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Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Don's Secret Wife No More: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

10 Kabanata

Chapter 1

For the ninety-eighth time, Matteo missed our wedding rehearsal.This time, it was to celebrate taking over the Moretti family's arms territory.His mistress, Cecilia, threw him a lavish party.Three hours in, my guy Tony, who was inside, sent me the first encrypted message.In the video, Matteo stood in the middle of a private club, champagne flute in his hand.All the family Capos were circling him and Cecilia like they were royalty.Amid the cheers, Matteo downed his champagne, pulled Cecilia into his arms, and kissed her in front of everyone.His hands cupped her face as he kissed her, deep and hard, like he wanted to devour her.For what felt like an eternity.Someone in the crowd whistled. Others clapped.Cecilia’s cheeks were flushed, her hands clutching Matteo’s suit jacket.Then Matteo swept her up and carried her toward a private room in the back.Before the door even closed, you could hear Cecilia moaning.“God, you look beautiful tonight. I can’t wait to have you.”“It’s be

Chapter 2

The next afternoon, I met the Falcone family's lawyer, James, and formally requested the return of all Rossi family assets.James looked up. His face was pure shock.“You’re certain? You want to pull all legitimate businesses from the Falcone portfolio?”“But… under your management, their value has tripled in five years. Why so suddenly…”He trailed off. I dropped my gaze.Before yesterday, I’d believed that too.These businesses were my tools. I used them to launder every dollar of Matteo’s bloody empire.I remembered three years ago, Matteo holding me in our penthouse overlooking Lake Michigan as the sunset painted the city gold.“See all those skyscrapers?” he’d said, pointing. “Half of that comes from my casinos and my deals. But without you, it’s all just blood money.”He kissed my neck, his voice low and intoxicating. “You’re my best strategist, Natalia. This empire is nothing without you.”Back then, I believed him.I used my head for business to wash every dirty dollar he made.

Chapter 3

I went back to the bedroom and looked at the closets full of clothes.Every single piece held a memory, a broken promise.The red silk evening gown. Matteo said the color was like blood, like a rose, like his love for me.The white cashmere coat. He bought it for me in Paris, said it would protect me from the Chicago cold.The black lace lingerie, his favorite…Every one of them was a monument to a lie.I started to pack, then stopped. These clothes weren't mine. They were costumes for a life that was a lie. He could keep them.“Natalia.”An hour later, Matteo’s voice came from downstairs, low and tired.My hand froze in mid-air.“Make me the tea and bring it to the study,” he said. “I have a long night ahead of me.”The calming tea.For years, whenever Matteo had trouble with business or insomnia after an attack from a rival family, he’d have me make it for him. I’d made it for him countless times.And every time, he’d say only my tea could help him sleep.“I will,” I replied softly.

Chapter 4

Before I could finish, Cecilia’s voice cut in from his end of the line, a sultry purr.“Matteo, how much longer are you going to be? The plane’s about to take off.”Matteo’s voice dropped, sounding rushed.“Natalia, what did you just say? I didn’t catch that.”“There’s an urgent matter I need to handle in Las Vegas. Everything else can wait until I get back.”I stared at the black screen and let out a cold laugh.I was going to give him a clean break, but he couldn’t even give me that.In the days that followed, I finished all power transfers and asset withdrawals.I moved my things back to the Rossi family estate.My father’s study was exactly as he’d left it.“Welcome home, Miss,” our butler, Antonio, said respectfully. “Your room has been prepared.”In the days that followed, Matteo sent me messages every day.A castle hotel on the shores of Lake Como.A Victorian chapel.A three-million-dollar custom wedding gown.Every picture came with the same text: For you.It looked like he w

Chapter 5

Matteo stared at the papers on the table. His face went slack with disbelief.I had forgiven him for running out on me ninety-eight times before. Maybe in his eyes, that meant I would forgive him forever.“You’re joking,” he stammered，“If you’re still jealous because Cecilia has my favor, there’s no need at all. I’ve said it before—she and I are just a casual fling. You will always be the woman I love most.”“Do I look like I’m joking?” I met his gaze, my face a perfect mask of calm.“Matteo, you even married me with ulterior motives. Isn’t it ridiculous to beg me to stay now?”He dropped to his knees at my feet, scrambling for my hands.“Natalia, I fucked up.” His voice cracked with a panic I’d never heard. “I never should have let you suffer. I never should have let Cecilia walk all over you.”“I swear, I’ll never touch her again. I’ll make her disappear. For good.”Tears welled in Matteo’s eyes. The ruthless Don, now a pathetic, pleading child.“You’re everything, Natalia. Without y

