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The Don’s Heiress Vanished on Her Birthday
The Don’s Heiress Vanished on Her Birthday
作者: Gemma

Chapter 1

作者: Gemma
When I opened my eyes again, I knew I had been reborn.

I was back after the crash.

Back to the hospital room where everyone thought I was lucky to be alive.

I heard every word the guards whispered outside my door.

“Mr. Corleone just glanced in here and went straight to Miss White's room again, huh? Did he even stay two minutes?”

“Poor Miss Rossi. Seven days in a coma. Thank Christ her condition's finally stabilized a bit.”

“The Whites took bullets for the Capos. But Miss Rossi's a real soldier. She fought through it. Word is she was conscious when they brought her in, and she didn't flinch once...”

I tried to scream. I tried to tell them I was scared. That I hurt everywhere. That I needed him too.

But my body was lead, and only the pain in my chest grew sharper, sharper than any broken bone.

Vincent.

The one who’d knelt at my father’s grave and swore he’d protect me for the rest of our lives.

He was in the next room right now, holding another woman, whispering soft reassurances.

In my last life, I had screamed myself hoarse trying to make him look at me.

I had cursed Lilian White for stealing my man, begged Vincent to remember who his fiancée was, and fought for a place he should have protected without being asked.

In the end, all that noise won me nothing.

I picked up my phone from the desk.

“Professor Hartmann,” I said, my voice steady. “This is Isabella Rossi. I accept your invitation. I will be at the institute in one week.”

“I knew you would call eventually, my dear. We have been waiting for you.”

I hung up the phone and stared at my mother’s portrait on the wall.

She’d always told me that my mind was my greatest weapon, that no man was worth giving up my dreams for.

I ignored her.

But this time, I would listen to her.

I called our family’s most trusted asset manager.

“Liquidate every single asset in my personal portfolio. Cash only. No delays.”

“Understood, Miss Rossi.”

I hung up just as the study door opened.

Vincent walked in, his dark hair falling over his forehead.

He crossed the room in three strides and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close against his chest.

“Bella,” he murmured, kissing the top of my head.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Lilian’s project is falling apart. The European syndicate is breathing down our necks, and she’s panicking. You’re the only one who can fix this.”

I closed my eyes for a second. Last time, I’d stayed up three straight nights rewriting her entire code from scratch.

She’d presented it as her own work at the syndicate meeting, and Vincent had pulled me aside afterward and said, “She needs this, Bella. She has no family name to fall back on. You have the Rossis. You don’t need anyone’s approval.”

This time, I pulled back just enough to look at him, and I smiled.

“Of course. Send me the files.”

His face lit up like a kid on Christmas. He kissed me hard on the lips. “That’s my girl. I knew I could count on you. I owe you one.”

He left, and I sat back down at the desk.

I didn’t open the files he sent.

I didn’t care about Vincent and Lilian anymore.

I had exactly one week before I would disappear forever. On my birthday.
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  • The Don’s Heiress Vanished on Her Birthday   Chapter 9

    He stayed outside for two days and two nights. He didn’t eat. He didn’t sleep. He just stood there, staring at the door.On the third morning, I opened it. He was still there, pale and shaking, covered in frost. I handed him a mug of hot coffee.“Come inside,” I said.He followed me into the kitchen and sat down at the table. He didn’t drink the coffee. He just stared at me, as if he was afraid I’d disappear if he blinked.“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness,” he said finally. “I know I hurt you more than anyone ever has. But I’m begging you, Bella. Give me a second chance. I’ll give up the mafia. I’ll move here. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Whatever you want, I’ll do it.”He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket and opened it. Inside was a new engagement ring, simpler than the first one.“Marry me,” he said, kneeling on the floor in front of me. “Please.”I looked at him, and I felt nothing. No anger. No sadness. No love. The girl who’d loved him h

  • The Don’s Heiress Vanished on Her Birthday   Chapter 8

    I’d bought a small cottage on the shore of a quiet lake, surrounded by pine trees. I spent my days gardening, painting, and hiking in the mountains. Here at the cottage, I had no phone, no television, no internet. I was completely alone, and I was happy.It was a crisp October afternoon when I heard the car pull up the driveway. I was in the garden, pruning my white rose bushes, and I didn’t look up. I thought it was the mailman.Then I heard his voice.“Bella.”My hand froze on the pruning shears. I’d know that voice anywhere. It had haunted my dreams for years, but now it just sounded tired. Old.I slowly turned around.He was standing at the edge of the garden, leaning against a black car. He looked nothing like the man I’d left. His hair was streaked with gray, his face was lined with exhaustion, and his eyes were red and bloodshot. He’d lost weight, and his suit hung loosely on his frame.For a long moment, we just stared at each other.“You found me,” I said finally. My vo

