After finishing her visa paperwork, Elvira returned to the Corleone residence. The moment she stepped through the door, she ran into her perfectly made-up stepmother, Camilla.

"Elvira, you're finally home. You've been out all night for days. Do you have any idea how disgraceful that looks?" Camilla lifted her chin in her usual condescending manner, with disgust dripping from her voice.

To her, Elvira was nothing more than a useless girl who had lost her mother's protection and would eventually be thrown out of the family.

Elvira didn't even spare her a glance. She walked straight to the entryway, raised her hand, and slammed the vase onto the marble floor.

A loud crash echoed as shards flew everywhere.

Camilla shrieked and stumbled backward in fear.

"And what exactly are you?" Elvira's voice was cold enough to freeze, her eyes sharp with unmasked hostility. "You're nothing but a mistress who wrecked my parents' marriage. How dare you lecture me? Remember this, Camilla. As long as I'm still in this house, you'll never be able to lift your head in this family."

Every word struck deep. Camilla's face turned pale, and her body trembled.

"Elvira, what are you up to this time?"

Upon hearing the commotion, Antonio rushed out of the study and quickly helped steady the shaken Camilla. He glared at Elvira in anger. "You cause a scene the second you come home. Can't you behave yourself for once?"

Watching him shield Camilla, Elvira felt nothing. Her heart had long been frozen to the core. "I'm causing a scene? Fine. Just give me back my mother's inheritance. I'll leave the country immediately and never bother you again."

Antonio froze. Then, he feigned concern. "What are you saying? Why would you leave? Stay here. This is your home."

"Home?" Elvira let out a laugh of pure mockery. "Cut the act, Antonio. You, Camilla, and Elena—you're the happy family. I don't have a home anymore, not since my mother died."

She pulled a document from her bag and tossed it on the coffee table. "Name your price. I want my rightful share. My mother's inheritance, including the shares in the overseas accounts, and the profits from the three Aelorian smuggling routes."

Antonio's expression darkened instantly. "You're insane! Absolutely not. You're trying to gut half of the Corleone family's assets!"

"Insane?"

Elvira walked to the window and stared at the garden below. Her tone was calm, but the determination in it was unmistakable.

"You forced me into this. You used my grandfather's money to secure your position as the Don. My mother died saving you in that planned car crash, and now you're using her wealth to support a mistress and her bastard, living in the house she bought. Do you think I'll just sit back and watch?"

She turned back, her eyes sharp enough to slice through boulders. "Either sign this agreement and return what belongs to me, or we all die here today. I buried explosives in the basement. I don't want this house anyway."

Antonio's pupils shrank. His finger trembled as he pointed at her. "Y-You lunatic!"

He knew her too well. Elvira always meant what she said.

His fear of death crushed everything else. He collapsed onto the couch, cold sweat streaming down his back.

He grabbed a pen and scribbled his name on the agreement. "There… Now, get rid of the bomb," he said shakily.

Elvira picked up the document and confirmed his signature. A mocking smile tugged at her lips. "Relax. There isn't one. After all, isn't this how you tricked my mother into marriage? Like father, like daughter."

Realizing he'd been played, Antonio nearly passed out from rage, but he couldn't utter a word. Elvira didn't glance at him again. She turned to go upstairs and pack her things.

"Stop right there!" Antonio barked, suppressing his anger.

"Your sister's bringing her partner home for dinner tonight. I don't care what kind of trouble you've stirred up before. This time, you will behave."

He emphasized, "Her boyfriend is Vincent Allen, the Don of the Allen family. We can't afford to offend him, so don't you dare cause problems."

Elvira's steps halted.

Her entire body went rigid, and she found it hard to believe that Vincent was paying them a visit as Elena's partner.

The next second, the doorbell rang.

A housekeeper opened the door, and Elena walked in, clinging to Vincent's arm with a bright smile.

The moment their eyes met, Vincent's brows drew together. Clearly, he had just realized that Elvira was Elena's sister.

Elvira's heart twisted sharply once again.

At the dining table, the atmosphere was tense.

Elena and Vincent sat together on one side, looking like a picture-perfect couple. Antonio and Camilla hovered around them with flattery written all over their faces, while Elvira sat alone across from them like the outcast.

Throughout the entire meal, Elvira had to watch Vincent carefully place food on Elena's plate, slice her steak for her, and even gently wipe the sauce from the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

That tenderness was a side of him she had never seen before.

"Elena, how did you and Don Allen meet?" Camilla's voice carried a smug excitement as she asked.

A soft blush spread across Elena's face as she replied shyly, "It was at a family charity dinner. I saw a stray cat stuck in a tree and tried to help it, but I almost fell. Vincent caught me. After that, he asked for my number."

She turned to him with a gaze overflowing with affection.

Elvira couldn't stop a small laugh from escaping.

The room went silent at once, and everyone looked at her.

Elena had hated animals since she was little and had killed Elvira's cat back then. There was no way she would ever help a stray. Either she staged the whole thing, or she planned to hurt the cat later.

"What's so funny, Elvira?" Antonio's face darkened as he barked at her.

She ignored him, curling her lips into a bright, bold smirk. "I'm laughing because some people lie so badly you can't even pretend to believe them."

Elena's expression shifted. "When will you bring a partner home then? Let us see what true love looks like for you."

"Bring one home? That won't work," Elvira drawled lazily, her eyes flicking briefly toward Vincent before settling back on Elena.

"There are just too many. Unlike you, I'm not lacking in charm. It doesn't take me three years to snag a single man."

