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All Chapters of No Longer His Puppet: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

"You're the Donna, but the rules still apply."Matteo stood by the bed, unbuttoning his suit cuff."Marta was just following my rules. Don't give her a hard time.""Relax. I'll give you security clearance from now on."I laid the child back on the bed carefully and said nothing.Matteo pressed down the flicker of impatience in his eyes and softened his tone."I was in Mexico negotiating business. That's why I had you go through Marta.""Late nights are the most dangerous. You never know if someone entering the estate is carrying a gun.""Good thing you had enough sense not to keep making a scene."He reached out and stroked my hair.Gentle. Proper.Like rewarding a dog that had finally stopped struggling.I tilted my head away.Three days ago, if he'd been willing to hear me out, maybe I would have stayed for the baby's sake.But he didn't.That night at eleven, the baby's forehead was burning up.The thermometer read a hundred and four.Marta rejected my request again and again."Clai

Chapter 2

Marta walked in holding a folded speech.As she handed it to Matteo, a shy smile played at the corners of her mouth."Don, take a look. It's my toast for tomorrow's banquet."Matteo took the speech, but his eyes stayed on her face."You're speaking first at tomorrow's dinner. Nervous?"Marta lowered her eyes. "With you by my side, I won't be."As she spoke, her gaze drifted meaningfully toward me.My fingertips curled.The one who should give the first toast to the guests at a banquet was the Donna.And now that honor had gone to Marta.Marta's flattery clearly pleased Matteo.He glanced through it and couldn't help but smile."No problem. It's well written."With that, he handed the speech to me. "Claire, you read it too."The speech was full of everything Matteo loved to hear.She praised his fairness and authority, thanked him for letting her help me learn the rules of this house.And she gushed about how I'd finally learned to follow the rules.My fingertips creased the paper."Loo

Chapter 3

The wardrobe door had a keypad lock, with a small notice taped beside it.[Password changes daily. Ask Marta for details.]The smile on Matteo's face faded, bit by bit."What's this about?"I looked at the notice, my voice flat."Marta said it's for easier management. So my dresses and jewelry don't go missing.""Every time I need something, I have to apply to her first and get the password to open it."Matteo's brows knitted together.For that one moment, a faint hope stirred in me.Like a tiny firefly in a pitch-black forest.Maybe seeing it with his own eyes would make him understand what my life had been like these past three years.Before I married him, I ran my own fine art restoration studio in California.I'd already made a name for myself. Collectors came looking for me.Matteo pursued me for three whole years.To get my attention, he kept bringing me famous paintings to restore.Then he used those paintings to hold a private exhibition. In my name.To thank him, I offered to

Chapter 4

The rooftop had a long table and two lounge chairs.Whiskey and soda sat in the middle of the table, with a windproof glass candle lamp at each corner.Matteo poured me a drink and slid it over."You used to love throwing tantrums at me."He leaned back in his chair, a smile in his voice."Every time you got worked up, I lost all interest in drinking with you."The city lights drowned out every star, leaving the moon hanging alone in the sky.I gripped my glass, my fingers tightening bit by bit.Matteo took a sip, his mood rising."Sandro's a bit older now, and you've settled down. We'll have plenty of time for drinks from now on.""In a while, let's have another baby."His brows and eyes softened as he said it."Hope it's a girl. She'll have your eyes. I'll teach her to ride myself."He turned to look at me, his gaze as tender as the night we first met seven years ago.I tipped my head back and drank.The liquor burned all the way down, hot enough to make my eyes sting.Matteo was sti

Chapter 5

Matteo's POVForty minutes before the banquet, Matteo and Marta arrived at the hall.The night before, Marta said the sight of blood made her faint, so Matteo rushed her to the hospital and stayed with her all night.Her father had died for him, after all. It was a debt he owed.Matteo looked around. No Claire.He raised an eyebrow.He was about to call her, then thought better of it.He hadn't gone home last night. She was bound to be angry.He'd smooth it over when he saw her. Some things you can't say over the phone.Marta stood beside him, her arm looped tightly through his."Thank goodness you were there last night, Don. I don't know what I would've done alone."Matteo smiled, but quietly pulled his arm free.Claire would be here any minute. If she saw that, she'd only be angrier.Guests began filing into the hall, each one paying their respects to Matteo.But his mind was elsewhere. He returned every greeting while his eyes stayed fixed on the entrance.That knot of unease in his

