I knew my husband, a ruthless Mafia Capo, was cheating on me. But no matter how hard I dug, I couldn't find out who the mistress was. For an entire year, I tracked his armored SUVs, checked his burner phones, and interrogated every woman who came near him. At my most desperate and unhinged, I swallowed a handful of lethal pills right in front of him, just to force him to confess her name. But when I woke up, Enzo was sitting by my hospital bed, looking utterly exhausted. He stared at me for a long time before pulling me into a tight embrace. "Serena, there is no one else," he swore, his voice trembling. "What do I have to do to make you believe me?" Everyone in the Syndicate said I was clinically insane. Even I began to doubt myself, wondering if this elusive mistress was just a phantom of my fractured mind. Only Tessa, my childhood best friend of eighteen years, held me time and time again. "You're not crazy, I believe you," she said, wiping away my tears. "If you want a divorce, I'll take care of you. If you stay, I'll help you keep looking. One day, we will drag that bitch out of the shadows." But every time I thought I was close to catching her, all the clues would vanish into thin air. Until the day Tessa was admitted to the underground clinic for severe stomach ulcers, and I went to bring her my homemade restorative broth. Standing outside her VIP ward, I heard my husband's agonizing voice through the crack in the door. "Tessa, I can't pretend anymore. I need to tell Serena that you are the one I truly love." "No! You can't tell her!" Tessa panicked instantly, sobbing hysterically. "After my parents died, she was the one who kept me alive! If she finds out that her husband and her best friend have been playing her for a fool for three years, it will kill her!" Outside the heavy oak door, I covered my mouth with trembling hands, suffocating my own sobs. The third person I had spent three years hunting down... had been standing right between my husband and me the entire time. I was absolutely disgusted by the realization that I had been played for a fool by the two people I protected with my life. I calmly took off my diamond wedding band, invoked the ancient blood oath to legally seize eighty percent of his empire, and booked a one-way ticket to Chicago. Chapter 1 Serena's POV I slipped into an empty trauma room next door and splashed freezing water over my face. Gripping the edges of the sink, I stared at my pale reflection in the mirror under the harsh, blinding fluorescent lights. I waited until no trace of my breakdown remained on my face. Then, I picked up the thermos of traditional Italian restorative broth and walked back out into the hallway. The moment I pushed open the door to the VIP ward, the heavy atmosphere in the room vanished. Tessa sat up against the pillows, a flawless, bright smile blooming on her face. "Serena, you're finally here!" She eagerly took the thermos, taking a deep breath of the aroma before her eyes curved into happy crescents. "Wow, it smells amazing. No one makes my favorite flavor except you. You're the only one who treats me the best!" Everything looked exactly as it always had. Ever since we were kids and Tessa first brought me to her home, she had loved this soup. Later, when her parents were killed in a gang crossfire and she was so devastated she refused to eat, I was the one who sat by her bed, feeding her spoon by spoon. I stared at her slightly red eyes and forced the corners of my mouth up. "Eat as much as you like, then." Enzo stepped forward, his posture stiff, and reached out to take my designer bag. I shifted my weight slightly, letting his hand grab empty air. His hand froze mid-air, a slight frown creasing his forehead. "What's wrong?" "Nothing," I replied flatly, placing my bag on a chair and looking up at him. "What are you doing here?" Enzo's gaze shifted toward the window. "I just finished a meeting with a supplier. Heard Tessa was sick, so I dropped by since it was on the way." His territory was on the South Side. This clinic was on the extreme North Side. That was one hell of a detour. Tessa nervously tightened her grip on her spoon and immediately covered for him. "My pain was so severe, and I couldn't reach you on your phone, so I contacted Enzo. Please don't be mad at him, I was the one who bothered him." I didn't expose the lie. I simply picked up a crisp apple and a small paring knife, slowly peeling the skin. "It really is inconvenient for you to live alone." The sharp blade glided smoothly through the fruit as I looked up and smiled at her. "When you get married, I'll teach your husband all your favorite recipes. Especially this soup—it requires precise heat, not a degree more or less." The smile on Tessa's face faltered for a fraction of a second before she quickly stirred the soup in her bowl. "I don't even have a boyfriend. Why would I get married?" "Then let's find you one." I put down the apple, unlocked my phone, and swiped through photos of a few eligible men, showing them to her. "This one is a highly capable Soldier from the Romano family, very loyal. This one is a legitimate financial proxy, very stable. And this one..." Enzo suddenly reached out and slammed his hand heavily over my screen. "Since when did you become a Mafia matchmaker?" he demanded. His grip was so forceful that the base of his palm ground painfully against my knuckles. "I'm just introducing some men to Tessa. Why are you so nervous?" I asked, staring dead into his eyes. His jaw had been clenched tight. Hearing my words, his fingers immediately loosened, and he softened his tone. "I'm just worried you don't know these men well enough. You can't just hand Tessa off to some ruthless thugs and ruin her life." "Exactly," Tessa chimed in. She put down her bowl and reached out, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist. "I don't want to date right