Chapter 1

I have been with Leone Donato, the don to a Mafia family, for four years.

During those four years, he lets me live in the family estate but rarely tells me anything about the family's affairs.

I fool myself into believing it's simply his cold, guarded nature. As the don to a Mafia family, he has to be cautious. Many of his secrets aren't ones he can easily share with others.

But then, on the very day we are supposed to apply for a marriage license, I receive a screenshot of a private Mafia family group chat.

"Ladies, I hear Leone's childhood sweetheart, Camilla Conti, is back in the country. Do you think Leone will still apply for a marriage license with Isola Munari tomorrow?"

"Hard to say. After all, the family trust reserves 15% of the family business's profits for Camilla. All Isola gets is the family agreeing to accept her as the Donna and let her attend family meetings."

Someone asks, "Then why exactly does Leone want to marry Isola?"

Someone replies in the screenshot, "Because she's obedient, I guess. After all, for Leone's sake, she turns down an offer from Bellamare's top research institute. She even drives herself to a private clinic while suffering from a high fever.

"Leone's exact words are, 'Isola can't live without me, and she doesn't care about any of that anyway.'"

Obedient…

So, in the eyes of the family, I am nothing more than an obedient lover.

As I stare at those words, I slip off my diamond ring and place it on the partially signed prenuptial agreement.

Then, I open my email and type, "Professore Ferrante, I've changed my mind. If the position at the research institute is still available, I'll join it this time."

Chapter 1

Leone Donato walked in, followed by his personal stylist and two Soldati.

His gaze swept over the ring I had taken off and left on the table, yet he didn't ask why I had removed it.

"Our engagement party is tonight." Leone came to stand beside me, his fingertips brushing lightly over my shoulder. He continued gently, "Behave yourself, and don't let anything go wrong."

"Leone." With the prenuptial agreement laid out before me, I looked up at him. "Why is Shadowbough, the organization I founded, being put under Camilla's name?"

Leone's gaze fell on the section I had yet to sign. For a moment, a flicker of discomfort crossed his eyes.

The terms on that page were clear.

First, all my personal income after marriage would remain my own. I could live on the family estate, but I would never be allowed to have any say in family affairs.

Second, the intelligence organization I had founded, Shadowbough, would be transferred entirely into Camilla Conti's name.

Four years of our relationship had been reduced to two cold, impersonal terms.

There was no trace of panic on Leone's face. Instead, he simply raised a hand and gently smoothed the stray strands of hair at my temple.

"Camilla just returned to the country, so she needs Shadowbough as a safeguard. Besides, the dark side of the family is too cruel. I don't want to drag you into it."

I turned my head away to avoid his touch.

When he saw that I remained silent, his brows drew together slightly. "Isola, I always thought you didn't care about these things."

"I used to think so too."

Leone failed to catch the meaning behind my words and merely pushed the fountain pen toward me.

"This family is complicated, and the contract is just a formality. Becoming the Donna doesn't mean you have to get involved in all the bloodshed and violence."

He leaned forward slightly, his voice softening with a note of reassurance. "All you have to do is stand by my side and leave the rest to me."

His voice was gentle and alluring, yet my mind had never been clearer.

"Once you sign, the engagement becomes official. Nothing in our lives will change."

That meant I would continue living in the estate under his name, bearing the title of Donna in name only, and be summoned to his side only when he had the time to spare.

So, this was the future he had promised me.

A knock sounded at the door, reminding us that it was almost time for our scheduled appointment at the marriage licensing office.

Leone reached out to straighten the shawl draped over my shoulders, his movements almost tender.

"Don't make a scene today. Once we've signed the papers, there's still a party to attend. All the family elders will be there. If you have any grievances, we'll deal with them after the party."

I stared at my own reflection in the mirror—my face was deathly pale.

In a daze, I recalled the night four years ago when I had given up my offer from a research institute for Leone.

He had held me just like this and said, "Isola, I'll never let you regret this."

