The Mafia Heir Chose Her, so I Faked My Death のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

Leon saw that I wasn't responding and let go of Elena. He tugged at his tie, irritated."I told you, Elena fell apart tonight. I couldn't let something happen to her on Hall territory. We can get the license tomorrow. The county clerk isn't going anywhere."Elena stood up and looked at me, her eyes rimmed red."Nora, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't fought with Damian, Leon wouldn't have stayed with me and made you miss your appointment. Please don't be angry with him. I'll leave right now..."She headed for the door, then made a show of stumbling. Leon caught her at once, his voice soft with concern."You've had so much to drink. Where would you even go? I told you, no one's going to touch you tonight."When he turned to me, his expression went cold."Nora, Elena just got beaten. Do you really have to humiliate her right now?"I said nothing. Five years. I'd heard this kind of thing too many times.On my birthday, Elena had called saying the thunder scared her. He dropp

I didn't go back to the estate. Instead, I went to the veterinary clinic beside the Hall Family's private hospital.I picked up my dog, Buck. I'd found him as a stray in an alley behind the docks five years earlier. He was gentle and seemed to understand every word I said.When I brought Buck back to the estate, Elena was sitting on the couch, her calf wrapped in gauze.She shrank back when she saw the dog."Nora, you're back."Leon came out of the kitchen with a glass of water. He frowned at the sight of Buck."Why did you bring that dog back? Elena is staying here for a few days, and she's afraid of dogs. Put him in the backyard. Don't let him scare her."I stopped and looked at him coldly."This is my home. Why can't my dog be here? If she's afraid of dogs, she can go back to her own house."Leon set the glass on the coffee table, barely containing his anger."Nora, do you really have to talk like that?"I didn't bother arguing. I took Buck to the backyard, put out some food for him

Wind screamed past my ears. The free fall stole my breath, but I kept my eyes on Leon's horrified face above me. That look of agony suited him. Then came a muffled thump as I hit the massive rescue cushion waiting below."Quick. We don't have much time."Victor Moreau, who'd been waiting on the second-floor terrace, rushed over and pulled me to my feet.His team deflated and removed the cushion within seconds.Victor splashed a bag of fake blood along the edge of the terrace and had someone drag a streak of it across the ground."The security footage is already on a loop."He draped a black coat over my shoulders and looked at me with concern."Nora, are you sure about this? After tonight, you'll be a dead woman in Leon's world."I held Buck's urn, running my fingers over it gently."If I could, I'd choose never to have met him. Let's go, before he gets suspicious."Victor nodded and led me out through the fire escape.The moment the car pulled away from the hotel, I looked through the

Two years later, New York's most exclusive high-jewelry gala was underway.I entered in a custom red gown, my arm linked through Victor's.In those two years, I'd built a name in Paris jewelry circles under the identity Victor created for me.Now the world knew me as Nina Laurent, an internationally celebrated jewelry designer. Camera flashes burst across the ballroom when I entered. I faced them with an easy smile, poised and certain of myself.I was no longer the woman who followed Leon and swallowed every humiliation.Halfway through the gala, I took my champagne out to the terrace for some air. Footsteps came up behind me."Nora?"The voice was barely a rasp, trembling with disbelief.I turned around and met Leon's eyes, wide with shock and wild with hope.Two years had taken their toll. He was noticeably thinner. When I turned, the champagne glass slipped from his hand and shattered on the ground.He stared at me, his eyes going red in an instant, tears falling without warning."N

Elena was cornered. Leon unleashed all his rage on her.He cut off every partnership tied to Damian Russo's casinos and handed the business to a rival family.Damian went bankrupt and lost his territory.Damian took all his rage out on Elena, beating her nearly to death day after day.Elena finally broke and blamed me for everything. One afternoon, I finished an important jewelry showcase while Victor went to the parking garage for the car. As I waited at the curb, a battered van came barreling straight at me.Behind the wheel, Elena's face was twisted with rage."Nora, go to hell! If you won't let me live, then we're going down together!"The van was moving too fast. I had no time to dodge. At the last possible second, a dark figure lunged from the side.He shoved me clear, but the van struck him full-on and hurled him through the air.The impact threw Leon more than forty feet. He hit the pavement hard, and blood spread beneath him.The van crashed into a fire hydrant. Elena was pinn