Unscramble Tragic

My best friend and my husband, Lorenzo Bartoli, fought every time they met. Lorenzo was the Don of the family, while my best friend was his Consigliere. She always fiercely opposed his most ruthless, high-risk decisions. Tempers explode every single time. But there was one rule that they both agreed on without any hesitation. No one was allowed to touch me. Because of them, no one in the city dared to cross me. Until the fifth month of my pregnancy, when I went down to the basement vault to organize Lorenzo's guns for him. I opened the safe to see stacks of letters, hundreds of them, all unsent. I picked one up. The moment I opened the letter, cold dread overwhelmed me. The receiver of the letter wasn't me. [My dearest Sofia…] I quickly scanned downward to the final lines of the letter. [If I don't make it back alive, everything in the Swissie accounts goes to you. As for Vittoria, she's a good woman, but I have never loved her.] With trembling hands, I tore open the rest of the letters like a hysterical woman. Three hundred of them in total. Every single one was addressed to Sofia Finzi. Sofia was not a stranger. She was my best friend.

On the tenth year of being bonded to my mate, Alpha Lucian Blackwood finally returns to my side. He no longer calls out his puphood sweetheart, Sadie Marrock's name in his sleep. He no longer forces me to shift into my wolf form and go hunting right after my labor just because Sadie wants to drink deer blood. Even my son, Conan Blackwood, who's always disliked me, begins to kiss up to me by nuzzling against my leg. The entire pack is flying with rumors of the Alpha finally realizing what he actually wants. They think I'll be the happiest Luna ever. I thought I'd be happy as well. That is, until Lucian rejects Sadie's call for help and chooses to stay at home with me. After that, he pins me down and tries to kiss me on my lips. This is the first time in ten years Lucian wants to be intimate with me, but I instinctively tilt my head and avoid his kiss. Then, I push him away coldly. All traces of happiness vanish instantly. Angered by my behavior, Lucian roars, "Weren't you jealous of Sadie over the past ten years because of how well I treated her? Well, I'm only good to you now! What more do you want from me?"

Alex and I grew up together. Both of us loved each other. He told me since I was little that I was his only Luna. When I was eighteen, we became each other's mates by the Moon Goddess's divine decree. He swore before the entire pack that he would love me, protect me, and that I would be his only Luna. Last month, I realized he had cheated. The other pack members knew about this, but they kept it secret too. I pretended not to notice it and continued to play along as mates who were in love. Meanwhile, after praying to the Moon Goddess to sever our mate bond and my personal information, I left that place. But Alex regretted it.

My once best friend posted a photo on her social media account on the tenth anniversary of my marriage. In the photo, her daughter and my son were wrapped in my husband's and her arms. The caption said, 'The perfect pair.' I commented, 'Perfect indeed.' Soon, the post was deleted. The next day, my husband rushed home and asked me, "Sophie is finally recovering. Why are you provoking her?" My son even pushed me and accused me, "It's all your fault for making Tammy cry." I took out the divorce papers and threw them in their faces. "Well, it's my fault, so I quit your perfect family of four."

At the afterparty, my daughter, Mia Volpe, suffers from a sudden asthma attack. She collapses to the carpeted floor and goes through a seizure on the spot. But my Capo husband, Lorenzo Volpe, wraps an arm around his secretary, Sophia Bianchi, while watching Mia suffer before his eyes. Sophia had once shown him a forged paternity test of Mia and him. As such, he firmly believes that Mia is the bastard child of me and a Soldato. When Mia tries to reach out for Lorenzo, her complexion already bluish-purple from suffocation, he merely averts his gaze with a disgusted look on his face. "Daddy… S-Save… me…" I look everywhere for Mia's inhaler like a madwoman, only to realize that it's already empty. Sophia covers her mouth while tittering softly. "Dear me, Mia sure has an affinity for acting! Elena, I can't believe you and your daughter are willing to go to such lengths just to get Lorenzo to pay attention to you! "Since Mia likes acting that much, she might as well make the performance perfect." She lifts a high-heeled foot before crushing Mia's fingers, which were attempting to curl around Lorenzo's pant leg. Poor Mia was in so much pain, yet she couldn't let out a single sound. All she could do was scream silently into the void with her mouth wide open. I kneeled on the floor, my forehead already bleeding from smashing it against the floor repeatedly. "Lorenzo Volpe, Mia is your flesh and blood! Please, I'm begging you! Give me some medicine or call a doctor!" But Lorenzo just looks at me coldly, as though he's looking at trash. "A bastard like her is better off dead. Elena Corleone, stop using such underhanded methods to spoil everyone's mood." At that moment, what little love I still harbor for this man completely dissipates as I feel Mia's heartbeat gradually weaken. I no longer beg him for help. With trembling hands, I press the button on the emergency transmitter that I've sworn I'd never touch. That transmitter is the direct line to the highest authority in Smeraldia—my father, Don Vito Corleone.

