Serafina stepped out of the shadows, one hand resting on the curve of her stomach, her smile a slow, deliberate provocation.
"I knew it had to be you from that worn-out dress. Don't worry, Nico's gone to bring me and the babies something sweet. If you'd like, I'll save you a small piece."
I didn't answer her mock concern. My silence made the corners of her smile twitch with a flash of frustration.
"Ah, don't tell me you're still trying to stay strong?" she whispered. "God, how sad. You were almost raped. Your body livestreamed across the internet for every filthy man to watch."
"Let me tell you a secret today. A month ago, Nico took the Southern Shipping Route deal you spent half a year building and presented it as mine."
Her smile widened, wicked.
"He told the Capos I wrote every word. That I was the mind behind the alliance with the southern corridor families."
That deal was my blood. My sleepless nights. My years of sacrifice.
Nico had handed all of my work to his mistress on a silver platter.
"And for my 'brilliance,'" she continued sweetly, "your loving husband rewarded me with properties. Land. And an obscene amount of money."
"Do you want to know what I did with it?"
"I replaced all your loyal soldiers. Signed a contract with the Volkov Bratva Boss to put me at the pinnacle of power. And hired those vile men to make your life worse than death."
"Do you even know it was at your birthday dinner that he first held me? Oh, sister, he took me everywhere. On the desk where you wrote him love letters. In the small rose garden where you made him bouquets. In the bed where you innocently dreamed about him." She paused. "And near the cemetery where your mother's tombstone lay."
Her smile widened, wicked and victorious.
"Only when I needed a break did I tell him: how about he use your body as an outlet until he can control his strong urges and handle me gently."
Three years ago. Nico entering my bedroom while I cried for my mother before holding me gently.
No buts, Bianca. He had murmured, fingers tightening. I need you tonight. Just this once. Be good for me.
I was exhausted. It hurt. I told him.
Just once more, darling, he whispered instead, while my body was already trembling, bruised and hollowed out.
And I let him because I thought it was love.
Serafina lifted one manicured finger, her smile widening as she watched my face morph into shades of anguish, as if whatever slept within me had heard those words and hated them.
"Shame the result of that day was born a bastard. But then again, children copy their mothers, right?" Her smile was gentle. "Even now a whore like you will breed a whore, won't you—"
Before she could say another word, a thunderous slap cracked through the atmosphere.
Crack!
The sound was so brutal that Serafina's face twisted to one side, blood trailing down her lips.
For the first time, the woman who always looked untouchable looked small.
Her face went blank with shock before twisting with humiliation, rage, and disbelief.
I stared at my own hand, breath ragged. That furious strength wasn't me.
For the first time in my life, I felt it.
My own power. A slow presence simmering in my chest. Not roaring, not fully awakened, but there. Breathing inside me.
"Bianca, you lowly whore, how dare you hit me?!"
"The whore was never me."
I leaned closer, fury settling into my bones like winter frost.
"And if what you said is true, then get ready to be replaced by another woman. Younger and more beautiful. Because men never keep mistresses forever. It's like a matching shoe. Once old and used, it will be discarded for another."
The last thread of sanity snapped inside her eyes, and she stared at me like she wanted to rip my soul out of my chest.
"Fine," she whispered. "Then tonight, you will see who is the real wife."
Before I could move, her nails dug into my skin as she dragged both of us off the private dock and into the freezing harbor water with a violent splash.
My scream drowned inside my throat as my hands frantically slapped the water to stay afloat.
It was then I heard a small laugh. "Remember how I drowned your pet dog as your birthday gift and framed you, sister? Let's play that game again."
I gasped at the ruthless memory as Serafina's hand pressed down on my head, forcing me under.
"Sister, you can't swim because of that trauma, right? Tonight I will make you relive that hell."
Her monstrous satisfaction shifted in an instant to a gentle cry.
"Bianca, please don't be angry. I just wanted to see the festival. Sister, don't hurt me. No! I didn't mean anything!"
My body convulsed, drowning, the world going dark at the edges. Through the muffled chaos, a loud roar shattered the night.
"SERAFINA!"
A splash followed immediately as Nico jumped into the water, pulling Serafina into his arms.
"Serafina! Are you hurt? Don't be scared! I'm here!"
It was then, with the last of my strength, my arm shot out of the surface, water filling my lungs, my mouth, my ears, as my daughter twisted in my stomach like she was crying frantically.
And only then did Nico look at me.
One glance.
One cold, enraged glare.
"Nico, go save sister. I don't blame her. She was just upset. She pushed me, but it's alright. I am willing to die to prove my loyalty to her."
Her tears fell on his shirt as she sobbed, and my entire being suffered in icy horror.
At last Nico spoke. His voice cutting deeper than any blade.
"Bianca, I am disappointed to have a wife like you. In childhood, Serafina went through your relentless bullying just because she understood your pain of losing a mother. She went abroad because you hated her living under the same roof. She saved my life because she wanted to see her sister's husband alive, so that you would remain happy."
The cold wind blew off the harbor, but his tone was colder than the water killing me. "And you dare scheme against her?!"
Scheming?
I sank deeper, lungs burning, unable to breathe, unable to fight anymore.
His final words cracked through the night:
"Since you shamelessly planned this, then get out of the water yourself!" And then he walked away with her.
Darkness covered my vision as my eyes closed.
No. I can't die here. I must save my unborn daughter.
Just before my consciousness faded completely, I reached for the hidden phone Dominic had given me and pressed the only number saved in it.
"Dominic, save me. Save my daughter."
