All Chapters of THE MAFIA KING'S FORBIDDEN BRIDE: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The photograph lay on the cold stone floor.No one moved.For several seconds, Aria could only stare at it.Her mother's face looked back at her.Young.Beautiful.Alive.The photograph was old, but there was no mistaking her.Aria had spent years looking at the same face in a framed picture beside her bed.She had been told her mother died when she was five.She had mourned a woman she barely remembered.She had accepted the story because Antonio had never given her a reason to question it.Now everything had changed."My mother is alive."Her voice was barely a whisper.Lorenzo picked up the photograph.His eyes moved across the image.Antonio stood beside Aria's mother, Elena Romano.But there was something else.Behind them stood a building.A large stone villa surrounded by tall cypress trees.Lorenzo recognized it."Milan."Aria looked at him."You know this place?""I've seen it.""Where?""My father owned property near Lake Como."He turned the photograph over.There was a han

The explosion shook the entire building.Aria stumbled as the floor beneath her feet trembled.Lorenzo caught her before she fell."Keep moving!"Behind them, smoke poured through the corridor.Sofia was helping Elena out of the safe room while Father Gabriel covered their retreat."Where's Lucas?" Aria shouted."Gone," Lorenzo answered.They reached the emergency staircase.Another explosion rocked the building.A section of the ceiling collapsed behind them."Go!"They rushed downward.By the time they reached the underground garage, several vehicles were already burning.Lorenzo stopped."This was planned."Sofia looked around."Every exit?""Blocked."Aria's heart pounded."Then how do we get out?"Lorenzo pointed toward an old maintenance tunnel."There."Father Gabriel stared at it."That tunnel leads beneath the railway.""Exactly."They moved quickly.Elena was weak, but she refused to stop."I can walk."Aria held her arm."You've been shot.""And I've survived worse."Aria l

The castle doors exploded inward.Smoke rolled across the marble floor.Aria stood frozen.Antonio was alive.Lorenzo was staring at the man he had spent years believing was dead.And across the ruined entrance stood Marco De Luca.His biological father.The architect behind the disappearance.The man who had apparently manipulated two criminal empires for decades.Marco slowly removed his gloves."Twenty years," he said quietly. "Twenty years of hiding, and this is how we finally meet again."Lorenzo raised his gun."You."Marco looked at him.A faint smile appeared."My son.""Don't call me that."Marco's smile disappeared."I suppose I deserve that.""You left me.""I had to.""You let me believe you were dead.""Because believing I was dead kept you alive."Lorenzo's eyes hardened."You don't get to justify abandoning me."Marco looked at him for several seconds.Then his gaze moved toward Aria."But you survived."Aria held the black key tightly."You killed Antonio."Marco looke

Paris was waiting.Aria stared through the airplane window as the city appeared beneath the clouds.For the first time, she understood why Isabella had chosen Paris.It wasn't simply another city.It was where the Crown had begun.And now it was where the war would end.Or begin.Lorenzo sat across from her."You haven't slept.""Neither have you.""I'm not the one who's about to walk into a trap."Aria looked at him."You're coming with me.""Obviously.""You were told to stay away.""I've never been good at following orders."She smiled faintly.Then her expression became serious."What if Isabella hurts my mother?""She won't.""How do you know?""Because she needs Elena.""For what?"Lorenzo leaned forward."To control you."Aria looked away."I hate that she knows exactly how to manipulate me.""She's your sister.""That's what makes it worse."Lorenzo reached across the table."You don't have to face her alone."Aria took his hand."I know."They landed at a private airfield out

The photograph remained on the screen.Aria couldn't look away.Antonio stood on the left.Marco stood on the right.Between them was a man wearing the black uniform of the Crown.His face was unmistakable.Father Gabriel.Aria's breath caught."No."Lorenzo took the phone from her.His eyes widened."Gabriel?"Sofia stepped closer."That's impossible."Aria shook her head."He saved us.""He helped us escape.""He was shot protecting us."Lorenzo looked at her."Unless...""Unless what?""Unless everything he did was part of the plan."Silence.Aria felt sick.Father Gabriel had been there from the beginning.He had guided them to Rome.He had helped them find the keys.He had explained the Crown.He had protected Elena.And now Isabella claimed he had been inside the Crown all along.Sofia's voice was low."Where is he?"Aria looked around.Nobody answered.Then Lorenzo's phone rang.An unknown number.He answered."Hello?"A familiar voice replied."Looking for me?"Lorenzo's expre