All Chapters of When the Mafia's Hacker Wife Strikes: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Even the street punks knew that in Chicago, Catherine Leone was untouchable.I had three deadly protectors watching my back.My husband, Raphael Falcone, was the youngest underboss in the Chicago Outfit. He was known for his cold, iron-fisted rule, yet in a crowded room, he would kneel to adjust the hem of my gown.My childhood friend, Luca Vizzini, the family's brilliant new consigliere. He'd sworn to protect me since we were kids.And my twin brother, Salvatore Leone, who cherished me above all else. He took over the family at eighteen and treated me like royalty, making me the most envied Principessa in the underworld.On my twenty-eighth birthday, I waited in the living room all day, clutching a pregnancy test with two solid lines, ready to share the news that would change everything.Instead, they brought me my brother's body, murdered by a drug dealer hailed as a hero.And standing before me was my husband, Raphael Falcone, ready to clear the murderer's name."Tell me why," A s

Chapter 2

For three days, I locked myself in the study, my fingers flying across the keyboard. Three years.It had been three years since I'd touched this equipment, but the muscle memory hadn't faded.I had to get into the Outfit's secure servers and find all the surveillance footage from the night of Salvatore's death.[ACCESS DENIED.]The cold, red warning flashed on the screen.I frowned and switched to a backup port. Still no entry.My heart sank. The firewall architecture, the encryption methods, the hidden security questions... I had taught him all of it.Of course. My own husband had used my lessons against me.The system's alarm blared, locking my terminal completely.Raphael followed the sound of the alarm, his deep-set eyes finding me."Enough, Catherine.""You have a choice. Accept Chiara's apology, or continue this charade and humiliate yourself in front of the entire city.""You think," I looked up, incredulous, "that I'm the madwoman?""I just want you to be calm," he said, his to

Chapter 3

I didn't have the strength to argue with him anymore. I hung up the phone.But Raphael's words still hung in the air.How I made it back to the bedroom, I don't know.Salvatore's death, the family's ruined reputation, the sneering faces of those who once groveled before us. The weight of it all was suffocating me.The moment the door clicked shut, Raphael pushed it open.I turned, my eyes filled with despair. "We're here, Raphael. What more could you possibly want from me?""Luca has already arranged it with the mayor. Tomorrow, City Hall is holding a public commendation ceremony for Marco.""And you, as Salvatore's sister, will be there. You will bow deeply and apologize to Chiara and her father. In front of the entire city.""You will admit that Salvatore was a traitor who colluded with drug dealers and died in a feud."Raphael closed the distance between us, his fingers tracing the tear tracks on my cheek with a touch as gentle as a caress."Of course, my little wildcat, you could a

Chapter 4

The beating only stopped when someone in the crowd shouted, pointing at the blood soaking through my skirt. They scattered in a panic, as if they'd seen a ghost, leaving two unfortunate city workers to nervously call an ambulance.I was drifting in and out of consciousness on the stretcher."Her blood pressure is dropping!" the paramedic shouted. "We need a transfusion, now!"The ambulance screeched to a halt in front of the Leone family's private clinic. This was supposed to be my safe harbor, a sanctuary for any family member who was hurt.But when the stretcher was pulled from the ambulance, three bodyguards in black suits blocked the entrance."Sorry, the clinic's booked solid today."The lead guard blocked our path, his hand drifting toward the butt of the gun on his hip."Miss Chiara is being treated for shock. No one is to disturb her. Understood?"The sharp pain in my abdomen made it almost impossible to breathe. Warm blood was still flowing from between my legs, soaking the w

Chapter 5

Lorenzo Gallo.After I hung up, the legends associated with that name flashed through my mind.The Gallo family, the most powerful of Chicago's Five Families, controlled the criminal underworld from Boston to Los Angeles.Lorenzo "Il Fantasma" Gallo. The Ghost.They called him that because his enemies tended to disappear long before they ever saw his face.The FBI had been chasing him for twenty years and didn't even have a clear photograph.But every mafioso in North America knew what it meant to cross the Gallo family: total annihilation.And a man like that was the ace up my sleeve, the final gift from my grandfather. A protector who would move for me in the shadows."Don Lorenzo…" The name came out as a choked sob.The voice on the other end softened. "Catherine, don't cry. Tell me what happened."The dam broke. I poured out everything. Salvatore's death, Chiara's lies, the betrayal of Raphael and Luca, the child I lost, and the truth of how my grandfather was murdered.Every word

