Alessandro held Serafina in his arms, yet his gaze kept drifting toward the corridor. By the time his assistant arrived, Serafina had already fainted from the pain.

"If you'd been a few minutes later, the baby's heartbeat would've stopped."

The doctor chided Alessandro as she adjusted the IV, and he nodded without really listening, his eyes still drifting toward the hallway.

Serafina knew exactly who and what he was waiting for. The realization irritated her so deeply that she closed her eyes and pretended she hadn't woken up.

Only then did he seem to notice the crease between her brows.

She hadn't smiled since the wedding, and he found himself thinking that once she woke, he'd take her somewhere to relax.

As he reached out to smooth her forehead, a faint scent of white magnolia drifted in.

Matilde stood at the door.

Alessandro lifted a finger, signaling her to keep quiet.

She lowered her voice, though the disappointment in her tone was obvious. "So the baby's fine?"

He glanced past her. "Where's Niccolo?"

"He went to the office. Are you worried about her?"

"Not here."

"Why not? I'll say whatever I want, whenever I want! Why does she get to bear your child first?"

Matilde threw herself into his arms, kissing him without restraint.

Her fur coat slid from her shoulders, exposing the lace camisole underneath. The sound of their kisses filled the room.

Just as her hand moved toward his belt, Alessandro groped her butt. "Enough. Go back. Wait for me tonight."

She rose onto her toes as if she meant to continue, but he picked up the coat, wrapped it around her again, and pressed a brief kiss to her forehead.

"Don't overthink it. You know I only love you."

After sending Matilde away, Alessandro leaned against the wall in the corridor and lit a cigarette.

Inside the room, Serafina slowly opened her eyes, and a tear slid down the side of her face.

She'd never pretended to be gentle. When they first started seeing each other, she'd said, "Even if I'm not gentle, even if there are things I have to do and can't be completely honest about, would you still accept me?"

Back then, Alessandro had tenderly reassured her, "That's what makes you cool."

Now, she realized perhaps he hadn't meant it at all.

Once, Serafina had thought he was like the sun, warming her and lighting the way through her confusion.

Alas, the sun had never belonged to her.

She wiped away her tears and quickly texted her private investigator. "The gate code is 9749. Install the pinhole cameras now. The sooner the better."

Serafina gripped her phone, lost in thought, not knowing how to begin sorting the storm of emotions inside her.

Just then, the door opened again.

"Serafina."

Alessandro strode toward her, moving as if he meant to pull her into his arms. "How are you feeling—"

"Don't come any closer!" Serafina shouted.

Every nerve in her body recoiled from his touch.

A flicker of hurt, layered with unmistakable worry and fear, crossed Alessandro's eyes. "What's wrong, Serafina?"

Alba happened to walk in with some food and froze when she saw this. She said worriedly, "Ms. Greco used to have a physical aversion to men. It looks like it's happening again."

Alessandro tamped down the irritation rising in him and deliberately stepped back. "Don't be afraid. I'll stay right here," he said gently.

Serafina looked at the tenderness on his face, and her mind drifted back to the first time they met four years ago.

When news of the alliance between the Greco and Madonia families first broke, the entire city turned it into a wager. The notorious Madonia heir and the untouchable Serafina—who would call it off first?

No one expected Alessandro to trade in his silver hair for a sleek black side part and repeatedly send word through his secretary that he had something important to give her.

He'd sought her out 99 times. On the 100th, she finally allowed him to stand within 15 feet of her.

She only needed one glance to see what he was holding.

It was her diary, the one she'd lost years ago, the one that carried her happiest memories with Cosima, and the one she'd searched for a decade.

He brought her back to every scene written in those pages, carefully recreating the moments, and little by little, the ice around her heart began to melt.

The final entry led them to Nadoria.

Under fireworks that lit up the sky, Alessandro dropped to one knee, gentle and devout like a believer at prayer.

Her heart had opened like those fireworks, and then came the wedding that everyone talked about.

Now, looking at his concerned expression, she felt as if she were looking at a stranger.

Still, this wasn't the time to unravel it.

She'd prepared for this day for five full years. She remembered Cosima's wish to revive Gambino Group as well as her warning that Serafina shouldn't rely on anyone but herself.

