Donna Zuckerberg Novels & Stories

Blurb: A retelling of Cinderella, with a twist. Her Prince never met her at a ball, but in a bike crash, when she tried to escape years of abuse. She was never the beauty in a glass slipper, but a wolfless girl born from an Alpha’s line. He was not a Prince Charming. Not a saviour. Just a Don from a line of ruthless Rogue Alphas, and heir to a fearsome security company the packs could not mess with. Yet Donna-Belle accepted whatever life threw at her when she wound up under his protection and had to sign a contract that promised his protection and her cooperation. As long as she had a way to get back her inheritance and fight her stepfamily, she did not mind getting entangled with danger and mixed signals. Being the Don’s ‘personal heiress’ was not a day’s job, but Donna was determined to raise her company to greater heights and get back at her abusive stepfamily. Even if she played with a volcano yet to erupt, she was set on breaking away her fears and insecurities and stepping up for herself. He never believed in the old myth of mates. She never wanted to be entrapped by him. They both never got what they wanted. Fate decided.

Donna Lee is her name, fighting is her game. Maalaga, at mapagmahal na anak at kaibigan. Gagawin niya ang lahat para sa mga mahal niya, pero paano kung ang lalaking minahal niya ay niloko siya at ipinagpalit sa kanyang half-sister at mas malala ay sabay silang binuntis nito? Ang malupit dahil mas pinili niya ang kapatid nito at pinanagutan kaysa sa kanya. Binaon niya sa limot ang kanyang pagmamahal sa lalaki at mas piniling lumayo. Ngunit pinagkait pa rin sa kanya ng tadhana ang masaya at payapang pamumuhay ng patay malisya niyang ibinenta ang katawan para lamang iligtas ang buhay ng kanyang ina sa bingit ng kamatayan. Sa hindi inaasahan, mayroong lalaki na may malaking bahagi mula sa kanyang nakaraan ang nagbalik sa kanyang buhay at tinulungan siyang umahon sa putikan na kinasasadlakan nito. Paano kung malaman niya ang malaking lihim ng lalaking ito? Matatanggap kaya niya ang katotohanan o, mas pipiliin na lumayo na lang?

The second I opened my eyes, I knew. I was twenty-seven again. Back when I was the Leone heiress. The golden girl of Arezzo. Engaged to the Don of the Grimaldis—Marco Grimaldi. Handsome. Loaded. Time magazine's "No.1 Most Desirable Husband in the World." Even the royal family of Inglane had tried to marry a princess off to him. Everyone called me the luckiest woman alive. Yeah. Right. The first thing I did after coming back? I grabbed the marriage contract and walked straight to my father's affair daughter— the fiancée Marco had actually wanted all along. Bella Leone. I slid the contract across the table. "It's yours. You're marrying Marco." She just stared at me. Six years. That's how long I'd chased him. And now I was handing over the contract like it meant nothing. "Everyone thinks you're the better match anyway," I said. "So go ahead. Convince Dad to get the Grimaldis to switch the contract. You can have the Grimaldi Donna title." Not this time. I'm not becoming that suffocated, invisible Don's wife ever again.

It was only when I met my boyfriend's family that I found out he was the heir to Scolaris' most powerful mafia family. The Cabellos’ family rules stated that any woman who would become the Donna of their family was required to have fifty million worth of personal assets to their name. For Ian Cabello's sake, I scrimped and saved and worked hard in the real estate industry to finally save up forty million. However, my company started to face problems when we started to lose contracts. I failed to put together the remaining ten million, no matter how hard I tried. Ian held me in his arms to comfort me as he told me how he would figure out a plan to help me put the money together. When my little sister suffered a sudden heart attack and required a large amount to pay for the surgery fees, I tried swiping three cards but discovered that I did not have enough money in them to make the payment. I hurried to the bank to inquire about the insufficient funds, only to be told by the cashier that there was no money in my accounts. How was that possible? I had saved up my hard-earned forty million in the accounts! The person-in-charge looked at me guiltily. "There was a forty-million withdrawal by Signorino Ian to purchase a villa to be gifted to Signorina Lucy Carter as her birthday present."

I was Don Victor’s secret wife for five years, hidden away like a dirty little secret. He made me a promise. Give him an heir, and he’d show me to the world. I’d be the Donna everyone envied. But there was a catch. A lie. His doctor told me I was barren. Victor held me while I sobbed, kissing my face. "Baby, we can still do IVF. I want a child from you. Only you." So I took the pain. Five years. 999 needles. I was finally pregnant on Christmas Day. I ran to his office to share the news, only to find him buried deep inside another woman. Julia. A Mafia princess from another family. The betrayal hit me. I turned to leave, tears in my eyes, but then I heard a truth I couldn't escape. "Don't you worry, my princess. The baby in Maria's belly? It's ours. Your egg, my sperm. She’s just the perfect vessel." My hand trembled. I backed away, silent. Then I made a call. A lawyer. "I don't care what it costs. I want a divorce from Don Victor."

