Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

Chapter 1

"Good afternoon, ma'am. You just walked out of Boston City Hall looking absolutely radiant. Any special occasion to celebrate?""I'm getting divorced.""I'm sorry to hear that. Would you mind telling me what happened?""He's been bedding his late right-hand man's sister. In my art studio, on my yacht, across my private study desk, and even on the grand piano in our living room. He thought I didn't know.""I can't imagine how much this hurts. I'm so sorry for what you're going through. Where are you heading now?""The hospital. Prenatal checkup."The interview went viral within hours for her calm, unflinching recounting of the betrayal and the shocking contrast between her glamorous mafia wife identity and her devastating situation.It didn't take long for netizens to dig out my identity, and the entire world now knows the woman in that video is me.Elena, Donna of the Moretti family.Three years ago, Vincenzo Moretti, the undisputed Don who ruled Boston's underworld with an iron fist,

Chapter 2

Lila's voice drifted down the hallway."That sapphire necklace you gave her must have cost millions. All I asked for was a simple diamond ring, and you said no."Vincenzo pushed her off his lap and sat up, lighting a cigarette."How dare you compare yourself to her? She's the woman I love with all my heart, my Donna. Know your place. I'm only doing this because Elena hasn't been able to get pregnant, and the family needs an heir."Lila pouted and wrapped her arms around his neck, stamping her foot petulantly."I know. And besides, I'm more likely to get pregnant only when I'm in a good mood, you know?"Vincenzo sighed, then reached into the nightstand drawer and pulled out a sapphire necklace exactly like the one he'd given me—same cut, same carat, just a slightly different chain."I bought you one too. But you can't wear it. If Elena finds out, she'll leave. And if she leaves, I'll go crazy."Lila's face lit up. She kissed him greedily, her hands tangling in his hair. "You really lov

Chapter 3

Thirty minutes later, the armored Mercedes pulled up to the iron gates of Il Nonno’s—the Moretti family’s oldest front.Vincenzo’s parents had never accepted me. To them, I was nothing but a street rat with a paintbrush who’d tricked their golden boy into a morganatic marriage.Only Don Salvatore, his grandfather, had ever looked at me as anything more than a liability. They’d never forgiven me for failing to give them a male heir to run the rackets, and after three years of marriage with no pregnancy, their contempt curdled into something venomous.Every Sunday lunch felt like walking into a room full of loaded guns, all pointed at me.This time, his mother had called at dawn. She said it was family business. I had no choice but to show up.We stepped into the dimly lit dining room. His parents were sitting at the head table, sipping espresso. The second their eyes landed on me, their forced smiles dropped.I kept my gaze fixed on the tablecloth, but Vincenzo noticed. His hand tigh

Chapter 4

The armored gates clanged shut behind me, and I froze in the marble foyer. Lila was draped over the baby grand piano in the drawing room, wearing nothing but a sheer white silk slip."I thought you were at the Ritz charity luncheon," I said, my voice flat. "Said you were going to find yourself a proper boyfriend."She twirled a grape between her manicured fingers, a lazy smile playing on her lips. "Oh, I did go. Met the most charming man there. So powerful, so possessive... we left before the first course was even served."Her eyes locked onto mine, triumphant, like this was some twisted game she'd already won."He got so jealous when another man looked at me," she purred. "We spent three hours in his car in the parking garage. He couldn't keep his hands off me."My nails dug into my palms until I tasted blood. "When did this start? You never mentioned him before."She laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. "Ten months ago. The day my brother's body was brought home. Vincenzo introduced u

Chapter 5

I turned slowly. Vincenzo stood in the warehouse shadows, his face drained of color, the hand holding his cigar crushed to ash. "What visa?" His voice was low, graveled with a fear I'd never heard before. I forced a faint smile, tucking my phone into my pocket. "One of my gallery apprentices. She's moving to New Zealand to study, asked about the paperwork."He stared at me for a long, heavy second, then lunged forward and crushed me against his chest. His whole body was shaking. "Don't ever leave me, Elena," he whispered into my hair, his voice raw. "I just had this feeling... like you were going to vanish. I can't breathe without you." I patted his back gently, my heart already miles away. That afternoon, while he was locked in a bloodthirsty negotiation with the Irish mob over the waterfront routes, I slipped out through the warehouse back door,told the security detail I was going to visit my parents' grave, then hailed a cab to the Consulate.My hands trembled as I signed f