now. Having you is enough," she cooed, pressing her face against me. "If nobody wants me, I'll just buy a small safehouse and grow old alone. If Enzo ever dares to bully you, you come live with me. I'll take care of you for the rest of your life." Her posture was exactly the same as when we were kids. These were the same hands that had dragged me out of my abusive foster home. The same hands that had held me crying through the night yesterday after I swallowed those pills. The only difference was that now, there was Enzo standing between us. I froze for half a minute. Then, slowly, I peeled her hands off me and placed the perfectly sliced apple onto a plate. "If you don't like them, forget it," I said, my voice dead calm. "But if you ever find someone you truly love, you must tell me." Both of them looked at me simultaneously. Enzo's broad shoulders visibly tensed. Tessa picked up her bowl, her eyelashes trembling uncontrollably. Enzo walked over and tried to press the back of his hand against my forehead. "You look exhausted. Let's go home and let Tessa rest." I took a step back, dodging his touch, grabbed my bag, and walked out of the room first without looking back. In the shadows where they couldn't see, my hands were trembling violently.

Serena's POV On the ride back to our heavily guarded estate, the dead silence in the car was suffocating. I stared out the thick, bulletproof window of the armored SUV, watching the city lights speed past, blurring into a meaningless streak of light. Enzo reached across the center console, attempting to interlock his fingers with mine. Without a word, I pulled my hand back and rested it flat on my own lap. His hand hovered near the gear shift for a moment before returning to the steering wheel. "Let's not go home yet. I'll take you out to eat. Italian or a steakhouse?" "Whatever." Enzo's patience began to wear thin. He tapped his fingers impatiently against the leather steering wheel. "Every time I ask, you say 'whatever.' And when I pick the wrong place, you refuse to eat. How am I supposed to guess what you're thinking?" I looked at the blurred city lights outside, and the words slipped out before I could stop them. "Just take me to the hidden safehouses where you usually take your other girls." Accompanied by a screeching sound, the tires rubbed frantically against the asphalt. The heavy SUV jerked to a violent halt dead in the center of the road. My head snapped forward, colliding hard with the dashboard. "Shit!" Enzo panicked. He frantically unbuckled his seatbelt and reached out to cup my face. "Where did you hit? Let me see." His thumb brushed against the red mark on my forehead, his breathing noticeably ragged. I turned my head away, refusing to let him touch me. Staring at his empty hands, the concern on his face was quickly swallowed by a defensive, explosive anger. "Serena, how many times do I have to explain this? I am not cheating on you!" he yelled, his temper finally snapping. The honking from the cars behind us grew frantic. He shoved the car back into drive and slammed on the gas, his chest heaving. "When the hell are you going to start trusting me? I feel like I'm reporting my schedule to a paranoid mother, not my wife!" I turned my face back to the window. Tears slipped uncontrollably down the bridge of my nose. But Enzo didn't see them. Minutes later, the car pulled into the dimly lit underground parking garage of a Syndicate-owned casino. He softened his tone, trying to regain control of the situation. "There's a very secluded Italian restaurant up there. Their black truffle soup is excellent. You'll like it." I stared at the harsh neon lights reflecting off the damp concrete pillars. Tessa had mentioned this place to me. Just last week, she was lying on my sofa, giggling about a "hidden gem of a restaurant" she had discovered, promising to bring me here someday. I couldn't help but wonder if Enzo was the one who had brought her here last time. Just as the car parked, a burner phone hidden deep inside Enzo's suit jacket began to vibrate. There was no name on the screen, just a tiny blue bird emoji. Enzo looked at the screen, and a flash of undisguised, sickening ecstasy crossed his face for a split second. But he quickly masked it, his expression hardening back into a mask of indifference as he shoved the car door open. "A sudden territorial dispute just came up. I need to go handle it immediately," he lied flawlessly. I stared at the unmistakable gleam of joy in his eyes. "What if I asked you to stay?" Enzo froze for a second. Then he pulled out his main phone and quickly transferred a large sum of money to my account. "Stop being unreasonable." "Go eat by yourself, buy whatever you want. Have the driver pick you up when you're tired. I'll be home very late tonight." I sat stiffly in the empty car, watching him press the phone to his ear and walk away briskly. The mall was bustling with people. I followed the crowd aimlessly until I stopped in front of a high-end boutique. Displayed prominently in the window was an ornate set of tarot cards. Back in high school, Tessa and I used to play with these secretly. When it came to drawing a card to predict our future love lives, we pulled the exact same one. She had laughed so hard she collapsed onto the desk. "Serena, we aren't going to fall in love with the same guy in the future, are we?" I shoved my card into her hands and patted my chest, promising, "If that day ever comes, you have to tell me. No man is more important than you. If you like him, I'll back out." I never expected that we would actually fall in love with the same man. I crouched down on the cold marble floor, completely losing control, and wept uncontrollably. I had explicitly told her I would step aside. Why did they still have to lie to me? For three entire years, they had teamed up to turn me into an absolute, paranoid lunatic.

