All Chapters of 280 Days With The Mafia King: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Mariella’s POVBy the third day of "strict bed rest," I realized that silence was Sophia’s greatest ally. While I lay here, staring at the ceiling and listening to the muffled sounds of a house that functioned perfectly well without me, Sophia was down there. She was at the table I should be sitting at. She was talking to the husband, who didn't want me. She was whispering to the father-in-law, who wished I didn't exist.Every time Tessa entered the room with a tray of flavorless food, her eyes remained fixed on the floor. She was a puppet, and Sophia held the strings. I was being conditioned to be a ghost before I was even dead.I am not a footnote, I thought, the anger finally burning through the fog of my exhaustion. And I am not going to wait for them to decide my expiration date.I pushed the duvet aside. My legs felt heavy as I swung them over the edge of the bed. The dizziness threatened to pull me down, but I gripped the bedpost until the wood bit into my skin. I waited for th

Dante’s POVSomething wasn't right about this new girl Luciano seemed to have taken a liking to. I felt odd watching her. I had noticed her repeatedly pass out without any apparent trigger in the past, and I couldn't tell why. Normally, I wouldn't care so much about some weak church girl passing out randomly. But she seemed to always have this judgmental look on her face whenever she revives, almost like she has seen something she shouldn't have. It didn't sit right with me in the slightest. And what happened at dinner tonight confirmed it.When Jose touched and kissed her hand, all the color left her face. She went stiff for a second, like she was somewhere else. Then she snapped back, looking confused and shaken before quickly excusing herself.That wasn’t normal.Something was definitely going on with Mariella, and I was going to find out what it was.************The city was still grey with thick morning dew when I pulled my car to a stop about a mile away from the St. Jude Conv

Mariella’s POVThe morning sun was bright – a bit too bright if you ask me. Following Luciano's orders had become too much of a chore, and I didn't like it. I skipped breakfast and went past the dining hall, heading instead for the estate’s private gardens. I needed some air. It was suffocating being in that house with all the tension in the air. Getting to the garden, I leaned over a stone fountain, watching the water ripple, when a shadow suddenly fell over me. “You know, for someone who needs ‘bed rest’, you're incredibly mobile,” Jose's voice played behind me as he walked up to me. He was dressed casually: a linen shirt unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up, carrying two cups of espresso. He offered one to me. “Don't worry, I watched the maid pour it so I'm pretty sure there's no poison in it, at least, not the kind that can kill you,” he said, smiling. He had an incredible, yet deceptive charm. I didn't trust him, just like I didn't trust anyone in the De Luca family. “Not your cup of

Mariella’s POVThe fluorescent lights of the hospital ceiling passed overhead, appearing as repeated flashes in my eyes. Every jolt of the gurney sent a fresh wave of agony radiating from my leg. It felt like hell, and I was barely holding back the urge to scream. Glancing to my side, my eyes met Luciano. He was walking alongside me, his hand heavy on mine. He hadn't let go since we left the mansion.“Room four! Clear the hallway!” a nurse shouted.The chaos of the emergency room served as a complementary backdrop for the pounding of my heart. My chest felt like it would explode. I was stripped of the silk gown I'd so confidently rocked this morning, only a few hours ago, and was now dressed in a thin hospital gown.“The baby,” I rasped, grabbing a passing doctor’s sleeve. “Please. Check the baby first.”“We’re doing an ultrasound right now, Mrs. De Luca,” the doctor said, his voice professional but strained. He looked at Luciano, and I saw the flicker of fear in the doctor's eyes. I

Mariella’s POVLuciano was about to walk both of us into a trap. The fact that he totally trusted Dante didn't sit well with me, especially given the vision from the fountain and the words Charlie told me. “Luciano,” I said, grabbing his hand. “I… I need to tell you something. About my father. About the Foundation.”He tilted his head with a confused expression on his face. He was about to speak when suddenly, we both heard some sounds outside the door. We both looked, and the door gently opened to reveal Marcello De Luca, Luciano’s father. The guards escorted him and stood at attention. The old man walked in with an unreadable look on his face as he looked around. He looked less like a man visiting his sick relative and more like a landlord inspecting a damaged piece of property. He leaned heavily on his silver-headed cane, the thump-thump sound of the rubber tip on the tile echoing like a heartbeat. Luciano stood up slowly. The two men faced each other. I could feel the tension in