Avalina turned to the crowd, her smile razor-thin.
"I understand why you turned to the Ricci family leaving the Facci in deep water after hearing of my death," she said, her voice dripping with mock sweetness. "After all, you weren't bound to help us. It was mere mutual cooperation. But today, the age-old rivalry between Facci and Ricci is officially over. The Facci won the war. From now on, we are undoubtedly the top organization in Italy. So next time you plan to switch to another family... just remember that next time, the Facci will not be so kind."
She knew the best way to get loyalty from outsiders was to inspire pure, undiluted fear.
She glanced over at Ronald. Ronald took one look at his men, looked down at the barrel pressed against Old Ricci's temple, and pulled the trigger.
BANG.
The gunshot echoed violently off the marble walls. Old Ricci slumped forward, dead before he touched the tiles.
The entire hall froze in absolute shock. Avalina had just executed the head of Italy's greatest rival right before their eyes. She had wiped out the entire Ricci family in a single day, purged every single traitor within her own bloodline, and didn't even drop her champagne glass doing it. It was crystal clear: cross the Facci, and you wouldn't survive the afternoon.
From that day onward, the name Avalina Facci spread like wildfire across the globe. The papers, the streets, and the syndicates had only one title for her:
The Mafia Queen of Europe.
Behind Closed Doors
The grand double doors of the private parlor clicked shut, sealing out the murmurs of the terrified ballroom.
The very second they were in the corridor away from public eyes, the razor-sharp aura vanished. The adrenaline that had kept Avalina upright burned out completely.
A choked, ragged gasp tore from her throat. Her eyes rolled back, and her knees folded like paper.
Before she could hit the cold floor, Rivaldo caught her in his arms, scooping her up as she went entirely limp. Her face was as pale as snow, slick with cold sweat, the dark fabric of her dress already soaked through with fresh blood from her cracked ribs and shredded wrists.
She was burning with a vicious fever from the untreated wounds Stephan had inflicted in that dungeon. She had walked down those marble stairs on pure spite and adrenaline.
For two full days, the entire Facci compound was placed under martial lockdown while Avalina lay unconscious in the medical wing. Anna barely slept, sitting by her bedside with cold towels, while private surgeons worked around the clock to stitch torn flesh, stabilize her fractured ribs, and flush the infection from her bloodstream.
The rhythmic, shallow beep of the heart monitor was the only sound breaking the heavy silence. On the bed, Avalina looked terrifyingly fragile. Stripped of the midnight mourning gown and the lethal smirk, she was just an exhausted girl swallowed by white sheets, an IV line taped to her bruised wrist, and thick medical gauze binding her cracked ribs.
Stella stood by the foot of the bed, her arms wrapped around herself, pacing like a caged beast.
"Two broken ribs. Deep tissue bruising. Sepsis knocking at the door," Stella hissed, her voice cracking between blind fury and tears. "And she marched down a marble staircase in four-inch heels like she was attending Paris Fashion Week! Is she completely out of her damn mind?!"
"Lower your voice, Stella," Butler Jess murmured from the armchair in the corner. His hands rested on the silver handle of his cane, his weathered face pale with exhaustion. "The sedatives barely took hold an hour ago."
"I won't lower my voice!" Stella choked, glaring at the bed before rubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her oversized sweater. "Look at her, Jess! She spent sixteen hours in Stephan's dungeon letting them beat her half to death just to make the leaked execution video look authentic. Who does that?! Who uses their own ribs as bait?!"
"Avalina does," Benjamin answered quietly.
He was sitting backward on a metal chair, resting his chin on the backrest, watching the IV drip. His usual cocky grin was nowhere to be found.
"She knew Old Ricci was a paranoid bastard," Benjamin muttered, his knuckles white. "If she didn't look completely shattered in that basement footage, Ricci would have smelled a setup from fifty miles away. She bet her own life on the table because it was the only way to get every single rat—Donald, Francis, the elders—in one room."
"And if Rivaldo had been thirty seconds late pulling her out of that compound?" Stella snapped, whipping around to glare at Benjamin. "What then, genius?! We'd be having an actual funeral right now!"
"I wasn't late," a cold, low voice rumbled from the shadows by the window.
Rivaldo hadn't sat down once in thirty-six hours. He was still wearing his charcoal dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, dark circles bruising the skin under his eyes. His gaze hadn't moved from Avalina's pale face since he carried her through the doors.
Stella scoffed, though the anger drained from her posture, replaced by sheer helplessness. "You're just as insane as she is, Rivaldo. You knew the plan. You let her walk into that torture chamber."
"You think anyone on this planet can stop her when she decides to burn an empire down?" Rivaldo asked, his tone flat, devoid of warmth. "She ordered me to hold the extraction until Stephan transmitted the feed to Ricci. If I had moved early, she would have killed Stephan and then shot me for disobeying."
He stepped closer to the bedside, his jaw tightening as he looked at the purple hematomas creeping above the bandages on her collarbone.
"She doesn't value her own skin," Rivaldo said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "She never has. Not since she was eight years old."
