The moment those words left his mouth, the last shred of warmth in Bianca's heart vanished without a trace.
She never imagined Dante would go this far for Viviana.
A sharp sting flooded her eyes. Her throat locked tight, and she forced herself to stay standing. The conference room had gone quiet in the way rooms only went quiet when blood was in the water. Even the bodyguard posted by the far door had stopped shifting his weight.
Dante glanced at Bianca, a flicker of guilt crossing his face.
"I apologize for my wife's conduct. I'll personally bear all losses suffered by the Marino crew. Please... forgive her."
Before he even finished, Vittorio Marino hurled the stack of documents straight at Bianca. The papers hit her chest and scattered across the floor, and not one person in the room moved to pick them up.
"Personally bear it? With what?"
"Forget the case involving two hundred million in claims. Marino Holdings' stock price tanked today alone. How exactly do you plan to cover that?" He cracked the knuckle of his right index finger, the sound sharp as a pistol slide in the silence.
"Bellandi, and you had the nerve to call yourself some undefeated attorney. What a joke. You'll be hearing from my lawyers."
Tears pooled at the rims of her eyes. Her throat was raw and parched. She clenched her jaw so hard her teeth ached, every breath a trembling sliver of pain. Bianca's voice shook as she spoke.
"Mr. Marino, I'm begging you, trust me just this once. I swear on my career, I had nothing to do with this."
"Give me two days. I will find the truth."
Vittorio cut her off, his patience spent.
"Bianca Bellandi, you really have no shame."
"Your own husband already admitted it, and you're still trying to weasel your way out? Instead of groveling here, you'd better start thinking about how you're going to handle the investigation."
He shoved her aside and stormed out. The bodyguard at the door stepped back to let the capo pass, then resumed his post as if nothing had happened.
Vincent Rinaldi fixed Bianca with a vicious glare.
"Bianca, do you have any idea how much trouble you've brought down on this firm?"
"Well? How do you propose we fix this?"
Bianca turned and looked around. Every single colleague was pointing, whispering, their voices carrying just enough to reach her.
"So Bianca's been sleeping with clients to land her cases. Guess that explains a lot."
"She always looked so prim and proper. Turns out she's been playing all kinds of games behind closed doors. Poor Mr. Vitale, marrying someone like that."
"I always said there was no way someone that young could be that good. Dirty tricks, obviously. Disgusting. Can't believe I've been working alongside her."
Bianca stood trapped between Vincent and Viviana, forced to absorb every whisper and sneer. The fluorescent hum of the conference room lights seemed to grow louder, filling the space their respect had vacated.
Viviana's lips curled upward, her eyes bright with undisguised mockery.
Bianca looked at Vincent. She had always been composed, but now her voice was nothing but tremors.
"Vincent, we've worked together for years. You don't trust me either?"
Vincent looked at her, then at Viviana, and spoke in a low, measured tone. He removed his glasses and polished the lenses with his pocket square, taking his time.
"Bianca, the evidence is right in front of us. I'd be a fool not to believe it."
"This isn't just about Marino's people needing answers. The firm needs answers too."
Viviana smiled faintly.
"If you ask me, Vincent, the simplest solution is to let Counselor Bellandi leave the firm."
"It's the only way to keep her from dragging the rest of us down."
The words hit Bianca like a physical blow. She couldn't believe Viviana intended to destroy her completely. She opened her mouth to speak, but Dante cut in first.
"That works. I'll compensate Marino and the firm for their losses on her behalf. But I have one condition."
"After she's gone, Viviana takes her position."
His signet ring was perfectly still against his thumb. No rolling, no fidgeting. Just a man who had already decided and saw no reason to pretend otherwise.
Vincent considered this for a moment, then nodded.
"Fine. Bianca, for the sake of our years together, I'll let you resign on your own terms."
Bitterness surged through her chest.
Just like that, in a handful of sentences, they had decided her fate. A sit-down she hadn't been invited to, conducted right in front of her face.
Not the husband she had devoted herself to. Not the colleague she had trusted with her life. Not a single one of them had spared a thought for how she felt.
All they wanted was to push her out the door fast enough to make room for Viviana.
Something seized Bianca's heart and squeezed. The bitterness spread through her veins like poison. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Her face was white. She bit down hard on the tip of her tongue, the sharp pain forcing her mind back into focus.
"On what grounds are you convicting me without hearing my side?"
"You all know perfectly well who's really behind this. Don't even think about pinning it on me."
"Marino wants to investigate? Fine. I'll cooperate fully. But until that investigation is complete, I am not leaving this firm."
She reached for her phone.
Viviana hadn't expected that. A flash of panic crossed her eyes, and she looked at Dante with a silent plea. Her fingertips went to her pearl earring, adjusting it in one quick, reflexive motion.
In the next second, Dante snatched the phone from Bianca's hand and smashed it against the floor. The crack of glass against marble echoed through the room like a gunshot, and every person in it flinched except Dante.
"Bianca, enough! Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough already?"
"Stop making a scene. Come home with me quietly, or things are going to get worse for everyone."
He was threatening her. The Acting Don of the Vitale Family, the man who wore her ring and shared her bed, was threatening her in front of people who answered to him.
Vincent stared at Bianca, his voice flat and detached.
"Bianca, whether you stay at this firm is no longer your decision. If you won't resign, I'll have no choice but to terminate you."
"And when that happens, your reputation in this city will be finished."
A chill settled deep inside her.
She looked at Vincent, the man who had once fought beside her, who had been both mentor and friend. He wore a different face now.
When she first joined, this firm had been a failing practice on the verge of shutting its doors. She had worked around the clock, hunting down cases, building connections with made men and legitimate clients alike, pulling it back from the brink and growing it into what it was today. Rinaldi & Associates survived because she had made powerful people believe it was worth protecting.
Back then, Vincent had taken her hand and told her the firm was as much hers as his. That they would watch it thrive together.
But somewhere along the way, he had changed. And now he was siding with outsiders to force her out.
For the first time in her life, Bianca felt completely lost.
Without her realizing when it happened, Viviana had turned every person around her. Bianca was truly, utterly alone.
