All Chapters of I Found That My Mechanic Husband Was the Don, I Left: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Matt came home from school today with a new phone. One glance at the logo told me it wasn't cheap.I kept my voice casual. "Did Aunt Sofia give you that?"Matt didn't look up from the screen. "Yeah. She said I've been good lately. She's even taking me to Disneyland next week.""Disneyland? Don't you have school next week?""Aunt Sofia said I can skip. It's just kindergarten, it's not like we learn anything." He rolled his eyes. "Besides, her kitchen is bigger than our whole living room. Last time I went there for dinner, she made a whole table of seafood. Way better than the canned meat we eat here."My chopping hand paused. I didn't respond.Sofia was my best friend, but she ran a small flower shop that barely broke even. Where was she getting the money for new phones and seafood feasts?But I let it go and returned to the kitchen.Halfway through making dinner, William texted me a selfie, black engine grease smeared across his face. He said he had a big job tonight and wouldn't be ho

Chapter 2

I went home and splashed water on my face. The woman in the mirror had bloodshot eyes.My phone buzzed. Sofia had sent a video. Open sea stretching to the horizon, fireworks blooming across the night sky. William clasped a necklace around Sofia's neck, a platinum chain set with a sapphire the size of a robin's egg.The whole ship erupted in cheers. A satin banner unfurled from above, "Sofia My Queen" printed in flowing script.Sofia tipped her head back, laughing. William leaned down and kissed her forehead.At the same time, Diego sent me a message: "Flight's booked. See you tomorrow."I looked down at the ring on my left hand.I bought it five years ago when I married William. He'd been "dirt poor" back then, but he scraped together enough for this gold-plated ring. Gold on the outside, iron underneath. You had to be careful wearing it, or the true color would show through.I slipped the ring off and sank into the couch, my mind flooding with memories.I lost my parents young. The ye

Chapter 3

The bedroom door cracked open. Matt stood in the doorway rubbing his eyes, looking annoyed."Mom, Dad, what are you fighting about... I'm so tired."My voice softened. I turned to him. "Sweetie, go back to your room."Matt pouted. "Mom, can you stop making trouble? I heard everything. Mama Sofia has a huge house with good food and fun stuff. Why won't you let me have her as my mom?"Every drop of blood in my body froze. I couldn't speak.William frowned and coaxed Matt back to his room.He came back with a sigh. "He's just a kid. He doesn't understand. Just... think about it."I didn't answer. I grabbed my suitcase from the entryway."If that's how it is, there's no point in me staying. I'll send you the divorce papers."William didn't come after me. The door closed behind me.I stood in the hallway, took a deep breath, and forced the tears back. I pressed the elevator button.On the way down, my phone buzzed.An unknown number. A video. I tapped it and froze.Matt was tied to a chair,

Chapter 4

A dark figure dropped from the second-floor railing. Sofia's four bodyguards went down in an instant.Sofia shrieked and stumbled backward. The figure pulled out a piece of silk and tossed it to me. "Press it on. Don't rub."I recognized the voice. Diego.Pain blurred everything. Before I blacked out, I felt Diego gently lifting me and carrying me away.When I came to, I was lying in a soft bed."Where's Matt?" My voice came out raw."He's fine." Diego's expression was wrong. "But you need to hear this."I propped myself up on my elbows. The gauze scraped against the sheets and I sucked in a sharp breath."Sofia never kidnapped him." Diego met my eyes. "She told Matt they were playing hide-and-seek with you, that he should hide and see if you got worried. He thought you were in on the game. He was having fun. The cloth in the video? He put it in his own mouth. He said, 'That's what they do in the movies.'"I went rigid. "What?""Your son was never scared." Diego pulled up surveillance

Chapter 5

It was raining in New York when the plane took off. Raindrops on the cabin window stretched into diagonal streaks, and the city lights below shattered into blurred patches of color.William didn't notice I was gone until days later.He'd been fighting a rival faction over a trade route and hadn't slept in three days. When he pushed through the front door, my suitcase was still in the entryway.He ran his hand across its surface. A thin layer of dust."Alicia?"Silence.The spare bedroom door was ajar. He pushed it open and found Matt curled up on the bed, filthy, clearly unbathed for days.Dirty clothes covered the floor. Takeout containers were piled on the nightstand.Matt wore only a T-shirt, the air conditioning cranked down to sixty. His cheeks were flushed red.William crouched beside him and touched his forehead. Burning hot.Matt's eyes fluttered open. He blinked, then threw himself into William's arms."Daddy! Mommy's gone! Mommy doesn't want me anymore! And Mama Sofia won't t

