All Chapters of Everyone Thought I Was a Trophy Wife, So I Saved the Entire Family: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

1

"Every hidden account in Zurich is frozen, and Wall Street just pulled our loans!"Elena slammed the encrypted phone onto the floor, and the screen shattered.In the vast living room of the Ferro estate, no one said a word.The Ferro family was one of the oldest mafia families in New York. Most of the business had gone legit over the years, but no one would ever forget what the name had been built on.Elena was married to the eldest son and ran seven casinos in Las Vegas. Victoria Ferro was married to the second son and controlled several key ports along the East Coast.And then there was Antonio Ferro, Simon's dad, known to everyone as Don Ferro, who had run the family for 40 years.And me? I was Chloe.The woman Simon had married.And, as far as they were concerned, the one nobody could take seriously.At that moment, I was lounging on a custom Fendi Casa sofa, scrolling through a private catalog from Bulgari.A set of untreated Colombian emeralds.An eight-carat Argyle pink diamond.

2

Marcus wore a sharply tailored charcoal suit, gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.An antique Cartier panther brooch was pinned to his lapel.Four bodyguards in black followed him, the outlines of holsters showing under their jackets. The moment they walked in, they blocked the exits."Quite the entourage, Marcus." Elena gave him a cold look.Marcus ignored her and sat down across from Antonio.He set a black briefcase on the coffee table and slowly slid it toward Antonio."Don Ferro, your family's cash flow has been cut off."He pushed up his glasses."The South American port project is in default, and the SEC has its eye on your new casino in Las Vegas."Give it three more days, and federal prosecutors will be filing to seize your core assets."Elena stepped in front of Antonio."What happens to the Ferro family is none of your concern."Marcus smiled. "I have an agreement right here. Hand over the family signet ring and access to your offshore accounts, and the consortium behind

3

Simon's hand went straight to the gun at the small of his back."Look at her one more time. I dare you."Elena grabbed his arm immediately."Don't take the bait."She turned to Marcus. "An hour isn't long enough. We need to verify the mining documents.""Be my guest."Marcus opened his briefcase."Survey reports, proof of ownership, collateral agreements. It's all here."Victoria picked up the documents and went to work immediately.She went through the watermarks, the mining-rights registration numbers, and the underwriting and audit details one by one, then logged in to the mining rights registry to check the records.A little over ten minutes later, her face had gone pale."Antonio... the documents all look real."Elena took the documents from her. "Could they be fake documents using real registration numbers?"Victoria shook her head."If they did, I can't tell, at least not yet. Number Seven, Number Eight, and Blue Diamond Valley. All the registration details match."Elena refused

4

Simon shot to his feet.Elena grabbed his arm.She gritted her teeth. "If it really comes down to it, I'll have our men make sure Marcus never leaves.""No," Antonio snapped at her for the first time."If he's bold enough to walk through the door, he's got a backup plan."Kill him today, and tomorrow the feds have an excuse to tear this place apart."Victoria asked quietly, "So we just give up?"Antonio didn't answer.After a long silence, he looked at Simon."How much is left in the trust your mother left you?"Simon's expression shifted."Dad, that money is—""For Chloe," Antonio cut in. "She has nothing to do with the family business. Once she signs the divorce settlement, she can make a clean break from all of this."Simon clenched his fists. "I'm not divorcing her.""I wasn't asking." Antonio sounded old, but he still spoke with the authority of the head of the family. "You're a Ferro. You live or die with this family. Chloe doesn't."Standing in the shadows on the stairs, I could

5

It was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Everyone froze.Marcus's finger stilled on his phone for two seconds before he slowly looked up. "What the hell are you talking about?"His voice was noticeably lower than before. As he spoke, he instinctively raised a hand to cover the panther on his chest.It was quick.But it was enough.I smiled. "Something to hide?"Elena grabbed my wrist."Chloe, are you sure?""I'm sure."I walked up to the coffee table, set down my glass, and examined the panther brooch again.Under the light, the panther's eyes looked even cheaper. That was all I needed to be certain.Elena stopped telling me to go upstairs. She just followed my gaze to the brooch.Simon stopped trying to send me upstairs, too. He stood beside me, his hand still resting on the grip of the gun at the small of his back.The easy confidence slowly drained from Marcus's face.Victoria looked at him, then at me. "Keep going."This time, nobody interrupted."An antique Cartier

