The Moretti Family raised a stable of orphans to be its next heir. I was one of them.

But in every test, I always came out second best. Lucia always came out on top.

Then, just before the bid that would decide the heir, I was bound to a Switching System.

Comments scrolled past my eyes:

[Oh, it's over. The villainess has always been jealous of the main character, Lucia, for getting first place. She’s definitely using the system to swap their proposals!]

[Good thing Lucia can hear Olivia’s conversation with the system. She’s already planning to hand in a blank sheet of paper.]

[So what if the villainess schemes all she wants? All she’ll get is a blank page! In the end, Lucia will inherit the Moretti Family and become the new Don! So satisfying!]

Just then, the system prompted: [Please designate your switch target.]

Without a second's hesitation, I thought, "Lucia."

The moment I did, I saw Lucia shoot me a strange, triumphant look. I knew then. She'd heard everything.

But she had no idea. I wasn't swapping her proposal.

I was taking what was most precious to her.

For ten long years, I’ve been just another contender for the throne of the Moretti crime family, living in Lucia’s shadow.

In every single test, no matter how hard I worked, I was always the runner-up, the loser. And Lucia? She was always the untouchable number one.

Three days before the presentation for the Brooklyn docks contract—the final test that would decide the Family’s heir—a cold, mechanical voice echoed in my mind:

[Ding! "Switching System" bound. Host has one chance to switch anything. Use it wisely.]

“Anything? Even our bid proposals?”

[Of course. Please designate your switch target.]

I took a deep breath and answered in my head, “Lucia.”

I looked up, just in time to see her at the end of the hall.

She was wearing an expensive designer dress, the smugness practically rolling off her in waves. She let out a soft, scornful laugh.

I knew. She had definitely heard my conversation with the system.

She was waiting for me to make the foolish move and switch her proposal.

After all, I was the other candidate, the one who could never measure up. The Don and his wife never had eyes for me.

I used to think I just wasn't good enough, that I hadn't done enough.

Until the comments appeared:

[It’s kinda sad for Olivia, though. She has no idea she was the real number one in every family test. Don Vincenzo and her adoptive mother, Emma, falsified the results to prop up Lucia.]

[Yeah, well, Lucia looks just like their daughter who died. That's one of the main character's perks! All the villainess gets to do is be jealous, haha!]

[Once Lucia wins this bid and is locked in as the heir, Olivia will be thrown out of the Family and end up dead in a ditch.]

My breath caught in my throat. My blood ran cold.

So… I was the real number one.

No wonder Lucia was always one step ahead, no matter how hard I trained.

No matter what I did, all I ever got was ridicule from Lucia and her circle.

She’d even had her lackeys put rocks in my food, throw ice water on me, and rip my clothes.

I’ll never forget the way she’d look down on me.

“Olivia, if I catch you trying to take first place from me again, I’ll make you suffer.”

“You should know your place. How many times have you ever won against me? Not once.”

Just because I’m the “villainess,” I’m supposed to be her stepping stone?

In that moment, I made my choice.

I would not be thrown out. I would not end up dead in a ditch.

Because I wasn't going to switch Lucia's proposal. I was going to take what was most precious to her.

At dinner, the air in the Moretti manor’s dining room was thick with the smell of expensive truffles and red wine.

Don Vincenzo and my adoptive mother, Emma, were gently placing food on Lucia’s plate. They looked like a perfect family. And me? I was just an outsider at the far end of the long table.

“Olivia,” Lucia said, daintily dabbing her lips with a napkin, her challenging gaze meeting mine. “For the Brooklyn docks contract, my proposal has the backing of the Family’s best advisors. How’s… yours coming along?”

Her eyes were full of bait, practically begging me: Go on, switch it. Come and steal it.

The Don and Emma watched her with doting eyes.

Only I knew they weren't really seeing Lucia; they were seeing someone else in her face.

