All Chapters of The Don’s Favorite Lover Vanished: Chapter 21 - Chapter 25

Chiara's POVMy birthday party was held at my gallery on the banks of the Arno. The elite of Florence were all there.Alessandro had a huge cake made for me. Then he got down on one knee and opened a velvet box.“Bella Fiore,” he looked at me, his eyes sincere. “Will you marry me?”The guests gasped and applauded.I looked at him, at the clean, stable future he represented.I should have said yes.But just as I was about to speak, the heavy oak doors of the gallery were thrown open.Vincenzo stood in the doorway, a ghost in a black tuxedo, silhouetted against the night.He wore a white rose on his lapel, his face as pale as marble.He ignored the stunned silence and walked straight toward me.Two of my bodyguards tried to stop him, but Marco appeared behind them, pressing a gun to each of their heads.“Step aside,” Marco’s voice was pure ice.Vincenzo pushed past the still-kneeling Alessandro as if he were a piece of furniture.He stopped in front of me and placed a thick stack of docu

Chiara's POVThe next morning, Vincenzo and his men vanished from Florence as if they’d never been there.I thought he had finally chosen to let go.I was wrong.At three in the afternoon, Alessandro burst into my gallery, his face white, a newspaper clutched in his hand.“Bella! It’s a disaster!” He slapped the paper down on my desk. “My family’s bank… it’s been gutted. A coordinated short attack overnight! We’re ruined!”I stared at the shocking headline, my heart sinking.“And,” his voice trembled as he held out his phone, “my father… he was just arrested! They have fake evidence of him forging art deals!”On the screen was a photo of his father in handcuffs, being led away by police.“How did this happen…” Alessandro collapsed into a chair, completely broken. “My family is ruined… Everything is gone…”I looked at his desperate face, and my blood ran cold.This wasn’t a market crash. It was an execution. Precise, devastating, and silent.And there was only one person who would wage

Chiara's POV“I am sorry.”Those three words were a knife in my heart.I stumbled, catching myself on the doorframe.It wasn’t because I loved Alessandro.It was because a clean, innocent man was dead. A casualty of my dirty war.Slowly, I turned and walked back toward Vincenzo.He was still on his knees, his face a mask of utter, blank shock.He hadn’t expected this. He hadn’t wanted this.“Are you happy now?” I whispered, the words like ash in my mouth.He looked up, his lips trembling, unable to speak.“You wanted me back, right?” I said, each word a stone. “You wanted to destroy the new life I chose?”“I didn’t… I didn’t want him to die…” he shook his head, frantic.“But he’s dead because of you!” The control I’d held onto for two years finally snapped. A raw scream of pure, undiluted rage tore from my throat. “You and your obsession! You killed him!”I raised the Beretta M9 again. This time, the muzzle was pointed at his heart.“Now,” I looked into his eyes, now filled with pain a