6

Elena's expression changed in an instant."Victoria, check it."Victoria already had her laptop open.She checked the local news first, then searched a disaster database to confirm the date.Elena stood behind her, one hand braced firmly against the edge of the table.This time, nobody rushed her. Nobody said a word.But everyone knew the next 30 seconds might decide the fate of the entire Ferro family.Less than 30 seconds later, her breath caught. "It's true! There was a mudslide on the 14th. The official disaster bulletin is still up."Elena leaned over the image and looked again.A few seconds later, her head snapped up. "There are definite signs that this image was spliced."The mood in the room shifted instantly. Marcus had looked certain of victory moments ago; now, for the first time, sweat beaded at his temple."So we used an old satellite image. So what?"His expression hardened."The gold mines are real. The ownership is real."I've already drained your accounts. Nothing you

7

The room went completely silent.Charles added, "I have the chain-of-title records ready.""Send it to Victoria."I rattled off an email address."Understood," he replied.The report slowly slid from Elena's hand onto the table.Victoria's lips parted as if she were seeing me for the first time.Antonio leaned back in his chair, and even his breathing slowed for a beat.Simon didn't say anything. He just stared at me.As far as they'd known, I was just a trophy wife who collected a trust payout every month and flew to Paris on the private jet to pick out jewelry. I never got involved in family meetings, and I'd never so much as touched the books.Now someone on the phone was telling them I was the true owner of all three mines. For a moment, no one knew what to say.Marcus, though, couldn't take his eyes off my phone."Impossible." He forced the word out through gritted teeth. "You got some random person on the phone and think you can put on a show here?"He lunged for the phone.Simon

8

Simon closed his eyes for a second, clearly at a loss for words.Marcus sneered."So what if the mines are yours?"The Ferro family's still short on cash!"He was breathing hard, trying to claw back a shred of confidence."You'll still be investigated tomorrow.""Then let's see if the money comes back."I looked at Victoria's laptop. As if on cue, a bank notification popped up on the screen.Victoria stared for two seconds, then jumped to her feet. "It's in."Her voice was shaking. "Five billion. Every bit of it came back through the same channels."Elena grabbed the laptop and checked three times.The Ferro family could finally breathe again.Antonio slowly leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He didn't say anything for a long time.Elena stood beside him, her tense shoulders finally relaxing.Victoria kept staring at the deposit notice, like she was afraid the number would vanish the next second.Marcus, meanwhile, was in a full-blown panic.He pulled out his phone and diale

9

"Then you'd better pray whoever's behind you actually has the guts to show their face."I looked at him."Oh, and don't lose that fake brooch. It's proof money can't buy taste."Simon finally laughed out loud.Marcus's face went livid as they dragged him out. At the door, he suddenly turned back."You think the Ferro family's really going to accept you? Now that they know how much you're worth, they'll be even more determined to keep you around!"Simon's face darkened, but I raised a hand to stop him."That's none of your concern." I looked at Antonio. "A minute ago, when they had no idea who I was, they were willing to give me their only way out. You can't drive a wedge between us."Marcus's lips moved, but not another word came out.The door closed behind him.I looked at the closed door and felt completely at peace.Some people value you because you're useful.But the Ferro family had been willing to protect me when everyone thought I was the most useless person in the room.I knew

10

Antonio's face instantly darkened. "Elena!""Antonio, I was only asking.""The family's barely back from the dead, and you're thinking about jewelry?"The rebuke silenced Elena.But I laughed. "It's just one set. A batch of gemstones from an old collection is coming onto the market in Geneva next month. I'll have someone reserve a set for each of you."A second ago, Elena had been hanging her head after Antonio's scolding. Now her eyes lit up, and Victoria took half a step forward without even thinking.They both looked up at the same time. "Really?"They said it in such perfect unison that it was ridiculous.It dawned on me then: one was a casino queen and the other ruled the docks, but when it came to something they wanted, they were exactly alike.Alfonso brought in a crew to clean up the broken glass and scattered papers on the floor.At last, all the tension drained from the living room.Half an hour later, Charles called again."Boss, the initial trace is complete. Transactions o

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP