Matteo understood well that I wasn’t someone who surrendered easily, yet he also knew I would never hurt someone truly innocent. Still, he didn’t give me the chance to explain. With a swift kick, he knocked me aside and scooped Sylvia into his arms before storming out.

My bodyguard hurried over to lift me, but my entire body trembled with pain. When I caught his confused gaze, I forced a small, bitter smile. As I turned, he noticed the dagger lodged deep in my back.

It wasn’t Matteo’s slap that had injured me. I wasn’t that weak. When I fell, my body had struck the knife lying on the ground. The doctor later told me the wound had missed my heart by mere inches. If it had been even a little closer, I would have died right there in front of Matteo.

After getting the injury stitched up, I refused to stay in the hospital. Besides, I had endured three knife wounds before. Tasting blood had long since become second nature to me.

When I arrived back at the estate, Matteo was sitting on the living room sofa waiting for me. He lit a cigarette and motioned for me to sit opposite him. Taking a long sigh, he then stared at me with a cold, mocking half-smile.

“My son came home with three broken fingers,” he said slowly.

My eyes shifted toward my bodyguard. He lowered his head, avoiding my gaze. I laughed carelessly, my voice dripping with disdain.

“My man was a bit reckless. So, does Don Bianchi expect me to pay the price with three fingers of my own?”

Matteo’s lips curved into a smile, but it was sharp, like a blade hidden beneath silk.

“Sylvia was so consumed by guilt that she jumped from a building. She survived … but the child she carried did not.”

“Victoria, that was my second child. And you took the child from me. Don’t you think you owe me an apology?”

I snatched the cigarette from his hand and lit one for myself. Through the swirling smoke, my lips curled into a fearless smile.

“You should be grateful I didn’t handle it personally,” I said coolly.

“It was just a fucking bastard. So what if it’s gone? Now you tell me, do you truly expect me to mourn it?”

After that, I signaled for someone to bring the divorce papers again and set them down in front of him.

“Either sign these,” I said coldly, “or one of you dies. Matteo, I trust you don’t need me to explain which choice you should make.”

Matteo didn’t reply. Instead, he smiled and calmly tore the agreement in half. He then turned, pulled out his phone and tossed it onto the table in front of me.

“I knew you wouldn’t apologize,” he said evenly.

“That’s fine. I have a special gift for you instead.”

“Victoria, I’ll have someone pull the oxygen tube from your brother’s throat.”

I froze, my breath caught in my chest. For a moment, I couldn’t even comprehend the words. Then I saw the video playing on his phone. My brother was struggling, choking, fighting for air. The sight hurt my sight, breaking the last piece of my reason.

My only brother had been lying in a hospital bed for three long years. Matteo knew better than anyone why he was there. Three years ago, that night had been pure carnage. Out of everyone Matteo had brought with him, only my brother and I had survived.

They had tied both Matteo and my brother to a massive water tank, over ten meters high and forced me to make a choice. The one I didn’t pick would be lowered into the tank to drown. The one I chose would be saved.

Everyone assumed I would choose my brother. He was my blood, my last remaining family. But my shaking hand had pointed to Matteo. Keeping him alive was my only path forward.

I would never forget my brother’s expression in that moment. It was despair and helplessness, mixed with understanding. There hadn’t been a trace of blame in his eyes.

By the time our men finally arrived and smashed open the water tank, my brother had been underwater too long. His brain had been starved of oxygen, leaving him in a vegetative state.

Matteo had dragged the best doctor in the city to his bedside at gunpoint, forcing him to save my brother. The doctor said recovery was unlikely. But as long as my brother lived, there was hope. Matteo had sworn he would take care of him for the rest of his life.

But now, for another woman, Matteo was ready to destroy that fragile hope himself.

I drew my pistol, aimed it at his head and pulled the trigger. Matteo did not duck at all, so I forced myself to miss the shot. My hands were shaking so badly that the bullet grazed his cheek and left a red line. Matteo lifted his hand and wiped the blood away.

"Victoria, stop trembling if you really want to kill someone!" he shouted.

He then continued, "You don't have to be so upset. No need for you to hate me."

"Wrong acts have costs. You killed my child, so I killed your brother. That's even, isn't it?" he asked.

How could Matteo dare to talk about evenness? What right did he have to speak like that? He was the traitor. He had thrown me into hell.

Matteo leaned close and brushed the tears from my face with a kiss.

"Victoria, you should be reasonable," he whispered.

"I won't sign the divorce, but I will give her a wedding and expose her to the world!" he added.

"You owe her that, so you must repay it!"

Repay? What could he possibly pay me back for what he'd done? He left in such a rush that he did not notice my eyes that had turned red and were burning with hatred.

I had already given him one chance. If divorce was not possible between us, then we would end as widows and widowers. People who betrayed true love did not deserve a good ending!

The wedding arrived sooner than I expected. Before my brother's body was even cold, an invitation reached me. Sylvia came in person, surrounded by dozens of guards.

"Victoria, why bother with the divorce? Matteo will marry me anyway," she mockingly said.

"You might have a piece of paper, but I have his heart," she continued.

While Sylvia’s smile looked sweet and polite, something proud and mocking was lying under it. I did not lift my eyes. Instead, I kept feeding the fish I owned. She quickly snatched the fish food from my hand, annoyed by my calm.

With a proud air, she had a gift box carried forward.

"Well, anyway. Victoria, this is a present I prepared especially for you."

I opened it and nearly lost my breath. Three blood-stained fingers sat inside. Each was marked with my brother’s unique sign.

"Victoria, don't you know? Your brother has actually woken up," she said softly.

"These fingers were cut off while he was alive!"

"He then screamed and begged Matteo to let him see you one last time!"

I smashed the fish tank with my bare hands, grabbed a shard of glass and lunged for her. Her men stopped me. But Matteo truly loved her. After all, he had given her his most capable guards. She watched my rage and helplessness with cruel delight.

Her smile grew wider.

"Victoria, the one who is unloved in a marriage is always the mistress. You have lost everything," she taunted.

"Do you want to know when you began to lose?"

She leaned close to my ear. My whole body trembled with pain. I already knew the relationship had rotted, but I had not known the truth would cut so deep.