But when the day finally came that I truly regretted it, he thought I was just throwing a tantrum.

I stopped arguing and said, "Fine."

Leone's expression softened, as though he had always known that all it took was a slight darkening of his expression for me to eventually give in.

He left with his entourage, and as I watched his retreating figure, my vision blurred.

Two years ago, a rival family had ambushed Leone. When a bullet came hurtling toward his heart, I threw myself in front of him and took the shot meant for him.

As a result, I lost the baby I was carrying.

As I lay fighting for my life, he held my wounded body in his arms and swore that he would spend the rest of his life making it up to me.

How ironic. The security he had promised me had ultimately been placed in a trust fund for Camilla.

After Leone left, I locked the door from the inside.

A new email had arrived on my phone. My professor, Enzo Ferrante, had replied.

"The position in the research group is still available. However, the project has already begun, and you must arrive in Zurevia to complete your registration within the next 72 hours. Isola, this is your last chance."

I stared at the words "last chance" for a long time. Then, I booked a plane ticket.

This time, I refused to lose myself for Leone again.

Chapter 2

I thought we were going to the marriage licensing office first, but the car eventually pulled up outside an exclusive luxury hotel by the sea.

The butler, Matteo Bellini, hurried over with a somewhat awkward smile.

"Signorina Conti returned earlier than expected, so Don Donato has decided to postpone the engagement party. Tonight's event is being held specifically to welcome Signorina Conti back."

I nodded.

So, the engagement party I had spent months planning could simply be rescheduled at a moment's notice, all because Camilla had returned earlier than expected.

…

Inside the ballroom, Camilla was seated comfortably beside Leone.

She wore an ivory evening gown, and her features were soft and delicate. She looked exactly like the woman in the photos circulating in the group chat.

The moment she saw me, she stood up apologetically.

"Isola, I'm truly sorry. I hope I didn't mess up your plans."

Before I could respond, Leone had already pulled out the chair beside him for her.

"This has nothing to do with you." Then, he turned to me and said, "The seats at the main table are all taken. You can sit at the back with the female members of the extended family."

Not only had Camilla's place setting already been laid out at the seat that was supposed to be mine, but the place card bearing my name had also been removed without a word.

Even the deep blue irises that had once adorned the center of the table had been replaced with Camilla's favorite white camellias.

I turned and headed toward the seats at the back.

As I passed the jewelry display, Camilla suddenly let out a soft gasp.

"This set is absolutely beautiful."

Leone smiled and opened the bulletproof glass display case. "It was originally reserved for Isola to wear at our wedding. If you like it, why don't you try it on first?"

He took out the necklace and fastened it around Camilla's neck.

Those around them began remarking on how well the two of them looked together.

I looked down at my bare fingers. The ring I had taken off was still lying beside the prenuptial agreement.

After several rounds of drinks, someone brought up the prenuptial arrangements with a chuckle.

"Leone, you've granted Camilla a 15% share of the group's profits, so what will the future Donna receive?"

The vast ballroom fell silent in an instant.

Leone turned to look at me, seemingly waiting for me to step in and smooth things over on his behalf.

For the past four years, whenever we found ourselves in situations like this, I would always smile and say that money meant little to me. After all, I'd believed that love was worth more than shares.

But this time, I remained silent.

Leone had no choice but to answer in a calm voice, "Isola isn't the kind of woman who concerns herself with such things."

Someone drew out an exaggerated "Oh."

It sounded like both praise for my obedience and mockery of any right I have to complain.

I picked up my wineglass. "Leone's right. I'll sign the prenuptial agreement."

The chill in Leone's expression faded.

Camilla, however, stared at me with a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

After the dinner was over, Leone's lawyer, Dante Santoro, brought the revised agreement to the lounge.

I flipped to the final page and was just about to put pen to paper when a supplementary document slipped out from between the pages.

It was a lifetime trust, with Camilla named as the beneficiary.

In addition to her substantial annual dividends, the family trust would provide for her future marriage, childbirth, and medical needs.

