All Chapters of The Night My Womb Warned Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

My husband, Don Cassian, just survived an assassination attempt. He limped in, bleeding, and ordered me to stitch him up.But when I reached into his blood-soaked suit, my fingers brushed against something soft. Black lace panties. Not mine.My hand flew to my still-flat stomach. For our child. How could he do this to us?Ice flooded my veins. “We’re done, Cassian.”His gaze was heavy, exhausted. He gave a single, sharp nod. “Fine. I’ll have my lawyer draft the papers.”But then, a frantic little voice—one that wasn't mine—screamed from deep within my womb. [Mom, don’t leave him! Dad didn’t cheat! The family isn’t going to fall. It’s a setup!][Oriana Gallo planned all of this! She wants your place! She put those panties in his pocket herself!][If you leave, her men will grab you. They’ll take you to an abandoned warehouse and dump your body in Lake Michigan. Then she’ll play the grieving friend, comfort Dad, and become the new Mrs. Marino!][Mom, I came back to stop this! Please, don

After Cassian left, a dead silence fell over the huge estate.I sat on the sofa where he’d just been, the smell of his cigar still in the air.Memories came flooding back.Three years ago, my father, Salvatore Rossi, lay on his deathbed. He held my hand and spoke his last words.“Arabella, my time is up. But I’ve arranged your future.”“Cassian Marino will marry you. Protect you. He owes me his life. He won’t let you be mistreated.”At the time, Cassian had just taken over as Don of the Marino family. There were enemies within. He needed my father’s old loyalists to secure his power.Marrying me was the perfect alliance.The day of my father’s funeral, we were married in front of the family.I remember that night. I was wearing a hundred-thousand-dollar Vera Wang gown, huddled on the far side of the bed, terrified.“If… if you don’t want to,” I whispered, “we can just… be married in name only.”Cassian sat on the edge of the bed. He looked younger then, but his eyes were just as deep.

"Why?" The word was a choked sob. Tears streamed down my face. "Yesterday was fine. Why are you doing this now?"Cassian’s gaze slid away, refusing to meet mine. "It's too dangerous. For you.""The Gallos sent another team last night. An ambush at the docks," he said, his voice raw with exhaustion. "We lost three men. Seven more were wounded.""This war… I don’t know when it ends. I can’t have your blood on my hands."He picked up a thick legal document from the coffee table and handed it to me."On top of what I already offered, I'm giving you the vineyard in Napa Valley. It's far from all this bloodshed. You'll be safe there."The Napa vineyard?I knew the place. Cassian bought it last year for fifty million. He said it was for us, for our vacations.And now he was using it to get rid of me.A bitter, broken laugh escaped my lips, mingling with my tears."So this is it? You're just tossing me aside like I'm a burden?""Or," my voice sliced through the air, sharp with pain, "is Oriana

On Monday morning, I arrived at the family's law firm right on time.It was the top law firm in Chicago, one that specialized in the... unique legal needs of the city's families.Cassian was already there, waiting for me in the conference room.He was wearing a dark gray custom suit. He still looked as handsome and charming as ever."The title transfer for the vineyard." He pushed the documents toward me, his face blank.I scanned the pages, checking for hidden clauses, then signed my name.From now on, that hundred-billion-dollar vineyard in Napa was all mine."We just need to wait for the notary to confirm. About ten minutes," the lawyer said.Just then, the conference room door was pushed open.Oriana Gallo walked in, dressed in a sharp black suit, holding an urgent file."Cassian, this contract from the docks needs your signature. Now," she said, her voice so sickly sweet I wanted to gag.She deliberately walked over to Cassian's side, her body practically brushing against his shou

The next morning, three cars were packed with my luggage.Bodyguards stood watch around the convoy. I followed behind in my Maserati.The moment I left Chicago, I sent one last text to Matteo:[Game over, little boy. Tell your boss her plan worked.]Then I blocked and deleted his number.Three hours later, I arrived at the lake house in Wisconsin.It was a place my mother had left me, far from the blood and schemes of Chicago.The lake was clear as a mirror, surrounded by a dense pine forest.If I wasn't pregnant, it would have been a perfect place to retire.After I got settled, I felt truly alone for the first time.No Cassian's warmth, no noise from the family. Just me and the baby in my belly.[Don't be sad, Mom,] my son's voice echoed in my head. [We'll get to meet soon!][And that vineyard really is worth a fortune. You won't regret it!]I touched my growing belly and gave a bitter smile. "I hope so."On the fifth day, the villa next door, which had been empty for years, suddenly