The door swung open, and Anna walked in carrying a basin of fresh water and clean towels. Her eyes were puffy and red, lines of age etched deep into her forehead.
"Out. All of you, out," Anna scolded gently, though her voice wobbled as she set the basin on the nightstand. "Hovering over her like gargoyles won't make the fever drop any faster."
"Mother Anna, we just—" Benjamin started.
"You're tracking dirt and yelling like street urchins," Anna said, dipping a cloth into the cool water and tenderly pressing it against Avalina's burning forehead. "She won a war today. The least you children can do is let her sleep."
As the cool cloth touched her skin, Avalina stirred faintly. A tiny, pained whimper slipped past her dry, chapped lips, her brow furrowing in a feverish nightmare.
"...don't... the fire..." Avalina whispered, barely audible, her small fingers clutching at the bedsheet. "...Mother... please..."
The entire room went dead silent.
Stella froze, her hand flying to her mouth. Benjamin looked away, staring hard at the floorboards, while Butler Jess let out a heavy, sorrowful sigh. In all the years they had known the untouchable "Mafia Queen of Europe," none of them had ever heard her sound so young. So terrified.
Rivaldo moved before anyone else could react. He reached out, his large, calloused hand gently wrapping around her trembling fingers, anchoring her.
"I've got you," Rivaldo murmured, his voice so quiet, so tender, it sounded like a different man entirely. "The fire is out, Avi. You're home."
Under his grip, the tension slowly melted from her shoulders. Her ragged breathing settled, her brow smoothed out, and she sank back into a deep, uninterrupted sleep.
Stella swallowed the lump in her throat, looking between Rivaldo's hand and Avalina's peaceful face.
"When she wakes up," Stella whispered, half-laughing through a stray tear, "I'm still going to kill her for doing this to us."
"Get in line," Rivaldo said softly, never letting go of her hand. "I called first."
Only on the evening of the third day did her fever finally break and her color return.
Facci Mansion — Dining Hall
Three days later
Once Avalina was finally back on her feet—heavily bandaged beneath a loose silk shirt, but walking under her own power—the inner circle gathered in the private dining hall to celebrate her recovery.
Only her core people were allowed inside: the Facci V members, Butler Jess, and Head Maid Anna. Even though Anna was technically the head maid, Avalina loved her like a mother, treated her with the deepest respect, and always made her sit and eat at the table with them.
Avalina took her place at the head of the table. The food had already been laid out by the kitchen staff, whom Avalina promptly dismissed. She never let maids stand around waiting on them while they ate. If anyone needed seconds, they stood up and scooped it themselves. In part, it was because she had spent her childhood as an overworked servant girl in the Stone family—a miserable story for another time. But mostly, she wanted absolute privacy with the few people on earth she actually cared about.
"Hey, Avalina! You scared the absolute hell out of us!" Stella slammed her hands on the table, glaring with an angry pout. "First you fake your death, then you show up like a ghost, and then you pass out for two whole days and almost give us heart attacks! You owe us a massive explanation! I abandoned everything and rushed here from Country D the second I heard you were dead! Do you know how heartbroken I was?! Luckily, Alex heard the news late, so I told him to stay put and not board the jet."
"Yeah, if you drop dead, who are we supposed to bully?" Benjamin grinned, taking a huge bite out of a fried chicken leg. "I still can't believe the little girl we used to tease is the Mafia Queen of Europe. Man, who would believe it? We literally used to call you a crybaby!"
Avalina burst out laughing, ducking her head to hide the sudden blush creeping up her cheeks.
"Aah! Look at that, the big boss is blushing!" Stella cheered, grinning from ear to ear. "Other mob bosses would pay millions just to see you blush like a normal girl!"
Around outsiders, Avalina never showed real emotion. She was either a stone-faced assassin or wearing her trademark evil smirk. But with her childhood friends, all the masks came off. Well... except the crying face. She had sworn years ago never to shed another tear in front of people, unless it was part of an act to trap an enemy.
"I have to admit, Miss Facci, your strategy was incredible," Butler Jess said delightedly, pouring a cup of tea. "Even though we were number one in Italy, Ricci was always snapping at our heels. Now, we have zero threats left. Not just in Italy, but across all of Europe."
"Don't go inflating her ego," Rivaldo cut in, his arms crossed as he leaned back. His dark eyes lingered on her bandaged side. "Her plans could have backfired easily. She pulled it off purely on luck and sheer stubbornness. Don't forget, she passed out the second she stepped out of the hall, and she's the lunatic who handed a loaded gun to Jess and told him to pick between her and Francis."
If anyone else dared criticize her like that, they'd lose their tongue. But Rivaldo had always been like a protective older brother to her. He complained constantly, but Avalina knew that if she were ever in real danger, Rivaldo would be the first man to throw himself into the line of fire. She was completely oblivious, of course, to the much deeper feelings he held for her.
"Brother Rivaldo, he did shoot Francis, didn't he?" Avalina said, her voice turning calm and serious. She glanced over, noticing the faint look of guilt lingering on Butler Jess's face. "I know it was hard for Jess, but I had to do it. If Francis lived today, he would have betrayed our family the first chance he got tomorrow."