The contract had been signed four years ago, on the day before Leone confessed his feelings for me.

So, it wasn't that he refused to mix love with money. It was simply that I had never been the one he wanted to protect.

Chapter 3

I arranged to meet Leone at the underground mafia organization's headquarters we had built together.

Four years ago, he had provided the initial funding and connections among the upper echelons, while I had been responsible for establishing the intelligence network, training the lower-ranking operatives, and designing the headquarters' security defenses.

From a small team of barely a few dozen members, the organization had grown steadily into an underground power that could no longer be ignored in the region.

Yet, from the very beginning, all official titles and registered assets had been placed under Leone's name.

I had once thought it didn't matter. After all, we were going to get married sooner or later. Only now did I realize that it had been nothing more than my own wishful thinking.

"I want to take the entire intelligence archive of Shadowbough with me."

I spread a thick stack of encrypted hard drives and hand-drawn security blueprints across the table.

"The intellectual property rights to the intelligence materials, along with the entire network of informants I've established, are to be transferred into my name."

Leone leaned back in his dark leather chair, as though he had just heard a childish demand.

"Once we're married, what difference does it make whether everything in this organization belongs to you or not?"

"It makes a difference." I held his gaze. "This organization bears the Donato name, not the Munari name."

His expression darkened. "Just because the prenuptial agreement doesn't provide you with a trust, you're going to drag up every grievance from the past four years?"

I looked at him, my heart turning to ice.

I had never cared about the wealth or status this marriage could bring me. What truly cut me wasn't the cold wording of the trust clauses, but Leone's blatant favoritism.

For four years, I had built the intelligence network with my own hands and helped him survive several deadly coordinated attacks.

Yet, in Leone's eyes, my sacrifices and everything I had worked so hard to build were simply what he expected of me. But the moment Camilla appeared, everything I had ever given suddenly became worthless.

Just as I was about to speak, a commotion erupted outside the door.

With red-rimmed eyes, Camilla walked in clutching the bare neckline of her dress.

"Leone, the brooch my maternal grandmother left me is missing."

The Soldato who had accompanied her reported in a low voice that, according to the surveillance footage, I was the only person who had entered the VIP lounge.

Every eye in the room turned toward me.

I took out my phone and ordered, "Pull up the complete surveillance footage."

Camilla quickly shot a meaningful glance at the Soldato beside her.

The Soldato looked visibly troubled.

Camila clutched Leone's sleeve, the panic in her eyes vanishing almost as quickly as it appeared. She immediately reached out and took hold of his arm.

"Forget it. Perhaps I've simply forgotten where I put it. Don't put Isola in an awkward position on my account."

The more magnanimously she played the victim, the more suspiciously everyone looked at me.

Leone was silent for a few seconds before pulling me aside.

"It's Camilla's first formal dinner since returning to the country. If this gets blown out of proportion, it'll damage her reputation."

I was so furious that I nearly laughed. "Why would her reputation be damaged when she's the one who lost something, while I'm the one being accused of stealing it?"

"I never said you took it," Leone said in a hushed tone. "Just apologize for now to smooth things over. I'll buy you a more expensive brooch later."

I had been falsely accused, yet instead of finding out the truth, his first instinct was to throw money at me to keep me quiet.

As I looked at the man I had loved for four years, I suddenly realized I could no longer even feel disappointed in him.

"And what if I refuse to apologize?"

"Isola, don't make this difficult for me."

His gaze had taken on a note of warning. My innocence wasn't even worth defending when weighed against Camilla.

I nodded and said, "I understand."

I didn't bow to Camilla or apologize to her. Instead, I took out the withdrawal and termination agreement I had prepared in advance and signed my name right in front of Leone.

I relinquished everything—management rights over the headquarters, the organization's profit shares, and every family privilege promised to me as part of the engagement.

But in the agreement's appendix, one clause was stated in unmistakably clear terms. Effective from the date of my withdrawal, the entire Shadowbough intelligence network would be permanently shut down and sealed, and I would take with me all original intelligence archives and informant lists.

