All Chapters of The Mafia's Thirteenth Bride : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

70 Chapters

Chapter Forty One: The Waiting Game

DorianThe days passed and we found nothing.I went through the journal again and Ivy went through the letters and Marcus went through the photographs. We talked to every guard and every servant and everyone who had ever worked in the house.No one knew anything.No one remembered anything.The woman with the dark hair and the red dress had vanished like a ghost.I sat in my study and stared at the wall and tried to think.She had known Mrs Chen. She had known how to find her. She had known how to scare her.And she had killed her.I was sure of it.But I had no proof and no name and no face.Ivy walked into the study and she was holding a cup of coffee."Drink," she said. "You have not eaten all day."I took the cup and she sat down across from me."We will find her," she said. "We just need to keep looking."I shook my head and said we had looked everywhere."There is nowhere else to look," I said. "We have talked to everyone. We have searched everything. There is nothing left."Ivy

Chapter Forty Two: Cold Trail

IvyThe days blurred together after that.We searched and we questioned and we searched again but nothing changed. The woman with the dark hair and the red dress remained a ghost and the guard who had given Mrs Chen the drugs remained vanished and the killer remained free.Dorian grew quieter with each passing day. He stopped eating and he stopped sleeping and he stopped speaking unless necessary. He sat in his study and stared at the wall and I sat with him and held his hand and tried to bring him back.Marcus brought updates and they were always the same. No leads. No witnesses. No suspects.We had hit a wall and we could not find a way around it.I found Dorian in the garden one morning and he was sitting on the bench by the fountain and staring at the water. The sun was warm and the birds were singing and the flowers were blooming but he looked like he was in a different world.I sat down beside him and asked how he was doing.He did not answer at first. He just stared at the wate

Chapter Forty Three: The Weight of Grief

DorianI stopped searching after that.I could not do it anymore. The constant looking and the constant hoping and the constant disappointment had worn me down. I had nothing left to give.I spent my days in the garden and my nights in my study and my hours in between just existing.Ivy stayed with me and she did not push and she did not ask and she did not expect anything from me. She just sat with me and held my hand and made sure I ate and slept.Marcus handled the business and he did not bother me with details. He knew I was broken and he knew I needed time.Weeks passed and the world moved on without me.I sat on the bench by the fountain one morning and watched the water ripple and sparkle. The sun was warm and the birds were singing and the flowers were blooming and everything looked peaceful.But I did not feel peaceful.I felt empty.Ivy sat down beside me and asked if I was okay.I shook my head and said I was not."I keep thinking about her," I said. "About all the things I

Chapter Forty Four: The New Normal

IvyThe weeks turned into months and life settled into a new rhythm.Dorian still had his dark days. He would sit in his study and stare at the wall and I would sit with him and hold his hand and wait. But the dark days came less often now. He was learning to carry his grief instead of being crushed by it.I was proud of him.I spent my days training with Sofia and helping Marcus with the business and learning how to be a wife. It was strange to think about that word. Wife. I had been married for months now but it still felt new and fragile and precious.Dorian and I had dinner together every night. We talked about our days and laughed at Marcus's jokes and planned for the future. It felt almost normal.Almost.But there was always something lurking beneath the surface. The unanswered questions about Mrs Chen's death. The mystery of the woman with the dark hair and the red dress. The guard who had vanished without a trace.We had stopped searching but we had not forgotten.I found Dor

Chapter Forty Five: The Unexpected Visitor

DorianI was in my study when Marcus knocked on the door.His face was strange and I could not read it."Boss," he said. "There is someone here to see you."I looked up from my paperwork and asked who it was."A woman," he said. "She says she has information about Mrs Chen."I stood up so fast my chair fell over."Where is she?" I asked."In the living room," Marcus said. "I thought you would want to talk to her in private."I walked out of the study and down the hallway. My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking.I had given up on finding answers.But now someone had come to me.I walked into the living room and stopped.A woman was sitting on the couch. She was young and dark haired and she was wearing a simple dress. She looked nervous and her hands were clasped tightly in her lap.She looked up at me when I walked in."Mr. Vale," she said. "Thank you for seeing me."I walked toward her and asked who she was."My name is Elena," she said. "I used to work for Mrs Chen. A long t

