"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."

The limousine stopped at the entrance, where the director of the hospital was already waiting. "Ms. Denaro informed us in advance. Our best doctors are waiting for her in the ward. We'll have someone take her inside."

Alessandro ignored the medical staff and placed Serafina on the bed himself.

The doctor barely spared her a glance before shouting, "The patient is unconscious! We need to commence electroconvulsive therapy."

Only then did Alessandro notice the large electric chair positioned in the room.

"But…"

He was about to say she was pregnant when Matilde suddenly stumbled at the doorway.

"My ankle hurts. I think I twisted it."

In the blink of an eye, two nurses secured Serafina to the chair.

The electric current surged through her body, and she woke with a scream, feeling like her head was about to be split open.

"Ah!"

When she opened her eyes, she saw Alessandro holding Matilde's ankle and gently rubbing it.

Everyone knew Alessandro was particular about cleanliness. If anyone other than Serafina touched his clothing, he would change into a new set immediately.

Serafina let out a quiet laugh.

As it turned out, she had never been the only exception.

In the next moment, the doctor increased the voltage again without acknowledging that she was awake. Her body convulsed violently as a warm stream of fluid ran down her thigh.

The dripping sound drew Alessandro's and Matilde's attention.

Blood pooled beneath Serafina as she pressed a trembling hand against her abdomen. She quickly realized the baby was gone.

Alessandro rushed over. "Serafina!"

The doctor's expression shifted. "Why didn't you mention she was pregnant?"

He stepped outside and called for assistance. "We need backup over here! We've got a pregnant patient who's haemorrhaging."

Five minutes passed, and no one came. By then, Serafina's face had gone pale from pain.

Alessandro stormed into the director's office and punched him. "Where is the doctor you arranged?"

The director looked confused. "What doctor?"

"The one who caused my wife to miscarry! Didn't he leave to get help?"

Back in the room, only Serafina and Matilde remained.

"Serafina, how are you feeling?"

Matilde walked over with concern. She leaned close enough that her breath brushed Serafina's ear as she whispered, "The doctor who caused your miscarriage was a fake doctor I arranged."

Serafina was still strapped down and unable to move, but her eyes burned with hatred. "Matilde, you'll pay for this!"

The door burst open just then as Alessandro and the director returned.

Matilde dropped to her knees with a loud thud and slapped herself in remorse. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have brought her here! I deserve to die for what I've done!"

She cried so convincingly that anyone who had walked in at that moment would've assumed she was the one who had just lost a child.

Serafina watched the performance without emotion.

"Then do it. Pay for my baby's life with your own."

"Serafina, calm down."

Alessandro pulled her into his arms, his heart aching as he brushed the tears from her face. "You're too emotional. That's not good for your body."

She pushed him away, her voice trembling in despair. "That was your baby, too! Don't you care at all?"

"It was an accident. Focus on recovering. We can always have another baby."

He leaned over to kiss her, intending to soothe her the way he always had before, but she refused to let him touch her.

"It wasn't an accident. She admitted to arranging for a fake doctor to cause my miscarriage!"

A flicker of doubt crossed Alessandro's eyes as he looked at Matilde. She had made comments before about not liking the fact that Serafina was pregnant.

Seeing his gaze settle on her, Matilde suddenly grabbed a pair of scissors from the nearby tray.

"It wasn't me! Alessandro, if you don't believe me, I'll prove it."

She lifted the scissors and aimed them directly at her own throat.

Alessandro reacted without a moment's pause. He caught the blade with his bare hand before it could touch her skin, and a deep gash split open across his palm.

"Enough!" he snapped.

With his uninjured hand, he held Matilde tightly, as though he were afraid she'd do something rash.

Then, he said to Serafina, "You've been under too much stress lately. In six days, I'll officially become Don of the Madonia family. You should just stayhere and focus on your recovery."

He summoned his most trusted Soldati to guard her and arranged for professional nutritionists and doctors to oversee her health and recovery.

"Let her out on the day of the succession ceremony," he instructed.

Serafina forced herself upright despite the pain. "Have you lost your mind, Alessandro? You're locking me up?"

He brushed her hair back gently. "Locking you up? That's not it. I'm just making sure you get better."

Before she could respond, Alessandro walked out with Matilde beside him, their fingers intertwined as if no one else existed.

Just before stepping through the door, Matilde turned back and gave Serafina a victorious smile.

Serafina lowered her eyes to the blood pooled on the floor and felt nothing but exhaustion.

…

The next day, the director returned with two male doctors and dismissed Alessandro's men.

One of them leered at her as he reached out to grope her. "You've been diagnosed with PTSD, haven't you? Exposure therapy works wonders in treating PTSD."

The other kept her firmly restrained. "Relax. This is legitimate treatment. We're not going to hurt you."

Serafina's voice broke as she cried, tears streaming down her face like broken chains of pearl. Her skin began to crawl as though ants were gnawing on it.

Alessandro's Soldati heard the noise and rushed in. For a moment, Serafina believed it was over, but Alessandro didn't seem to care at all.

"No one would dare touch what belongs to me. It's standard exposure therapy. Let them continue."

Serafina's heart sank as the strength drained from her body. She simply stared forward while they carried on. Eventually, the two doctors finally left, satisfied with their work.

Serafina reached for the phone her grandfather had left her and stated her second request, "I want a divorce from Alessandro."