Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Mafia Devil’s Contractual Wife : Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

~Alina’s POV~ What the hell? How could the Council hand over La Vergine to Nikita, of all people? My blood roared in my ears. This had to be some sick joke. The Council must have lost its damn mind. La Vergine is the Italian mafia’s ultimate shield, a weapon no one touches lightly. By law, La Vergine can only be bestowed upon a high-ranking member facing life-threatening danger from within the Mafia itself—someone standing between life and death. Whoever holds La Vergine in good faith, with the Council’s name and stamp visible, is granted complete protection and sanctuary. Any planned attack or enforcement against them must stop immediately. And anyone who defies or ignores La Vergine loses their standing and faces punishment — exile, fines, or even death — depending on their rank and the severity of the offense. Which means not even Valentino has the power to touch Nikita right now. “This is madness,” I hissed, stepping closer to Val, who was still studying the plaque with

~Alina’s POV~ The room felt colder the moment Nikita’s last insult left her tongue, but I swallowed the sting and kept my spine straight. She wanted a reaction, a crack, a tremble, anything. But she’d get nothing from me.Not a single flinch.Before I could even decide whether to breathe or roll my eyes, she snapped her fingers at one of the younger maids who’d been lurking nervously by the doorway.“You,” Nikita barked. “Go call the Don. Tell him dinner is ready. Tell him I prepared it.” The maid nearly tripped over herself as she fled.Giulia and I exchanged a funny look.Minutes crawled by slowly, each one stretching the tension thinner and thinner.Then heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor.My stomach fluttered despite myself.Valentino walked in, his jacket slung over one shoulder, and sleeves rolled high enough to show the ink on his forearms.He took a slow look around: the banquet, Giulia, then the feast, then, last, to Nikita glowing like a smug peacock. He didn’t sm

~Alina’s POV~We sped back to Castello Romano, the tires screeching loudly as Val killed the engine.The moment the car stopped, we burst out.Giulia was already unraveling. Tears streaked her face, her hands trembling as she stumbled toward the entrance, panic swallowing her whole.The castle was chaos. Guards and staff ran in every direction, voices shouting orders, doors slamming. It looked like the entire household had been turned upside down in search of one tiny soul.Then Rocco appeared from a shadowed hallway, his face etched with worry, his eyes bloodshot.Giulia reached him in seconds. Her hands flew to his collar, yanking him close.“Where is my daughter?” she screamed, sending chill through everyone’s spine.“Where is my daughter?”Rocco’s mouth opened, but the words barely escaped. “I’m sorry… I don’t know where sh—“Giulia didn’t let him land— her palm cracked across his cheek once, twice, three times. Sharp, furious slaps echoed through the courtyard.Val and I froze,

Alina’s POVThree days had crawled by since Giulia’s words sliced me open in the courtyard, and I still couldn’t look at her without feeling the sting all over again.Val had tried. God, how he’d tried.Every evening he’d come to me with that quiet, pleading voice, pulling me into his arms, murmuring, “Moglie mia, let it go. She was scared out of her mind. She loves you.”But how could I? If my closest friend, the woman I called sister, could throw my deepest wound in my face in front of everyone… what were the others whispering behind closed doors?What did the guards think when they passed me in the halls?What did Val, my own husband, really feel when the Council kept pressing him about an heir?Did he blame me, even a little?When the nights grew quiet and he thought I was asleep, did he stare at the ceiling wondering why his queen couldn’t give him the one thing he wanted most in life?I swallowed the tears that kept threatening to spill and gripped the steering wheel tighter.O

Alina’s POVShe halted mid-stride on the snowy pavement, then turned slowly back to me.That big, warm smile spread across her face again, crinkling her eyes until they almost disappeared into the folds of skin.“Now how could I say no to that?” she said, voice soft and amused.For a long heartbeat, neither of us moved.Snow kept drifting down in lazy spirals, catching on her kerchief and the shoulders of my coat.Then she lifted one trembling hand toward me.“Vieni, nipotina mia (Come, my granddaughter),” she said, her throat thick with sudden emotion.A tiny giggle bubbled out of me, childish and lighter than anything I’d felt in days.I stepped forward, took the battered wicker basket from her fingers, and slipped my arm through hers.“Sorry, Nana, but you’re not escaping me now. We’re going to your house. First, I’m taking you grocery shopping.”She let out a small, knowing sigh. “I knew you wouldn’t take no for an answer about the groceries. Va bene (I accept).”I helped her into