All Chapters of CLAIMED BY THE MAFIA DON: Chapter 221 - Chapter 230

ASHERBut there was still one more stop I had to make. One more person to confront. I was going to see Luca, to make him pay for all the torment he had put me through, for nearly forcing me into a mistake I could never undo, for nearly taking from me the one person and the one child I could never afford to lose.I got into the car and immediately called to have my private jet prepared. I was going away for a few hours, and this couldn’t wait. Before I even realized it, I was parked in front of Luca’s house. I had driven faster than I should have, but I didn’t care. My chest still ached from everything Mrs. Costa had just told me, but I refused to let myself drown in the pain, refused to let the guilt win.No. I was happy. I should feel happy. Ecstatic, even.Ariella had been pregnant. She had been carrying my baby. My son.And though I still didn’t fully understand why she hadn’t told me why she had chosen to go through all of this alone.... I believed she must have had a damn good r

ASHERThe food was perfect. The pasta was tender, the sauce savory. Ariella had clearly put thought and care into the food, and I could see why Leon was ecstatic.Once the plates were cleared, Ariella brought over the ice cream. Leon’s little hands clapped together in delight. “Ice cream!” he squealed, digging in immediately with a little spoon, not caring about neatness at all.I smiled as I served myself, stealing glances at Ariella. She seemed more at ease now, letting herself enjoy the moment, laughing quietly at Leon’s messiness. I reached across the table and took Ariella’s hand gently. She looked up, eyes meeting mine, and I could see everything, the past, the pain, the secrets, but also the promise of what we could have now.I didn’t want to ruin the moment by bringing up the past. We were having such a great time, and I didn’t want to disrupt it. So I asked the question I probably should have asked earlier.“Where is Maria? I thought she decided to stay back with you?” I sai

ASHERAfter what felt like forever, her thoughts began to quiet, leaving only soft hiccups. I gently plucked at her hair, whispering, “It’s okay, dear Ariella. I’m here. You’re not alone. It’s okay. I’m here. I’m so sorry.”She tilted her head toward me, looking through swollen red eyes. “I didn’t know,” she whispered. “I thought he was alive. I thought we were all alive. I didn’t know he was gone all this time.”Her thoughts spun again, looping back over the same pain.“It’s okay, Ariella. It’s okay. Just let it all out,” I soothed.“I should have asked,” she murmured between sobs. “I should have asked you about my parents when I came back… Wait… is my mother… is my mom....?”“Your mother is okay, love. Your mother is alive and well,” I reassured her.She bit her teeth, her tears spilling faster, raw and unstoppable now. “My God… my father loved me. He was the only person who was truly there. The only person I could truly count on. And he died… and I wasn’t even there to bury him,

ASHERFor a long time, there was only silence between us. I could feel her watching me. I could feel her presence behind my back like a weight I couldn’t escape, but she didn’t move or speak. The quiet stretched, almost unbearable, until finally, she broke it.Her voice was quiet, so quiet I could have almost missed it.“You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to,” she said.I dragged my hands down my face and looked at her. “I know,” I murmured, my voice rough. “I’m honored.”Her brows furrowed slightly. “Then, if you know, why are you still here? Why don’t you just leave? I know you don’t want to be here.”I hesitated, the words catching in my throat. Because the truth felt too heavy to speak aloud. Because leaving felt worse than staying.“Because the truth seems too much and too hard,” I admitted finally. “Because walking away feels even worse than sitting here. It’s better to be close to you and burning… than far away from you. Because that should feel worse than the fire.”

ASHER“Your father…” she begins, her voice low and trembling. "He.....he’s threatened to wipe out the Costa line.”“You mean… the Costa bloodline?” I ask, just to be sure I’m hearing her correctly.“Yes,” she says with a shaky breath. “He told my dad that if you were to find out in any way, if he even suspected that you knew something, if I told you or asked for your help.....it would be the end of us."It would just take him saying the word, and my mother, me, all of us. He said he’d put an end to every Costa alive and end our bloodline. Whether alive or unborn. He promised that everyone would forget the Costas had ever existed.”She swallows hard, and I can see the shadow in her expression.“I saw the toll that took on my dad,” she continues. “Because on one side, I was his daughter. He wanted to save me. But on the other hand, there were all these people, innocent people, whose lives were suddenly at risk. People who didn’t even know they were in danger."And I know you might think