Beranda / Mafia Cerita Pendek / Reborn: My Fiancé Cheated With My Stepmother / Bab 1 - Bab 9

Semua Bab Reborn: My Fiancé Cheated With My Stepmother: Bab 1 - Bab 9

9 Bab

Chapter 1

My phone buzzed with Veronica's name while I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. I answered on instinct. Her voice came through crisp and commanding:"Irene, I'll handle the dock deal tonight. You stay home and rest. Your father's having some friends over, by the way. Make sure they've got cigars and whiskey ready."She said it like she was ordering a maid. "Oh, and don't tell your father where I'm going. You know how he gets, always sending someone to shadow me. A girl needs some privacy. It's settled, then. You know I've always treated you like my own daughter. I'll bring you back something nice."She hung up before I could get a word in. Then blocked my number. Five, six calls, all straight to voicemail. That's when my head cleared, and I realized my shirt was soaked with cold sweat. I'd come back to this day, the day Veronica "lost" her baby.In my past life, Veronica had married my father thinking he was the Don, all money and power. But once she was in, she found out he'd

Baca selengkapnya

Chapter 2

My father frowned and pulled out his phone to call Veronica. Ring. Ring. Ring. Three calls in a row, straight to voicemail. That was all it took to light his fuse. He turned on me like a bull. "Did you two fight? Is that why she's not picking up? Irene Moretti, you're twenty‑five years old, act like it! Stop picking fights with your mother!" I put on my best wounded look, pulled up the call recording, and hit play. "Dad, you're blaming the wrong person. Looks like you're the one who drove her out tonight."Right there in front of all my uncles, Veronica's voice filled the room.When they heard her say she didn't want my father tracking her down, the old man's face went dark as a coal mine. He lit a cigar and smoked in silence for a long while before he could even speak. My uncles tried to calm him down. I seized the moment and had the kitchen send up some grilled meat. "Dad, uncles, you've been at it all night. Take a break, have a bite." They all praised me for being thoughtful. M

Baca selengkapnya

Chapter 3

That's when I spat, right in Marco's face. Blood and all. "Bullshit. You want my docks and my armory for losing some bastard's kid? Who the hell do you think you are?"Marco and Veronica both froze, stunned. Then the fury hit. Veronica burst into theatrical sobs. "Marco, don't bother defending me. Irene's never liked me as a stepmother, she won't listen to reason! I'm unwanted everywhere. Outsiders despise me, my own family schemes against me. Maybe I should just throw myself against a wall and end it all." She made a move toward the wall. Marco grabbed her, whispering soothing nonsense. "Don't say that, Veronica. I've already called Don Salvatore. He's on his way. He'll set this straight. The Don's the head of this family. Irene has to answer to him."The crowd murmured in agreement. They abandoned their drinks and settled in front of the main house, bottles in hand, waiting for my father to show. "If you ask me, the Don needs to knock some sense into that girl. She's gotten too big

Baca selengkapnya

Chapter 4

My father spat on the floor, grabbed Veronica by the hair, and before anyone could blink, wound up and slapped her a dozen times across the face. Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack. When the echo faded, Veronica's face had ballooned into something unrecognizable. She stared at him in utter disbelief, tears of humiliation streaming down her ruined cheeks. "Now I see it. I see it all... Don Salvatore, I'm so disappointed in you. You'd beat me into silence just to protect your precious daughter? You're trying to force a confession out of me!"Marco saw his lover humiliated and rushed forward, wrenching my father's arm away. "Don, what the hell is wrong with you? Even if Irene is your daughter, you can't just blindly take her side like this! Veronica carried your child. She lost her baby. Doesn't she deserve your pity, your protection?" Even the family members started muttering. "Don, Miss Irene did go too far. She disrespected her elder and caused the lady to miscarry. An apology is the

