All Chapters of THE BILLIONAIRE'S BEAUTIFUL MARIONETTE : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

22 Chapters

Forsaken grace

Lucia's pov The smell of burnt coffee beans and crisp onions stuck to me like Regret as I scrubbed a sticky table top with the same desperation I used to polish my ballet slippers, only now there was zero music,no cheering or applause - just flickering lights about to die and the irritating voice of my wretched manager spitting out orders as usual.“Table seven's been patient for long enough Lucia, move your ass!”I didn't respond.I stopped responding quite a long time ago.words used to flow out of me like a symphony - smooth, unfiltered and captivating. Now they remained stuck somewhere behind clenched teeth and my forced smile.I managed to balance two plates as I glided towards a table, my posture straight despite my sore joints.A toddler screamed as she flung food across a table.My fingers twitched on instinct like I was about to perform a pirouette but I stopped myself.That part of me was lost.I chuckled bitterly as I mocked myself:Lucia Moretti, you've fallen so far from a

Last Updated : 2025-06-21

The forsaken

Lucia's pov The scream pierced the silence like a knife to the chest.“Sophia!”I bolted upright, the wooly blanket slipping from my chest as I bolted to her room where I left her Last night, heart slamming against my rib cage. The air was thick- too thick- and in the dim light from the hallway I saw her.She was cringing against the floor by the window,her little frame trembling,hands hugging her chest.“Cece…” she groaned.“It ….hurts…”I rushed to her side in mere seconds, anxiety filling my head as I lifted her into my lap.“How did this happen?”“She was fine just yesterday!”I silenced my thoughts as I felt her skin…it was clammy and burning up but yet she shivered like she was trapped in a tundra.“Sophia, keep your eyes on me,” I whispered, cupping her face.“What's wrong? What's hurting?”.“My chest,” she gasped.“I can't…breathe..”Another wave of anxiety washed over me.This time much stronger .“Okay. It's Okay. I've got you baby.”I grabbed my phone with unsteady hands an

Last Updated : 2025-06-21

Ice and ashes

Lucas's povHospitals were always cold - sterile, serious and lacking emotion. I preferred them that way. They reminded me of boardrooms: full of calculated breaths, quiet strength and controlled chaos.I sat in a private waiting lounge, grey suit crisp against the beige room, the cuff of my Rolex catching the harsh fluorescent light. The floor beneath my shoes shone.Everything was clean. Neat. Perfect.Just how I liked it.“Mr. Marano?” A nurse poked her head through.“Your mother's vitals are stable. She's resting comfortably and the doctor will attend to you briefly.”I gave a brief nod, barely lifting my gaze.“Thank you.”When she left, I stood and walked over to the large window looking down at the hospital's courtyard. It was drizzling - soft, persistent and unyielding. The same kind of drizzle that poured the night I signed my first billion dollar acquisition.There was poetry to this type of weather.And yet…something else drew my attention to the hallway. A flicker of moveme

Last Updated : 2025-06-21

Ghosts and grace

Lucas's pov The rain ceased when I stepped back into the hospital, but the call with Matt lifted my spirits a bit before a familiar chill attacked and clung to me like the past-unchangeable and bitter.My shoes clacked against the tiles drawing a few glances from nurses. I didn't take too much notice of them. I moved like a man with purpose.Lucia.Her name felt like a memory in my mind. Short. Soft but layered with strength.She had disappeared down that hallway thirty minutes ago and I remained outside longer than I had hoped. The call from Matt came to mind again but I quickly shoved it aside. My mind was elsewhere.Not on my mother's diagnosis or business or my empire waiting for me but on Lucia.The fierce woman who intrigued me, a feat few women managed to achieve.She reminded me of my sister - Clara.I hadn't really thought of her in months. Years, maybe. Not really. But something about Lucia - the flames hidden in her icy eyes,the sharp edge of her voice, her natural instinc

Last Updated : 2025-06-21

Silent echoes of grace

Lucas's pov I should have left. I had a chauffeur waiting,a schedule full of billion - dollar choices - but I couldn't leave. Not when I caught a glimpse of her through the window, holding her sister like she was holding the last bits of herself together. Lucia Moretti wasn't just shattered - she was hurting from within, and something about that quiet hurt made it quite hard for me to leave.After their hug, she stood at her sister's bedside,her fingers dabbing a damp cloth over the child's forehead. Her dark hair was pulled into a messy bun,strands framing her face. I chuckled to myself. She always fails to notice me.I coughed,loud enough to catch her attention.She looked startled, like a deer in headlights.“Ahh…Mr.Marano again..”“I was just about to take my leave,” I said, nodding towards the exit.“I just wanted to properly say my goodbyes.”Her face fell, just a little.“You have my thanks…for your help. I still don't understand your reasons, but…thank you.”“You don't need to

