Only after everyone had left did I, with trembling hands, light myself a cigarette.

Ten years.

I had seen too much of the world’s fickleness and experienced countless betrayals.

I thought I had long become numb.

But the pain Frank Toscano brought was still so sharp.

He was Frank… the man who had once been willing to trade his life for mine.

That night, Uncle Carlo’s club was smashed to pieces.

Uncle Carlo was taken away by ambulance, but fortunately, his life wasn't in danger.

I clenched my fists. Uncle Carlo was one of my father’s old guards. In Chicago, who wouldn’t show him some respect?

Of course, I knew who did it.

Frank Toscano. He was publicly declaring war on me.

I had the driver take me back to the villa.

As I hung my bag in the entryway, a small medicine bottle rolled out.

I picked it up and couldn't help but laugh mockingly.

For the past three months, I had been recuperating and getting my body in shape.

I had wanted to come back and give Frank a surprise.

I never expected that he was the one with a huge gift for me.

I sat in the living room for a long time before dialing an unfamiliar number.

“Interested in making a deal?”

The next day, I was awakened by a call from Aria Donovan.

Her usually calm voice was laced with a rare urgency.

“The situation is bad. Frank has been using peripheral members to build up his own power over the years. The Capos of several districts have been bought by him. All of our Ventura family’s old guard have been transferred away from key positions under various excuses.”

“And the family businesses—several long-term partners have terminated their contracts and signed with another company instead. I haven’t been able to find out what connection that company has to Frank.”

I sneered coldly, “No need to check. It’s definitely him.”

I was so stupid not to have seen his ambition sooner.

Without my realizing it, the entire Ventura family had been completely hollowed out by Frank Toscano.

I rushed to the family’s real estate company, only to be stopped by an unfamiliar receptionist.

“I’m sorry, miss. Mr. Toscano has given orders that besides him, only Miss Ruby can go to the top floor.”

I frowned. Without a second word, Aria pulled the gun from her waist and pressed it to the receptionist's head.

The receptionist was too scared to utter a word, only able to watch as I stepped into the exclusive elevator.

I heard another person exclaim from behind.

“Are you crazy? That’s Sophia Ventura.”

“Which Sophia?”

“Sophia of the Ventura family. Even if Frank is the boss now, this building, this empire, is named Ventura!”

Ignoring the secretary's attempts to stop me, I kicked open the door to Frank’s office.

Ruby Harlow was sitting on his lap, her face flushed, feeding him grapes one by one, her fingertips brushing his lips suggestively.

Seeing me, she scrambled to stand up but was pushed back down by Frank.

My heart still pricked as if by a needle at the sight of their brazen intimacy.

“Get out.”

Frank patted her back reassuringly. Ruby Harlow shot me a venomous glare before walking out.

Frank lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair.

“Sophia, you understand as well as I do that we’ve come this far, there’s too much between us. Forcing a fight to the bitter end won’t do anyone any good.”

“You’ve been tired all these years. Isn’t it better to just rest and recuperate?”

As he spoke, he gently reached out, trying to touch my hand.

I pulled away in disgust. “Don’t touch me with the hand that just touched that bitch. It’s filthy.”

Frank’s expression changed. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that.”

Seeing him defend her so fiercely, my heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, the pain making it hard to breathe.

He stood up, looking down at me.

“Sophia, be a good girl. I will still give you the honor of being Mrs. Toscano.”

He handed me a power transfer agreement.

“And you can investigate all you want. I’ve pretty much cleaned out the Ventura family’s old guard. A smart person knows what choice to make. Things are different now.”

I sneered and threw the stack of papers in his face.

“Frank Toscano, don’t you forget how you got everything you have today. You think you’re worthy?”

His face turned ashen, the veins bulging on his arms. “Then let’s see about that.”

I left without a backward glance.

From that day on, Frank was determined to teach me a lesson.

Those loyal to me were dealt with under various pretexts.

Our territories were harassed every other day.

A group of men even stormed into Uncle Carlo’s hospital room and trashed it.

Even Aria was ambushed on the street, nearly losing her life.

I balled my fists so tightly they cracked, nearly shattering my teeth from gritting them so hard.

If this was how it was going to be, then the last bit of affection between us was gone.