The slap came out of nowhere, so hard my skull rang like a struck bell.
"A civilian with no connections whatsoever. How did you even get inside the Valente compound?"
"She must have slept her way in with some low-level soldier on gate duty. That would explain the pregnancy."
"Outsiders really are pathetic. She thinks that just because she bears a passing resemblance to our Lady Seraphina, she can hide here and seduce the Don?"
It wasn't until I heard their venom that I realized who had barged in and struck me. The woman standing before me was none other than Seraphina Castellano, the one Don Castellano had offered to end the war between the Castellanos and the Valentes all those years ago.
For years upon years, the Don could have had his pick of countless women. Instead, he spent every day at my side.
He had never spared a second glance at any woman other than me.
That was why, when he agreed to halt the war on account of Seraphina, a thread of doubt had wound through my heart.
Now, seeing her in person for the first time, I understood. She bore a resemblance to me.
That was what had stirred his mercy.
At this moment, Seraphina's face was twisted with fury, her blazing gaze threatening to consume me whole. Her fingers drifted to the hollow of her throat, pressing there once before her hand dropped.
"You wretched outsider. You knew the Don was hopelessly in love with me, so you thought you could use that face of yours to lure him in? A face that only barely resembles mine?"
Her arrogance was suffocating, but since she clearly had no idea who I was, I chose not to hold the slap against her.
Instead, I offered a warning out of kindness.
"The Forbidden Wing is not a place any of you should be. The Don is away. Leave now, while you still can. If you stay, no one will be able to help you."
But Seraphina showed no gratitude. She seized my throat and snarled through clenched teeth:
"The Don adores me beyond measure. There is nowhere in the entire Valente estate I cannot set foot. You, on the other hand, you wretched outsider, putting on airs and trying to shoo me away. You're just afraid I'll expose your little scheme and ruin your chances of seducing him, aren't you?"
"Today I'll show you exactly what happens to vermin who try to steal the Don's affections."
With a flick of her pale wrist, she shoved me with a force that didn't belong to a woman her size. Two of her Castellano guards stepped forward and threw me sideways.
The force was immense, the impact brutal.
My body was hurled into the air and slammed back down against the cold marble floor.
I curled around my belly, shielding it with both arms, and looked up at Seraphina through the pain. My voice came out cold and steady.
"Do you really think the Don won't find out what you've done here?"
Seraphina scoffed, utterly unbothered. She smoothed the front of her dress as though I'd dirtied it by existing in the same room.
"I am the Don's one true love, the woman he fell for at first sight. A single glance from me was enough to make him end the war."
"Everyone across the Five Families knows how deeply he loves me."
"All I'm doing is disciplining a pathetic outsider. Even if he finds out, so what? You think he'd blame me over some insignificant nobody like you?"
The Castellano soldiers in her entourage sneered in agreement.
"Exactly. Everyone across the underworld knows the Don fell for Lady Seraphina at first sight. What are you? You're not even fit to be compared to her."
"The Don stands above every Family in the country. Of course there are shameless little tramps like this civilian crawling around, dreaming of climbing into his bed. My lady, we should make an example of her today. Send a message, and crush those delusions once and for all."
"That's right. Let every shameless wretch out there know that the Don's woman is not a title just anyone can claim."
Every one of them spoke with razor-edged malice, their eyes burning with a hatred so sharp it seemed they wanted to tear me apart where I lay.
I kept my expression grave. "You should go ask the Don himself who I am."
Seraphina lifted her chin, contempt dripping from every pore.
"You, a common outsider who snuck into the Forbidden Wing, think you're worthy of me inquiring about your identity?"
"I am the one closest to the Don's heart. I am Don Castellano's most treasured daughter. What are you? You think your status could ever compare to mine?"
She let her gaze drift across the darkened hall, the reinforced walls, the heavy silence that lived in this part of the estate. Her voice turned soft, almost idle.
"This wing is far too gloomy. It could use a splash of red."
The Castellano soldiers understood instantly. One by one, they drew their belts free, the leather hissing through the loops.
And they lashed into me without mercy.
I was flesh and bone with no Family behind me, no soldiers, no name. I had no way to withstand an assault from this many of them at once.
I was beaten to the ground, curled into myself, my skin split open in ribbons of blood.
Through the blinding agony, I locked both hands over my belly and screamed with everything I had left:
"Stop! I am the Don's wife!"
