---- Chapter 15 Alex POV: | was woken in the dead of night by the buzz of Aria's phone on the bedside table. She was fast asleep, breathing heavily beside me. A text message lit up the screen. It was from a contact named "Rico." Curiosity, cold and sharp, cut through my alcohol-induced haze. | knew | shouldn't, but a dark instinct | couldn't ignore took over. | picked up her phone. It wasn't locked. *Did you get the money yet?* the text from Rico read. *That loan shark is getting impatient. We need that first payment. * | scrolled up. My blood ran cold. *Rico: Just stick to the plan. He's totally buying the twins story. Men are so stupid when it comes to heirs.* *Aria: | know. It's almost too easy. He's setting me up in a villa in Italy. Once I'm there, I'll fake a "miscarriage," get the test of the payoff, and we are GONE.* *Rico: My man in the clinic said the forged sonograms looked perfect. You're a genius, sis.* ---- The phone slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor. Nausea, hot and acidic, rose in my throat. It was all a lie. The pregnancy. The twins. The dizziness. All of it. A cheap, pathetic grift. | had thrown away my wife-my queen-for this. For a lying, scheming piece of trash. | had disgraced my family name, destroyed my marriage, and lost the only woman | had ever truly... | couldn't even form the word. A cold, terrifying calm settled over me. The kind of calm that comes before a storm. This was beyond a personal betrayal. This was an attack on the De Luca family. And it required a response. A *Vendetta*. | quietly got out of bed. Aria stirred but didn't wake. In the other room, | made a call. "Giovanni," | whispered into the secure line. "l want everything you can find on Aria Diaz and her brother, Rico Diaz. Bank accounts, associates, debts. Everything. | want it by morning." When she woke up, | made her breakfast. | smiled. | told her | loved her. | played the part of the devoted fool she thought | was. All the while, | was planning her destruction. ---- Later that day, at a quiet dinner, | looked her in the eyes. "Is there anything you need to tell me, Aria?" | asked, my voice soft. "Any secrets?" "Of course not, baby," she said, stroking my hand. "| have no secrets from you." My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was the report from Giovanni. Every detail of her scam was confirmed. Every lie, every debt. | looked at the woman across from me, this empty, greedy shell of a person. And all | could feel was a bottomless, soul -crushing regret. Not for her, but for Katarina. | had held a teal queen in my hands, and | had let her go for a cheap imitation. And | would burn the world down to get her back. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!