She paused, as if boasting but also mocking herself. "Men who are interested in me can fill the entire Corleone residence to the brim. Mafia bosses and CEOs of multinational companies, it's hard to choose which one to bring first."

"Elvira!"

Antonio slammed his hand on the table, making the dishes clatter. "Can you stop running your mouth for once?"

Camilla's chest rose and fell in anger, but with Vincent present, she didn't dare make a scene. Meanwhile, Elena looked pitiful, her eyes reddening as she sought comfort from Vincent.

Vincent set down his fork, wiped his hands with a napkin, and, under everyone's gaze, gently took Elena's hand from the table.

"Elena doesn't need to compete with anyone," he said, his voice low and firm, filled with possessive adoration. "To me, no one can compare to her. She's the best, and one of a kind."

The words hit like a knife to the chest.

Elena brightened immediately, squeezing his hand back and even lifting her head to shoot Elvira a triumphant glance.

Elvira stared at their intertwined hands, forcing her face to remain composed as her heart twisted painfully. She lifted her wine and downed the entire glass. The burn felt like nothing compared to what she felt inside.

This family dinner was nothing but a humiliating farce.

After dinner, Antonio and Camilla stayed in the living room with Elena and Vincent, chatting cheerfully like a happy family.

Elvira had no interest in pretending. She stood and walked into the garden.

The night wind brushed across her skin. It did nothing to ease the weight in her chest.

Before long, Elena followed, voice soft and sugar-coated with poison. "I've known about you and Vincent being sexual partners for three years."

Elvira's shoulders stiffened. She didn't turn around.

"To be honest, I was a little worried at first," Elena continued as she circled Elvira like a vulture, openly examining her.

"You're so beautiful. Any man would be tempted, but what a waste of a pretty face. Your mother couldn't beat my mother, and you'll never beat me. These past three years were nothing more than charity on my part. Now that the real deal is back, it's time for you to get off the stage."

Elvira slowly turned to face her. Under the moonlight, her eyes gleamed with a chilling sharpness. There was no anger, only ice-cold mockery. "Charity? Elena, did you forget what you are?

"You're a bastard who only got into this family because your mother was a homewrecker, a sad little schemer who can only hold onto a man through manipulation. You think you get to talk to me about charity?

She stepped closer, her presence overwhelming. "Your mother picked up what my mother didn't want, and you're following in her footsteps. Like mother, like daughter. You two have a real talent for collecting leftovers."

"You—"

Elena's smile froze, her face turning pale then red with rage. She hadn't expected Elvira, even in this situation, to be so stubborn.

Just as Elvira turned to leave, Elena suddenly let out a scream.

Elvira spun around to find Elena on the ground, clutching her forehead as blood soaked through her fingers and dripped down her white dress. A solid stone bench sat right next to her.

Antonio, Camilla, and Vincent rushed out at the same moment.

"Elena! My baby!"

Camilla dropped to the ground and cradled her, panic written across her face.

Antonio's face twisted with fury as he pointed at Elvira. "Elvira, you ungrateful brat! What did you do to your sister this time?"

Elvira stared at the setup, her heart numb. Her gaze swept past Antonio and Camilla before finally landing on Vincent.

He was crouched over Elena, inspecting her wound with extreme care. Concern twisted his face, then he looked up.

Those calm eyes now contained nothing but judgment and disgust.

At that moment, Elvira's heart sank in disappointment.

He didn't believe her. Of course, he didn't.

Elena was the one he cared for. Why would he believe Elvira?

She let out a soft, sudden laugh. If they wanted to frame her, then she might as well make it real.

The next second, she strode over. Under everyone's horrified stares, she grabbed a heavy ceramic planter beside the path and brought it down hard toward the exact place Elena had hit her head.

There was a dull, sickening crack, followed by Elena's shrill scream and the sound of everyone else gasping in terror.

"Listen up." Elvira dropped the shattered pot and said calmly, "I didn't touch her before, but now I did."

Everyone, including Vincent, froze. He never imagined she would go this far.

Elvira let the broken pieces fall from her hand and turned to leave, but a hand clamped down on her wrist with enough force to crush bone.

Vincent held her in place, his face darker than the night around them. He turned to Antonio, his voice icy cold. "Antonio, if she isn't properly punished after what she just did, I won't let this go. The Allen family does not tolerate anyone harming my woman."

Antonio, torn between his pity for Elena and his fear for Vincent and the Allens, quickly bobbed his head in submission. "Of course. I'll make sure she learns her lesson."

He motioned to the bodyguards. "Grab this disgraceful girl and lock her up in the basement!"

"Don't you dare!" Elvira resisted, glaring at Antonio.

She had been down there once as a child. It wasn't just a weapons vault. It was where the Corleones punished traitors and enemies, a dark and terrifying place filled with torture devices.

Antonio looked to Vincent for confirmation. "Don Allen, do you find this a fitting punishment? Locking her down there to reflect on what she's done?"

Vincent lifted Elena into his arms, her blood still flowing. His eyes were colder than steel as they swept past Elvira.

His lips parted, and the words that followed were merciless. "That's too light a punishment. I saw a riding whip hanging in the study earlier. It shouldn't just be for decoration."

Without another word, he left with Elena in his arms.

Elvira stood frozen like she'd been struck by lightning, staring at his fading figure.

He actually suggested they whip her.

This was the same man who once stayed by her bed when she was injured, who held her in silence whenever she was sad. Now, he was condemning her to a hell she couldn't escape.