All Chapters of Reborn to Destroy Him: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The marble floor got blurry under my tears as I scrubbed. Each time I moved my hand, my scarred fingers hurt like fire. Two years ago, I would have been a guest at a wedding like this. Now I was just the cleaning lady."Bethany!" Ms. Matilda's angry voice echoed across the big room. "That marble better shine, or you're cleaning toilets next week." She smiled at me in a mean way. She was getting back at me for three years ago when I didn't give her a job at my fashion company.I kept my mouth shut and kept scrubbing. This was the only job I could get now. I was hiding from the people who wanted money from my dead husband. I had to move to a new city. The Irony wasn’t lost on me. I used to make beautiful dresses for weddings. Now I cleaned the floors at them.The wedding music got louder as guests filled the fancy ballroom. Pretty dresses swept past my bucket. The people wearing them talked about fashion week. I knew some of their faces from my old life. I quickly looked down. They coul

Sunlight came through silk curtains I forgot I owned. It felt warm on skin that shouldn't exist. I buried myself deeper into the soft sheets. I was chasing the last moments before I woke up with all the pain.But something was wrong.The bed under me was too soft, too familiar. My bed had been a torn futon in an apartment full of roaches. Not this king sized bed I once shared with...My eyes opened fast.Cream walls. Crystal light hanging from the ceiling. The Monet picture Brock bought for our second anniversary. This was our bedroom. My bedroom. From before everything turned to ashes.I sat up fast. My heart was beating hard. My legs moved without the grinding pain that had been part of my life for two years. I threw back the blanket and stared at my legs. They looked healthy and shiny. My skin was smooth instead of covered in scars.These weren't my legs. My legs were broken, twisted, useless.I walked to the mirror. I was scared of what I would see. The face looking back made my k

The morning of Brock's funeral was gray and rainy. It was like the sky itself was putting on a show. I dressed Emma in her black velvet dress. She talked about seeing Daddy one more time."Will Daddy wake up when he sees me?" she asked. She twisted in my arms as I fixed her hair ribbon."No, sweetheart. Daddy is sleeping a very deep sleep now. But he can still hear us when we say goodbye."I spent the night planning every detail. The funeral home. The flowers. The guest list. At Eternal Rest Funeral Home, I played my part perfectly. The sad widow in designer black. I accepted sympathy with graceful calm while Emma held onto my leg. Tatiana arrived in an elegant black dress. Her acting was equally perfect."He looks so peaceful," she whispered. She walked up to Brock's open casket with tears in her eyes.I had to admire her acting. If I didn't know better, I might have believed she really cared.Marcus appeared at my side. Camera equipment hung around his neck. "Bethany, I'm so sorry

The restaurant was not what I expected.I thought the mafia boss would pick somewhere dark and hidden. A back room in a warehouse. A closed restaurant with covered windows. Somewhere you could scream and nobody would hear.Instead, the address on the card led me to Bella Vista. It was one of the most expensive Italian restaurants in the city. The kind of place where reservations took three months and a single plate of pasta cost more than my weekly grocery budget used to be.Marcus was following me. I knew he was there even though I couldn't see him. That made me feel a little bit safer. A very little bit.The hostess smiled at me when I walked in. She was young and pretty and had no idea what kind of man owned this place."Bethany Nott?" she asked.I nodded. My throat felt too tight to speak."Mr. Salvatore is expecting you. Right this way, please."She led me through the main dining room. It was lunch time. The restaurant was full of businessmen in suits. Women in designer dresses.

The next morning, Salvatore called me to the same restaurant. Bella Vista. The place where powerful men made deals over expensive pasta while the rest of the world pretended not to know what they were.This time I went alone. Marcus wanted to follow but I told him no. I needed Salvatore to see me as useful. As someone who could be trusted. Having my boyfriend shadow me would ruin that image.Marco was waiting outside the restaurant. The quiet man with the kind eyes who watched me for the past two days. He nodded at me and opened the door."Mr. Salvatore is expecting you."I followed him through the restaurant. Past the same businessmen eating lunch. Past the same pretty hostess. Down the same hallway to the private room.Salvatore was already seated. He looked exactly the same. Expensive suit. Perfect hair. Dead eyes that saw everything and felt nothing."Mrs. Nott." He stood and gestured to the chair. "Please."I sat. My hands were shaking so I folded them in my lap where he couldn't