laying eyes on."

She turned to Salvatore for my passcode. She tried his birthday, then mine, then the anniversary they'd all toasted so warmly, and still the screen held shut. Losing patience, Salvatore snatched the phone from her grip and barked at the two soldiers by the door to hold me still.

He held it up to his face. After the screen refused him again and again, it fell back to the keypad.

"What's the password?"

Since the day we became each other's, my passcode had never once changed. It was the date he first told me he wanted me. How fitting that he'd forgotten. And yet I wasn't surprised at all.

Failing to open my phone in front of his own men only deepened the humiliation. His face darkened, thunder gathering in it, his pride crumbling by the second. He straightened his tie, smoothed his lapel, buying himself a moment.

"Adriana, you keep swearing those photos are some misunderstanding. Then why did you go and change your password behind my back?" The accusation had grown tiresome past bearing.

"It's the date you first told me you wanted me," I said.

Salvatore went still, his expression shifting as he clawed at the memory of that day.

However hard he reached for it, it wasn't there. His face twisted, a chaos of feeling running through it, like a painting someone had ruined mid-stroke.

I wrenched free of the soldiers' hands and took my phone back from his. Salvatore watched in silence as I unlocked it without effort. His lips parted, as if there were something he meant to say. No words came.

Salvatore snatched my phone without warning. His fingers swiped furiously as he hunted for proof of my so-called betrayal. Then he stopped.

He went stiff as he stared at a close-up selfie of me and my brother. A second later, his fury erupted like a storm.

"Adriana, how wonderful! The evidence is right here. What excuse do you have now?"

"I told you, he's my brother! Give me back my phone!" I continued to protest. "This is theft. Slander. A complete violation of everything I'm owed."

Salvatore raised his hand and struck me across the face. The sharp sting spread instantly, but before I could react, he lifted my phone and smashed it against the marble with brutal force. The screen shattered on impact, shards of glass scattering across the floor of the private room.

I clutched my burning cheek, fury surging through me as I lunged at him. But before I could get my hands on him, his soldiers restrained me once more, hands like iron clamping down on my arms.

Salvatore was provoked by my intense reaction, his voice dropping to an icy sneer.

"Adriana, don't act all innocent. Do you really think you could've climbed as high as you did without spreading your legs? And don't even try to tell me you did it for me. That's the most disgusting thing I've ever heard."

I lifted my gaze to meet his, disappointment washing over me like a tidal wave.

"Salvatore, do you really have to humiliate me like this?"

He chuckled, slow and mocking. "Humiliate you? Do you think you even deserve that much?"

Faced with his cruelty and baseless accusations, a lump of frustration and rage formed in my chest.

"Fine. Since you refuse to listen to reason, let the Commission settle this. We'll see who's really filth here. You, with your slander, or me, with my so-called sins."

"The Commission?" He took a slow step toward me, eyes glinting with disdain. The men around the table went quiet, watching.

"Do you really think you still have a chance? You may not care about your name, but I sure as hell care about mine."

"I'm so glad we were only promised to each other and never bound in blood. You would've been the biggest disgrace of my life."

I stared at the shattered phone on the floor and at that moment, the fury burning inside me finally erupted.

"Salvatore, after what you've done to me, you can just forget about being made tomorrow." Laughter exploded around the room.

"Adriana, have you lost your mind?" Vittoria clutched her stomach, doubling over with laughter, clinging to his sleeve.

"Who do you think you are? Do you really believe you have the power to keep the Commission from recognizing him?" Salvatore smirked, his voice dripping with mockery.

"You think you're some queen of the Five Families? Like a single word from you could bury my recognition?"

I lifted my head and locked eyes with him, unwavering. Then I stated with firmness, "That's exactly who I am. And the man in those photos? That's my brother. Lorenzo Valente."

The laughter only grew louder.

"Adriana, have you completely lost your mind?" Enzo Marchetti laughed so hard he slapped the table, then licked his lips and cleared his throat as though he owned the room. "If you're a queen of the families, then I must be Don Valente himself, Boss of the whole Nova Eternum syndicate!"

"That's right! That's right!" The other associates quickly joined in, treating me like a joke.

"If you carry Valente blood, we'll kiss your ring right here on the floor!"

I swept my gaze over them, my lips curling into a slow, scornful smile. My thumb turned the plain ring on my right hand, the one piece of the family I'd never taken off. "Don Valente is my father. Not some gutter dogs like you."

Their laughter faltered for half a second, but I wasn't done. "You don't believe me. Of course you don't. Trash like you, who do nothing but spew garbage and follow the loudest voice in the room, you're used to swallowing filth every day."

My words struck a nerve and the room erupted in fury.

"Believe you? Believe you're nothing but a whore who slept her way up the ranks?" The crowd's laughter swelled, the celebration descending into chaos, their ridicule ringing in my ears.

Salvatore shook his head, looking at me with a mix of pity and disgust, his tone dripping with contempt. He straightened his tie and smoothed his lapel. "Adriana, stop making a fool of yourself and get the hell out. You're contaminating my house. Don't you ever dare tie your name to mine again."

I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug deep into my palms. The fury inside me was suffocating, threatening to consume me whole. But I knew. Now was not the right time to lose control.

"Fine. I'll leave."

I took one last look at them, my voice steady and sharp. My thumb went still on the ring, and my hand settled flat against my side. "But remember this. The humiliation you gave me today? I'll return it a hundredfold."

Laughter erupted around the room.

"Payback? Seriously?"

Vittoria clung to Salvatore's arm, two fingers brushing the base of her throat as she laughed so hard she could barely breathe. "Adriana, have you been watching too many pictures? Talking about payback like you're the one with plot armor?"

Salvatore smirked and waved me off like a beggar working the street. "Enough with the tragic act. Get out of here and stop wasting our time. We've got a celebration to enjoy."

I gave him one last look before turning on my heel and walking away. Behind me, the laughter and insults kept coming, but I didn't care anymore.

Outside the room, in the hush of the corridor, I bought a burner and dialed a number.

"Before the Commission convenes tomorrow, I want Salvatore ruined."

There was a brief silence on the other end before a deep voice responded. "Understood, Miss Valente."

I hung up, glanced up at the night sky and let a slow, cold smile spread across my lips.

Salvatore, you thought you've won? Too bad. The real game was just starting. Since you showed me no mercy, don't expect any in return.