Chapter 1

When I found out, my world stopped.I remember clutching the edge of the bed before everything went black.They said I fainted from shock.Luca Moretti — my husband, the man everyone called the golden heir of the Mafia — dropped a billion-dollar deal and flew home overnight. He didn’t sleep for two days, sitting by my bedside, his face pale with fear.When I finally opened my eyes, he was right there.“Valeria,” he whispered, pressing my palm to his cheek. “You scared me half to death.”This was the same man who’d once stared down a loaded gun without flinching, now trembling because I’d collapsed.Looking into his eyes — those eyes I used to trust more than anything — hurt more than anything my body had felt.Love like that couldn’t be faked.And yet, I couldn’t stop wondering… did he ever look at her that way too?Bianca Rizzo. His childhood friend.The woman who had given birth to his twins.If I hadn’t seen the proof with my own eyes — the photos, the DNA report — I would have n

Chapter 2

I didn’t sleep that night.Every time I closed my eyes, I woke up crying. By dawn, I just sat there—knees pulled to my chest, staring into the dark until the sky turned gray.When Luca came home the next morning, I pretended to be asleep.He took off his coat, waited for the chill to fade from his body, and then pulled me into his arms. I could feel his heartbeat, steady and strong, against my back.“Baby, look,” he said softly, opening his tablet.A picture of an island glowed on the screen—white sand, blue water, the kind of paradise people write about.“I just bought it,” he said, his voice almost boyish. “It’s for our child. And that’s not all—I’ve started building amusement parks across the country. Every one will carry our child’s name. When we finally have one, I’ll throw a hundred-day celebration. The whole city will come to celebrate.”He looked so proud of himself, so full of plans for a future I knew would never come.He talked and talked, and it took him a full minute to r

Chapter 3

Two years ago, Luca started coming home later than usual.He said he was expanding the family business overseas, that things were “just busy.”But now I know the truth.He was busy building Bianca Rizzo’s empire.The pain hit me so hard I had to clutch my chest to breathe.“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Luca stood instantly, his chair scraping against the marble floor. “You’re pale. I’m calling a doctor.”Before I could speak, Bianca’s voice sliced through the air like broken glass.“Still playing the perfect wife act? Don’t strain yourself, he gets tired of fragile toys fast.—”The sound of the slap was sharp enough to silence the entire room.Luca’s hand came down across her cheek so hard that even I flinched.“Say one more word,” he said quietly, his tone deadly calm, “and I’ll make sure you never speak again.”Bianca pressed a hand to her face, eyes blazing, but she knew better than to push him.She left without another word.The laughter slowly returned to the dinner table, but

Chapter 4

Luca POVI felt the world tilt beneath me before my body hit the ground.Voices blurred. Someone shouted my name. My head was spinning, my vision full of white noise.Valeria couldn’t be gone.She couldn’t.I forced myself up, stumbled out of the mansion, and half-ran toward the garage.I didn’t care about the guards, the questions, the eyes that followed me.I just needed to find her.The moment I got into the car, I saw the envelope she’d left on the passenger seat.The one she told me to open in two days.My chest seized. I could barely breathe.Every heartbeat was a knife twisting in my ribs.I slammed my fist against the steering wheel until my knuckles split.Why did I ever agree to let her fly alone?Why didn’t I send a pilot with her?Because I’d been distracted.Too busy throwing a birthday party for Bianca’s twins — the twins I should never have had.The search went on for two full days.The Moretti family sent rescue teams, helicopters, ships.Every mile of the Atlantic with

Chapter 5

Valeria POVIt had been three months since I vanished.Three months since I watched the headlines mourn me as if I were gone forever.Three months since I started pretending I was someone else.I rented a small apartment in a quiet coastal town — the kind of place where no one asked questions and the sea was loud enough to drown out thoughts.Most days I kept the curtains closed. The sunlight felt too bright, too real.I’d sit on the couch for hours, doing nothing. Just breathing. Just trying to forget.But forgetting Luca Moretti was like trying to unlearn breathing itself.He had woven himself into every small detail of my life.He wasn’t just a memory — he was a habit.Once, Clara took me out for lunch, trying to make me smile again.The waiter brought a dish I used to love, and before I realized it, I turned to the empty seat beside me.“Babe, you’d love this,” I said softly. “You’ll have to make it for me when we get home.”The words slipped out before I could stop them.Clara

Chapter 6

Ryan called Luca that night.By morning, men from the Moretti family were already following Clara.When Luca finally saw me—standing in the garden of the small townhouse I’d been renting—he stopped dead in his tracks.For a moment, neither of us moved.His eyes went red instantly, like he’d been holding his breath for months.Seven months. Two hundred and fourteen days.He’d searched every continent, turned every ocean upside down—and yet, when we finally stood face to face, he looked terrified.Terrified that I was real.Terrified that I wasn’t.And when his gaze fell to my stomach, his breath caught.He knew.He understood.I hadn’t lost the baby.“Valeria…” His voice cracked around my name.I looked at him once, then away. “Luca.”My tone was ice. “I faked my death because I wanted freedom. But since you’ve found me, let’s make one thing clear—you and I are over. For good. Don’t think you can guilt me, chase me, or wear me down until I forgive you. It won’t happen.”He just st

Chapter 7

The next morning, I woke to the sound of clattering dishes downstairs.Sleep wouldn’t come back, no matter how tightly I closed my eyes.When I finally went down, Luca was already there — sleeves rolled up, standing by the stove, pretending everything was normal.The smell of simmering tomatoes filled the kitchen.He looked up the second he heard me.“Lunch is ready,” he said quietly. “You’re going out?”I grabbed my coat. “I am.”His voice softened even more. “Won’t you eat first?”I met his gaze, cold and steady.“Every time I see you, I lose my appetite,” I said. “If I stayed here, I’d starve to death.”The words hit him like a slap.He lowered his head, fingers tightening around the edge of the table.“…Then come home early tonight.”I didn’t answer — just slammed the door hard enough to make the frame shake.Outside, the air was bright, almost too bright.I walked without direction, hands buried in my coat pockets, heart a knot of noise I couldn’t untangle.For years, I’d

All Chapters of After the Crash: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7