All Chapters of The Queen They Buried Alive: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

The handler called back within the hour."Luna, you need to think this through.""Every rival crew out there is at war. You show up alone with no foundation, one wrong step and you're dead.""I've thought about it," I said."That territory is dangerous. If they find out who you are, nobody's coming to save you.""I said I've made up my mind."Long silence. I could hear him breathing."Two days. We'll have people ready to meet you in two."He stopped pushing. Gave me a time and a place, and hung up.I sat there for a bit. Then I grabbed my coat and drove to headquarters.I still owed the old man one last thing.Vito was buried under all the mess that came after the Don's death. Too many crews going sideways, too many meetings, too many people to manage. He wasn't touching any of the paperwork.The family registry needed to be updated. I'd go to the records office, handle it as his son's wife.And while I was there, I'd get my own name taken off. Clean break.Everyone else in this family

I thought Vito would panic.Instead he just looked tired. Like he'd been waiting for this and still didn't have a good answer."Yeah. The papers I gave you before were fake.""Five years ago, we needed to get Nino recognized as a legal family heir. His real father's identity couldn't come out. So I signed a church marriage with Sofia. It was just paperwork. That's all it was."Sofia started crying and dropped to her knees in front of me."Luna, as long as Nino's future is safe, I'll go to the Church right now and file to have the marriage annulled. I'll give you back the title. All of it."I let out a short, cold laugh."Don't bother.""You've been hiding me for years anyway. Whether that marriage certificate exists or not, it doesn't change a single thing for me.""Once I finish up the last batch of intel work I have, I'm gone."My calm clearly caught Vito off guard.Before he could say anything, I turned and walked into the bedroom. Packed up what was mine. It didn't take long.On my

Vito was unconscious in the family's private hospital for two full days and nights before he came around.His mind was foggy. The skin under his eyes was bruised dark.In just a few days he'd lost so much weight his cheeks had caved in. He barely looked like himself.Sofia came to the suburban house every morning to take care of Nino's meals and routine first.Once the boy was settled, she'd pack a meal box and bring it to the hospital to stay with Vito.She wiped down the nightstand, handed him water, gathered up his dust-and-blood-stained clothes to wash.She apologized over and over, saying anything soft she could think of, trying to calm him down.But Vito just sat propped up against the headboard, staring out the window with empty eyes.The moment Sofia said more than a few words, irritation would flood across his face. He'd turn away and refuse to even look at her.The warmth he used to show her was gone. Every trace of it.After three days of rest, Vito dragged himself out of th

Just as someone was pulling Vito away from the stage, the heavy carved doors of the reception hall swung open.A licensed family attorney walked in, gave a small bow to the room. "I am here today on behalf of the late Don Gallone, to publicly unseal and read a will that has been held in trust for six years." "This document was never made public because at the time, Luna was declared dead in the explosion."The noisy hall went completely silent. My heart jolted. I never expected the old Don to have left something like this for me.The attorney unfolded the yellowed notarized document. His low voice carried through the entire room. "In order to secure legitimate heir status for my eldest son's orphan, Nino, I arranged for my second son Vito to enter into a church marriage with Sofia. I also allowed him to fabricate false vows to deceive Luna.""Luna was part of this family for seven years. She treated me as her own father. When I was paralyzed and bedridden after the stroke, my mind was