Home / After Five Years of Lies, the Don Regretted It / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of After Five Years of Lies, the Don Regretted It: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

31 Chapters

Chapter 1 The Funeral

Evelyn's POVFor years, my husband, Federico, had been the one person I believed in.Until he pushed me away for good with his cold words and divorce papers.In that moment, my world fell apart.Only two months had passed since it all began.Federico had sent my father to prison for murder and racketeering and taken his place as the new Don of the Gambrelli family.My mother couldn't take the blow. She died of a heart attack.Now I was at the cemetery for her funeral.Everyone was comforting me, but somehow I didn't feel that sad.Growing up, I'd never been close to my parents. They were distant, even cold.I'd never told anyone any of this. I'd always looked for comfort somewhere else, and I'd thought I'd found it in Federico. Now I knew how wrong I'd been.The sun was about to set, and Federico still hadn't shown up.By tradition, the new Don had to lay the former Donna to rest himself. It showed the whole city that he respected the Gambrelli name.If he didn't come, it would be a pu

Chapter 2 The Check

Evelyn's POV"Sign it."Federico had already signed his name on the divorce papers. I didn't move. My mind was a mess, and I had no idea how to face the brutal truths crashing down on me one after another.Federico went on. "I'll leave you the house we're living in now. And I'll give you some money on top of that, enough to live on for the rest of your life."The house we lived in... Federico had bought it so he could propose to me.He'd promised me a home. In that house, we'd imagined so many happy futures together.And now he was leaving me only the house, and taking back every dream of love he'd given me.I frowned. My heart ached so much I could barely stand it.I looked up at Federico again. I couldn't believe the man in front of me was the husband I'd promised my life to.He'd become a stranger. It was the same face I knew, but I no longer recognized the man behind it.I couldn't speak. The hurt lodged in my throat.I searched his eyes for anything at all that said he didn't want

Chapter 3 The House

Evelyn's POVAfter Elisa left, I went back inside and kept replaying what she'd said. I couldn't calm down.I'd actually wondered about that possibility before, so I had to find out whether it was true.But first, I needed to move out. I wanted to leave this city, to get away from this place that hurt so much.I started packing. As I looked around the room I'd decorated so carefully and saw all Federico's gifts, I couldn't stop the memories of our time together from coming back.I still couldn't believe that Federico, who'd been so good to me and made me feel so loved, had been faking all of it.Those happy moments. Every one of them was a lie.Our wedding photo hung in the bedroom. I frowned at Federico's face in it.He looked so perfect, gazing at me with so much love. But it was all a mask.I got a ladder and took the photo down. Then I carried it out to the stone fire pit behind the house, along with the wedding dress I'd always treasured and the albums full of our memories, and bu

Chapter 4 Resignation

Evelyn's POVI walked into my own office. I couldn't think straight, let alone make sense of the business files in front of me.By nine, I'd finally gotten the files in order. I took all the folders up to Federico's office on the top floor.At that hour, Federico was in a meeting, so I handed everything to his assistant, Felipe Moreno, who had also become the Gambrelli family's underboss."Mr. Moreno, I'm leaving the Gambrelli family. These are the deals I've been handling. From now on, they're all yours." I set down the files. On top was my resignation letter. "Please process my resignation through the usual channels."Felipe froze. He swallowed and took the letter. "I don't know what to say to make you feel better, but I understand why you made this decision, Ms. Gambrelli.""I don't think Federico will turn down my resignation," I said. "I've enjoyed working with you. Thank you for always looking out for me, whether it was out of friendship or some other reason."Felipe went pale, c

Chapter 5 Going Soft

Federico's POVI leaned back in my chair, pressing my fingers to my temples.My face probably looked calm enough, but my thoughts were in turmoil.My mother, Anna, walked into my office and saw Evelyn's resignation letter on the desk. "It's best that she's gone," she said.I didn't answer her. I just took a deep breath and frowned.Just then, the office door opened again. My assistant, Felipe, hurried in without even noticing that my mother was sitting there."Don, Ms. Gambrelli is okay now. The doctor called about the instructions you gave when you brought her in...""What? You took her to the hospital?" My mother's face darkened.Felipe realized he'd said the wrong thing. He hurried to explain. "It's not like that. Ms. Gambrelli passed out in the elevator, so...""You haven't gone soft on her, have you, Fede?" My mother cut Felipe off, staring at me, her voice shrill. "Have you forgotten how your father died? It was Carl Gambrelli! He destroyed the love of my life, the future we were

