Chapter 20 

“You must create an empire like mine to prove yourself to me.” 

That was my grandfather’s condition. 

Don Fredrinn didn’t raise his voice or lift a brow. He said it like a simple truth, as if becoming a mafia king was as easy as breathing. 

I turned sharply to protest. 

“Grandfather, that’s-” 

But Lothario stopped me. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t hesitate. “I accept.” 

I stared at him in disbelief. Lothario… he wasn’t mafia. He built his empire from the ground up as 

a businessman, not a killer. He had nothing to do with this dark world until me. 

“You don’t have to do this,” I whispered to him when we were alone. 

He just smiled, guiding me gently to the balcony seat as he always did after my walking therapy. 

It had been months now. 

And he never missed a single day. 

Even as the shadows under his eyes deepened and his shoulders carried more weight, he stayed beside me. Always smiling. Always holding my hand through the fire. 

‘You don’t need to worry about me, babe,” he said, resting beside me. “I became a billionaire from scratch, remember? Becoming a mafia lord is just… another climb.” 

looked at him, my heart clenching. He made it sound so easy, but I knew he was burning himself out for me. 

reached out and took his hand. 

He squeezed mine in return. “Trust me. As long as you’re here, I can do anything.” 

My chest tightened. 

couldn’t hold it in anymore. I threw my arms around him and whispered through tears, “When his revenge is over… let’s get married.” 

He froze-then laughed softly, hugging me back tighter than ever. 

That was the start of our empire. 

Lothario rose through the North like wildfire. 

He didn’t just create a mafia family-he built a legacy. A rising power that earned its rank in record time. And while Don Fredrinn did offer connections and introductions, he never lifted a hand to help him cheat. Lothario fought for everything from scratch. 

And I… was no longer bound to a wheelchair. 

YEAR 2022 

LOTHARIO’S PENTHOUSE 

I sat in silence, skimming police reports and medical statements. Pages of brutal truths stacked beside me-proof of my mother’s death. 

In the mirror, a dagger stabbed into the frame reflected my face-half-lit, sharp, unreadable. 

This Time, I Won’t Die By Your Hands My Ex-Boyfriend. 

1/2 716 

12:09 am P 

Sam entered quietly. 

“Felicity is here.” 

I stood immediately. 

In the living room, Lothario sat across from Felicity and her husband, Vincent Kim. They looked like a power couple out of a magazine-but I knew them deeper. Felicity, my cousin. Her mother was Freya, my grandfather’s sister. A proud Desmonte woman. 

“Grandpa already knows the truth about Auntie Vivianne,” Felicity said calmly. “But if you hadn’ stopped him… your revenge plan would’ve ended before it began.” 

I smiled faintly, settling beside Lothario. “He wants to deal with Don Matteo himself, doesn’t 

he?” 

She nodded. “After your plan succeeds. So don’t get too bloodthirsty yet.” 

Vincent Kim crossed one leg over the other, casual. “Did you manage to get what you needec 

from them?” 

I smirked, remembering the deception. The disguise. Lothario and Sam playing bodyguards while I pretended to be Vincent himself. 

“Thanks for lending me your face, cousin-in-law.” 

Vincent grinned. “Anything for my wife’s bloodline.” 

He slid an arm around Felicity’s waist. She rolled her eyes. 

“I’m not here for chitchat,” she said, producing a sleek black envelope. “This is Grandpa’s gift. It’s everything we could dig up on Marian. You’ll want to see this.” 

I opened the folder. 

My smile vanished. 

“Let’s go,” I said firmly, rising. “We need to act now.” 

FIORE MANSION SECRET MEETING 

– 

Disguised again, we slipped into the Fiore estate. 

In Rebecca’s room, I told her everything. 

The love triangle. Don Richard and Don Matteo had both loved one woman-Marielle, Marian’s mother. But Don Richard had taken it too far. His obsession had turned dangerous. 

I revealed the twisted truth: since February 22, Rupert had been replaced by the son of Don Richard and Marielle. Marian… had married her half-brother. 

Rebecca collapsed into her chair, stunned. 

“Where is my real son?” she whispered, voice cracking. 

“We’ll get him,” I promised. “But I need you to help me mislead the hunters. Lure them to one of Don Matteo’s strongholds.” 

She nodded. 

I could see it in her eyes now-fury. The kind I knew well. 

SECRET LOCATION 

When we found Rupert… he looked barely human. 

Chapter 20 

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12:09 am P ppp. Unwashed. Shackled. Bruised. 

He stared at me like he was seeing a ghost. 

“Ivanna…” he croaked. “No… Aria. I’m sorry. I was a fool.” 

I kept my voice cold. “You believed their lies.” 

“I didn’t agree to marry Marian!” he cried. “They forced it. When I refused, my father locked me away. I realized too late what they were doing.” 

Lothario stood behind me, arms crossed. 

“Don Matteo wants Marian to lift their family name through influence,” I said. “Don Richard… he just wants to stay tied to Marielle’s ghost.” 

It was twisted. Vile. 

And unforgivable. 

No matter how many years passed, I would never forgive the way they sacrificed me-for ambition, for delusion, for love that was never real. 

BACK TO THE PRESENT MAFIA COUNCIL COURT 

– 

Mr. Noir stamped the final document, and just like that- 

The territories of Rossi and Fiore merged under Desmonte control. 

Rebecca’s trial would be scheduled next. 

As for Marian? Gone. Vanished like a rat in smoke. 

Don Richard chased after her, abandoning his wife with nothing but silence. 

I didn’t speak. 

I just watched it. 

Lothario cleared his throat beside me, lips tugged into a hopeful smile. 

“So… is it time for me now?” he asked playfully. 

I turned to him, lips twitching upward. 

Almost. 

12:10 am Pppp.