Serena's POV The moment I returned to the estate, I dialed a secure encrypted line to Vito, the Family Consigliere. Hearing my voice, Vito let out a heavy sigh first. "What did you find this time?" he asked. Three years ago, when I first noticed Enzo acting strange, I went to him. After that, every time I caught a clue, I threatened to leave. But as long as Enzo held me and offered a few excuses, I would end up finding reasons to justify it myself. Vito probably assumed this time would be exactly the same. "There's no need to rush the paperwork. Cool off for a few days, then talk to Enzo," he advised. I turned on the study lamp, and looked at the diamond wedding band on my finger. "I found her," I said. There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Are you sure?" "I'm sure." I stared at the ring on my hand. "Divide the assets exactly as the Blood Oath dictates. The Chicago Syndicate has been begging me to become their head Fixer. Draft the agreement immediately. I'm leaving New York." For all these years, I had stepped back into the shadows, securing his rear and using my resources to help him climb all the way to Capo. Now, it was time I lived for myself. The next morning, just as the encrypted fax machine spat out the final page of the drafted agreement, the lock on the front door clicked. Enzo strolled into the estate's main foyer carrying a pink box of fresh French pastries from my favorite bakery. There was no trace of exhaustion on his face from pulling an all-nighter; instead, he couldn't suppress a lingering smile. It wasn't until he saw me sitting in the study that he quickly masked his expression. "Why are you up so early?" he asked. I covered the agreement with a folder. "Did the contract signing go well?" "It did." "Which family was it?" Enzo placed the breakfast on the table, his hands pausing as he unwrapped the box. "I could tell you, but you wouldn't know them." I looked at him. He avoided my gaze, his tone growing impatient. "I was busy all night, and the second I walk in, you start interrogating me." I picked up my coat and walked toward the door. "I'm going to check on Tessa." Instinctively, Enzo stepped in front of the door, using his broad shoulders to block my path. "No need. She's moving in here in a bit." My hand hovered over the doorknob as he continued to explain, "The security system at her apartment was compromised. She's in poor health, and staying here will make it easier for her to recover her stomach..." Right on cue, the doorbell rang. Tessa stood outside dragging a massive designer suitcase. The moment she saw me, she opened her arms. "Serena, I'm here to seek refuge." She used to stay at the estate all the time; this place had always been half a home to her. But this time, I subconsciously blocked the doorway. "No." The moment the word left my mouth, Tessa's outstretched arms froze in mid-air. Enzo's head snapped up, his brows furrowing deeply. "It's just for a few days. What's wrong with you?" Tessa immediately stepped back, her eyes wide with fear, perfectly playing the role of a helpless victim. "Is it inconvenient? I can go stay at a hotel, it's really fine." She looked exactly as she always did, but for some reason, I felt violently nauseous. I gripped the doorknob tighter, just about to lay everything out on the table. Suddenly, Tessa covered her mouth, pushed past me, and bolted for the first-floor bathroom. All the color drained from Enzo's face. He rushed after her immediately. He knelt beside her, one hand supporting her shoulder while the other expertly and tenderly rubbed her back. Tessa was dry-heaving so hard she turned pale. Enzo didn't even look up as he yelled at me, "Where are the tissues? She's throwing up like this, and you're just standing there?" I grabbed the tissue box from the vanity and threw it directly next to his custom leather shoes. I stared at his knuckles, which were white from tension. Then, I looked at Tessa's hand, which was resting in a fiercely protective cradle over her lower stomach. "Are you pregnant?" I asked, my voice cutting through the silence like a scalpel. Tessa stopped dry-heaving instantly. Enzo's hand froze in mid-air.