Chapter 2

Katarina De Luca POV

I sat at the head of the long mahogany dining table, the morning sun filtering through the high-arched windows. Dust motes danced in the shafts of light, oblivious to the tension winding tight in the room.

Donato De Luca, the Don of the family and my father-in-law, sat at the opposite end. He was cutting his steak with surgical precision, the knife scraping against the china in rhythmic, deliberate strokes.

"Katarina," he said, his voice gravelly, like stones grinding together. "You seem quiet this morning."

I took a slow sip of my black coffee. It was bitter, mirroring the taste of bile I'd been swallowing for weeks.

"I've been reviewing the family's charitable foundation accounts, Donato," I said, keeping my voice smooth, devoid of emotion. "I noticed some... irregularities. Parasitic expenses that are bleeding the fund dry."

Donato paused, his knife hovering mid-air. He looked up, his dark, heavy-lidded eyes boring into mine. He was a predator by nature, and he recognized the shift in the atmospheric pressure. He didn't see the submissive, grieving daughter-in-law today. He saw a player sitting at the table.

"Is that so?" he asked, his interest piqued.

"I think it's time we cut the dead weight," I stated, holding his gaze. "Starting with the discretionary allowances for non-core family members. We need to prioritize the legacy, not fund the hobbies of hangers-on."

He stared at me for a long, stretching moment. Then, a small, almost imperceptible smile touched the corners of his lips. It was a look of approval.

"Mark," he called out to his Consigliere, who was blending into the shadows by the wall. "Do as she says."

Mark nodded once and began tapping on his tablet.

Two hours later, the shockwave hit the manor.

News traveled fast in our world. Aria had tried to purchase a limited-edition designer handbag in the city, only to have her Black Card declined. Rumor had it the sales clerks had been less than discreet about the rejection.

I sat in the family garden, a book open on my lap, though I hadn't turned a page in twenty minutes. The air was fragrant with jasmine, but the peace was about to be shattered.

I heard the commotion before I saw it.

Aria was marching across the manicured lawn, her face flushed a mottled red. She looked ready to scream, to tear me apart. But the moment she spotted me, her expression shifted instantly.

The anger vanished, replaced by a mask of sweet, wide-eyed concern. It was a terrifyingly practiced switch.

We were near the family stables. It was a gathering day, meaning several Capos' wives were present, sipping champagne under the white pavilion and watching the thoroughbreds.

Aria walked up to me. She was wearing a custom riding outfit that likely cost more than the GDP of a small country.

"Katarina," she cooed, reaching out to link her arm with mine. "Is everything okay? I heard there was a terrible glitch with the accounts."

She was testing me. She wanted a reaction, a public scene she could manipulate.

I felt a physical revulsion at her touch. It was like having a viper coil around my bicep.

I pulled away. I didn't shove her. I didn't strike her. I simply stepped back, disengaging my limb from hers as if she were contagious.

"Personal space, Aria," I said, my voice dipping into a frigid register.

Aria's eyes widened. She stumbled back, though there was nothing to trip over. She threw her arms out, unbalanced herself on purpose, and fell backward onto the muddy grass with a theatrical gasp.

"Oh!" she cried out, clutching her ankle and grimacing in feigned pain. "Katarina, why did you push me?"

The chatter under the pavilion stopped instantly.

The wives rushed over, their heels sinking into the turf, clucking like a flock of agitated hens.

"How could you?" one of them hissed at me, kneeling beside Aria. "She's just a girl."

"So heartless," another whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

I stood there, frozen in the center of the storm. The gaslighting was instant. Collective. They saw what they wanted to see.

Then came the heavy, urgent footsteps.

Alessandro came striding from the stables, his boots thudding against the earth. He didn't look at me. He went straight to Aria, scooping her up into his arms as if she were made of spun glass.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice dripping with a tenderness that made my stomach turn over.

"I'm fine," Aria whimpered, burying her face in the crook of his neck, hiding her smirk. "She didn't mean it. I probably just... tripped."

Alessandro turned his head. His eyes met mine, and they were shards of blue ice.

"Apologize," he commanded.

I looked at him. I looked at the woman acting out a tragedy against his chest.

"No," I said.

"Katarina," he warned, his voice a low growl.

"I didn't touch her," I stated calmly, refusing to shrink back.

He sneered, disgust curling his lip. "You are jealous. It's pathetic."

He turned on his heel and carried her away toward the main house. The wives glared at me, shaking their heads in judgment, before following them like a funeral procession.

I stood alone in the mud, the silence deafening.

Later that afternoon, an announcement was made. To "compensate" Aria for her distress, Alessandro would be personally giving her private riding lessons.

I watched from the second-floor balcony.

Down in the paddock, Alessandro was adjusting Aria's grip on the reins. He was standing behind her, his chest pressed flush against her back. He whispered something in her ear, and she laughed, throwing her head back, exposing her throat.

He handed her the reins to *Obsidian*, his favorite stallion. He never let anyone ride that horse. Not even me.

A memory flashed-me, asking him to come to my ballet rehearsals. The empty seat in the front row, night after night, mocking me.

"*Dignity is more important than life,*" Donato had once told me.

Right now, my dignity was being trampled into the dirt of that paddock along with the hoofprints.

Alessandro wasn't just cheating on me. He was erasing me.

I turned away from the balcony, the image of them burned into my retinas. I needed a new strategy. I was a queen on a chessboard where the king had defected to the other side.

It was time to stop playing defense.