Chapter 6

"Give me the urn!"Marco's nephew lunged at me, his rough hands reaching for the box in my arms. He reeked of cheap cigarettes and stale liquor."This old bastard has no right to be buried on a hero's land!"Several other men in ill-fitting suits closed in, like a pack of wolves cornering their prey. The moonlight exposed the greed and malice on their faces.I clutched the urn and backed away, feeling the coldness of the silver case. "Get away! Don't touch it!"The old statues in the cemetery cast eerie shadows in the darkness, as if bearing witness to this desecration."Raphael!" I turned to the man who once swore to protect me, my voice trembling in the night wind. "Swear to the Holy Mother, tell me, was Salvatore really a traitor?""Look me in the eye. My twin brother. The man who grew up beside me, who took on all the family's darkness so I could stay in the light. Was Salvatore really the drug dealer you claim he was?"Raphael shoved his hands into the pockets of his custom Italia

Chapter 7

On the way back to the estate, neither Raphael nor Luca spoke.Rain dripped from their soaked suits, leaving dark stains on the leather seats.The driver watched his bosses' faces in the rearview mirror, not daring to make a sound.Catherine's dead eyes, her terrifyingly calm voice, and the resolute way she had turned and walked away kept replaying in Raphael's mind."Did we go too far?"Luca sat in the living room of the Leone estate, staring out the window at the relentless rain.Raphael poured two glasses of whiskey and handed one to him. "Even if we did, there's no turning back now.""She's a hothouse flower," Raphael said. "Without us, the Leone empire crumbles. She can't hold it up on her own."In truth, their decision to grant Chiara's request was half to repay a debt of honor and half a calculated move. For years, they'd felt that invisible wall between them. It was the wall of bloodline. They wanted to use this to break her, to make her understand just how much she needed th

Chapter 8

While Raphael was frantically searching for me in Chicago, I had already arrived safely at a private estate meticulously prepared by Lorenzo.It had a top-tier medical team that healed all my physical wounds. Lorenzo even brought in forensic experts to painstakingly separate the mixed ashes of my parents and grandfather, re-interring them in the most honored place in the family mausoleum.He used his financial wizards to inject my hidden overseas assets into the Leone Group, pulling the family's empire back from the brink of collapse.In return, I made one request of him: a workshop equipped with the best technology money could buy.Now, six giant monitors surrounded me, each running a different program.The skills that had been dormant for three years were reawakened. "Ariadne" was back."Found them," I said, pointing to a red dot on the right-hand screen. "They're in warehouse nineteen at the docks."Lorenzo nodded and gave a subtle signal to the men beside him.He gently ruffled my

Chapter 9

"A heart attack?"I sneered, looking at their stunned faces."You really think my grandfather died of natural causes?"Lorenzo walked to the center of the warehouse and gestured to his men.Two of them dragged over an electric furnace, several branding irons glowing inside. The metal sizzled as flames licked at it.The moment Chiara saw the irons, her face went white as a sheet."Since you're so concerned about the old Don's cause of death," Lorenzo said, picking up a red-hot iron and waving it slowly in front of Chiara's face, "why don't we let the real killer tell you herself?""No! Please!" Chiara broke down. "I'll tell you everything! Everything!""You can't do this to her!" Raphael struggled against his restraints. "She's innocent!""Innocent?" Lorenzo's voice was silk-thin ice. "Let's hear the truth before you defend her."He pressed the glowing iron closer to Chiara's cheek, to the very scar she'd built her empire of lies upon. "Tell them. How did the old Don die?""No… please…"

Chapter 10

I watched as Lorenzo's men dragged Raphael and Luca away, but I felt no satisfaction.I knew Don Lorenzo would not disappoint me.The revenge had only just begun.Three days later, I sat in the war room of Lorenzo's estate, my fingers flying across the keyboard.On the screens, the financial empire that Raphael and Luca had painstakingly built was collapsing."Accounts liquidated," I reported calmly. "Their secret funds in the Cayman Islands have all been transferred to the Leone family foundation.""Real estate, stocks, bonds," I clicked the enter key. "All gone."Lorenzo stood behind me, nodding in satisfaction. "Well done, my Principessa."Through a surveillance feed, I saw Raphael kneeling in a rundown apartment, surrounded by a pile of bills and collection notices.Luca was sitting on a park bench, his suit tattered, his eyes empty.They had gone from being Chicago's power brokers to being completely broke."What about Marco's family?" I asked."Dealt with, Sicilian style," Lorenz

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