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All Chapters of The Don Played a Game With the Wrong Woman: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

21 Chapters

Chapter 1

The scar along my left temple looked worse under the bathroom's harsh lighting.I traced the thin line of damaged skin that curved from my hairline down behind my ear, feeling the familiar ridge where the bone had never quite healed right.Fifteen years and two surgeries later, it still looked like something violent had happened to me.Because something violent had happened to me.I pressed my fingertips against the worst part of the scar, where the skull beneath still had that slight depression, and felt that deep ache that never fully went away.The doctors had warned me I would get migraines when it rained, when the weather was about to get cold and when I was stressed.They had not warned me that the headaches would come every single time I looked at my husband."Isabella, are you alright?"Vincenzo's voice came from behind me and I spun around.He stood in the doorway wearing only his dress pants, his hair still wet, concern written across his face.I quickly brushed my hair forwa

Chapter 2

The gallery opening ran two hours longer than scheduled.I stood in the corner nursing the same glass of champagne while collectors circled the paintings like sharks.My piece sold within the first thirty minutes to some German banker who did not even ask what it meant.He just saw the price tag and the red dot went up.By the time I got home it was almost nine and the penthouse was dark except for the kitchen.I could smell garlic and tomato before I even opened the door.Vincenzo was at the stove with his sleeves rolled up, stirring something in a copper pot.He looked up when I walked in and smiled."You are late, I was starting to worry.""The opening went long."I set my purse on the counter and slipped off my heels.My feet were screaming and the headache that had started this morning was now a full migraine."How did it go?""The painting sold.""Of course it did." He turned off the burner and walked over to kiss my forehead. "I told you it would."I had worked on it for three m

Chapter 3

I read it three times before my brain accepted what my eyes were seeing, and then the phone slipped out of my hand onto the studio floor.The sound was soft against the carpet but it felt like a gunshot in my head.The rain outside was still hammering the windows with everything it had.My legs carried me to the worktable and I gripped the edge with both hands, staring at the blank canvas without seeing it.A game. That was what our marriage had ever been to him. Every dinner he cooked, every migraine pill he placed beside my water, every hour he spent waiting for me to come home from the gallery now felt poisoned.Our entire marriage had been constructed as a game, with me as the piece being moved across the board.All of it had been deliberate, calculated, and aimed directly at me.He had not forgotten what he did in that stairwell fifteen years ago, and he had never planned to let me forget it either. I made it to the bathroom before my stomach revolted, gripping the cold porcelain

Chapter 4

I never really slept after finding the note on Vincenzo's phone. I only lay still beside him and listened to the rain.Lying beside Vincenzo felt like sharing a bed with a loaded gun.Every time I closed my eyes, those six words came back. Isabella Russo the game has begun, and suddenly my own name felt cursed.By the time the sky began to pale, I could not bear the bedroom anymore. I slipped out from under the covers and left without making a sound.The penthouse was quiet and I went straight to my studio and shut the door behind me.My unfinished canvas waited under the soft lamp in the corner. I sat in front of it for a long time without touching a brush.The note had cracked something open inside me. Now every memory of Vincenzo felt wrong when I held it up.I did not know how long I had been sitting there. At some point, I heard movement in the bedroom down the hall.Then his voice came from the studio doorway, “Isabella, you can fight with that canvas later, breakfa

Chapter 5

I stayed on the floor outside Vincenzo’s office until the private elevator had long disappeared below me. By the time I forced myself to stand, the morning sun had already filled the penthouse with warm gold light.I walked to the windows because I needed proof that he was truly gone. Far below, his black car slid through the front gates and vanished into the waking city.The silence he left behind was worse than his presence had been. It felt like the whole apartment was listening to hear what I would do next.I called Lena before I could talk myself out of it. She was the only person from Saint Catherine’s who knew exactly what Vincenzo had done to me.She answered on the second ring with her usual sharp amusement. “If you are calling me this early, either your husband is dead or you finally listened to me.”I should have laughed, but my throat closed around the sound. “Lena,” I said, and even I could hear how thin my voice had become.The playfulness vanished from her end imme

