He Ruined Me Twice and Killed My Child,Then I Walked into the Sea

The night before my alliance was to be sealed, my betrothed looted my Family's tribute, emptied the Vitale purse to the last coin, and vanished across the water with Bianca Marchetti.

My parents, hounded by debtors to the edge, threw themselves into the dark. I went to the Falcones demanding the blood I was owed.

Instead, the old men of the Falcone house drugged me and put me aboard a yacht where the powerful played their cruelest games.

Dozens of men dragged me into a private lounge and filmed every shameful second of it.

At the exact moment I climbed onto the deck, ready to throw myself into the sea, my betrothed's brother appeared. He became my one and only salvation.

He cleared every obstacle from my path, made every person who had hurt me pay.

He told me he had loved me for a long time, that he didn't care what had been done to me.

To marry me, he walked away from his place in the Falcone Family and gave me a wedding every made man in the city still spoke of.

Five years into our marriage, I boarded that same yacht again as the Don's Donna.

And by accident, I overheard him speaking with his Consigliere.

"Lorenzo, back then you drugged Adriana Vitale and destroyed her, all for Bianca. Now she's finally with child, and you've brought her here to run the same play again. Isn't that too cruel?"

"Cruel? I gave Bianca my word that only her blood would carry the Falcone name. The little parasite in Adriana's belly cannot be allowed to live. Besides, a soiled woman like that doesn't deserve to bear my son."

"Will the men come the way they did last time? Same as five years ago, no holding back, until Adriana loses it. And remember, don't let her catch on."

So the salvation I'd believed in was just another abyss.

The love I'd believed in was nothing but a lie he had carefully spun.

If that was how it was, then I would help him get exactly what he wanted.

——

On the deck, Lorenzo Falcone stood facing the sea wind, every word soaked in grief, every syllable dressed up as regret.

"Since Bianca has already bound herself to my brother, the most I can do is clear away every obstacle in her path. Looting the Vitale tribute was only the first step. Their territory, their fortune, call it my wedding gift to the happy couple."

"Adriana's already soiled. A woman like that doesn't deserve to bear my child."

Beside him, Matteo Russo drew his brows together, his face unable to hide its discomfort.

"But the men who dragged her into that lounge five years ago, you put them there yourself. For years now she's fought the dark inside her because of it, and you've sat at her bedside through every treatment. No one knows that better than you. You run the same play again, how do you expect her to keep living after that?"

Lorenzo's face went cold. He raised a hand and lit himself a cigarette, the flame steady in the wind.

Smoke curled around him as he spoke, his voice flat.

"Worst case, I keep sitting through her treatments. No matter what, her child cannot be born."

"I gave Bianca my word that Adriana would never be a threat to her."

He ran his thumb slow along the edge of his wedding ring as he said her name.

"And Adriana? Does she deserve to be schemed against like this? She's innocent. She loves you so much. How could you——"

Before Matteo could finish, Lorenzo cut him off, his voice ice.

"Enough. I told you, do it the way I laid it out. If anyone's to blame, blame her for showing up at the wrong time."

"Give me the drug. I need to go back and watch her swallow it with my own eyes."

Seeing there was no moving him, the Consigliere set his glass down without a sound, laced his fingers a moment, then simply turned and walked away.

The tears slipped free before I could stop them.

The sea wind carried them up into the night sky.

I held my arms tight around myself, shaking all over and unable to stop.

Five years ago, Salvatore Falcone drove my Family's tribute into ruin and left for another country with all our money and Bianca Marchetti.

Cornered by debtors with nowhere left to turn, my parents chose to jump.

I went to the Falcones alone, wanting the justice owed in blood.

Instead they drugged me and put me on this yacht.

I became a thing for the powerful to use in their darkest little games.

Dozens of men dragged me into a private lounge and filmed countless videos of my disgrace.

In despair, I crawled out to the deck, ready to throw myself into the sea and be done with it all.

It was Lorenzo Falcone who appeared out of nowhere and pulled me into his arms.

He gave me the only warmth I had.

Gently, stroke by stroke, he wiped away my tears and the blood.

He said:

"Wait for me. Every single person who hurt you, I won't let a single one go free."