Baca selengkapnya

Chapter 5

The family's oldest consigliere shook his head. "Going to the cops? That's bad luck. It's a small thing, just let it go. Why drag the police into this?" Another voice chimed in: "Right. I hate dealing with those bastards. No way I'm stepping foot in a station. Family business stays in the family. Calling the cops? You out of your mind?"With the consigliere leading, the rest all signaled their refusal.Veronica's face went pale. She shot Marco a desperate look. He pulled her aside, calmed her down, then turned to the crowd. "Listen up, everyone, hear me out. Veronica was wronged right in front of you. She wants to go to the authorities for help, and you won't even back her up. On the small scale, that's zero family pride. On the big scale? That's enabling evil. Keep this up, and the Moretti family is heading for disaster."That landed like a grenade. The crowd turned on him. "Hey, who the hell are you to throw accusations around? Enabling evil? Moretti heading for disaster? What busin

Baca selengkapnya

Chapter 6

My father wasn't having it. He stepped forward, face like thunder. "Because I was down in that armory all night too, right next to Irene the whole time. The second I heard her story, I knew she was being set up." Marco sneered. "You're her father. Of course you'd cover for her." But before he could finish, I hit play on the recording of Veronica's call to me and pulled up the surveillance footage from the safe house all day.Veronica's voice filled the room again: "Irene, I'll handle the dock deal tonight. You stay home and rest. Your father's having friends over, make sure they've got cigars and whiskey ready. Oh, and don't tell your father where I'm going, you know how he gets, always sending people to shadow me. A girl needs some privacy. It's settled, then. You know I've always treated you like my own daughter. I'll bring you back something nice."Three statements, back to back, clear as day. She barely gave me a second to respond before hanging up. Then I dialed Veronica's numb

Baca selengkapnya

Chapter 7

My father's face was stone. He lit a cigar, took a long drag, and shoved the phone out to the crowd. "See for yourselves. And stay out of my way. I've got trash to take out." Before anyone could blink, he was on Veronica and Marco like a freight train. Grabbed them both by the collars, one in each hand, and slammed their heads together so hard you could hear the crack from across the room. The old man was a beast in his prime, and even now, age hadn't dulled that edge. Veronica and Marco crumpled to the floor, heads ringing, seeing stars. It took them a good minute to even remember where they were.Marco was the first to open his mouth, straight to damage control. "This is Irene's revenge, pure fabrication! Veronica and I are nothing. I respect her like a mother!" I caught the flicker of resentment in Veronica's eyes at his denial. But she knew the game. With my father's murderous glare boring into her, she scrambled to back him up. "Don, this is ridiculous! There's almost fifteen

Baca selengkapnya

Chapter 8

I was on the verge of walking out when Veronica and Marco suddenly began struggling violently. They planned to accuse my father of aggravated assault and false imprisonment, and were just about to file assault charges. But before they could even pick up the phone to dial, sirens wailed outside the estate."I made the call," I said calmly, meeting their stunned stares. "Dad, I already tipped off my contact at the precinct. Their organized crime unit has been eager for a breakthrough. I’ve been recording every second since they started their little performance—every single frame of them ganging up to extort our family’s assets. Combined with this evidence, I have reasonable suspicion that they are running a targeted scam against our family. They need to be taken into custody for a proper interrogation."Marco's eyes were blazing. "Irene Moretti, have you lost your mind? If you file charges, we'll hit your father with assault!" Before I could answer, my father stepped forward and said fla

Baca selengkapnya

Chapter 9

Five years laterI stood on the balcony of the Moretti estate, looking out over the city I’d spent my whole life calling home. The skyline glowed with neon lights, the traffic hummed far below, and the breeze carried the faint smell of salt from the bay. A warm hand slipped around my waist, and I leaned back into the solid chest behind me, smiling when Michael pressed a kiss to the top of my head."They’re waiting for us inside," he murmured, his breath warm against my ear. "The whole family’s here. Even your cousin flew in from Sicily."I turned in his arms, brushing a stray strand of gray hair from his temple. "I know. I just wanted a minute. It’s still hard to believe, sometimes."Five years. Five years of building, of fixing the old messes Veronica and Marco left behind, of turning the Moretti business into something cleaner, stronger, something that would stand for another generation. No one thought a woman could hold the Don’s seat at first. No one thought a girl who’d grown up g

Baca selengkapnya

Pindai kode untuk membaca di Aplikasi