Chapter 6 The Abortion

Evelyn's POVWhen I heard what Aurora said, I almost passed out again."No..." Tears spilled down before I could stop them. "No! No! Why now, of all times..."Federico had once said he wasn't ready to have kids. But about four months ago, I noticed he seemed to be in a terrible mood, always troubled. One night, he drank too much, and we ended up having unprotected sex."I can't do it. I can't have this baby." I started crying again. "Aurora, please help me figure something out. I have to get an abortion."Aurora's face tightened. She shook her head. "No, don't do this. I can help you. We can raise this baby together.""No, Aurora. I don't want my life to have anything to do with Federico anymore. Please." I begged her, tears streaming down my face.It was the hardest decision of my life.Seeing how much I was hurting, Aurora reluctantly agreed. "Okay. I'll find someone to arrange the procedure."Two days later, I was scheduled for the abortion. At two that afternoon, I was wheeled into

Chapter 7 The Clue

Evelyn's POVI decided to go back to the house where I grew up and look for clues.When Aurora heard my plan, her voice turned grave. "I heard that house has been sealed off.""Sealed off? What happened?" I was surprised. I hadn't had time to keep up with any of this lately.Aurora told me, "It was Federico. He ordered the house sealed off and sent a bunch of his men to watch it. Without his order, no one's allowed in.""But I have to do this." I looked down at my stomach. I knew I shouldn't be doing anything dangerous right now, but I had to know the truth.A little after eight that night, I got to the old villa. I slipped past the guards, made my way through the overgrown flower beds to the basement window, pushed the weeds aside, and started digging with my hands.After about a minute, I finally found the loose brick, just like it had been more than ten years ago. It was a secret I'd never told anyone, the way I'd stayed alive back when I was locked in the basement for three days.I

Chapter 8 The Test Results

Aurora's POVWe got a sample of Carl's DNA from the cigar cutter Evelyn had brought out.I helped her submit her sample and Carl's to the lab at St. Mary's Hospital."Don't worry, I know people in the lab," I promised her. "They'll put your DNA test at the front of the line."I'll reach out to a distant relative of mine at Social Services," I added. "It'd be great if we could find adoption records.""Thank you," she said gratefully.After that, I put on my coat and headed out to work.It was six in the evening.I walked through the underground parking garage with my phone pressed to my ear, talking to my relative at Social Services."What? There's no record of Evelyn being adopted?" I was surprised."No, nothing at all," my relative said. "Why do you think she was adopted?"It wasn't something I could tell anyone, so I didn't explain. "Never mind. Thanks for your help."Just as I hung up, I reached my car.I'd barely unlocked it when someone suddenly slammed me against it.He was a lar

Chapter 9 The Crash

Evelyn's POVMy throat tightened. That name alone was enough to choke me.Bianca yawned. She sounded like she was in a great mood. "Sorry, I'm a little tired. We were just celebrating. Your father got taken care of in prison... oh, looks like you didn't know yet. Anyway, Fede's in the shower. Did you need something?"As I listened, my face went pale.My heart felt as if it had shattered. The blow came so suddenly that even breathing was hard."I..." I didn't tell her the real reason I'd called. I forced myself to say, "I just wanted to remind him we're finalizing the divorce next week. I don't want him to be late.""Don't worry, that's already a priority for him. Felipe's put it on his schedule. You don't need to contact him again," Bianca said sweetly.Now there was some anger mixed in with the pain, but there was nothing I could do about it.Bianca let out a little laugh. "I'll tell him you called. Bye, Evelyn."After I hung up, I covered my face. The tears stung my eyes.I'd sworn I

Chapter 10 Goodbye, Don — A Farewell That Was Death

Evelyn's POVWhen I walked out of the coffee shop, the pain was worse than anything I'd ever known.Aurora was missing, and now I didn't even have anyone to cry to.Maybe I'd cried too much over the past few weeks, because no more tears would come. I stood blankly on the street in the middle of the night, not knowing where I could even go.Just then, my phone rang. It was Federico.I answered and immediately asked about Aurora.Federico's voice was heavy. "The rescue crew just pulled out another body. A woman. It's very likely Aurora. We found her car, completely destroyed. At this point, the chances she survived are... very low."Suddenly the world spun around me. I couldn't bear any of it, and I finally fell apart.I collapsed on the curb and sobbed until I couldn't breathe. On the other end of the line, Federico tried anxiously to calm me down. "Evelyn, where are you? I'll come find you right now."I couldn't answer until I had no tears left.My voice was hoarse as I forced the word

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