All Chapters of Fake Divorce, Real Revenge: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

For four of our five years of marriage, I shot myself up with fertility drugs. All for a pure-blood heir for Alaric.Today, I finally saw two bright red lines on the pregnancy test.I canceled all my appointments at the gallery—the family’s money laundering front. I grabbed a bottle of 1982 Lafite I’d paid a fortune for. I went home early to our Gold Coast mansion, my heart soaring."Alaric, I'm home," I called out, pushing the door open.The house was dead silent.No answer. I figured he wasn't back yet.I set the wine on the marble island, slipped off my heels, and walked slowly upstairs. I was going to change into something sexy. Give him the surprise of his life.Instead, a woman's moan hit me from the master bedroom. A sound that crawled under your skin."Ahh... Alaric... deeper..."The slick slap of skin on skin. The rhythmic rocking of the bedframe. Then, a man’s heavy breathing. It struck me like lightning.My brain shut down.My legs went weak. I could barely stand.But I grip

Chapter 2

Before Bianca’s eyes could scan the corner of the stairwell, I was gone. A ghost. I erased every trace of my return.I pulled the heavy door shut behind me. Softly.Sealing the filth, the lies, and the betrayal inside.On Michigan Avenue, the night wind cut at me like a razor. But my mind was clearer than ever.I floored it."Chiara..." The phone connected. I only then realized how badly my voice was shaking.Tears blurred my vision. The headlights of oncoming cars stabbed at my eyes."Alessia? Where are you?" Chiara was my best friend. She was also the family's top lawyer—a ruthless shark who cleaned up our messes. "What's wrong? Are you crying?""Can I come over?""Get here now. I'm at the apartment." Her voice dropped. "Breathe. Slow down. Whatever it is, drive safe. I'm waiting."Ten minutes later, I stumbled into Chiara's secure penthouse at the Tribune Tower.She poured me a large glass of straight whiskey.The liquor burned my throat, but it didn't kill the nausea.The alcohol j

Chapter 3

The cold, thick needle pierced my vein.Dark red blood flowed through the tube. Dripping into the bag.My other hand instinctively went to my flat stomach.Protecting the tiny life I had wanted for four years.A full pint. I started to feel dizzy. I was terrified for my baby."Could you—" I started to ask the nurse to take a little less.The door flew open. Alaric burst in without knocking.He didn't look at the needle. He stared at the blood bag. At the life filling it."How much have you taken?""A pint," the nurse said. "Mr. Gallo, your wife has already given a pint. Another two draws could—"Alaric's expression hardened.“Come outside.”The nurse followed him into the hallway. The door didn't quite close behind them.“Two more draws,” he said, his voice cold and absolute. “If Bianca needs more, take it.”“Sir, That's against protocol. We need at least a four-hour interval between draws—”"Then make the interval longer. But she stays here."The nurse glanced at me. I kept my eyes on

Chapter 4

I hung up. Dropped the phone in my bag.Just then, the door to the trauma room opened at the end of the hall.Sharp, confident footsteps.Alaric reached me. His hand went to my shoulder."Alessia, you've been through a lot." His eyes were red. His voice thick with gratitude. "I knew it. You're the kindest woman in the world."I sidestepped him. A small step back. His hand met empty air.My stomach roiled. The smell of antiseptic, of him, was suffocating.I dug my nails into my palms. Hard.It was the only thing stopping me from slapping that hypocritical face."The blood draw made me dizzy." I looked up at him. My voice was flat. "I'm going downstairs for a coffee."He didn't notice the dead calm in my voice. The finality.His mind was on the woman named Bianca. And the secret son eating pasta by a lake in Wisconsin."Go on. Come back quickly." He waved his hand, distracted. His eyes were already darting back to the trauma room door. "The doctor said they'll need more of your blood soo