At this, she called her secretary. "Notify everyone that the press conference this afternoon will proceed as scheduled."

"Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for attending the launch of Cosima AI."

Applause swept through the venue as Serafina stood on stage and spoke with calm confidence, drawing steady gasps from the audience below.

"This emotional AI system, named by my mother, represents the purest and most flawless love in the world. It will be integrated into our latest companion-style simulation robots. The first batch starts at 8 million dollars, and is limited to 100 units. The bidding begins now."

…

As the numbers climbed higher and higher, tears welled in Serafina's eyes.

She'd gambled everything, pouring all of the Gambino Group's assets into this research team, and she'd been right.

Serafina was about to turn the tide. Years of suppression, Cosima's humiliation, and the secret she'd carried for so long would finally be washed away after today.

When the final unit price was locked at 50 million dollars, she steadied herself and walked toward the podium.

She was about to announce that this successful investment belonged entirely to the once-renowned Gambino Group.

Just as her fingers brushed the microphone, Niccolo stepped forward and took it first.

"Thank you, Serafina, for this thoughtful wedding gift for your sister-in-law. I didn't expect you to put in so much effort, even naming it after our mother so she could bless us from above."

The large screen displayed a patent transfer agreement stamped with the Gambino Group's official seal and Serafina's signature.

The transferee was Matilde.

Serafina went still. For five years, she'd conducted this research in secret to prevent interference from the Greco family. How had he known?

Unless…

Her eyes snapped toward the audience. The one man who had ever made her heart skip was right there, watching her quietly, as if he was waiting for her to demand an explanation from him.

Serafina didn't know how she made it off the stage.

She didn't know how she slipped the sapphire ring off her finger either. All she knew was that it struck the ground in front of Alessandro with a sharp crack.

He froze for a second, then bent down and picked it up, gently brushing the dust from its surface.

"What is it? You're not afraid of getting close to me anymore?"

He reached out casually, as if to take her hand, but the moment he saw the tears streaming down her face, he stopped.

In all these years, he had never seen Serafina cry.

His chest heaved, and something crept into his heart, a hint of panic he didn't even seem aware of.

"Amore mio, it was urgent. The company Niccolo planned to give Matilde ran into trouble. Since you had your launch today, we borrowed your research for now."

When she didn't respond, he lifted his hand to wipe away her tears.

"Do you have any idea how much it hurts me to see you cry?

"I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd get upset, and it would affect the baby. As for Gambino Group, I'll figure out a way to help you revive it. But without this gesture of goodwill from the Greco family, the Denaro family wouldn't acknowledge Matilde."

Serafina avoided his touch and shouted, "Whether the Denaro family acknowledges her has nothing to do with me!"

Alessandro's brows drew together slightly. "Serafina, you've always been levelheaded. Why are you being so petty now? She's your sister-in-law. Her reputation affects the future of the Greco family."

Serafina kept backing up until she caught sight of Matilde walking onto the stage to speak.

The last thread of restraint inside her snapped.

She grabbed the wine glass nearest to her and hurled it at Alessandro, then the vase and the display pieces she had arranged with such care.

Alessandro didn't dodge. He caught each item in silence.

Red wine soaked into his white shirt, spreading across the fabric, and the stark contrast only accentuated his striking features.

The crowd began to close in. As men pressed nearer, Serafina felt nausea surge up violently, and she started retching uncontrollably.

Her female bodyguards rushed in, pushing the approaching men aside, but as Serafina straightened, she saw Matilde looking at her from the stage, a provocative smile curling at the edges of her lips.

Serafina felt her blood boil. She stormed onto the stage, seized Matilde by the hair, and yanked hard, trying to drag her down.

Gasps rippled through the venue.

At the same time, Alessandro and Niccolo gave the same order in unison. "Pull Serafina away!"

In an instant, two groups of tall bodyguards surged forward and overwhelmed Serafina's female guards one by one.

A dark wave of bodies closed in around her. In the chaos, someone tore at her gown, and the fabric ripped. Under the harsh spotlight, her body was laid bare.

Serafina trembled as she tried to push herself up, but she was knocked down again and again. Sweaty hands reached for her like snakes, and tears streamed down her face as she backed away in fear.

