Semua Bab He Begged the Don. It Was Me: Bab 1 - Bab 9

"Corinne, your brother-in-law's in trouble. You need to handle it."On the other end of the line, my mother's voice was as demanding as ever. An order, not a request.I swirled the red wine in my glass, looking out the floor-to-ceiling window at the glittering New York skyline. The irony was so thick I could've choked on it.Six years ago, my sister Rosalie and I both fell for Edmund. But he only ever had a smile for her, the one who played sweet and innocent. I was always the odd one out.The day they got married, I overheard my parents whispering in a back room. "The company needs cash. Let's marry Corinne off to that old partner of ours. It'll get us out of this hole."That "partner" was over fifty, twice divorced, with a nasty reputation.That night, I took my last five thousand dollars and fled to Sicily.Rage was the only thing I had. In that cesspool of blood and bullets, I clawed my way up.Four years. I united dozens of small-time crews and founded the Vexille family. Two more

8:00 AM.An hour and a half before the meeting.A text from an unknown number appeared on my personal phone.【Corinne, it's Edmund. I know you're back in New York. Let's cut the crap. I need you to do something for me. Find out everything you can about the new Don of the Vexille family. Rosalie said you were in Sicily for years, so you must have contacts.】【This is important. Let me know as soon as you have something.】The first time he'd contacted me in six years.No hello. Not a single pleasantry. Just a demand.Good thing I wasn't the same girl whose world turned on his every word.I glanced at it once and put it out of my mind.Ten minutes later, another text. This time, he was testing the waters.【Are you still mad about what happened six years ago? Corinne, be mature. Rosalie and I are married. We have a child. Holding onto the past won't do you any good.】【Help me this one time. Once Falcone is back on its feet, I'll consider getting you a respectable position in New York.】I st

"Corinne... how can it be you? This is impossible... You were in Sicily..." he stammered, the shock completely shattering his reality."My time is valuable, Edmund," I said, glancing at my watch, my voice cutting through his confusion. "You have a thirty-minute appointment. Three of those minutes are already gone."The words "thirty minutes" snapped him back to the present.Though his eyes were still wide with disbelief, the desperation of his family's ruin forced him to pull himself together.He began to stumble through his proposal."I... We, the Falcone family, wish to enter into a deep partnership with the Vexille family," Edmund stammered, swallowing hard to make his voice sound stronger. "We are willing to cede control of our key port on Third Avenue. In exchange, we request one year of Vexille's protection and a capital injection of twenty million dollars to help us survive this... this cash flow crisis."I said nothing, just slowly flipped through the file in my hands. The only

The next morning, New York's high society exploded.The news that I was the mysterious new Don of the Vexille family spread like wildfire.My personal phone was bombarded with messages.The socialites who once sneered at me at parties, the business tycoons who wouldn't have given me the time of day, even "old classmates" I barely knew—all of them were suddenly sending texts.Every word oozed with sickening flattery.Some went even further, sending invitations and expensive gifts to Vexille-owned businesses, trying to pull strings to get an audience with me.I looked at the thick stack of invitations on my desk with disgust."Don, about these meeting requests..." Julian asked quietly."Reject them all," I cut him off. "Send out the order. From now on, anyone claiming to be an old friend or a relative is not to be let in. Anyone who tries to get them an audience is out of Vexille. Immediately.""Yes, Don." Julian's expression hardened as he left to carry out my command.But some people,

I didn't resort to private justice. Instead, I had my legal team draw up an indictment. I sued my parents and my sister for kidnapping and extortion.When the cold steel of the handcuffs snapped around their wrists, they finally understood I wasn't playing a game.Rosalie sobbed hysterically in her holding cell, screaming Edmund's name, hoping he would hire the best lawyers in New York to save her.All she got was a divorce agreement delivered by his assistant and a public statement from the Falcone family disavowing any connection to her.When faced with his own ruin, so-called love was just a piece of paper, easily torn and discarded.The day before the trial, Edmund cornered me in the parking garage one last time.He looked like he had aged ten years. His eyes were sunken, his face covered in stubble. The dashing, arrogant prince was gone forever."Corinne..." he looked at me, his voice raspy, a bitter smile on his lips. "The Falcone family... it's over. The credit lines are frozen,