Chapter 6

Matteo tried to say something, but I had already turned and walked to the door.“Natalia!” he roared behind me. “You can’t do this to me!”I didn’t look back.“Three days. Ten a.m. Chicago Chamber of Commerce.” My voice was ice. “The elders from both families will be present, and we will officially dissolve our alliance.”“Don’t be late.”The door closed behind me, shutting out Matteo’s furious shouts.Tony was already waiting in the car.“Back to the Rossi estate,” I said.“Yes, Miss.”As the car pulled away from the Falcone estate, I watched the house—my former home—shrink in the rearview mirror.Five years of marriage, over just like that.At the Rossi estate, the family council was waiting.Five old men sat at my father’s round table. Their faces were grim.“Natalia,” the lead elder, Giuseppe, stood up. “Are you certain about this?”“I’m certain.” I took my father’s seat. “Matteo Falcone can no longer be trusted.”“But…” the second elder, Antonio, frowned. “This means war.”“Then i

Chapter 7

The front-page story in the Chicago Tribune shook the city the next morning.MAFIA DON’S SECRET MARRIAGE AND BETRAYALIt ran with a high-res photo of Matteo proposing to Cecilia in Las Vegas.It detailed how Matteo had hidden his marriage for five years, flaunted his mistress in front of his wife, and repeatedly broke his promises about their wedding to keep his mistress happy.The most damning part was the audio recording.Cecilia’s voice from the private club was crystal clear: “That stupid woman actually thinks Matteo loves her. She was just a pawn in our bet.”The reaction from the Five Families was immediate.The Martino family was the first to act, announcing a suspension of all cooperation with the Falcone family.The D’Alessio family followed suit, withdrawing their support for the North Side docks.Even the usually neutral Vitale family issued a statement questioning Matteo’s leadership.Worst of all, the Russians were starting to stir.They smelled blood in the water.In the

Chapter 8

Chicago Chamber of Commerce, 27th floor.At 9:55 a.m., Matteo appeared at the conference room door.It was the first time he hadn’t been late.Inside, the elders of both families were already seated.The five Rossi elders sat on one side of the long table, the four Falcone elders on the other.I sat in my father’s old seat, flipping through documents with a blank expression.When Matteo walked in, all eyes turned to him.He looked like hell.He hadn’t shaved in three days, his eyes were ringed with black, and his suit was wrinkled. The once-dapper Mafia Don now looked like a lost, broken man.“Natalia,” he rasped, his voice barely audible.I glanced up at him, then went back to my papers.“Please sit, Don Falcone,” Giuseppe, the Rossi elder, said, gesturing to the chair opposite him.Matteo didn’t sit. He walked straight to me.“Natalia, I need to talk to you. Alone.”“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said, my voice as calm as still water. “Please sit. Let’s begin.”“Wait.” Matteo sud

Chapter 9

The night the decree was signed, Matteo showed up at the gates of the Rossi estate.He was driving his signature black Cadillac. Alone.The estate guards tensed, their hands dropping to their holsters.“Let him in,” I said from the second-floor balcony. “But him alone.”Matteo walked slowly toward the main door. Under the moonlight, his face was as pale as a corpse.“Natalia.” He looked up at me on the balcony. “I have a proposal.”“Speak.”“I will give you half of the Falcone family’s assets in exchange for you coming back to me.”His voice was unnervingly clear in the night air.“The docks, the casinos, the real estate firms… I’ll give you everything. Just come back.”I looked at him, a flicker of scorn rising in me.Now he wants to give me things?That’s not what he said when he married me five years ago.“Matteo,” my voice was soft, but loud enough for him to hear. “What makes you think I need you to give me anything?”He froze.“I don’t need you to give me anything, Matteo. I just

Chapter 10

“Matteo Falcone is done,” James’s voice sounded weary over the phone.I put down the financial report and leaned back in my chair.“What do you mean?”“His empire has collapsed.”James paused, as if gathering his thoughts.“Less than two months after you left, the Falcone family’s cash flow started to dry up.”That wasn’t a surprise.The legitimate businesses I managed for Matteo had supplied his criminal network with over a billion dollars in cash flow annually.Without that, his empire was a corpse without blood.“And then?”“He became paranoid. He didn’t trust anyone. He even purged lieutenants who had been with him for a decade.” James’s voice held a note of fear. “He started making insane decisions.”I pictured Matteo, alone in the Falcone estate, slowly going mad.“The fatal blow was the firefight last summer,” James continued. “The Russians on the East Side wanted to take over his docks. Normally, that’s a minor friction you handle through negotiation.”“But?”“But Matteo chose

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