Chapter 5

Three in the morning.My sports car crunched over the gravel of a private drive in Chicago's northern suburbs.Iron gates slid open without a sound.Two rows of men in black suits lined the drive. They bowed their heads in unison."Welcome home, Miss."I pushed the car door open. The night air rushed in, carrying the damp chill of Lake Michigan.My father stood on the top step. I hadn't seen him in five years. His temples were graying, but his eyes were still sharp as a hawk's.He walked down to meet me. No hug. No small talk.He just held out his hand. In his palm lay a solid gold lion signet ring. The symbol of the family's ultimate power."This should have been yours when you were twenty-two," he said, his voice low. "You're five years late."I held out my hand. I let the heavy ring slide onto my finger.The cold metal against my skin made my blood sing."I will never let anyone take what is mine again," I said.My father's lips curved into a slight smile. "That's my daughter."The

Chapter 6

The name Alaric Gallo once made every street-level dealer on the South Side tremble.Now, he sat in an office he'd mortgaged three times over to loan sharks. A dog that had been skinned alive."Boss, the South Side port..." one of his men stammered."Spit it out.""It's been seized. Customs put a seal on it. Someone tipped them off about an arms shipment."Alaric threw his whiskey bottle against the wall.Glass shattered everywhere."Any more good news?" he snarled."The Cloud Club... it's been shut down too," his man whispered.That was his most profitable underground club. The den where he bribed politicians. It pulled in seven figures a month.Alaric shot to his feet. The room spun."Who did this?" he roared, grabbing his man by the collar. "Who the hell is coming after me?""We... we looked into it," the man stammered. "It's not the feds. It's not our rivals.""Then who is it?""It's... it's the Rinaldi family."Those three words hit Alaric like a bolt of lightning.He froze. The b

Chapter 7

"He's here, Boss," my head of security said, opening the door.I watched the monitor on the wall.Alaric was being searched. Roughly.His hands were twisted behind his back. Two of my guards were patting him down.He didn't resist. He even managed a pathetic, forced smile.Was this the same man who ordered me around? Who lied to my face?He tried to straighten his back, but the past few weeks had broken him.He was wearing his most expensive suit.The one I had custom-made for him in Milan for his birthday last year.It hung off his emaciated frame. An empty, cheap costume.The handsome face I once adored was a mask of exhaustion. Dark circles under his eyes. Raw fear he couldn't hide."Send him up," I ordered.On screen, he and his two remaining bodyguards stepped into the private elevator. Trembling.This was the Cloud Club. Rinaldi territory. I'd just bought it back from the police three days ago. The new seat of power in Chicago.The elevator doors closed. The numbers climbed.I pu

Chapter 8

After the shock came the regret. A tidal wave of it. It broke him.Alaric finally understood. He hadn't just lost a woman who loved him completely. He had thrown away a throne. The biggest one in Chicago.His knees hit the marble floor. A sharp crack."Alessia! Baby, please!" He scrambled toward me, reaching for the hem of my pants.My bodyguard stepped forward. His leather shoe pressed down on Alaric’s fingers. He hissed in pain but didn't pull his hand back."I was wrong! I was so wrong!" He looked up, his face a mess of tears and snot. A stray dog in the rain.I held my teacup, looking down on him. I said nothing."It was Bianca! That bitch! She seduced me!" He was sobbing now. The charming, loving mask I once adored was shattered. "I didn't mean to betray you. I just... I wanted an heir so badly! The family elders, they were pressuring me. They said if I didn't produce a son, they'd strip me of my title. Give my territory to a cousin!"An heir.The word, from his mouth, was a rusty

Chapter 9

"Miss, news from the Gallo family." Chiara stood in the doorway of my office.I didn't look up from the family ledgers. "Go on.""The day after you threw him out, his elders seized power," she said, a hint of satisfaction in her voice. "Cash, property, even his last few shares in the arms trade. All gone. They kicked him out of the Gold Coast mansion."I smiled. My finger paused on the page."And Bianca?""Bianca ran the second the money dried up." Chiara turned a page. "Once he realized she was gone, Alaric emptied his safe, grabbed the kid and his last few Rolexes, and fled Chicago."I took a sip of tea."The man who knelt before me, begging for forgiveness," I said softly. "Can't even protect one woman now."Chiara said nothing more and left.I looked down at my own belly. A slight curve now.Three months. The baby grew quietly inside me. As if it knew the world outside was burning down.In the days that followed, I stopped paying attention to news about the Gallo family.Chiara lef

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