A Debt Paid in Sightless Tears

I stumbled into the bathroom and retched violently. When Alessio had held me, he reeked of Sofia's cloying perfume.

It was utterly revolting. I scrubbed my hands until they were raw before emerging.

Alessio took my white cane and carried me downstairs to the car.

Five years is a long time. Long enough for empires to fall.

The once most sought-after architect of the Family was now a blind woman.

When I walked into the meeting room, my former subordinate, Marco, was sitting smugly in my old seat.

Marco strode over and chastised me, his face a stony mask.

"You're half an hour late to a Council meeting. According to the rules, you are to be stripped of all duties."

Someone whispered, "What can a blind woman do, anyway?"

But when he saw Sofia enter right behind me, Marco’s face transformed, his expression melting into that of a fawning lapdog.

"Miss Sofia, here are the materials for today's meeting. All prepared for you."

The surrounding Elders also scrambled to flock around her. "Principessa, your favorite espresso."

While I rotted on that island, Sofia, who was once just an Associate with a token title, had usurped everything that was mine.

I pretended not to hear the insults like "blind woman" and "disgrace to the Family" as I turned to leave.

But as I passed a lounge, I overheard Alessio, who was supposed to be in the meeting, talking with his right-hand man.

"Don, if you want Isabella sidelined so Sofia feels secure, why not just declare her unfit for duty? Keep her at home. Why go through all this trouble?"

"Sofia is the only daughter of the Gallo family, and she has PTSD. She will always need my protection."

"Isabella's talent was too blinding. Only by making her literally blind, as dependent on me as Sofia is, could she learn to be submissive."

He sighed.

"She would never agree to just be locked away. That's why I arranged the delay this morning. This way, she's stripped of her duties by the Council. It's official. She'll have no choice but to accept it and stay home."

Once, a designer from a rival family plagiarized my work.

But I was the one dragged to the disciplinary chamber by our own Elders, where I was "taught a lesson" that amounted to three hours of humiliation.

He had watched it all happen.

Back then, before he became Don, he had cried and sworn to me that he would never let me be bullied again.

But for the last five years, Alessio had only protected Sofia.

A Principessa who couldn't even read an architectural blueprint had taken my place.

It felt like I'd swallowed fire, a searing bitterness scorching my throat and chest.

Fortunately, those dogs of Alessio's are now sleeping with the fishes at the bottom of Lake Michigan.

And that corrupt doctor who forged my blindness report—after I forced him to write it, I sent him to meet his maker.

Alessio knew nothing.

I let out a cold laugh.

Alessio, your turn is coming. A blood debt must be paid in blood.

When I returned home, Alessio comforted me with cloying sincerity.

"Isabella, I heard what happened. Don't worry, even without your duties, it doesn't matter. I'll take care of you."

Knowing I couldn't see, he opened the secret vault in his study without a second thought.

The hidden camera in my sunglasses faithfully recorded the password.

He took out a stack of trust fund documents and thrust them into my arms.

"All of this can be transferred to your name."

"These are all in Sofia Gallo's name. How can they be transferred to me?"

My hard work built these assets.

Just as I spoke, my phone screen lit up.

"Isabella, password and fingerprint sequence received. Digital model of the vault is complete. We can empty it tomorrow."

Alessio glanced over instinctively.