All Chapters of MARRIED TO THE KING OF DARKNESS : Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Isabella's POV I never believed one night could change my entire life. Until the night Damian De Luca walked into our mansion. Rain battered the windows as I descended the grand staircase, wondering why my father had summoned me at ten in the evening. Two men in black suits stood beside the entrance, their expressions cold and unreadable. "Father, who are we expecting?" I asked. Before he could answer, the front doors opened. A tall man entered, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. His dark hair was damp from the rain, and his sharp features made him look almost unfairly handsome. But it was his eyes that caught my attention—cold, calculating, and completely devoid of warmth. "Mr. Monteverde," he greeted my father. "Damian. Thank you for coming." My stomach tightened. Damian Alessandro De Luca. Even I knew his name. He was a powerful businessman rumored to control a dangerous criminal empire. People respected him, feared him, and whispered about him when they though

"Your father isn't the only one hiding the truth." Damian's words followed me even after the gunfire stopped. Our driver swerved into an underground parking garage, and the pursuing SUVs raced past the entrance. Two armed guards hurried toward our vehicle as Damian stepped out, keeping one hand near his weapon. He offered me his other hand. I ignored it and climbed out myself. "Who sent that photograph?" I demanded. "We'll find out." "That's not an answer, Damian!" He turned toward me. "Would you prefer an answer I invent just to make you feel better?" I hated how calm he sounded. "Someone is threatening my family, my mother was probably murdered, and you expect me to follow you blindly?" "No. I expect you to stay alive long enough to discover the truth." Before I could respond, his phone rang. He answered, listened, and gave a single command. "Bring him to the estate. Alive." He ended the call. "Who?" "The man who followed us." "You caught him?"

The photograph wouldn't leave my mind. Even after Damian De Luca's black car dropped me outside our mansion, I could still see my mother's smile beside that mysterious man. I could still hear Damian's voice telling me she had known his father. And I couldn't stop thinking about the gold ring. The same ring appeared in the photograph Damian had shown me and in the old picture hidden inside my father's desk. Coincidence was possible. But something told me it wasn't. I found my father in his study, staring at a glass of untouched whiskey. Rain tapped against the windows, filling the silence between us. "Papa, we need to talk." He looked up. "Isabella, it's late." "Who is the man in Mama's photograph?" His fingers tightened around the glass. I placed the picture I'd secretly taken with my phone on his desk. Damian hadn't allowed me to keep the original, but I'd captured it before leaving his estate. The moment my father saw the image, the color drained from his face. "Where

I had always imagined my wedding day differently. When I was younger, I used to picture white roses, sunlight pouring through church windows, and my mother standing beside me while she helped fasten the buttons of my wedding dress. I imagined a man who would look at me as though I were the only woman in the world, someone whose promises would come from love rather than obligation. I had never imagined marrying a mafia king before noon because someone wanted me dead. Yet at seven in the morning, I stood in front of a mirror in Damian De Luca's estate, wearing a white dress chosen by a woman I had met less than an hour earlier. The dress was elegant, with long sleeves, a fitted waist, and a modest neckline. It wasn't the kind of dress I would have chosen for myself, but I couldn't deny that it suited me. My dark hair fell in loose waves around my shoulders, and the silver necklace my mother had left me rested against my skin. I refused to remove it. No matter what Damian said, no

The message remained on Damian's phone as we hurried through the corridor. FIND THE RING BEFORE MIDNIGHT, OR YOU'LL NEVER SEE YOUR MOTHER AGAIN. I couldn't stop reading those words in my mind. Someone had stolen my mother's belongings, threatened Damian's mother, and somehow knew that the two women were connected. Whoever was behind this wasn't guessing. They knew exactly which pieces of our past could bring us to our knees. Damian walked several steps ahead of me, speaking into his phone. "Lock down the north gate. Nobody enters or leaves without my authorization. I want every employee accounted for, including the kitchen staff, maintenance crew, and temporary security personnel." He paused to listen. "Then find another way. I don't care if you have to wake every person in this house." He ended the call. "How many people work here?" I asked. "Forty-three permanent staff members. Another twelve work security shifts." "That's fifty-five people who could have taken the box."