Chapter 6

Vincenzo had frowned, taking the phone. The screen was open to a CNN breaking news article, the headline blaring in bold black letters: BOSTON MAFIA QUEEN ELENA MORETTI FILES FOR DIVORCE, WALKS OUT OF CITY HALL ALONE. Below the headline was a video, and when he pressed play, he heard my voice saying the words that would break him forever: “I’m getting divorced...I'm going to the hospital for a prenatal checkup.”He watched the video seventeen times in a row. Around him, his men stood in silence, their heads bowed, too afraid to say a word. They all knew what I meant to him. They’d watched him burn down half the city for me, kill men without a second thought for looking at me the wrong way, give up a billion-dollar deal just to avenge my parents. They’d never seen him like this. His eyes empty, like someone had ripped his heart out of his chest.“Where is she?” he finally whispered, his voice hoarse.Enzo swallowed hard. “She left three days ago, Boss. Took a private jet to Auckl

Chapter 7

He slammed the door in her face and locked it. Through the window, he watched her stand there for a minute, crying and screaming, before she turned and walked away. He never saw her again.Later, Enzo handed him my prenatal report. Vincenzo sat on the couch with it for twenty straight hours, not moving, not speaking.The next day, Vincenzo handed over full control of the Moretti empire to Enzo. “Run it,” he said, throwing his keys on the desk. “I don’t care what you do with it. Just don’t bother me unless someone is trying to kill me.”“Boss, you can’t just leave. The family needs you—”“The family can go to hell,” Vincenzo said, grabbing his coat. “The only thing I need is Elena. And I’m not coming back until I find her.”Vincenzo flew to New Zealand the next day. He didn’t know where I was. All he knew was that I’d landed in Auckland. He rented a car and drove from one end of the country to the other, stopping in every small town, every village, every remote cabin. He carried a

Chapter 8

The day I’d signed the divorce papers, I’d flown to Auckland.I’d driven hours to the cabin, and when I’d walked through the door, I’d broken down crying.For the first time in three years, I was free.I didn’t miss Boston. I didn’t even miss Vincenzo. He was dead to me.Now, seven months pregnant, I was happier than I’d ever been.The next day, I’d woken up with a sharp pain in my stomach.I was worried about the baby, so I called Dr. Henderson, the respected local doctor who’d treated my parents when they owned the cabin.I told myself it was nothing, that it was just normal pregnancy pain.An hour later, there was a knock on the door. I opened it, and Dr. Henderson was standing there, holding his medical bag. But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.Vincenzo was right behind him.Dr. Henderson spoke first, his voice apologetic. “He said he’s your husband. He knew every detail about you. Your birthday, your parents’ names. I had no reason not to believe him.”Before I co

Chapter 9

I thought that was the end of it. I was wrong.A week later, I woke up to the sound of hammering. I looked out the window.On the empty piece of land next to my cabin, a crew of men was building a small wooden house. Exactly like mine.Two weeks later, the house was finished. A single man moved in.He never even looked at me. But he was always there.When I went for a walk along the lake, he was there, walking fifty feet behind me. When I drove into town for groceries, his truck was always two cars behind mine.I called the police. They came and talked to him.But he wasn’t breaking any laws. The police told me there was nothing they could do. I was furious. I knew it was Vincenzo. He’d sent this man, Rocco, to watch me.This went on for a month. The man never spoke to me, never did anything to threaten me. But he was always there.Then one rainy afternoon, I was walking back from the general store with a bag of groceries. My foot slipped on a muddy patch of road, and I stumbled, t

Chapter 10

Three weeks later, I called my best friend Sophia in Boston. I hadn’t spoken to her since I left. I’d been too scared Vincenzo would hurt her because I left. But now that he knew where I was, there was no point in hiding anymore.She picked up on the first ring, her voice cracking with relief. “Elena? Oh my God, are you okay? I’ve been worried sick about you.” We talked for an hour. She told me about the gallery, about how all my paintings had sold out within days of the divorce going viral, collectors paying ten times their original price. Then she hesitated. “There’s something you should know. About Lila.”I froze, my hand resting on my swollen belly. “What about her?”“Vincenzo threw her out the day he found out you left. He gave her five million dollars, saying it was Marco’s final pension. But then he sent a formal notice to every crime family in the Northeast, every companies on the East Coast.”“He said anyone who hired her would be considered an enemy of the Moretti family.

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