Assuming I had finally given in and backed down, Leone merely skimmed a couple of lines before quickly signing his name.

Half an hour later, the Soldati found the missing brooch tucked inside an inner compartment of Camilla's own handbag.

With red-rimmed eyes, she explained that her personal assistant, Serena Lombardi, had probably misplaced it there by mistake.

Leone merely remarked, "As long as it's been found."

Not a single person apologized for accusing me of theft.

I gathered all the signed agreements and turned to leave the headquarters.

A notification from the airline appeared on my phone.

"You have successfully checked in. Your flight departs tomorrow at 3:40 pm."

Chapter 4

I woke before dawn.

The apartment was quiet.

Leone hadn't come home the night before.

I took only two suitcases, my research materials from the study, and the research institute's admission letter that I'd locked away in a cabinet four years ago.

As for the clothes and jewelry Leone had bought me, or the supplementary credit card he had given me, I didn't touch any of them.

Before leaving, I deleted my fingerprints from the door lock.

The unsigned prenuptial agreement still lay on the table, along with the diamond ring.

It turned out that after four years together, all I'd left behind occupied only a tiny corner of the table.

On the way to the airport, my phone suddenly began vibrating nonstop.

A video was circulating among the mafia families of Corvessia.

The secretly recorded footage showed me taking off my ring, then signing the withdrawal agreement at the organization's headquarters.

According to the video's narrative, I had been denied the power I demanded within the underground organization and was deliberately calling off the wedding to force Leone into giving in.

Some sneered that I was a greedy nobody who'd set her sights on a powerful man above her station.

Others claimed that Leone had supported me for four years, and that now with Camilla's return, I had become shameless enough to extort him for everything I could get.

Given the camera angle, the video could only have been filmed by someone close to Camilla.

My lawyer, Valentino Visconti, advised me to release a public statement immediately to set the record straight.

But first, I called Leone.

He answered on the fourth ring.

I heard the delicate clinking of glassware in the background. Camilla was asking him whether he wanted to try some of her soup.

"What is it?" Leone asked impatiently.

"Have you seen the video circulating online?" I inquired.

"I have."

"That's not what happened." I tightened my grip on the phone. "I want you to have it taken down everywhere and make a public statement that I never demanded any shares or power within the family."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

"Camilla has only just returned to the country, so she's not familiar with how the media operates. We can't be sure she was the one who leaked the video."

I pressed him. "What if she was?"

"Isola." His voice grew stern. "You shouldn't target her based on baseless speculation. Why don't you go back to the estate first? Once you've calmed down, we can discuss our engagement again."

The car had already arrived at the airport terminal entrance, and the driver got out to help unload my luggage.

Through the car window, I gazed at the flight information scrolling across the terminal's giant display. Then, I asked softly, "Leone, what if I really am exactly what the video says I am?"

A faint scoff came through the phone.

"Don't use leaving to threaten me. There's no way you'd give up your place as my wife or walk away from me. Come back when you're done throwing a tantrum."

I said nothing more.

After ending the call, I bundled together the secretly recorded video, the appendix to the trust agreement, and the withdrawal agreement from the organization's headquarters.

Then, I sent them all to Valentino with the message, "Proceed as planned."

He replied at once, "Understood. Contact me once you've landed."

After blocking Leone on every possible channel and deactivating all my social media accounts, I walked through airport security with my suitcase in tow.

Just before boarding, I received a message from Professore Ferrante.

"The team is waiting for you in Zurevia."

I replied, "Noted."

As the cabin doors were about to close, a flight attendant reminded all passengers to switch their devices to airplane mode.

I took out the SIM card I had used for four years and snapped it in half.

The plane began taxiing slowly toward the runway. As it pierced through the thick blanket of clouds, I took one last look at the city below.

The familiar lights of the family estate and the silhouettes of the towering skyscrapers gradually receded into the distance, until they were swallowed completely by an endless sea of white clouds.