Todos os capítulos de Traded to the Rinaldi Don: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

I carried my untouched tea away from the corridor outside Marco’s study.He and my brother had just settled the details. They had chosen the convoy’s departure time, the place where my brother’s men would intercept it, and the story our family would tell about Sofia’s death.Marco had needed only one sentence to decide what would happen to me afterward. I would live on a private island under another name. He would visit when he could.He followed me into our bedroom and took the cup from my hands, as he often did.“Your tea’s gone cold. I’ll have them bring you another.”He knew I had overheard them, yet his voice remained calm. He spoke as though we were discussing an inconvenient change to our plans.“Why do I have to go?” I asked.“The men intercepting the convoy will be armed. Sofia has never been near anything like that. She’d be terrified.” Marco set the cup on the table. “You’ve worked alongside your father for years. You know how to handle yourself.”I had grown up around guard

On the way back from the Romano estate, our car stopped at an intersection.Dante Rinaldi’s convoy crossed in front of us. People on the sidewalk recognized the family crest and lowered their voices. One man said Dante had dealt harshly with an ally who betrayed him. Another claimed that no woman who married into the Rinaldi family had ever been happy.My mother had repeated the same stories at dinner. She had said them in front of me, then reminded me that Adrian would intercept the convoy before I reached Dante’s territory.Through the window, I saw a man in the last car signal for our driver to go ahead. He had no idea I was the woman being sent to the Rinaldis.The next day, I arrived at a neutral estate arranged by the Commission. Both families would confirm the marriage agreement there before the convoy continued toward Dante’s estate.An attendant lowered a veil over half my face. Several young women arranging my clothes whispered about Dante, assuming I could not hear them.“At

Two rows of cars waited outside the Moretti estate on the morning I left.Sofia stood beside Marco in the coat I had helped her choose the day before. Her eyes filled when she saw me.“Be careful,” she said.Marco adjusted her collar, then came to my car. He reached toward my reddened fingers but stopped before touching them.“I’ll visit once you’re settled.”“All right.”My mother leaned toward the window. “Don’t be afraid. You’ll see your brother tomorrow.”Father was speaking to the convoy coordinator. He had instructed everyone to leave my veil in place and keep the bride’s movements private until the handover.I raised the window without looking back.The convoy left New York on schedule. Marco had put a blanket in my car. I folded it and set it aside. I ate when food was offered and asked no questions about Adrian’s plans.His two guards watched me closely at first. By evening, they seemed reassured that I had made no attempt to call home or leave the convoy.We stopped at the pl

ELENA’S POV“Yes,” I told Dante. “I want to stay.”He gave a small nod and asked his representative to show me to a guest room. No one took my phone or told me where I was permitted to go. A guard stood outside the main entrance, but he was there before I arrived and remained there after I passed him.I slept for a few hours. When I woke, my phone showed twelve missed calls from Marco and five from Adrian.His latest message came after my reply: I read what you said. We need to talk in person. Don’t sign anything before I get there.I set the phone aside.By morning, a Commission representative had arrived to hear my account. Dante had arranged for the meeting to take place in a room near the entrance so that neither family could claim he was keeping me hidden.I told her my real name, then explained the planned interception and false report of Sofia’s death. She wrote down the details and asked whether I had come to the estate willingly.“Yes,” I said. “The change to the convoy’s sche

ELENA’S POVMarco waited in the same meeting room where I had asked for a divorce.He stood when I entered. The papers lay on the table between us, beside a letter from his attorney. Dante had offered to have a Commission representative present, but I had asked my own attorney to attend instead.Marco did not come toward me.“I’ve signed what I can sign now,” he said. “My attorney will cooperate with yours on the remaining filings.”I sat down and read the first page. The documents acknowledged that I had entered the marriage as Elena Romano and that Sofia’s recent use of my name had no standing. They also separated my accounts and property from Marco’s.He had begun undoing the arrangements that would have erased me.“I received the medical records,” I said.His face tightened. “I should have told you the truth years ago.”“You should have asked me before arranging the medication.”“I know.”He did not say he had been trying to protect us. Perhaps he had finally heard how little that