Betrayed And Sold To The Mafia King

Valeria“You’re making a scene again, Valeria,” my father hissed, not looking away from the television. “You’re always thinking the whole world is conspiring against you.”I stood in shock in the living room with my fists clenched at my sides. “I’m not being dramatic. I have proof. Lorenzo stole from the company. He has siphoned tens of thousands of dollars out of the company's account.”“So?” he said flatly. “He’s your brother. He probably needed it.”I glanced over to my mother, who was sitting on the couch with one leg crossed over the other, idly stirring the contents of wine in a glass.“Mother,” I said without pleading. “Please, say something. You can't possibly agree with this.”But mother gave me a long, slow sigh. “Valeria, you’re making it sound like it’s the end of the world. Perhaps if you hadn’t made everything about that small wine business, you wouldn’t be this up tight right now.”I blinked. “Little wine business? I started that company from nothing. I worked for it. I

ValeriaI didn't sleep. I stayed up all night, digging through and calling old contacts, messaging anyone who still had enough dignity to answer a phone. Most didn’t. But one had. my retired lease finance lawyer. He sent me the address.That was how I found out that there was going to be an auction the following morning. Funny enough there were no press release about it. It seemed more like they wanted to bury me without a funeral.I arrived at the building dripping with sweat. My shirt clunged to my back, while hair stuck to my forehead. I didn't bother with putting on makeup. My entire life was at stake so couldn't care less.People gawked at me as I ran through the lobby. I heard the whispers as I ran.“Is that her?”“God, she looks terrible…”“She must be desperate.”I pushed past a woman with a clipboard and muscled my way into the auction hall. And that was when I saw them. My father, my mother and Lorenzo.They were seated in the front row. My legs stumbled, but I forced my wa

DanteMy anger stirred as I sank into the chair. I was with Marco, my most trusted ally, his tight features looking frustrated. “Why have her so close, boss?” he asked, his tone low and firm. “Of all people, Valeria DeLuca? After what her mentor did — stole the vineyard, your father’s legacy? Vincenzo’s betrayal was nasty, and now his protege is in your house. I don’t trust her.”I glared at him in disdain, squinting my eyes. Marco was loyal, but he had these moments where he overstepped, challenging something he didn’t understand. Valeria was a pawn on my board, a move I’d planned out long before she’d ever known my name. I’d planned her ruin—the debt, the betrayal of her family, the auction—not just to take back the vineyard but to take her. She was fire, wild and unbroken, a weapon I’d mould in my world. I opened my mouth to say she could be useful, but a muted sound outside the door interrupted me, too sharp and loud in the silence of the estate.I jumped to my feet, my underworld

Valeria A thousand questions filled my head as I left the meeting room. The air outside the chamber felt too cold, too sharp, as though it wanted to snap me out of the thought that swallowed me. But I didn’t know if I wanted to climb out. Not yet. Not when everything seemed to have just… changed.I attempted to control my breathing as I walked down the long, echoing hall. My own footsteps echoed softly on the polished flooring, while my thoughts echoed far more loudly—still with Dante's thunderous challenge across the table."How dare you!" Even now, the recollection returned in pieces. I recalled the fist slamming the table. How all the men in the room had gone still. His voice had cut the tension, and even the guards outside had visibly jumped. He hadn’t said my name. He hadn’t looked at me.But there was something about them that told me the explosion had nothing to do with power or status. It was about me. And that scared me. More than the shouting. More than the auction. He’d de

DanteI felt it, the second I entered the infirmary. That bitter, winding twist of something I wouldn’t name—falling low in my chest. She was lying in the cot, limp and quiet, one of her arms extended for the doctor to swab clean the injury on it. Blood had stained the fabric beneath her, dried black on her skin. She didn’t flinch, not once. Nico stood by the door. He went rigid the moment he saw me and snapped to attention.“She’s stable,” he said. “Just a surface cut. Nothing life threatening.” I nodded slightly, but my eyes were already glued to hers. Valeria. The woman that had been pulled into this world a mere few weeks ago — and who was supposed to be a tool. Now she was another thing altogether.“She initially declined backup,” Nico said. “Told us to go take care of the fight while she delayed Rami’s men. We got a good twenty seconds on them with that jump. Maybe more.” I said nothing. I flicked my eyes to the bandage, the edges of it already soaked through.“She improvised,”