"Still, Avi, giving him a choice between you and Francis was barely a test," Stella giggled. "If it were me, I would've made him choose between you and someone actually useful!"
"I wish you were the one tested, so we wouldn't have to listen to your stupid suggestions," Benjamin snorted, making the whole table crack up.
"Avi... please, next time, warn us," Anna murmured softly, reaching over to squeeze Avalina's hand. Her eyes were still tired from staying up by her bed for the past two days. "We were so worried about you."
"Yes, Mother Anna. I promise," Avalina said, her tone softening completely.
Then, her eyes chilled, and she looked around the table. The relaxed family atmosphere vanished in a split second.
"The Ricci family is finished. But the ones who really bankrolled them, the ones who wanted us to wipe each other out... was the Stone family," Avalina said flatly. "If we leave them alone, there will just be another Ricci, and next time, we might not be this lucky. We have to confront the Stone family. And soon."
Seeing her switch into boss mode, the entire table straightened up. As much as they joked around, the second Avalina turned serious, nobody argued. They all knew what she was capable of.
Stella was a world-class hacker. Benjamin was a genius at corporate management and laundering. Rivaldo was the deadliest fighter in Europe. Alex was an elite weapons designer. And Avalina? Avalina was practically a master at all four of those disciplines, standing just a hair behind each specialist. When she wanted a mission done, her word was absolute law.
"Stella, how is our expansion in Country D going?" Avalina asked.
Stella sighed, setting her fork down. "Our underworld branch is expanding, but it's moving at a snail's pace. The people in Country D are fiercely patriotic and stubborn as hell. The local mafia bosses over there would literally rather get crushed by the Stones than shake hands with a foreign organization. Our legal side is doing much better, though. Our fashion brand sales are exploding, but it's still going to take a long time before we can go toe-to-toe with the top five conglomerates there."
It had been three whole years since Avalina sent Stella to plant Facci roots in Country D. Despite their progress, the pace was frustratingly slow.
Avalina paused, staring down at the dark wood of the table.
"And the woman I told you to look after?" she asked quietly.
The dining room went completely dead silent.
Stella hesitated, biting her lip. "Avalina... tell me the truth. Is she your mother? It has to be, right? The records say she killed Old Stone's younger brother. Her daughter supposedly burned to death in that estate fire. I remember the burn scars near your collarbone... even though they're almost faded, they're still there—"
"Stella!" Avalina snapped.
The shout hit like a gunshot. Everyone froze. It was the first time any of them had ever seen Avalina lose her temper at one of her own. Stella had blindly struck the deepest, most agonizing nerve of her past.
Avalina took a slow, shuddering breath, keeping her eyes shut until the venom receded. When she opened them, her voice was flat.
"Yes. She is my mother."
No one dared utter a word. They knew bits and pieces of the hell she had survived as a child, but none of them dared pry.
Stella swallowed hard, feeling terrible, and quickly rushed to the point. "I... I got her a cleaning job at the Facci branch office in the capital. She was only released from prison six months ago after serving a full sentence for murder. I... I can move her to a better, cleaner position if you want—"
"No need," Avalina cut in, her fingers gripping her water glass so tightly the glass groaned. "I know her capabilities. She spent her entire life scrubbing the floors of the Stone manor. She's comfortable doing that work."
Her eyes rimmed with raw red, swimming with a mixture of bitter hatred and suppressed tears.
Seeing her look so small and wounded made Rivaldo's heart ache. He knew roughly what had happened to her all those years ago, but he had never pushed her to talk about it. Tonight, seeing her like this, he couldn't stay quiet.
"Avalina... you know we're your family," Rivaldo said gently, his deep voice unusually soft. "You can tell us. It might help."
Avalina didn't look at him. She blinked away the redness, turning her face back toward Stella with cold determination.
"It's time for me to go there."
Every person at the table gasped.
If there was one place on earth Avalina hated, feared, and outright refused to set foot in, it was Country D. Even when Facci V took high-stakes contracts there, even when she drew up every tactical map and exit strategy, she had never once gone physically.
"Are you sure, Avi?" Anna asked, panic in her voice. "Ever since you arrived here as a little girl, you swore you'd never go back to that place."
"Yes, Mother Anna," Avalina said firmly. "No one knows Country D or the Stones better than I do. I have a few remaining matters to settle here in Europe over the next two days. Once that's done, I'm boarding the flight."
"I'm coming with you," Rivaldo said instantly, leaving no room for argument.
He knew the demons waiting for her across the ocean. When she finally stepped back into that country, she was going to come face-to-face with the nightmares of her childhood. There was no way in hell he was letting her face that alone.
Avalina looked up at Rivaldo. She knew better than to try to argue with him—and secretly, a wave of relief washed over her chest. She really did need someone she trusted completely by her side.
"Fine," Avalina whispered.
They finished the rest of their dinner in quiet focus, each preparing their minds for the war waiting for them on foreign soil.