All Chapters of After Ten Years With the Mafia Don, I Walked Away: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

By the time I entered the banquet hall, Dante had already left, hand in hand with Colette.I walked to the window, where I could see the private helipad below.Dante took off the custom black cloak that symbolized his status as Don and carefully draped it over Colette's thin shoulders, shielding her from the cold night wind.Then he said a few words to the bodyguard beside him.The bodyguard retrieved a gown encrusted with countless jewels from the back of the private helicopter and presented it to Colette.It was the most prestigious ceremonial gown any Mafia family could commission. It took a hundred tailors a full year to make, and even the gold thread and pearls were exceedingly rare.Dante leaned close to Colette's ear and whispered something. Her face flushed instantly, and she stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.I had seen that gown once, in the Family's book of ceremonial protocols. Back then, we had just found our footing, barely escaping rival organizations tha

Chapter 2

Dante's private helicopter sat on the lawn outside headquarters. He must have returned early.The moment I stepped out, the guard at the entrance handed me a ring studded with small diamonds. "The Don asked me to deliver this to you."I glanced at it and didn't take it. Instead, I told him to pass it along to the garbage collector in the morning.I pushed open the castle's ornate doors. This ten-story Gothic manor was the gift Dante had given me to compensate for the ten years I'd spent by his side after he'd claimed the title of Don.Everyone assumed he'd shown me plenty of respect, but every property deed and ownership stake in the organization was in his name alone. None of it had anything to do with me.All I got was the grunt work of logistics.He said that at his level, no outsider could be trusted. So I was the one dodging bullets. I was the one weathering every political battle. I was the one managing every mundane task for the Family.Suddenly, a crackling burst cut through th

Chapter 3

I turned and headed for the castle's basement, where my toolbox and design blueprints had been sealed away for years, untouched.The moment I wiped the dust off the precision instruments I hadn't used in ten years, they gleamed as bright as the talent that had never left me.I inspected every piece carefully for damage.Years ago, when Dante's funding had collapsed and rival organizations had intercepted his arms shipments, it was I who'd stayed up night after night, modifying weapons, machining precision components, and earning enough from one contract after another to stabilize the situation.I'd hidden my talent and made myself smaller, choosing to support him from the shadows for ten years. From now on, I would live only for myself.The next morning at dawn, a sharp pounding shattered the silence.I opened the door to find Dante in full black tactical gear, his expression carrying its usual cold severity."You were gone all night. The estate had no one on watch, and logistics fell

Chapter 4

I was about to speak when a commotion erupted outside. "Princess, you can't go in there. This is Ms. Russo's private residence."Colette ignored my bodyguard's attempts to stop her and barged straight in.Dante immediately rose to greet her, a tenderness in his eyes I had never seen before."Dante, I'm here!"Dante never allowed anyone in the organization to address him as anything but "Don."Even in front of the staff, I could only call him "Don Moretti."Colette's eyes lit up at the sight of the buttercream cake. "Dante! You actually made me a cake yourself!"Dante was allergic to eggs and never went near anything made with them. A cook who'd joined the staff once made the mistake of asking about it, and by the next day, the cook had vanished.Colette ignored my presence entirely, smiling as she drew a revolver from the holster at her hip. "Dante, I've been practicing my aim. It's gotten so much better. Want me to show you?"She scanned the room for a target, and her gaze landed on m

Chapter 5

The moment I stood under that spotlight, I finally understood. I wasn't meant to live within such narrow walls. I was no one's accessory.All of this should have been mine from the start. I'd simply chosen to dim my own light for Dante's sake.A wave of inexplicable panic swept over Dante. He was truly rattled.When exactly had Valentina decided to leave him?Meanwhile, Colette stood nearby ordering the men around as she redecorated the room Dante had once designed and arranged for Valentina himself."Hurry up, all of you! Get this stuff out and replace everything with pink!"Then Colette hooked her arm through Dante's and pointed at a photo on the wall, one of him and Valentina together."Dante, can we throw this picture away and put up one of us instead? I showed my friends our pictures the other day, and they said we look perfect together!""Who said you could touch her things?" Dante's head snapped up, his voice ice-cold.Colette froze. She had never seen him like this. "What's wro

Chapter 6

At the European International Arms Design Summit, I stood onstage with every eye in the room fixed on me.I'd once given up the career I loved most for Dante. Now, at last, I'd come full circle.When my precision weapons design demonstration ended, the field's leading figures and the powerful guests in the audience rose to their feet in applause.Backstage, Lucia pulled me into a tight hug. "My genius designer! I told you the second you came back, you'd be winning awards!"I smiled. I'd noticed from the stage that Lucia's expression had soured during a phone call. "I saw you take a call earlier. Is everything okay?"Lucia waved it off. "It's nothing. Just a spam call."After the presentation, Lucia insisted on throwing me a celebration, toasting my escape from misery and the beginning of the best chapter of my life.I no longer had to tiptoe around anyone's preferences. No more staying up all night sorting classified files. No more being the last line of defense for every crisis.I cou

Chapter 7

Dante watched us protecting each other, jealousy and resentment churning in his eyes.Without a word, he stepped forward and grabbed for my wrist. I slapped his hand away.He froze, his voice breaking. "Val, I was wrong. I was so wrong. I haven't stopped thinking about you for a single second. I know I was wrong. Please come back. I'll make it up to you. I'll give you everything."I looked at how disheveled and humbled he was and felt nothing. "Was the cake good?"Dante stiffened, scrambling to explain. "That was a moment of stupidity. I never had any real feelings for her! I was using her. You're the only one who's ever been in my heart!""Save it." I cut him off, my voice even. "Dante, we've been over for a long time."Dante stared at me in disbelief. "Ten years, and you can just end it like that? How can you be so heartless?" His eyes were red, his face set in wounded defiance.I looked at him the way I'd look at a stranger. "You were the one who gave up first. Not me."I turned to

Chapter 8

Lucia was frantic. "Val, she went way too far! She twisted the truth on purpose to destroy you online. We need to put out a statement right now!"I placed my hand over hers, steady. "Don't panic. I've got this."Just then, the doorbell rang. Dante stood outside, visibly exhausted, his eyes full of guilt. "Val, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I put you through this."Lucia erupted. "What good is an apology now? You let her drag Val's name through the mud. Where were you when it mattered?""I've already taken care of it." Determination filled Dante's eyes. "I used the Family's highest authority. I'll buy front-page space in every major outlet overseas and explain the truth publicly myself, so you can see that I mean it."To protect me, he would confess everything publicly: every ugly truth about how he'd given his devotion to another woman and betrayed the one who'd stood by him. He was willing to destroy the authority he'd spent ten years building as Don, his public image, and the orga

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