Late at night, my phone buzzed with a photo.
Against a dim background, Giuliana was bare from the waist up, wearing nothing but a necklace around her throat. It was the diamond necklace Vito placed on me himself when he proposed. He told me it symbolized the Madre of the Corti family.
Below the photo, Giuliana's taunting message read, "Madre, the Don says this necklace looks better on me than it ever did on you."
My chest tightened, and my breath stopped. I remembered that afternoon years ago in this very study, when Vito lifted this necklace from an antique velvet box and fastened it around my neck.
"Gia, wear this, and you'll be the only mistress of my life."
His gaze back then was tender and focused. Now, this symbol of devotion had become another woman's weapon against me.
I gripped my phone until my knuckles turned white, consumed by one thought—I was taking it back.
I changed clothes, grabbed my car keys, and headed for the door. Two towering Soldati blocked my path.
"Madre, you cannot leave the estate without the Don's orders."
Their expressions remained blank. I studied them. These men were guards I personally selected for Vito, and now they'd become the bars of my cage.
My voice came out cold. "Move."
They didn't budge. "It's the Don's orders."
I pulled a knife from my boot. The blade flashed once before burying itself in the left Soldato's thigh. Before he could scream, I had the blade pressed against the other man's throat.
"Unless you want to lose a leg like him, get out of my way."
My voice carried a long-forgotten edge of violence. They'd forgotten that before I became Vito's Madre, I was the Corti family's most ruthless Capo.
Both of them went pale. They exchanged a glance and silently stepped aside.
I drove to Vito's usual private club. The moment I pushed open the suite door, lewd music and the sharp stench of alcohol hit me.
Vito sprawled deep in the couch cushions with a careless expression while Giuliana's dress hung half off, bunched loosely at her waist and exposing bare skin to the air. She kneeled submissively at his feet in a posture both degrading and obscene.
That expensive diamond necklace wrapped around her throat while Vito wound the chain around his fingers like a leash, pulling it back carelessly to force her head up. Instead of resisting this humiliating control, Giuliana smiled wider and obediently lifted her wine glass to his lips.
The room went silent when I walked in.
Vito's brow furrowed. "What are you doing here?"
I ignored him and walked straight to Giuliana. She shrank into Vito's arms, though her eyes blazed with defiance.
I held out my hand, my voice flat. "Give me the necklace."
Giuliana's voice turned cloying. "Madre, what are you talking about? This was a gift from the Don. If you want it, you should ask him."
Her fingers stroked the necklace at her throat with obvious satisfaction. I turned to Vito and waited for his answer.
His expression went cold. "Gia, go home."
I ignored him and moved toward Giuliana. "Take it off."
Vito's patience snapped. He surged to his feet and clamped down on my wrist with enough force to crush bone.
"I told you to go home. Are you deaf? It's just a necklace. She likes it, so I gave it to her. As Madre, don't you have more dignity than this?"
"Dignity?" I swallowed the pain and stared at this man who'd made me so many promises. A cold laugh escaped me.
"What belongs to me can rot in hell before I let trash wear it."
I wrenched free of his grip and lunged at Giuliana. She screamed and tried to scramble back, but I grabbed the necklace and yanked hard. Gemstones and pearls scattered across the floor in a chaotic, musical clatter.
Giuliana clutched her reddened throat and shrieked, diving behind Vito. Vito roared. "Have you lost your mind?"
I clutched the main diamond I'd torn free and watched Giuliana cower. Finally, I smiled.
I tossed the diamond into the trash. "Now it's garbage. If you care so much, fish it out and give it to her."
While Vito stood there stunned, I held my head high and walked out of the suite, crushing pearls beneath my heels.