The entire Silver Moon Pack knew that the Alpha, Wayne Smith, was completely devoted to me. After I casually mentioned that I liked the aurora, he immediately flew me to the Arctic Circle on his private jet. We stayed there for an entire month. I once offhandedly said I wanted to see meteor showers, and he took control of the Frost Moon Pack, the one that controlled the highest peak. He built a palace there just so I could lie down and look up at the entire Milky Way. On the night of the full moon, he swore before the whole pack. "I, Wayne, will have only Nina Shaw as my mate in this lifetime. My love will never waver." In front of all the werewolves, he knelt on one knee to put my shoes on, making it unmistakably clear that I was his one true love. Even when he shifted into his wolf form, he would forgo his pride and allow me to touch his head. But just moments ago, I reached into the pocket of the suit he had changed out of and found an ultrasound report. [Six-week-old pup with a normal heartbeat.] However, as the Luna of the Silver Moon Pack, I wasn't pregnant at all.

After being attacked by a rogue wolf and poisoned by wolfsbane, I didn't want my Alpha to sense my humiliation or pain. So, I chose to sever our bond—temporarily, at least. A week later, I dragged my still-ailing body back, only to discover that my Alpha, Liam Morgan, was entangled in my bed with my younger sister—Lily Manning, the little princess of the Moruna Pack. He hurried to reassure me. "Tania, this was just a mistake. My Luna will only ever be you." I met Lily's provocative gaze. I didn't cry. I didn't make a scene. I didn't argue. Liam let out a breath of relief. "Good. You're calm and dignified. That's how the mistress of a pack should behave." He was wrong. I wasn't calm, and I wasn't being dignified. From this moment on, I simply erased him—completely—from my world.

Orlando and I had been together for ten years. I'd looked after his sick mom, sweating out a fever of my own, and where was he? Knocking back drinks with Rosalind, playing therapist to her broken heart. I swallowed my pride at work, getting chewed out by my boss, while he spent the night companying Rosalind because she had cramps. Then, when I got the news my mom had passed, I tried calling him, desperate for support. But nope—phone off. After a wild goose chase, turns out he was at Rosalind's graduation. That was it. I gave up. But Orlando wouldn't let go. Red-eyed, he begged me for just one more chance.

I've been dating my enemy, Sean Thompson, for four years. At first, I intended to lurk by his side and find an opportunity to get my revenge. But little do I know that a medical report with my cancer diagnosis is capable of shattering my life's plans in an instant. Since then, I've quit my job and broken up with Sean. Now that I no longer give a damn about everything, I lash out at everyone who dares approach me. Everyone is weirded out by my behavior. They all wonder what made my personality go through such a huge change to the point that I'm easily triggered by the slightest inconvenience. My family is already ruined to begin with. My parents are dead, my family has gone bankrupt, and now I'm on the verge of death. My only wish is that I can screw Sean over so that my older brother, Adrian Price, can get released from prison as soon as possible. But I can't do anything about my wish at all. At that moment, my childhood friend stands by my side, consequences be damned. He takes good care of me and cares for me as he always does. When Sean finds out that I have terminal cancer, he actually agrees to help fulfill my wish. Half a year later, Adrian is released from prison. Sean also returns the company to my family. My wish is fulfilled. Everyone wants me to keep fighting for my life and continue receiving treatment for my cancer. I know that I need to keep going for their sake, even if it means extending my life for a day or even a month longer.

The night I find out I'm pregnant, my family's villa suddenly goes up in flames. I endure the suffocating smoke and run the risk of being disfigured as I run to my son's bedroom. However, it's empty. Just then, I hear his excited exclamations outside the window. "Monica, you look so cool when putting out fires! I bet you'll get first place in this upcoming Firefighter Challenge!" I'm about to head downstairs to lecture him when a wall collapses and crushes me. As I drift in and out of consciousness, I hear my stern, stoic husband praise Monica Sloan for her courage. If I'm guessing correctly, my husband and son have started this fire to please her. I stare at the door, which is so close and yet so far. I send out one final text before dying of asphyxiation.