My grip on my knife and fork tightened. I let a look of jealousy flicker across my face. “I’m working on it, but it’s not going well…”

Seeing my “jealousy,” the triumph in Lucia’s eyes grew.

She was convinced I’d taken the bait, that I was ready to switch her proposal at any moment.

And if that was the case, she didn't need to waste another second thinking about the bid.

Late that night, I saw Lucia leave, dressed to kill. I followed her quietly.

She ended up in a district of flashy bars and neon lights.

The bass was a physical punch, the colored lights pulsing wildly.

I spotted her immediately in the most lavish VIP booth on the second floor.

She was wearing a skimpy, sequined dress, draped all over some guy’s lap.

“Lucia, baby, shouldn’t you be prepping for the Family bid in a few days?” the man asked with a smirk, his hand on her waist.

“The bid? That boring thing is already taken care of,” Lucia slurred, her face flushed and her eyes hazy. She laughed and downed her drink in one go. “That idiot Olivia will ‘take care’ of everything for me. Tonight, we’re just having fun!”

In the flashing lights, I got a clear look at the man’s face.

He was a lieutenant from a rival family. Lucia was so lost in her fun she’d dropped all her guards.

Or maybe the Don and Emma’s coddling had made her so arrogant she didn’t think she needed any.

I took a few pictures with my phone, then turned and left in silence.

Lucia was about to pay the price for underestimating me.

To keep Lucia from suspecting anything, I spent the next two days projecting an air of total confidence.

Whenever anyone asked, I told them my proposal was ready to go.

I even started going out, making a show of having fun.

But late at night, when the whole manor was dead silent, I would hide under my thick blankets with only a small reading lamp on.

I pored over a decade’s worth of shipping data from the Brooklyn docks, black market trade records, and the territories of every major crew in New York.

My fingers flew across the keyboard, perfecting a truly flawless bid proposal, piece by piece.

My eyes burned, and a dull throb started behind my eyes from the exhaustion.

But I didn’t stop.

This was my one chance to prove myself.

The day of the bid arrived.

A storm was brewing over New York, the heavy sky threatening to crush the city.

I walked alone toward the manor’s conference hall, dressed in a sharp, black suit dress, a leather portfolio with my proposal tucked under my arm.

The entrance to the hall was already packed.

Lucia stood at the center of the crowd, shining like a diamond.

She wore a priceless diamond necklace—a gift from Emma.

Standing beside her were the Don, Vincenzo, and his wife, Emma.

“Lucia, just relax today. You’ve always been the best,” Emma said, gently stroking Lucia’s hair with a look of pure love.

Vincenzo offered a rare, warm smile and clapped Lucia on the shoulder. “The future of the Moretti Family will be yours soon enough.”

Of course. In their eyes, this bid was just a formality. The position of heir was already Lucia’s.

I was used to this scene by now.

As I approached, the chattering crowd fell silent.

Emma turned to me. The warmth in her eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by the usual coldness. “Olivia, why are you so late? Have you no respect for what today represents?”

“My apologies, Emma. It’s my fault,” I said, lowering my head obediently.

I never used to understand why the Don and Emma disliked me so much.

But thanks to the comments over the last few days, I knew the answer:

Lucia was constantly telling them, in ways both subtle and overt, how arrogant and disobedient I was behind their backs, how I even bullied her.

They felt sorry for her, so naturally, they despised me, even when I showed more leadership potential.

[I’m starting to feel bad for the villainess… The Don and his wife are so cold to her.]

[I don’t care, she’s still in the wrong! Besides, if she didn't try to switch the proposal, how could we get the satisfaction of our main character putting her in her place?]

[But… is she really going to switch it? She seemed to be working really hard these past few days, not like she was planning on coasting… It’s Lucia who’s been fooling around with guys. She's the one who seems to be slipping…]

I couldn’t help but smile.

Finally, someone in the comments was starting to get it.

But to Lucia, my smile meant something else entirely.

She sneered at me in her usual arrogant, patronizing tone.

“What are you smiling about, Olivia? Feeling that confident?”

