Cerita Pendek Tragic Love & Novel Mafia Revenge

I’m the best art forger and intel specialist in Chicago. And I fell for the man who owned it all, Don Vincenzo Russo. For ten years, I was his secret, his weapon, and his woman. I built his empire from the shadows. I thought I’d get a ring. After all, every night he was in this city, he was buried inside me, taking his pleasure. He’d whisper that I was his, that no one else felt this good. But this time, after he was finished with me, he announced he was marrying the Russian Bratva princess, Katerina Petrov. That’s when I knew. I wasn’t his woman. I was just a body. For an alliance, for her, he sacrificed me. He left me to die. So I destroyed every piece of the life he gave me. I made one call to my father in Italy. And then, I vanished. But when the Don who owned Chicago couldn't find his favorite toy… he went insane.

I used to think my husband was the angel who saved me from the depths of hell. Five years ago, I would have died for my ex-fiance, Marco Lombardi, but his carelessness caused Mom's kidneys to fail. He ignored 99 of my calls, and with an empty bank account, I couldn't even afford the surgery to donate my kidney to her. Only later did I discover that during that time, he was having romantic getaways with my stepsister, Penny Rossi. When I hit rock bottom, mafia Don Leon Costa showed up. He got me the best doctors, handled everything when Mom died, and even proposed to me when I was a complete mess. In our five years of marriage, he has spoiled me rotten. I've almost forgotten how much Marco and Penny hurt me. Then, today, I overhear his phone call with Penny. "Leon, thank you for giving my sister's kidney to my mother back then." My beloved husband just brushes it off. "Don't worry about it. I'll look after your sister. She won't ever know." He laughs quietly, and his voice is full of warmth. "You know I hate seeing you cry."

The Consigliere—my husband, Sal Barzini—who'd always despised anything soft or weak—suddenly started sleeping with a teddy bear. One button eye missing, filthy as a stray dog, yet he cuddled that beast every night, curled up in silk sheets like a baby returning to the womb. And left me freezing on the edge of the master bedroom. I couldn't stand it anymore. At our son Luca's first-year baptism, I announced I wanted out. Everyone went numb with shock. Sal grabbed a glass of red wine and threw it in my face. "You're jealous of a stuffed animal? Have you lost your fucking mind?" I wiped the wine from my cheek, cold as ice. "You say you want to spend your life with that beast. I'm giving you my blessing."

Fifteen years ago, Vincenzo Marchetti pushed me down a stairwell at Saint Catherine's Academy and shattered my skull. I spent four months in the hospital with a fractured head, broken ribs, and bleeding in my brain. The doctors said I would have chronic migraines for the rest of my life and that the scar would never fade.  Vincenzo Marchetti never faced a single consequence because his family owned the school, the hospital, and the police. Two years ago, his mother approached my father at a community event and said her son wanted to meet me. I should have run. But in our world, refusing a Marchetti wasn't really an option for a family like mine. When Vincenzo sat across from me at that first dinner, I watched his face carefully for any sign of recognition. But there was nothing—just polite interest and charm. Maybe he had forgotten or maybe I had been so insignificant that breaking my body was just another Tuesday for him. So I said yes when he proposed. I smiled at our wedding and I played the role of the perfect mafia wife. For one year, I lived in his penthouse cage. He cooked me breakfast, remembered my coffee order, and whispered that he loved me every night before I slept. Then I found the note on his phone, created ten days before we ever met. Six words that destroyed everything. Isabella Russo, the game has begun. Our entire marriage was a revenge and I was the pawn he married to humiliate his rival family.  But Vincenzo Marchetti made one critical mistake —he thought I would stay broken. I planted bugs in his office, stole his financial records and made an alliance with his most dangerous enemy—the boy I tried to save all those years ago, who's now a Don with his own empire. In the mafia, they say you don't forgive and you don't forget. Vincenzo taught me that lesson when he shattered my skull. Now I'm about to teach him what happens when the broken girl learns to fight back.