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The Don’s Neglected Wife
The Don’s Neglected Wife
Autor: Elin

Chapter 1

Autor: Elin
"Ma'am, please use the emergency exit. Do not remain here."

The airport speaker crackled again. I took one step, and my legs gave way.

I had traveled through hell to get here. No sleep, no food, just the roar of engines and the taste of fear.

And for what?

On the flight back home, I finally let myself cry.

When I landed, I went straight to the law firm. I looked like hell — matted hair, cracked lips, hollow eyes. The elevator doors opened, and I heard a woman's voice behind me, playful and sweet.

"Who stole the lace one from my bag? Now I'm going commando. This is your fault."

A low laugh on the other end of the line.

"Careful. I'll make you pay for that later."

I turned slowly.

Rosa Quinn. Flawless makeup. A soft, smug smile.

She was still on the phone. "Do you still have enough in your drawer? Or did you use them all?"

The elevator doors closed. The mirrored walls reflected two women. One polished, young, laughing. The other — gray-faced, broken.

She didn't recognize me. Why would she? I barely recognized myself.

A man's voice drifted through the phone. Low. Familiar.

"You know I can't resist you."

She giggled. "If your wife heard that, she'd file for divorce again."

"Let her. I always bring her back. She can't leave me."

The elevator's air conditioning bit into my skin, but I felt like I was choking.

She lowered her voice, teasing. "Are you trying to make me jealous? Careful, or I'll walk into your office and announce to everyone that Don Vito Hart is cheating on his wife. With his old mistress."

A chuckle. "Behave. Don't let her find out."

The doors opened.

He was standing there. Vito Hart. My husband. The Don of the Hart family.

Suit sharp, tie straight. He stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Rosa's waist, and kissed her.

She laughed and pulled back. He pulled her closer and kissed her deeper.

She tapped his chest. "There's someone here…"

Vito finally looked up.

I turned away fast. My eyes burned.

"Let her watch," he said. "It's not what you think."

Rosa melted against him, shaking with quiet laughter. He took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"I only came back to the office for a file," he murmured. "I hate being away from you."

She smiled. "Fine. Tonight, whatever you want. As a reward."

The elevator dropped to the parking level. I followed like a ghost.

They got into his car. The license plate was my birthday.

Soon, the vehicle rocked gently.

I stood there, cold crawling up my spine.

No one knew.

The first time Vito and I were together — it was in a car like that. His palms were sweaty. He kept asking if I was okay. I said yes, and he laughed, said I was too good to him.

"I'll never let you down, Sera."

Later, he wrapped me in his coat and turned the heat to full. I leaned on his shoulder and dreamed out loud. Someday we'd have the best car money could buy.

He said yes. Whatever car. In my name.

He built an empire. We married. Three good years.

Then I found him in bed with Rosa, his underboss's daughter.

I wanted a divorce. I didn't want a cent.

The day the papers were signed, he jumped from the third floor.

He didn't die. Broke his leg. Lying in a hospital bed, begging me to stay.

I was weak. I stayed. I nursed him for six months until he could walk again.

We remarried. He was better than before. Promised he'd never hurt me again.

And now.

The barely healed wound on my heart was ripped open.

Bleeding fresh.
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  • The Don’s Neglected Wife   Chapter 9

    Three months later, the city had turned from winter to spring. The trees along Fifth Avenue were blooming. Tourists took pictures. Life went on.I was promoted. Front desk to lobby manager. The general manager — a crisp British woman named Mrs. Holloway — called me into her office."Sera, you've done exceptional work. I'm recommending you for the overseas training placement. Six months in London. After that, executive track."For the first time in years, I saw a future. Not a future with Vito. Not a future defined by his betrayal. A future of my own.I was making my rounds in the lobby when the revolving doors turned.A man walked in. Gaunt. His suit hung off him like borrowed clothes. Dark hollows under his eyes. Days of stubble on his jaw. He'd lost at least twenty pounds.I froze for half a second. Then I remembered who I was now.Vito.He stood in front of me, hands at his sides. Like he didn't know what to do with them. The man who once commanded armies of lawyers and soldiers now

