The Principessa's Last Chicago Bet

Ignoring the secretary's attempts to stop me, I kicked open the door to Frank’s office.

Ruby Harlow was sitting on his lap, her face flushed, feeding him grapes one by one, her fingertips brushing his lips suggestively.

Seeing me, she scrambled to stand up but was pushed back down by Frank.

My heart still pricked as if by a needle at the sight of their brazen intimacy.

“Get out.”

Frank patted her back reassuringly. Ruby Harlow shot me a venomous glare before walking out.

Frank lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair.

“Sophia, you understand as well as I do that we’ve come this far, there’s too much between us. Forcing a fight to the bitter end won’t do anyone any good.”

“You’ve been tired all these years. Isn’t it better to just rest and recuperate?”

As he spoke, he gently reached out, trying to touch my hand.

I pulled away in disgust. “Don’t touch me with the hand that just touched that bitch. It’s filthy.”

Frank’s expression changed. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that.”

Seeing him defend her so fiercely, my heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, the pain making it hard to breathe.

He stood up, looking down at me.

“Sophia, be a good girl. I will still give you the honor of being Mrs. Toscano.”

He handed me a power transfer agreement.

“And you can investigate all you want. I’ve pretty much cleaned out the Ventura family’s old guard. A smart person knows what choice to make. Things are different now.”

I sneered and threw the stack of papers in his face.

“Frank Toscano, don’t you forget how you got everything you have today. You think you’re worthy?”

His face turned ashen, the veins bulging on his arms. “Then let’s see about that.”

I left without a backward glance.

From that day on, Frank was determined to teach me a lesson.

Those loyal to me were dealt with under various pretexts.

Our territories were harassed every other day.

A group of men even stormed into Uncle Carlo’s hospital room and trashed it.

Even Aria was ambushed on the street, nearly losing her life.

I balled my fists so tightly they cracked, nearly shattering my teeth from gritting them so hard.

If this was how it was going to be, then the last bit of affection between us was gone.