Chapter 6

Matteo's POVThe room was empty.The maid had just tidied up. Everything was neat and orderly.But Claire wasn't there.For a moment, Matteo thought the bedroom looked like a hotel room.He walked in and went to the wardrobe.The keypad lock had been removed, leaving four screw holes in the wooden door.They looked like four ugly scars.He opened the door. Nothing was missing.The dresses hung neatly. Not a single piece of jewelry gone.Matteo let out a small breath of relief.The things were still there. That meant she was still there too.Every dress and every piece of jewelry in this room had been chosen by his own hand for Claire.If she'd left, she would've taken at least some of it.His steps lightened a little, and he turned to the nursery.Empty too.The child's bed was bare, and even Sandro's favorite little dinosaur was gone.The anxiety that hadn't quite faded gathered again.Matteo kept dialing Claire's number.Power off.Fear wrapped around him like a giant python. He coul

Chapter 7

The plane landed while Sandro was still asleep.I carried him out of the terminal, the wind carrying the salty tang of the sea.The rented house sat at the end of the street.Open the window, and you could see the ocean in the distance.Sandro was thrilled, running circles around the new house.He pointed at the sea far off. "Mommy, what's that?"I picked him up and kissed him. "Let's go see."By the time we reached the shore, the sunlight was soft as honey.I kicked off my shoes and walked into the water.The sea washed over my feet, so cold I flinched.I stood still, the waves threading between my toes like a tiny hand tickling me.I laughed out loud.So loud that even the seabirds in the distance took flight.Sandro laughed too.He played with the water in both hands, then licked his fingers out of curiosity.I stopped him. "You can't drink seawater, sweetie. It'll give you a tummy ache."Sandro scrunched up his little face. "It's yucky. Bitter. Like Mommy's tears."I froze.How man

Chapter 8

Matteo stood under the streetlight, his face washed pale by the glow.He was much thinner than the last time I'd seen him.His cheekbones stood out. Dark circles ringed his eyes.The suit that used to fit him now hung loose on his frame.He ran up to me and reached out to grab me."Claire, I finally found—"I stepped back, out of his reach.His arm froze in midair, and the words died in his mouth.Fog drifted in from the corner of the street.His face blurred, just like my memory of him."Claire, how did you end up all the way out here? Are you doing okay?"He looked me up and down.I couldn't help but smile.A man who looked like death warmed over, worrying about someone glowing with life."I turned all of New York upside down and still couldn't find you.""When I was almost ready to give up, I remembered your old studio."A smile crept slowly onto his lips. "I never thought you'd actually be here!"I stared at him, arms crossed. "And then what?"Matteo blinked."What do you mean, and

Chapter 9

Matteo didn't leave. He moved in across the street.I found out when I went out onto the balcony.He was standing in the apartment opposite, watching me quietly through the glass.He used to be my nightmare.Now he'd become a ghost I couldn't drive away.Sandro saw him too."Is that Daddy?"I nodded and asked softly, "Do you want to go see him?"Sandro shook his head. "No. It's dark over there. I don't want to."He tugged at the hem of my shirt and looked up. "Mommy, let's go inside. I want you to tell me a story."I picked Sandro up and carried him back inside.He'd grown a little more. Heavy in my arms.Like the happiness pressing on my heart right now.The next morning, the doorbell rang.I opened the door to a delivery man holding a huge bouquet of roses.He smiled. "These are from Mr. Matteo, for you."I gave him a fifty-dollar tip."Thanks. Do me a favor and throw them out."The delivery man blinked, but did as I asked.On my way down, I ran into Matteo at the exit.He looked lik

Chapter 10

The car pulled through the estate gates and stopped.Matteo got out first, walked around, and opened the door for me.I didn't look at him as I stepped out.The only reason I'd agreed to come back to New York was to be rid of him.Matteo led the way, every muscle in his body wound tight.In the living room, someone was waiting for me.Three elders sat at the long table.And at the other end stood Marta, her hair cut shorter, her face thinner than before.When she saw me, her fingers tensed. She didn't speak."Donna, you're finally back."The three elders rose and bowed to me.I stopped where I stood."I won't be your Donna for much longer."The air in the room went still."I came back like you asked." I looked at Matteo. "Sign."Matteo took the envelope from his inner pocket and set it by his hand."Before I sign, I need to settle some old debts."He turned to Marta."Marta, for the past three years, I had you assist Claire.""And over the past month, after the investigation, I finally

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