Exhausted, both physically and emotionally, Adriana and I returned to the small apartment I had lived in before the marriage.
The place was modest, but it felt strangely comforting, like returning to something real after a long illusion. Four rooms above a dry cleaner on Mulberry Street, no doorman, no security detail, no Falcone name on the buzzer. Just mine.
When I turned my phone back on, a series of missed calls from Dante immediately appeared.
After a moment of hesitation, I called him back.
The moment he answered, his voice exploded with anger. "Are you done with your tantrums yet?"
"I told you to stay home and rest! Now the house is a complete mess. I only found out because I went back to grab a gift for Viviana's baby!"
His words kept coming, sharp and relentless. "And Adriana? What are you dragging her into now? Luca can't even reach her. You've probably turned her against him too!"
"Do you have to ruin everything you touch? You've even destroyed their marriage now. Are you satisfied?"
Adriana's fists clenched tightly beside me, her anger barely contained. I gently reached out and held her back.
"Don't waste your energy on someone like him," I whispered softly.
Then I spoke into the phone, my tone calm and detached. "Dante, let's keep this simple. I want a divorce. I don't have time for your baseless accusations."
Before I could say more, Adriana snatched the phone from my hand, unable to hold back any longer.
"You know what, Dante?" she snapped. "Marrying into your family has been nothing but a curse!"
"Let me make this clear. Adriana and I want divorces because you and Luca are both fools. Do you understand?"
Without waiting for a response, she hung up and immediately blocked him on every platform.
The next morning, as we prepared to leave for the county clerk's office, we saw Viviana standing at the entrance of my building, holding her baby in her arms. Two of the Falcone soldiers who usually ran security at the family compound waited by a black sedan at the curb, which told me everything about who had sent her and how she had found the address.
Her face was pale, her expression fragile, as if she might collapse at any moment. She looked pitiful, like a delicate flower trembling in the wind.
The moment she saw us, she dropped to her knees, her movements sudden and dramatic.
"Bianca, Adriana, I'm so sorry," she said, her voice trembling with emotion. "I came to apologize on behalf of Dante and Luca. This is all my fault. Please don't blame them."
"They were only looking out for me as a single mother," she continued, her tone soft and pleading. "They stayed with me at the hospital because I was scared. I thought they had already explained everything to you. I even reminded them…"
"I never meant to cause any misunderstanding."
Even now, she maintained her act perfectly, presenting herself as the innocent victim while subtly showing off her closeness with the two brothers. The ward they had sheltered since childhood, the woman the whole Family treated like porcelain. The soldiers by the sedan watched without expression.
Seeing Adriana's anger rising, I stepped forward quickly, my gaze turning cold.
"Oh? Viviana," I said evenly, "do I need your permission to get a divorce?"
"Your little act doesn't work on us anymore. Save it."
Out of basic courtesy for the child in her arms, I bent down to help her up.
But just as the elevator doors opened behind us, her expression changed in an instant.
Without warning, she let herself collapse onto the floor, as if I had pushed her.
I froze in shock, unable to react immediately.
Before I could say anything, Dante rushed over and shoved me hard.
"Bianca! How can you be so cruel?" he shouted. "Stay away from her!"
Caught off guard, I stumbled backward and fell. Adriana quickly rushed to my side, helping me up.
"Bianca, are you okay?" she asked anxiously.
Only after confirming that Viviana was unharmed did Dante finally turn to look at me. He opened his mouth, clearly ready to lash out again.
But the moment his eyes fell on my flat stomach, his expression changed completely. His face went pale. The Falcone Underboss, the man who had held a scalpel steady inside dying soldiers, went absolutely still.
"Where's the baby?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly. "Bianca… where is our child?"
My thumb rubbed the pale mark where my wedding ring had sat. I said nothing.
At that moment, the elevator doors opened again. Luca stepped out, still talking on his phone.
"What's going on now?" he said impatiently. "I could hear you arguing all the way down the hall. You're going to scare the baby."