  • The Don’s Neglected Wife   Chapter 8

    Vito woke to find his phone flooded with messages. He told me later — much later — what happened next. But at the time, I learned it from the forums like everyone else.He scrolled through the comments. His jaw tightened. His hands, still weak from days of fever, trembled.He looked up at Rosa."Did you post these?"Her smile faltered. "What?""Who else could take these photos?" His voice was ice. The same voice he used to cross-examine witnesses. "The nurses? The orderlies? No. Only you had access. Only you wanted the world to see."Rosa's eyes went red. "I sat here for three days. Three days, Vito. I held your hand when your fever spiked to a hundred and four. I wiped the sweat from your face. And the first thing you do is interrogate me?""You wanted everyone to know you'd finally won."Her face drained of color."What are you saying?" Tears spilled down her cheeks. "She didn't come. Not once. I stayed. I took care of you. And this is how you thank me?"Vito stared at her. Really lo

  • The Don’s Neglected Wife   Chapter 7

    I found a job.Not through connections. Not through the Hart family name. I walked into a hotel, filled out an application, and got hired on my own merit.Front desk at The Langham, a five-star hotel in midtown. Probation period, six thousand a month, full benefits. Employee dorm on the twenty-second floor with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the whole city.A single room. Small. Bare. A bed, a desk, a closet. When I opened the door, I stood there for a long time.No one to wait for. No one to come home to. No one to lie to me.It felt like freedom. Heavy, lonely, terrifying freedom.Five days later, my mother called."Vito jumped into the river."I was standing at my window, watching the headlights crawl across the expressway like fireflies. The city never slept. Neither did I."A swimmer pulled him out. He almost died. Aren't you going to see him?""No."A pause. Static on the line. Then: "Where are you staying? Come home. You just had the procedure. Your body needs care.""I ha

  • The Don’s Neglected Wife   Chapter 6

    Vito's fingers closed around my wrist again. White-knuckled. Like I was the last thing keeping him from drowning."Sera. Please."His voice didn't sound like his own. Scraped raw. This was the man who had ordered men killed without blinking. Who had looked a rival Don in the eye and smiled as he signed the man's death warrant. And now he was begging."I know I messed up. It was a mistake. A temporary weakness. You're the one I love. The only one."I stopped walking. The cold wind cut through my thin shirt, but I barely felt it."Enough."I pulled out my phone. Found the voice recording. Held it to his ear."She's not what you think. There's more to it than you know." Vito's face went gray. He yanked off his apron. Still in his expensive suit — a Brioni, custom-tailored, the same suit he'd worn to our second wedding — he dropped to his knees on the concrete driveway. The gravel bit into his expensive trousers."I can explain. That was just—""Just what?" My voice cut through his. Cold.

  • The Don’s Neglected Wife   Chapter 5

    "Rosa who?"Vito's denial came too fast. His throat bobbed like a man swallowing glass."I don't know what you're talking about."But his mind was already racing back to that day. The doorman's call. Rushing home. Finding her standing there — disheveled, worn down, nothing like the woman he married. The woman who once commanded boardrooms and made seasoned capos lower their eyes.Then the elevator. His arm around Rosa. His lips on hers. His gaze sliding past a hunched figure in the corner.Messy hair. Wrinkled clothes. Chapped lips.No.His brain went white. He looked away from the memory, dropping his voice low. He was a master of deception — he'd negotiated with rival families, lied to federal agents, smiled at men he planned to kill. But this lie tasted like copper."I cut things off with her a long time ago."My mother tugged my sleeve. "You need to calm down. Last time you filed for divorce, he jumped from the third floor. Almost lost his leg."She looked at Vito, then back at me.

  • The Don’s Neglected Wife   Chapter 4

    I packed my bag on shaking legs.Then the world went black.I woke to daylight streaming through unfamiliar blinds. And blood. So much blood.He hadn't come back.I dialed 911 with numb fingers. The ambulance came fast. The paramedic kept shouting as they lifted me."Stay with us! We still have a heartbeat! We're going to try to save it!"I closed my eyes. "Don't bother."The operating table was freezing. I stared at the ceiling light until it burned my eyes. Tears ran down my temples.The doctor said the procedure was successful. Only then did I let my eyes shut.In the dream, Vito was laughing like a boy."You're amazing, Sera. A son." The happiness felt fake.I woke gasping. Sweat soaked the pillow.Three days. He hadn't called once.I took a suitcase and went to my mother's house.The table was set with flowers and gifts. Vito stood in the kitchen wearing an apron.I turned and walked straight back out.He caught me in the driveway."I'm sorry. I know I messed up. Let me give you

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