"Ora basta!"

A gunshot cracked through the air, and everyone halted.

Alessandro stood there with a gun raised, his expression ice-cold, the pressure in the room dropping so sharply that no one dared make a sound.

He moved through the crowd until he reached her and draped his suit jacket over her shoulders.

When she lifted her eyes to him, the frost in her gaze made him stiffen.

Serafina shrugged his suit jacket off.

She pulled the coat from one of her female bodyguards and wrapped it tightly around herself before walking away under their protection.

Through the crowd, her voice carried back to him.

"Alessandro Madonia, I regret ever meeting you."

The moment she was in the car, Serafina wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed uncontrollably.

Years of effort had come to nothing, and years of love had ended in betrayal.

In that instant, she wanted nothing more than to throw herself into Cosima's arms the way she had as a child.

But Cosima had left this world because of a man's betrayal, too.

The car slowly rolled to a stop. Thinking of the scheme between Alessandro and Matilde that was about to succeed, Serafina slowly wiped her face dry.

The first thing she did after returning to the Greco residence was check the pinhole cameras the private investigator had installed.

Just as she was done confirming everything was working, Niccolo kicked the door open.

"Serafina, come out here! If Alessandro hadn't told me about your research, I wouldn't have known you were holding something back.

"Stop dreaming about taking Greco Group. No matter how capable you think you are, it'll never belong to you. Greco Group won't be inherited by the granddaughter of our father's killer!"

Serafina's heart sank.

If she were the granddaughter of their father's killer, then what was he? The son of the man who drove Cosima to death?

In Niccolo's eyes, she had always been an outsider.

What he didn't know was that Greco Group was already hers. She never needed to take it.

Cosima's final words pricked at her nerves. "Don't tell your brother… You grew up together. From now on, you're the only family each of you has left."

A quiet laugh escaped her. She had no family left.

After all these years of endurance, Serafina was exhausted.

The Niccolo she knew had died the summer she was 13. Only she had kept pretending otherwise, thinking they could go back to how things were.

Serafina took out the phone she had once believed she would never need and dialed the only number stored inside.

"Don Graviano, my grandfather once said I could ask you to fulfill three requests. Is that still true?"

After receiving confirmation, she continued steadily, "For the first request, I'd like you reveal the truth about the Greco family's succession at the Don succession ceremony in six days."

Just as she finished speaking, Alessandro entered. "What truth?"

Serafina's bodyguard blocked him at the door. "Mr. Madonia, Ms. Greco has instructed that she'll be keeping her distance from men for the time being."

Serafina stood by the window, her posture straight. It was as though she had returned to the distant, untouchable woman she had been four years ago.

When she turned to face him, the iciness in her gaze made his heart clench.

He took a deep breath and handed his personal seal to the bodyguard. "I know you're upset. To make it up to you, you can take whatever you like."

She stared at the seal, lost in thought. With it, transferring the assets she had left under his control would be much easier.

They held each other's gaze in silence until the sound of high heels approached.

"Serafina, why were you being so hasty today?"

Matilde walked in wearing Alessandro's suit jacket. She held her phone up in satisfaction.

"Look at this. Your photos and videos are all over the internet. Do you know how bad this looks for the Greco family?"

On the screen, a man mocked Serafina as he reached toward her tugged-open collar. "You have an aversion to men, huh? Cut the act! I'm going to have a taste of you today."

The video continued to play.

Serafina's face turned pale as her blood went cold, and she struggled to breathe.

Her bodyguard quickly gave her medication, but she still clutched her chest, the pain rendering her speechless.

Alessandro's expression shifted. He grabbed the phone and smashed it against the floor. "Stop provoking her!"

Matilde's eyes reddened at once, and she sobbed, "I didn't mean to…"

Seeing Serafina on the verge of collapsing, Alessandro picked her up and put her in the car. "To the hospital!"

Matilde got into the car as well. "Take her to my brother's psychiatric hospital. It's the best in Astora," she said.

At those words, Serafina struggled to get up.

From the back seat, Matilde ruthlessly pinned her against the seat, her eyes flashing with obsession. "Don't worry, Serafina. I'll make sure you're assigned the best doctors."