Echo Visual

Durante la media noche, mi esposo comenzó a hablar mientras dormía. —Mi pequeño tesoro, papi te llevará a ti y a mami a la nueva casa mañana. Sin embargo, nosotros estamos usando protección. ¿De dónde demonios había salido un niño? Entonces desbloqueé su teléfono. Vi las transferencias de dinero enviadas a otra mujer, todos eran gastos en cosas malditamente lujosas y una casa. En los álbumes de su galería había fotos de ella en un diminuto traje de stripper, y se mostraba un pequeño bulto en su vientre. La última fue un ultrasonido. Parecía que estaba de cuatro meses. No dije nada. Solo guardé las pruebas. Ellos estaban a punto de descubrir el precio de traicionar a una princesa de la mafia.

Clarence, the Vampire Prince, fell for me the moment he laid eyes on me. And I fell for him just as hard, just as hopelessly. I accepted his Embrace. The whole dark world knew he loved me more than life itself. He branded the rune of our blood bond directly over his heart. That lasted five centuries. Then I got the video from his new blood doll—a human stripper named Seraphina. She was sprawled naked in his lap, fresh bite marks dotting her throat. Using her own blood, she’d painted a crude sigil right beside the sacred rune meant only for me. And my mate had let her. “Clarence says my young blood is the only thing that makes him feel alive anymore,” she purred. “He says you’re a dead fish in bed, darling Molly. Time for the new generation to take over.” I didn't bother to reply. My fingers were steady as I contacted an ancient witch. “I need a glamour,” I said, my voice even and low. “A perfect human shell. One that will hide everything—my scent, my trail. All of it.”

I was a nobody, but for three years, I was in love with Dante, the heir to the Blackwood family—Chicago's biggest name in the mob. The day I found out I was pregnant, I was overjoyed. I couldn't wait to tell him the good news. But then I heard his twin brother, Marco, ask him, "Bro, when are you gonna tell Rose it was me in her bed every night, pretending I was you?" Dante's voice had a coldness I'd never heard before. "At the wedding, in one week. I'll expose everything, then I'll propose to Isabella." Isabella. The rich girl who used to bully me. So, this was all just payback for his precious Isabella. But what Dante didn't know was that the wedding he'd so carefully planned would be missing its bride.

Durante mis cinco años de matrimonio con Dante Moretti, el Don de la mafia de Gold Ville, todo el mundo sabía que me amaba más que a su vida. Él tenía tatuado un violín (por mí) junto al escudo de su familia, un símbolo de lealtad que nunca podría ser borrado. Hasta que recibí la foto de su amante. Una camarera de cócteles, tumbada desnuda en sus brazos, con la piel marcada por los moretones oscuros del sexo violento. Ella había garabateado su propio nombre justo al lado del violín que él llevaba por mí. Y mi esposo se lo había permitido. «Dante dice que solo estando dentro de mí se siente como un hombre. Tú ya ni siquiera puedes excitarlo, ¿verdad, querida Alessia? Quizás sea hora de que te hagas a un lado». No respondí. Solo hice una llamada. —Necesito una nueva identidad. Y un billete de avión.

Setelah kembali memergoki suamiku, Dante, di ranjang bersama asistennya, Angel, aku melakukan sesuatu yang bodoh. Aku membocorkan videonya. Aku ingin seluruh dunia melihat mereka apa adanya. Namun, yang kudapat malah gugatan dari pihak keluarga dan hukuman penjara enam bulan dan sebuah esai dari putraku yang berjudul "Mamaku Seorang Psikopat". Saat itulah aku benar-benar hancur. Aku mengajukan gugatan cerai dan menyerahkan hak asuh putra kami. Pada hari keberangkatanku, Dante menyeringai sinis padaku. "Kamu mau ke mana tanpa aku, Livia? Belum terlambat kalau kamu mau merangkak kembali." Yang tidak dia ketahui adalah ibuku mengendalikan Keluarga Waluyo, keluarga dan organisasi terbesar di Ivalia ... dan aku adalah satu-satunya pewarisnya.

No meio da noite, meu marido começou a falar dormindo. — Meu pequeno tesouro, papai vai levar você e a mamãe para a casa nova amanhã. Mas estávamos usando proteção. De onde diabos surgiu uma criança? Então liguei o celular dele. Vi as transferências de dinheiro para outra mulher, gastas em todo tipo de luxo e uma casa. O álbum de fotos tinha fotos dela com uma roupa de stripper bem reveladora, uma pequena barriguinha. A última era um ultrassom. De quatro meses, pelo que parecia. Não disse nada. Apenas salvei as provas. Eles estavam prestes a aprender o preço de trair uma princesa da máfia.

Five years into my marriage to Dante Moretti, the Don of the Chicago Outfit, the entire underworld knew he loved me more than life itself. He’d had a violin—for me—tattooed right next to his family crest, a symbol of loyalty that could never be erased. Until I got the photo from his mistress. A cocktail waitress, sprawled naked in his arms, her skin marred by the dark bruises of rough sex. She had scrawled her name right next to the violin he’d gotten for me. And my husband had let her. "Dante says only being inside me makes him feel like a man anymore. You can’t even get him hard anymore, can you, sweet Alessia? Maybe it’s time to step aside." I didn't reply. I just made a single call. “I need a new identity. And a plane ticket out.”

Nach fünf Jahren Ehe mit Dante Moretti, dem Don des Chicago Outfit, wusste die gesamte Unterwelt, dass er mich mehr liebte als sein eigenes Leben. Er hatte sich eine Geige tätowieren lassen – für mich – direkt neben seinem Familienwappen. Ein Symbol der Treue, das niemals ausgelöscht werden konnte. Bis ich das Foto von seiner Geliebten bekam. Eine Barkeeperin, nackt in seinen Armen ausgestreckt, ihre Haut gezeichnet von den dunklen Spuren von hartem Sex. Sie hatte ihren Namen direkt neben der Geige gekritzelt, die er sich für mich hatte stechen lassen. Und mein Mann hatte es zugelassen. „Dante sagt, nur wenn er in mir ist, fühlt er sich noch wie ein Mann. Du kannst ihn doch gar nicht mehr erregen, oder, süße Alessia? Vielleicht ist es an der Zeit, beiseitezutreten.“ Ich antwortete nicht. Ich tätigte nur einen einzigen Anruf. „Ich brauche eine neue Identität. Und ein Flugticket – raus hier.“

I was reborn, back to the day before my wedding. The first thing I did? I swapped husbands with my sister. Last time around, I married Julian, a mild-mannered tech mogul. He couldn't handle my fiery temper, and I couldn't stand how soft he was. Our marriage crashed and burned in a year. My sister, sweet and timid, was in an arranged marriage with Robin Kane, the Don of New York's biggest crime family. She couldn't handle the brutal, chaotic life. Tormented by Robin's so-called childhood sweetheart, Isabella, she fell into a deep depression and died. So when I came back, I made a decision. I’d be the one to marry the Don. But I never expected that after the wedding, the cold, stoic Don would become a different man. Every night, he’d be on top of me, kissing me like he was obsessed, whispering, "Good girl. I'll make you feel good. Just one more time, baby?"

Before Valentine's Day, I received a message from Caleb Spencer. It was a screenshot of a seven-figure bill for a necklace. It was meant for me, but he bought it for another woman. I didn't cry or make a scene. Instead, I quietly kept cleaning the house. Since we got married, every month brought new gossip about Caleb. Some came from the internet, some from nosy friends, and some even from Caleb himself. By now, I'd become the joke of the whole social circle. But it didn't matter. This life wasn't going to last much longer anyway.