Chapter Forty Six: The Scar

IvyI could not stop thinking about the burn scar.After Elena left, Dorian stood by the window for a long time and did not speak. I sat on the couch and watched him and waited. His back was to me and his shoulders were tight and I could see the tension in every line of his body.When he finally turned around, his face was hard."The scar," he said. "Elena said the woman had a burn scar on her hand."I nodded and asked what he was thinking.He walked toward me and sat down on the couch. He took my hand and his fingers were cold."The orphanage fire," he said. "My mother and Clara. They both had burn scars. My mother's were on her arms and her back. Clara's were everywhere."I asked if he thought the woman could be connected to the fire."I do not know," he said. "But it is too much of a coincidence. A woman with a burn scar comes to threaten my mother. My mother grew up in an orphanage that burned down. She survived but her sister did not."I squeezed his hand and said we needed to fi

Chapter Forty Seven: The Missing Piece

DorianI could not sleep.The name Margaret echoed in my mind and I could not stop thinking about her. She had survived the fire. She had known my mother and Clara. She had visited both of them before they died or fell into comas.And then she had killed my mother.I sat up in bed and looked at Ivy. She was asleep and her face was peaceful and I did not want to wake her.I got out of bed and walked to my study.Marcus was there and he was looking through old files."Boss," he said. "I found something."I walked toward him and asked what it was.He held up a photograph.It was old and faded and it showed a group of children standing in front of a crumbling building. They were all wearing the same uniform and they were all smiling.I looked at the faces and I recognized my mother. She was young and pretty and she was holding hands with Clara.And standing next to them was a girl with dark hair and a bright smile.Margaret.I stared at her face and felt something click into place.She ha

Chapter Forty Eight: The Family Name

IvyI watched Dorian's face go pale as he read the name on the paper. His hands were shaking and his eyes were wide and I had never seen him look so lost."What is it?" I asked. "What does it say?"He looked up at me and his voice was rough."Margaret was adopted by a wealthy family," he said. "She changed her name and moved to the city. She married a powerful man and became someone else."I walked around the desk and looked at the paper.The name of the family was written at the bottom.Vale.My blood went cold."Vale," I whispered. "Your family. She was adopted by your family."Dorian nodded and set the paper down."My grandmother," he said. "My father's mother. She adopted Margaret. She brought her into the family and gave her a new name."I sat down beside him and asked what her new name was.Dorian looked at the paper again and his face was hard."Margaret became Mary," he said. "Mary Vale. My father's sister."I stared at him and felt the world tilt."Your aunt," I said. "The wom

Chapter Forty Nine: The Search For Mary

DorianI could not stop thinking about my aunt.Mary Vale. The woman who had been adopted by my grandmother. The woman who had become part of my family. The woman who had killed my mother.I had spent my whole life thinking I was alone. I had no cousins. No aunts. No uncles. My father had never spoken about his family and I had never asked.But now I knew the truth.I had an aunt. And she was a murderer.Marcus found me in the study the next morning and his face was grim."Boss," he said. "I found something."I looked up and asked what it was.He handed me a photograph.It was old and faded and it showed a woman in a wedding dress. She was young and beautiful and she was smiling. Standing next to her was a man in a suit.I stared at the woman's face.She had dark hair and dark eyes and she looked familiar."That is Mary Vale," Marcus said. "On her wedding day."I took the photograph and looked at it more closely."Who is the man?" I asked.Marcus shook his head and said he did not kno

Chapter Fifty: The Hunt Begins

IvyMarcus returned an hour later with a grim face and a folder in his hands."I found something," he said and set the folder on the desk. "A bank account under Mary Vale's name and it has been active for years."Dorian opened the folder and looked at the papers inside and his jaw tightened."Where is the bank?" he asked."Downtown," Marcus said. "First National. The same bank where Mrs Chen had her safe deposit box."Dorian looked at me and I looked at him and we both knew this was not a coincidence."She was connected to everything," I said. "The orphanage and the fire and Mrs Chen and Clara and the bank. She was everywhere."Dorian closed the folder and stood up and his face was hard."We are going to the bank," he said. "We are going to find out everything we can about her."We drove downtown in silence and the city was busy and loud and full of people who had no idea what we were searching for. The streets were crowded and the buildings were tall and the world was still turning b

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