POV Isabella

Julian did something I never imagined he would do during his tenure as underboss.

He issued astronomical bonuses to his men, hosted a lavish banquet on a private yacht, and flaunted his wealth to the entire underground world to celebrate his new marriage to Sophia.

I returned to headquarters to finalize the last details of the share documents, but froze at the door of my office.

My mahogany desk and files had all been cleared out. Sophia was sitting leisurely in the brand-new leather chair, blowing on her freshly painted nails.

My most loyal subordinate, Mia, whispered with red eyes: "He used the name of the underboss to give your office to her."

I didn't let my face show any emotion. I turned and walked down the hallway to a windowless storage room. "Bring my encrypted laptop and secure line here."

In less than an hour, I transformed this long-dusty storage room into a secure tactical command center.

The sharp ring of the phone broke the silence in the room.

The caller was Mrs. Moretti, the widow of a loyal, made family member. Her husband had bled and died for the family. She was crying so violently that she could barely form a complete sentence.

Between intermittent sobs, she told me that her elderly mother had just taken her own life. They had lost their home and all their savings, and it was all because of a gang dispute—a dispute I was supposed to mediate.

I abruptly hung up the phone and immediately bypassed the firewall of the family's encrypted ledgers.

I spent hours digging through digital archives and finally found the key evidence: Julian's digital signature. He had handed the prepared defense materials over to Sophia.

Digging deeper, following the trail of electronic bills, I found a large overseas bank transfer. Sophia had accepted a massive bribe from a rival gang and intentionally botched the mediation.

She sold out a loyal widow for a mere sum of money.

I stood up abruptly, the chair crashing against the wall with a loud bang.

I stormed out of the storage room and kicked open the heavy double doors of the executive suite.

Julian and Sophia remained unmoved; they were casually flipping through a catalog of luxury watches.

I slammed the freshly printed ledger onto the table, shattering their peaceful scene.

"You broke Omertà! Because of your greedy ignorance, you killed a loyal family member!"

Julian calmly blocked Sophia behind him and said lightly, "It's just a rookie mistake." He pulled out a thick stack of cash and threw it on the table. "Give that family some compensation to shut them up."

A deathly silence spread.

"Is this your loyalty to the sacred laws?" My voice was as low as ice. The man I once loved was dead; standing here right now was just a stranger consumed by arrogance. I said nothing more, turned, and left.

I drove for hours, the roaring engine filling the void left by my shattered life. Finally, I drove up a winding mountain road to our former secret base.

It was a hidden cliff overlooking the glittering lights of the city territory.

Julian and I used to come here late at night to settle the accounts of the dock smuggling routes.

I parked the car, walked to the edge of the cliff, and let the biting wind whip against my face. Time seemed to freeze in this moment.

I should have known he would track my encrypted GPS.

The crunch of pine needles let me know Sophia had emerged from the shadows of the woods.

Accumulating years of toxic resentment, her face twisted: "I have always hated you."

"My father was humiliated and lost his position because of your stupid rules. I didn't sleep with Julian out of love. My only motive was to strip away your power and steal your family boss."

I sneered: "You think he's a prize? Julian doesn't deserve that name. He's nothing but a weak, incompetent man who only thinks with his lower half."

The sound of a snapped branch echoed, and Julian walked out of the dark woods, following closely behind her.

"I'm tired of your cold rules." He shamelessly admitted to eavesdropping on our conversation.

He wrapped his arm around Sophia's waist, pulling her tightly to his side. "I prefer her. She's bold and dangerous."

I turned my head away, my gaze falling on the scattered glow of the city lights below, remaining silent.

In that silence, I finally understood that there was an irreconcilable contradiction between our understandings of survival and loyalty. I clearly accepted one fact: this territory no longer belonged to me.

I turned and walked back to the car, leaving them without looking back.