  • The Don’s Heiress Vanished on Her Birthday   Chapter 7

    Nine years after I left New York and everything that had broken me, I lived alone and in perfect peace. The chaos of the mafia world, the endless compromises, the quiet agony of waiting to be chosen, all of it felt like a distant dream, something that had happened to a stranger. I woke up every morning to the sound of birds outside my institute dorm window, made myself a cup of strong black coffee, and walked to the lab before the sun was fully up. No one demanded anything from me. No one expected me to be strong for anyone but myself.My project, which had consumed every waking moment of these nine years, finally reached its final phase. I stood in the empty lab one evening, watching the soft glow of the monitors as the first successful test run completed, and a slow, genuine smile spread across my face. This was not something I’d built for a man, or for a family, or for anyone’s approval. It was mine. Every late night, every failed experiment, every moment of doubt and frustrati

  • The Don’s Heiress Vanished on Her Birthday   Chapter 6

    The three men who’d shot me at the warehouse were captured in Mexico a week later after I left. They’d been running a small drug ring, and they’d made the mistake of crossing a Corleone affiliate. Vincent flew to Mexico personally. He didn’t care about the drugs. He only wanted to know who’d sent them.At first, they refused to talk. But after two days, the leader broke. “It was the girl,” he gasped. “The blonde one. Lilian White. She paid us 50 grand to graze Miss Rossi’s arm. Said we couldn’t kill her. Just make it look real, so it could warn her to leave as soon as possible.”Vincent’s world shattered. The cigar he’d been holding dropped to the floor, burning a hole through his tailored trousers, but he didn’t feel a thing. He flew back to New York that night and launched a full investigation into Lilian’s past. What he found destroyed him.Her parents hadn’t died saving his life. They’d been executed for selling family secrets to the FBI. Lilian had known the truth, but she’d

  • The Don’s Heiress Vanished on Her Birthday   Chapter 5

    Twelve hours later, Vincent finally left Lilian at the hospital after the doctors confirmed that her heart was fine and that the attack had only been caused by panic.She had spent the entire night crying in his arms, saying she should never have touched the necklace, that Isabella must hate her now, and that she was terrified I would never forgive her.Vincent stayed with her until morning.When he finally drove back to the Rossi estate, the house was already silent.The staff had been dismissed with three months’ pay, and every trace of me had disappeared.My clothes, my books, even the hairbrush I had kept since I was sixteen were all gone.The only thing left was the cold fireplace, where a thin layer of ash covered the hearth.Mixed in with the ash was a small, twisted lump of gold, the remains of the engagement ring he had once pressed into my hand.Then he called me, over and over, until his phone died. He mobilized the entire Corleone intelligence network by dawn, but it was t

  • The Don’s Heiress Vanished on Her Birthday   Chapter 4

    The next evening, the family quarterly dinner was held at our private club in Brooklyn.But Vincent had been badgering me to go, insisting it would be perfectly safe and that I needed to get some fresh air.So I finally caved. The room was loud with laughter and conversation, but I sat quietly, sipping a glass of wine. Lilian clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s play Truth or Dare! It’ll be fun!”Everyone cheered and agreed.She won the first round, grinning triumphantly. “I won! And I dare… number two and number five to dance the tango!”I looked down at my card. Two.Vincent looked at his. Five.The room erupted in cheers and whistles.Vincent stood up immediately, a hopeful smile spreading across his face. He walked over to me and held out his hand, his blue eyes shining. “Bella?” he said softly.I looked at his hand. I remembered all the times we’d danced together. At our engagement party. At every family event for the past ten years. I remembered how safe I’

  • The Don’s Heiress Vanished on Her Birthday   Chapter 3

    Two days before my birthday, I was leaving the old warehouse where I’d stored all my research equipment when gunshots rang out.A bullet grazed my right arm.I fell to the concrete floor, white-hot pain exploding through my body. I looked up and saw three masked men running towards the getaway car.

  • The Don’s Heiress Vanished on Her Birthday   Chapter 2

    Four days later, I was back at the Rossi estate, packing away the last of my mother’s research files.The Hartmann Institute had already sent over my admission documents. My assets were being moved quietly, and my new passport was waiting in a safehouse across the city.Everything was almost ready.

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