Chapter 6

At five o’clock sharp, Vincenzo’s styling team swept into the penthouse. They carried garment bags, velvet boxes, makeup cases, and the calm confidence of people used to serving dangerous families.By then, Lena’s message about Marco Bellini still sat in my chest. How could he possibly cease to exist?They laid three gowns across the bed, but the emerald one was never really a choice. Vincenzo had already decided what I would wear tonight, and everyone in the room knew it.The dress was dark green silk with a low back and a severe neckline. It made me look elegant and expensive.One woman pinned my hair high enough to show my throat and shoulders. Another covered the scar near my temple so carefully that even I almost lost sight of it.When they finished, the mirror gave me back a woman I recognized only in fragments. She looked like the kind of wife powerful men showed off when they wanted a room to pay attention.At exactly six, the private elevator opened and Vincenzo stepped in.

Chapter 7

Vincenzo did not ask me anything. He only took my hand in his and led me toward the exit.Outside, the night air was cold and sharp against my bare skin. Black cars waited at the curb with armed men standing beside them.Vincenzo lifted two fingers without saying a word and his driver brought the car forward. One of his men opened the door and we both slid into the backseat together.The car moved smoothly into the city traffic and the lights turned the glass into moving color. I pressed my forehead against the cold window and tried to keep my breathing even.Vincenzo held my hand the entire ride home. His palm was warm against mine but it made my stomach turn with nausea.For a long time he stayed completely quiet beside me in the dark car. That silence felt heavier and more dangerous than any question he could have asked.Then he finally spoke in a calm voice. "Did you know Luca Ferretti before you met him at the party tonight?"My heart kicked hard inside my chest and my throat w

Chapter 8

The next morning, Vincenzo left for work at his usual time without saying much. As soon as the private elevator doors closed behind him, I grabbed my phone immediately.I called Lena before I could lose my nerve or second-guess the decision. She answered on the first ring like she had been waiting for me."I need you to look up someone else for me," I said quickly. "Who now?" she asked, and I could hear her already opening something on her end."Luca Ferretti," I said. "I need everything you can find on him, especially anything from before he became Ferretti."There was a brief pause before she spoke again in a sharper tone than before. "Isabella , how the hell do you know Luca Ferretti?" she asked, and her tone had gone cold.."It is a very long story," I said, gripping the phone tighter against my ear. "Please just find whatever you can and send it to me as fast as possible.""Fine, but you are going to owe me answers after this," she said firmly. "I will call you back wi

Chapter 9

The next afternoon, I left the penthouse at one fifteen and took a taxi downtown. I told the driver to drop me at a bar two blocks from the waterfront.The place was called Santo's and it had dark windows and a red door. I went inside and ordered water I did not touch while I waited.At exactly two o'clock, my phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number. *Black car outside, get in*.I paid for the water and walked out. A black sedan was idling at the curb with tinted windows and no license plate.The driver got out when he saw me coming toward the car. He wore a black suit and an earpiece and he did not smile or speak.Before he opened the rear door, another man appeared from the passenger side. He was built like a wall, with cold eyes that swept over me once."Arms out, Mrs. Marchetti. Don Ferretti's orders. No one enters the compound without a search." he said flatly.I lifted my arms slowly and he patted me down with professional efficiency—checking my sides, my back, under

Chapter 10

Luca studied me in silence for a very long time. His eyes were dark and unreadable, and I could feel him measuring every word I had just said.Then he stood and walked to the window overlooking the water. He stayed there with his back to me while the silence stretched between us."Why should I trust you?" he finally asked without turning around. "You are Vincenzo Marchetti's wife, and for all I know, he sent you here himself."The accusation landed hard, but I had expected it. "You should not trust me," I said clearly. "You should trust that we want the same thing."He turned around slowly and leaned back against the window frame. "And what is it you think we both want, Isabella ?"I met his eyes without blinking once. "We have the same enemy. We want Vincenzo Marchetti destroyed," I said. "That is the only thing that matters now."He watched me for another long moment before he moved back to his chair. "Revenge is a weak foundation for an alliance," he said as he sat down."

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