Last Updated : 2025-06-21

The savior

Lucia's pov Something felt off the moment I stepped into Sophia's ward.The monitors were still beeping, but not in the serene, mechanical way I'd grown used to. This was erratic. Disordered. Like a countdown I couldn't grasp.Her skin looked sick. Her lips had a bluish hue to them. And her little chest moved slower than it should. I let my bag fall to the floor as I rushed to her side.“Sophia,” I whispered, touching her hand.“It's me. I brought your favorite jacket - yes the one with the ducks on it.”Nothing. She didn't even flutter her lashes.I moved in closer. “Please Sophia, don't freak me out like this.”She moved. Not just a twitch, a full body jolt that pulled her head back and triggered a terrible gagging noise from her throat.My heart leaped violently in my chest.“Help! I NEED help over here!”The door flew wide open. Nurses stormed the room instantly. A male doctor appeared in their midst, already giving orders.“Seizure onset. Put her on some oxygen. Call Dr. Roman i

Last Updated : 2025-07-02

The price of desperation

Lucia's povThe envelope found refuge in my lap like a living being. Thick. Foreboding. Still unopened but pulling me in like a siren.I had scrutinized it the whole drive back to hope general, never once mustering up the bravery to unseal it.It was way past midnight by now.Sophia was knocked out - or perhaps sleeping, I couldn't say for sure anymore.I sat in hope general's waiting lobby under the fluctuating fluorescent lights all by myself. My tea had grown cold as it remained untouched by me. My body was uneasy as my gut twisted into knots that were not formed by hunger.My hands rattled as I finally ripped open the dreaded envelope.First came the terms and conditions.Standard legal font,but the words were anything but standard.“You are to leave behind all claims to anonymity and privacy.”“The donor must strive to meet all the important physical needs to the recipient’s legal preferences.”“Mental and physical examinations will determine fitness though there's no compensatio

Last Updated : 2025-07-03

rock bottom

Lucia's pov Slumber and hope general didn't mix…which was fair because I also hadn't slept in days. The lights above my head hummed like a wicked tune I couldn't follow. The metal chairs in the lobby had moulded into me like a second skin. My bones hurt but my heart hurt worse. Sophia's monitors had done their thing again. The doctors no longer hid the truth behind sweet phrases. They told me to “get ready.” Ready for what exactly? A front row seat watching how my baby sister marches into the jaws of death while strangers swarmed me with clipboards and files? I whipped out my cell phone and took a trip through my contacts, thumbs twitching. I halted at a name I hadn't called in years - aunt Silvie. My mom's younger sister. The same viper who had called Sophia a burden and me a disappointment. Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers. I pushed the red call button and prayed. I was praying a lot these few days, not surprising. Ring. Ring. Click. “Why are you calling Lucia

Last Updated : 2025-07-05

The call

Lucas's pov The private jet had landed on the rooftop of my penthouse,the engines humming like songs of freedom.But I stopped myself from getting on it.So here I was standing in front of the runway window at the beginning of the hangar steps holding a ticket in my palms like a lifeline. My suitcases were ready, schedule free, assistants especially Adrian at my beck and call. L.A was calling - for fun, distractions and whatever else the city had to offer.But I still couldn't move myself.She occupied my mind and thoughts.Lucia Moretti.It was kind of funny because I'd only met her once but she made quite the impression with the steely but intense fire in her eyes and her determined voice.Ever since that night at Hope General, when I did the paperwork to pay off Sophia's bills then bid my farewell, she made a home for herself in my mind.Iron willed. Proud. Elegant and grounded.Every bit of her intrigued me a lot more than I'd like to admit.I looked over at my phone again. No me

Last Updated : 2025-07-11

bound by his breath

Lucia's pov Sleep had become a luxury these past few days. Everything else was a rollercoaster of downs and even more downs.I sighed as I sat beside Sophia's little bed all night, squeezing her tiny,frosty hand like it was a lifeline I'd been praying for. Every beep from her monitor felt like I was racing against time,fate and- I gulped, maybe even death.I quickly shook off the thought…time and fate maybe but not death, never deathShe won't die on my watch. Lucas had promised me and I would wait.In fact, waiting was all I could do…. until the morning.And then the blessed morning came. And with it came a man in a perfect black suit, his hair slicked back with Deadly precision. From the doorway, he started into the ward like he owned the place. I took a good look at him and I could tell that he belonged in high-powered board meetings and tiled offices not in the drab anxiety filled corridors of hope general.“Miss Moretti?” he asked, his voice velvety and almost too smooth.I got

Last Updated : 2025-07-15

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