Chapter 4

Alessia POV:

I ignored Santino and Valentina completely, walking back upstairs to my temporary room to pack the last of my things. I was severing every last tie to the Moretti estate. I moved with a cold, systematic efficiency, emptying drawers, stripping the bed.

Then I realized it was gone.

My mother's necklace. It was a one-of-a-kind piece she had designed herself, a delicate chain of white gold with a single, flawless teardrop diamond. It was my most precious possession, a symbol of the Bianchi legacy and the strong woman I came from.

My blood ran cold. I searched everywhere, my initial fear turning into a rising tide of fury. I knew. I just knew.

I stormed back downstairs to the living room where Santino and Valentina were sitting. My eyes, sharp as daggers, went straight to her. "Where is it?"

My breath caught in my throat. She was wearing it. My mother's necklace was clasped around her neck, the diamond resting against her skin like a vulgar trophy. A smug, mocking smile played on her lips. It was a direct, calculated insult to my family's honor.

"You're a thief," I whispered, the words shaking with rage.

Santino immediately stood up, moving to shield her. "Alessia, stop it. I'm sure there's a simple explanation."

"Oh, there is," Valentina said, her voice dripping with false innocence. She touched the diamond delicately. "Santino gave it to me. A gift."

Santino looked caught off guard. He knew the necklace. He knew what it meant to me. "Valentina, just... give it back to her," he said, his voice strained.

With a look of pure, calculated malice, Valentina reached for the clasp. But instead of undoing it, she simply pulled. The delicate chain snapped. She let the irreplaceable heirloom fall from her hand. It hit the marble floor with a sickening clatter, shattering into a dozen pieces.

I saw the triumphant smirk on her face as my mother's legacy lay broken at her feet.

A primal rage, ancient and fierce, took over. This wasn't about Santino anymore. This was for my mother's desecrated memory. I moved without thinking, my hand connecting with Valentina's cheek in a sharp, satisfying slap.

The sound echoed in the silent room.

Before I could even register what I'd done, a brutal force struck my own face. Santino had slapped me. Hard. My head snapped to the side, my cheek burning with a pain and humiliation so profound it stole my breath.

He violated a sacred honor code. He had put his hands on the daughter of another Don. An act of war.

"Don't you ever," he seethed, his face inches from mine, his eyes blazing, "touch her again."

I slowly raised my hand to my stinging cheek. I looked at him, truly looked at him, and saw a stranger. The man I married was gone. My eyes burned with cold, unyielding resolve.

"Our marriage is over," I said, my voice eerily calm. "And I swear on my mother's grave, I will bring a bloody revenge upon you and the entire Moretti family."