All Chapters of THE MAFIA’S HIDDEN PRINCESS RETURNS: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

"Marcus is going to claim duress. That you left him under pressure from the Accardi family. That Dante coerced you. That you weren't in your right mind." Rafael's expression was sympathetic. "He's also going to drag up every argument, every difficult moment of your marriage. Make it look like you were the problem, not him.""Can he do that?""He can try. Whether he succeeds is another matter." Rafael passed her a document. "But I need you to be prepared. This is going to be ugly. Marcus is going to say terrible things about you. About us. About Dante. And some of them might be made public."Elena scanned the document, and her heart sank. Marcus was claiming she'd cheated. That she'd married him under false pretenses, hiding her true identity. That she'd stolen money from joint accounts. That she was mentally unstable.All lies. Vicious, cruel lies."He's trying to destroy your reputation," Don Salvatore said quietly. "Make you look like the villain so he can play the victim.""We can

"Turn it off," Elena said quietly. "I don't want to hear anymore.""He's playing the victim card," Matteo said. "And people are buying it. Social media is lighting up. Half of them think he's a devoted husband being kept from his wife. The other half think we're monsters.""Let them think what they want," Don Salvatore said, arriving with blood on his hands—whether his or someone else's, Elena couldn't tell. "Marcus Thorne made his last mistake today. He attacked my family. My home. My daughter." The old man's eyes were cold as winter. "Now we finish this. Permanently.""Papa, no," Elena said. "If we kill him, we prove his point. We become the monsters he's claiming we are.""We're already monsters, figlia. We've always been monsters. The difference is, we're the monsters who protect what's ours." Don Salvatore turned to Alessandro. "Find Marcus. Bring him here. Let me look him in the eye before we decide his fate.""Papa—"

Six weeks after Marcus signed the divorce papers, Elena stood in front of a full-length mirror, turning sideways to examine her growing belly. At fifteen weeks pregnant, she could no longer hide the triplets. Her body had surrendered to the reality of growing three humans simultaneously."You're showing," Victoria said from the doorway, carrying a tray of tea and biscuits—the only food Elena could keep down in the mornings. "Really showing now.""I look like I swallowed a basketball," Elena said, running her hands over the small but undeniable bump. "Dr. Mitchell says it's going to get much bigger. Much faster.""Of course it will. Triplets." Victoria set down the tray. "How are you feeling? Really?""Exhausted. Hungry all the time. My back hurts. My feet are swelling." Elena smiled despite listing her complaints. "And somehow, I've never been happier."It was true. Despite the bed rest, despite being confined to the villa, despite the li

The explosion shook Elena's teeth. Pictures fell from walls. Glass shattered somewhere below. And through it all, the sound of gunfire—sharp, constant, terrifying."Move!" Dante pushed her toward the door, his body between her and the windows. "The safe room is two floors down. We need to get there now."Elena's bare feet hit cold marble as they ran into the hallway. Smoke was already rising from the west wing. More gunfire echoed through the villa, closer now, inside the walls.They'd gotten through the security. Somehow, they'd actually gotten inside.Victoria appeared from a side corridor, her face pale but determined. "Alessandro's holding the main entrance. Lorenzo's securing the east wing. But there are too many of them, at least twenty attackers, maybe more.""How did they get past forty guards?" Dante demanded, pulling Elena down the stairs."Someone disabled the motion sensors in the southeast quadrant. The explosion was

"Because Elena wouldn't want us to. She'd rather die than be used as a weapon against her own family.""Exactly." Lorenzo sat down across from Alessandro. "So. What's the play? Do we go to Rome? Bring Isabelle and Antonio back here for justice? Or handle it there?""We handle it there," Alessandro decided. "Can't risk bringing them back—too many opportunities for escape or rescue attempts. We go to them. Clean and quiet.""Just us? Or the full family?""You, me, Giovanni, Matteo. Rafael stays here to protect the villa and Elena." Alessandro stood, walking to the window. "Dante comes with us. He has a right to face the people who threatened his family.""And Elena?""Stays here. Safe. Under heavy guard." Alessandro's reflection in the window was hard. "I know she wants to be involved, but I won't risk those babies. Not for revenge.""She's not going to be happy.""She'll understand. Eventually." Alessandro turned back. "How soon can we leave?""Four hours. The private jet's being prepp