I kept my expression neutral. “It’s fine. And you?”

She leaned in close, whispering so only I could hear, “I’ll tell you the truth. The Don already saw my proposal last night. He loved it. You think you still have a chance?”

As she spoke, she stared right into my eyes.

She was completely sure of herself.

She was laying it on thick, trying to tempt me into the switch.

Faced with her provocation and the mocking stares from everyone around, I simply lifted my chin, met her victorious gaze, and smiled.

“Is that so? Well, we’ll see. Good luck, Lucia.”

Lucia froze for a second, clearly not expecting that reaction. But she quickly dismissed it as my last pathetic attempt at bravado.

I turned and walked into the conference hall as if I were walking onto a battlefield.

I’d been losing for ten years. This time, I was going to win.

Everyone was seated. Soon, the Don's aide, Marcus, collected the portfolios from both me and Lucia.

During the long wait before the results were announced, the atmosphere in the hall grew tense.

The room was filled with Moretti capos, leaders of allied crews, and even representatives from the Five Families, all standing around with champagne, talking in low voices.

“You hear? This Brooklyn docks contract controls the smuggling routes for the next ten years.”

“Miss Lucia came prepared this time. I heard she hired a team of Wall Street’s top analysts.”

Just then, one of Lucia’s biggest sycophants raised his voice and asked with a grin, “Lucia, give us a hint. What kind of profits is your proposal projecting for the Family?”

Lucia swirled the red wine in her glass, her eyes sweeping over the crowd.

“Not much,” she said confidently. “A conservative estimate is a net profit of 300 million in the first year alone.”

A collective hiss of astonishment filled the room.

Three hundred million!

That was far more than any project in the Moretti Family’s history. It was a record-breaking figure.

“As expected of Miss Lucia! A natural-born leader!”

“The Don has a worthy successor!”

Basking in the flattery, Lucia’s ego swelled. She raised an eyebrow, her malicious gaze cutting through the crowd to land on me in the corner.

“Oh, but we’re only talking about me,” Lucia said, sashaying over to me on her high heels, deliberately drawing everyone’s attention. “Olivia, what about your proposal? How much do you think you’ll bring the Family?”

All eyes snapped to me, filled with judgment, disdain, and morbid curiosity.

I set down my glass of water and looked up calmly, meeting her gaze. “My proposal,” I said flatly, “is projected to be worth ‘about’ the same. Around 300 million.”

The word “about” was all the confirmation Lucia needed. A triumphant certainty flashed in her eyes. To her, this was just me setting the stage for the switch.

She smiled at me, her voice dripping with meaning. “‘About’ 300 million? Heh, Olivia, I can’t wait to see it.”

“It seems the future heir to the Family will be decided between us after all.”

“All the big players from New York’s families are here today to witness the birth of the next Don of the Moretti Family. I hope you’ll be able to handle the outcome, Olivia.”

She could hardly wait to see the look of despair on my face when the Don opened my portfolio and found a blank page.

Which was exactly what I wanted.

I lowered my head slightly to hide the cold smile on my lips. “I’m looking forward to it, too.”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The heavy sound of a cane striking the floor echoed through the hall.

The noisy room fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Don Vincenzo emerged from the back, his expression severe.

His sharp gaze swept the room, softening almost imperceptibly when it landed on Lucia.

“Today, we decide the future heir of the Moretti Family,” Vincenzo’s voice was deep and resonant, carrying an authority that could not be questioned. “To ensure fairness, I will open both proposals here and now, and after careful consideration, I will announce the result myself.”

He reached out and picked up the first file, the one with “Lucia” written on it.

“First, Lucia’s proposal.”

Vincenzo’s face held a confident smile.

I knew that, if things went as they always did, he would praise Lucia to the high heavens, even if my proposal was clearly superior.

But this time, he was in for a disappointment.

The moment the Don pulled out the paper, the hall erupted in a collective gasp.

It was a blank sheet.