Chapter 1

Isabella's POV

The Moretti family estate was shrouded in deathly silence at midnight, with only the dim yellow light filtering from the conference room.

I stumbled through the corridor, my elaborate makeup already ruined by tears. The message that had just come through my phone shattered my world in an instant—

Marco was under siege by the Russians.

My brother, my only family left in this world!

I burst through the heavy oak doors of the conference room, and the heads of the Five Families all looked up in unison. Through the smoke-filled air around the round table, Alexander sat upright in the head chair, his once-captivating handsome face appearing unusually stern in the dim lighting.

"Alexander!" I rushed to him and dropped to my knees without hesitation.

Dignity? When my brother's life hung in the balance, none of that mattered!

The air in the conference room instantly froze. I could feel the gazes of the other four family heads—amused, mocking—but I didn't care.

"Please save Marco!" I gripped Alexander's pant leg tightly, tears streaming like a broken dam. "The Russians have him surrounded, he only has twenty men! Alexander, you promised me—the Moretti family would always be allies with the Castellano family!"

I looked up at him, full of hope. This was my husband, the man I loved deeply. He would help me. He HAD to!

But Alexander looked down at me kneeling at his feet, those deep gray eyes showing not a trace of warmth. He slowly pulled his pant leg from my grasp, his voice low and cold:

"Intervening now would trigger an all-out war among the Five Families. I can't destroy everyone's interests for a failed family."

Those words pierced my heart like a blade.

What? A failed family? What was he saying?

"A failed family?" I stared at him in disbelief. "Alexander, that's my brother! Our family!"

"Your family," he corrected me. "Isabella, you need to learn to distinguish reality. The Castellano family's era is over."

My heart completely shattered in that moment.

Light chuckles echoed through the conference room. Boss Romano shook his head mockingly, "What touching sibling devotion."

The head of the DeAngelis family was even more direct. "Alexander, control your woman. Business negotiations aren't a place for dramatic performances."

Humiliation washed over me like a tide. I trembled as I stood up, staring hard at Alexander, hoping he would say just one word in my defense—just one.

But Alexander only adjusted his cufflinks coldly, as if I didn't exist at all.

In that moment, I suddenly understood what it meant to have one's heart turn to ash.

"Understood," my voice became eerily calm. "Crystal fucking clear."

Then I turned and rushed out of the conference room.

Rain poured down, shrouding the entire estate in darkness. I ran desperately toward the garage, my high heels nearly causing me to slip several times on the wet stone steps. I had to get to the scene, had to save Marco—even if I was alone!

"Ma'am!" Two men in black suits suddenly emerged from the darkness, blocking my path.

"Get out of my way!" I roared, trying to push past them.

But the bodyguards expressionlessly took the car keys from my hands. One of them said coldly, "Sorry, ma'am. Boss's orders—you're not going anywhere."

What? Alexander had actually sent people to stop me?

"Let me go! That's my brother! My family!" I screamed desperately, struggling with all my might.

But the bodyguards remained unmoved.

"Sorry, ma'am. We only follow the boss's orders."

I was pushed back inside the estate's iron gates. The luxurious estate had become a cage in that moment, and those sculptures and gardens that once symbolized love and happiness now served as witnesses mocking my naivety.

I knelt in the rain, letting the cold water wash over my body. In the direction of the distant city, I could faintly see flickering flames. There, my brother was fighting for his life, while I was trapped here!

My phone suddenly rang.

I answered with trembling hands, the screen showing Marco's number.

"Bella..." Marco's weak voice came through the phone, with intense gunfire in the background.

"Marco! Marco, where are you? I'm coming to save you!" I screamed hysterically.

"Listen to me..." Marco's voice grew weaker. "Bella... take care of... yourself... don't trust anyone..."

BANG—

After a gunshot, only a dial tone remained.

"Marco! MARCO!" I screamed desperately at the disconnected phone.

No, no, NO! This wasn't real!

I collapsed on the ground, rainwater and tears mixing together, indistinguishable from each other.

Memories flooded back like a tide—

Three years ago, that spring afternoon, young Alexander had knelt before me, his eyes full of deep affection. "Bella, without you and your family's support, I'm nothing. I swear I'll protect you all for life, FOR LIFE."

How stupid I had been then! For the sake of so-called love, I had argued against all opposition to convince Marco to support this bastard son. I still remembered Marco's concern at the time: "Bella, power changes a person. Are you sure he loves you, and not our status?"

How had I answered then?

"Brother, Alexander isn't that kind of person. He loves me, and our union will make both families stronger."

How ridiculous! How FOOLISH!

Now I finally understood—I had been nothing more than a stepping stone on Alexander's path to power from the very beginning. He had needed the Castellano family's support to secure his position as boss, and now he no longer needed it.

Not only did he not need it, but the Castellano family's existence had become a threat to him.

So he wanted to eliminate us.

"It's all my fault..." I wept desperately in the rain. "I killed them... I killed Marco..."