Episode 3

The silence of the room was deafening. But inside my head, a storm raged.

I threw the cell phone so hard against the wall that it shattered into a thousand pieces. I screamed. I screamed like I had never screamed before. This couldn't be happening. Not to me. Not to Chiara Ferretti.

I was raised to be a Don's wife. To rule alongside a king. To be the first lady of the Calabrian mafia. It was my destiny. It was sealed. Lorenzo Mancini was my fiance, and everything was ready for our wedding. Everything.

And now... everything had crumbled because of some woman. Some unknown idiot who dared to carry in her womb what should have been mine.

My breathing was rapid, and tears burned my eyes. But it wasn't sadness. It was hatred. A hatred so deep it seemed to corrode me from the inside out.

I heard the door open and turned around, already knowing who it was.

"Father," my voice came out trembling, laden with anger.

Giovanni entered and closed the door behind him. He was visibly tense, but trying to maintain his composure. Always political. Always calculating. But I knew that look. He was furious too.

"Daughter," he approached, analyzing me cautiously. "We need to talk."

"He humiliated me. In front of everyone. He said he was going to marry that woman!" I screamed. "Some nobody, Father! A nobody!"

"I know," he replied, pulling up a chair and sitting across from me. "I was there, remember?"

"And what did you do?! Nothing! You stood there silently while he spat in our faces! In yours! In mine!"

Giovanni stared at me for a moment. Then he sighed.

"Because I can't act on impulse. Lorenzo is still the Don. Any direct action against him would be suicide. He would leave my body hanging on the mansion gate."

"I don't care! I want her dead, Father! That slut has to disappear from the face of the Earth!"

He was silent for a few seconds. Then, he crossed his hands on his knee and spoke with the calm of someone who has killed many men:

"Then let's kill her."

My heart skipped a beat.

"Really?"

"But it will look like an accident. Or a robbery. Something clean. Something without a trace. Because if Lorenzo finds out it was us... he'll kill us both."

"I don't care," I replied, my voice choked with hatred. "I won't let some idiot steal the place that is mine. I was raised for this. You trained me for this!"

"And you're still going to have that place, daughter. Trust me." He stood up, walking to the corner bar and pouring two glasses of whiskey. He handed me one. "But we need to be smart. And fast."

I took the gulp as if it were water. The anger burned more than the alcohol.

"Do you know where she lives yet?" I asked.

"Not yet. But one of our men who works at the clinic is in contact with one of the employees. With the right amount, we can get the address. She must be being monitored, but nothing a good plan can't solve."

"I want her to suffer," I murmured. "I want her to know, in the last seconds of her life, that it was because she dared to challenge me."

My father raised an eyebrow.

"We can't guarantee that. We need it to look like an accident. Car off the road, gas leak on the stove, robbery with a knife... the more real, the better."

"So be it. But I want her to die before the wedding. If she shows up at the altar, Father, I swear I'll go up there myself and cut her throat."

He stared at me, serious. Then he nodded.

"I'll take care of it. But until then, you're going to control yourself. You're going to act normally. No scandals. No fuss."

"I can't, Father! He left me! He dismissed me as if I were trash!" I screamed, throwing the glass on the floor, which shattered.

"And you're going to hold your head up like a Ferretti!" he retorted firmly. "You want revenge? Then act with intelligence! Or do you want to die before her?"

That silenced me.

"You don't understand..." I whispered. "I love him, Father."

He sighed, approaching and holding my face in his hands.

"You love the power he represents. And he was your chance to rule. That chance isn't over. We just need to... reorganize the game."

"What if she doesn't die in time?"

"Then we'll have to act another way. But first, let's eliminate the problem in the simplest way. Accident."

We were silent for a few seconds.

"Do you want me to choose how myself?" I asked, my voice as cold as ice.

He smiled slightly.

"Of course. She stole what was yours. It's only fair that you choose how she's going to pay for it."

My heart raced with that sense of control. Of taking back the reins. Of no longer being the abandoned bride, but rather the woman who would get revenge.

"A car accident," I whispered. "She's pregnant. The impact will kill them both."

"Perfect," he nodded. "I'll take care of it today."

"But it has to look real. She has to leave his life as if fate had done it. As if the universe were protecting the real couple."

"It will look like it. Trust me, daughter."

I got up and hugged my father. It was the first time in years that I felt something real for him. He was a monster, yes. But he was my monster. And as much as Lorenzo was the king, I refused to be replaced by a peasant.

Giulia Ferrari may be carrying his child...

But she won't live long enough to hold him in her arms.

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