Chapter 6

Diego told me later what happened. William found out the truth and stormed into the De Luca estate, pressing the barrel of his gun against Sofia's forehead.He told her I made my living with my hands. She had no right to do what she did.Sofia dropped to her knees, sobbing and begging. Tears streamed down her face.It took the De Luca patriarch talking him down before William finally left. The marriage arrangement between the two families was scrapped.When I heard all this, I felt nothing. Just a quiet sense that those days were finally behind me.My right hand still ached every day. I was trying to draw with my left, but all I could manage were shaky, crooked lines.I sighed. "Will my hand actually recover?""It will," Diego said. "It'll just take time.""Then I'll wait."Two months later, my hand healed completely, though it left a scar that would never fade. Diego gave me the lead designer position.We'd been classmates, supposed to move to Milan together after graduation. But Will

Chapter 7

"Mommy, I think about you every single night. I snuck Daddy's phone to look at your design photos. The necklaces you make are so pretty...""Isn't Sofia with you? Who's been taking care of you this year?" My voice was rough."No. Aunt Sofia is a bad person... Daddy takes care of me. He cooks for me, walks me to school, even takes me on trips." Matt sniffled. "He couldn't even cook before. The first time he made scrambled eggs, he burned half the pan. But then he got better... Mommy, please come home. I promise I'll be good."I didn't answer. My fingers lingered on his cheek, then pulled away."Alicia... is that really you?" William came jogging from the far end of the gallery. Surprise, relief, and something like embarrassment all crossed his face at once.His gaze drifted to the glove on my right hand. He ventured carefully, "How's your hand?""That's none of your concern."William's words caught in his throat. I took Matt by the hand and walked him back to William. "If there's nothin

Chapter 8

After the gala, I headed back to the hotel. Stepping into the elevator, I spotted a small figure lurking behind a corner. "Who's there?"The figure ducked back. A few seconds later, a head peeked out. Matt.I pressed a hand to my forehead. "How did you follow me? Where's your dad?"Matt ran over, cheeks flushed. "I followed you when the party ended. The glove on your hand made you easy to spot. Daddy doesn't know."He took my hand and blew gently on the scar. "There. All better, Mommy.""I'm sorry, Mommy. It's my fault your hand got hurt. I shouldn't have listened to Aunt Sofia. She was always saying bad things about you. She said you were cheap and never bought me snacks. She said you only cared about money and didn't love me. That's why I hated you. But then Daddy told me she was the one who hurt you. He said she's a bad person..." He kept going, the words tumbling over each other. I looked at his pink lips and chubby little face and couldn't bring myself to send him away.He stayed

Chapter 9

The pothos on the studio windowsill had sprouted new shoots. I sketched in the mornings, met clients in the afternoons, and on weekends Matt sometimes came to stay a couple of days.Last time he visited, he'd shot up another inch. He and Diego sat on the windowsill splitting a tub of ice cream, huddled over a phone watching funny videos, laughing so hard the glass rattled.I thought life would go on like that.That changed one day when a message from William popped up on my phone while I was in New York meeting a client. "Sofia's surfaced. Someone spotted her entering the country two days ago. My people lost her. She switched cars and identities. Current whereabouts unknown."I stared at the screen. The old scar on my hand prickled.I called Diego. "I'm going to the exhibition tomorrow afternoon." The annual showcase for the jewelry design association. I'd committed to it two weeks ago. Plenty of industry heavyweights would be attending.A pause on the other end. "You sure? You can ski

Chapter 10

I never expected that would be the last time I'd see William.That day, I was out of town for an important meeting. Only after it ended did I see more than ten missed calls from Matt.I called back. Matt was crying so hard he could barely form words, his voice cracking with every syllable. "Mommy, Daddy got shot... please come..."I booked the earliest flight. By the time I reached the hospital, William was gone.William's assistant told me what happened. After William dealt with Sofia, loyalists from what remained of the De Luca family came for revenge. Two bullets. One punctured his lung. The other was never removed.The funeral was three days later, under a light rain.Matt stood at the front in a little black suit, gripping a bouquet. He squeezed so hard one stem snapped. A petal drifted down onto his shoe.When he bent to pick it up, he finally broke. He burst into sobs.I crouched down and pulled him into my arms. Between hitching breaths, he asked, "Mommy, is Daddy really never

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