All Chapters of They Chose His Mistress, so I Took the Throne: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Her words stopped me mid-step on the staircase. My heart sank.Two weeks ago, I'd run into a man while shopping with Bianca.I recognized him as the heir to another powerful Family, though he didn't seem to recognize either of us. He paid for lunch and asked for my number. I refused and made it clear that I was married.The moment Bianca noticed the signet ring marking his rank, interest flashed in her eyes. She gave him her number instead, and I teased her about it afterward.Now, in Bianca's version, that harmless encounter had become proof that I was entertaining another man.I fought to swallow my rising anger and glanced at Alessio. I was sure he wouldn't believe it, wouldn't let anyone slander his wife like this.But his defense never came. All I heard was his impatient voice."Just go upstairs. We'll deal with the rest tonight."No one gave me room to explain. By then, I was too numb to waste another word on any of them.They favored Bianca. I didn't care. I packed my suitcase i

Because we were at the Costa estate, Alessio's men took me to a windowless storage room off the service hall.I could hear Alessio explaining to the guests outside."My wife isn't feeling well. She's resting in one of the guest rooms."I touched the handprint on my face and laughed bitterly. He could lock me away and still perform the devoted husband for an audience.Through the wall, I could make out bits and pieces of the banquet.Bianca's face was swollen, so she wore a mask. After my parents announced that she was the true biological daughter of the Costa Family, they broke down crying and embraced her.My husband Alessio also made an announcement."From this day forward, Bianca is my wife's sister. I will protect her and make amends for the twenty years she lost."I dug my nails into my palms. Bianca was his lover in secret, yet in public he called her family. Alessio could turn any cruelty into a performance of honor.I bit down hard to keep from making a sound. I couldn't let an

Word of the Costa banquet raced through the underworld by morning.The Rossi Family's capos reacted first.But she told me not to worry."The moment you agreed to come home, I had everyone around you investigated.""I sent the Rossi capos every secret Alessio has been hiding. To protect the Family, they'll have to cut him loose."Cecilia handed me a bowl of chicken broth, and for the first time in my life, I understood what it felt like to be cared for by family.Her people later told me the bullet had damaged the nerves in Alessio's arm. He would regain some use of it, but never full strength.He told people he'd been "attacked by an unknown hostile force," but most insiders had already heard the truth.The head of the Rossi Family had brutalized his own wife for an outsider. Then the wife's birth family arrived, shattered his arm, and took her home.When the story reached the upper circles, everyone went quiet.Everyone understood the message. Alessio had shown terrible judgment and

At the hospital.When the doctor arrived to take Bianca for an amniocentesis, she finally panicked.No one expected that Bianca, supported down the stairs by two attendants, would somehow lose her footing and tumble to the bottom.When Alessio arrived at the hospital again, Bianca was lying weakly in bed.A paternity test result was placed before him.The hospital report identified Alessio as the biological father."Are you satisfied now, Don Rossi?"Bianca looked at him with reddened eyes, the picture of fragile innocence."You nearly killed our child over forged prenatal records."Alessio hadn't expected things to go this far. He'd nearly caused the death of his second child.Looking at Bianca's deathly pale face, he turned away.The report sat in front of him, but something in him refused to believe it."Get some rest. I'll come back in a few days."Back in his office, Alessio crushed out his cigarette and called the independent laboratory he had hired out of state."How much longer

Meanwhile, Bianca had already boarded a ship bound overseas.She had a new name and a forged passport. Just when she believed she was safe, sirens screamed across the terminal.Then footsteps behind her."Bianca Costa, you're under arrest for grand theft, passport fraud, and money laundering. Keep your hands where we can see them."Bianca spun around.Unmarked SUVs blocked the pier. Federal agents spread out beneath the floodlights, and the woman in charge approached with an arrest warrant in hand."You've got the wrong person."Bianca forced a smile."My name isn't Bianca Costa. You have the wrong person."The agents ignored her. One opened her suitcase and lifted out the ruby suite.Bianca's smile froze.The lead agent unfolded the warrant and read the charges in a measured voice."This one-of-a-kind ruby necklace, with its matching earrings and bracelet, is valued at fifty million dollars and registered to Elena Nightingale as a gift from her biological family. It was reported stole