Three years into my marriage with Dominick, Gia, his stepsister, sent me a video clip out of nowhere. I tapped on the video, only to find Dominick tying his stepsister to the bedpost with the tie I had given him. His stepsister lay naked under him, addressing him intimately. After getting their freak on, they shared an embrace, and Gia cozied up against Dominick and uttered, “I don’t like the ring you bought me. Give it to Luna, and tell her it’s a birthday gift from me.” The next day, I sat in an upscale restaurant and stared at the vacant seat across the table. Suddenly, the Underboss wheeled a massive cake toward me. “Don Costa was called away on urgent business. He sent me to deliver your birthday gift.” The box contained his stepsister’s discarded reject. My phone buzzed with new pictures from Gia. Dominick was at the hospital with Gia for a check-up. Without a fuss, I signed the divorce papers and made preparations for a wedding. “Donna Costa, whose names should I put down as the bride and groom?” “Dominick and Gia.” A week from now, I would show the world the kind of filth the supposed solemn Don had been rolling in with his stepsister.

On our tenth year anniversary, I'm making out with my husband, Don Raimondo Brocchi, in his office. Just as I'm about to secretly slip the pregnancy report into his hand as a surprise, his secretary, Anna Altamura, walks into the office. We're forced to stop our makeout session. Meanwhile, Anna shoots me a provocative look before she begins chatting with Raimondo in fluent Italese. "Don Brocchi, who do you like more in bed? Me or the Donna?" Raimondo lets out a soft chuckle. The vibrations of his voice makes my back crawl with numbness. "You, of course. After all, you're younger and tighter, amore. Meanwhile, Cassia is already 30 years old." Haughtily, Anna picks up a document before returning to her seat. What they don't know is that my Nonno hails from Sicaria. That means I understand each and every Italese word they just said. After forcing myself to calm down, I locate the invitation mailed from Anworth Institute that comes with a permanent position in my inbox. Then, I key in a short response to the person in charge. I agree to travel to the institution. Before my trip, I will make sure to terminate everything that belongs to me.

My fated mate, Alpha Cullen, fell for the lies of his first love, Donna, and planned to kill me. But in a twist of fate, we were ambushed by rogues and died together. But with his last breath, he whispered another woman's name: Donna. In that moment, I knew the truth—it had always been her, his real love. When the Moon Goddess gave me a second chance, I was reborn on the day I first met him. One look at the hatred in his eyes, and I knew: he had been reborn, too. So before he could speak, I rejected him in front of the entire pack. Years later, when we met again, he sneered that I was nothing more than a pathetic rogue who tinkered with flowers. But he didn't know I had found a new mate: Orton, the Alpha of Alphas. It wasn't until our son ran to me, wrapping his little arms around my leg and crying, "Mommy!" that Cullen's façade finally shattered. He grabbed my arm, his voice cracking as he begged, "This can't be happening! I'm your fated mate! You still love me… right, Juliet?"

His eyes returned to me—slow, assessing. Then, without warning, his hands shot up and clamped around my throat. I gasped, instinctively clawing at his arms. He didn’t move. “Disobey me again,” he said, voice low, stripped of warmth, “and we won’t be counting next time.” Even shaking, I lifted my chin. “Then don’t mistake silence for obedience,” I said hoarsely. Carlino’s voice followed—calm, absolute, as if nothing had happened. “Lock her floor tonight.” That was when it settled. There was no mercy here. No exaggeration. Every word, every threat—he meant them. He wasn’t pretending to be the devil. He simply didn’t bother hiding it. --- She hates him. He refuses to let himself want her. Lina Gray never thought love would betray her. Until the man she trusted, traded her life to pay his debts. Delivered into the hands of Carlino Lacentra, the Mafia king whose name ends conversations. Lina is stripped of choice and crowned Donna to secure a throne she never asked for. In his world, power is law, loyalty is currency, and a woman beside the king is never just a woman.

I’ve got a killer hourglass figure and siren eyes. In Hollywood, I’m the ultimate sex symbol. But after five years in this town, not a single producer would dare lay a finger on me. Because the man in my bed is Don Vincenzo, the most ruthless mafia boss in New York. Seven years together. Every time we finished, he’d hold me close, kiss me, and carry me to the bathroom to clean me up. I naively thought I’d be the only woman by his side. That I'd even be his Donna. Until the night of my 28th birthday. After the family dinner, I heard him sneer to his underboss: "Chloe is fun to play with, but for my Donna, I have other options." In that instant, I ripped out my cheap, pathetic heart. I became exactly what he wanted: a perfect mistress who only cared about his money. But Vincenzo didn't seem to like that. His dark, dangerous eyes locked onto mine. "Besides this Manhattan penthouse, is there really nothing else you want from me?" I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting out a fake gasp of surprise. "You mean I can pick out a Ferrari, too?"