Vendida Para O Don

Meu companheiro, Luther Evans, gastou 20 mil dólares em duas passagens de primeira classe no Moonlight Express para a Costa de Vespera. No momento em que estávamos prestes a embarcar, ele me puxou de lado e deu o meu lugar para minha irmã adotiva, Zoey Turner. Ele explicou: — Só restou um assento vazio no trem, e o filho da Zoey nunca viu o oceano antes. Esta é a oportunidade perfeita. Crianças não podem ser separadas de suas mães, então eu vou levá-los primeiro e deixá-los acomodados, depois volto para buscar você. Eu concordei e desci do trem, observando-o desaparecer à distância. Assim que chegaram à praia, um amigo perguntou a Luther por que eu não tinha ido junto. Ele estava ocupado inflando uma boia de piscina para Zoey, respondendo casualmente sem levantar os olhos. — Moonlight Express passa a cada três dias. Avery Smith pode simplesmente comprar sua própria passagem e vir mais tarde. Vou comprar alguns presentes para compensá-la. Ela é muito compreensiva e não vai ficar brava comigo por muito tempo. Um sorriso amargo surgiu nos cantos da minha boca. A família inteira sempre favoreceu Zoey, e agora até meu próprio companheiro não era diferente. Como ninguém queria me ver de qualquer forma, decidi que iria embora em três dias.

When war orphan Alexei Volkov flees Russia to Belgium, survival means stealing scraps until a mob nearly burns him alive. Rescued by Lucien Devereux, the ruthless Capo of Brussels’ underworld, Alexei is thrust into a world of blood, secrets, and power. Trained as an assassin and spy, he becomes indispensable—until a mystical ring from his uncle in India makes every man who sees him fall hopelessly in love. Soon, the Capo, the Mayor, the Police Inspector, and even the Governor crave for him. Is it love or a curse? And in a city drowning in obsession, who will Alexei choose?

The mafia princess Sloane Carlisle's life is thrown into disarray when she finds out she was getting married to her arch enemy. The one man she swore to destroy even if she dies trying. Even worse, the hatred between them is mutual. Both mafia families have been rivals even before she was born and when she was seventeen she was abducted by his elder son, he took her and some of her friends because they were witnesses. It was the first time she had killed someone and it had been his brother. Chase despised her with passion and when he saw an opportunity to make her suffer, he agreed to go along with the marriage. In a game of survival only the strongest wins. What happens when hatred turns into a burning obsession? When they find out they have a common enemy and are forced to work together, will they put aside their differences and act as a power couple? Or will they kill each other first?

I'm ten years older than Vincenzo Corleone. He had just turned 23 years old when he took over the Corleone family as the patriarch. A hint of teenage childishness could still be seen etched onto his youthful features. I was the one who held his hand and helped him calm the turbulence of his family affairs. I blocked three assassination attempts that were made on him. I used five years of my life to help him grow from a useless scion into the fearsome don who wielded the utmost authority in Nowork's underworld. Once, Vincenzo had embraced me in the church. He rested his forehead against my palm as he swore, "Age, identity, or the world's viewpoint of us will never stop us from being together, Freya. I will protect you with my life." But after that, he told his older brother, Marco Corleone, "Freya is too old. She's already 38 years old; I can practically smell the rot of age rolling off her. Even the crinkles in her smile disgust me to no end." Some time later, Vincenzo found himself a mistress who bore some resemblance to me. She was young and vibrant—like a white rose who had never experienced the ugly side of society. While Vincenzo gave me the title of the Donna of the Corleone family, he reserved his gentle, doting, and even passionate side for the mistress named Lina Marino. Vincenzo thinks he can pull everything off flawlessly. What he forgets is that the reason why I can establish my reputation in the underworld isn't because of his protection. I've been relying on my ruthlessness and my sharp sixth sense this whole time. When I slam the signed divorce agreement onto the spot before Vincenzo, I say with a smile, "You've fought by my side for so many years, so you should know very well that I can afford to go for high-stakes risks and withdraw my chips whenever needed. "But once I lose, someone here has to pay the price!"

Le salvé la vida a Don Stefano Marino, de la familia Marino. En el momento en que una bala estaba a punto de alcanzarlo, fui yo quien lo protegió con mi cuerpo. Debido a la deuda de vida que tenía conmigo, Stefano decidió que sería yo quien se casara con él, en lugar de mi hermana mayor, Anna Costa, en la alianza matrimonial. Pero en nuestra noche de bodas, Stefano prefirió beber hasta quedar inconsciente en algún lugar de la ciudad antes que consumar nuestro matrimonio conmigo. Como una tonta ingenua, pensé que algún día sería capaz de derretir su corazón de hielo con mi amor. Pero no habían pasado ni cinco años cuando Stefano regresó con un niño que se parecía a él y a Anna. —Anna ha sufrido tremendamente durante su tiempo en el extranjero mientras intentaba criar a su hijo sola. Necesito compensárselo. Entonces, Stefano me entregó el acuerdo de divorcio. —Has acaparado el puesto de Donna durante muchos años. Es hora de que se lo devuelvas a ella. Solo entonces descubrí que, en realidad, Stefano había pasado esa noche con Anna, la misma noche de nuestra boda. Saqué el informe de embarazo con el que pensaba sorprender a Stefano, solo para que él lo rompiera en mil pedazos. —No necesito otro hijo. Una vez que esas frías palabras cayeron, me enviaron por la fuerza al quirófano, donde sufrí un sangrado intenso después, lo que resultó en mi muerte y la de mi bebé no nacido. Cuando desperté de nuevo, vi a Stefano, que estaba a punto de recibir un disparo. Esta vez, empujé a Anna en su dirección.

All of Novatia knew that Sophie Rossi was the foster daughter Soren Lucas doted on the most. However, on her 18th birthday, he punished her according to the family's rules. It was because Soren discovered Sophie had stolen his most precious Browning pistol and inserted it into her body. Three years later, Sophie returned with her body covered in wounds. She no longer loved Soren. However, Soren's fiancée, Isabella Johansson, refused to let her off. "You slut! How dare you desire your own Don?!" Sophie tolerated the cursing and beatings, only to discover the horrible truth. She 'committed suicide' by jumping off the cruise ship during Soren's wedding. Soren went crazy as he hugged her corpse.

On the fifth year after marrying Giovanni Santoro, the Don of the Santoro family, he decides to make a public appearance with his mistress, Valentina Conti. He no longer denies the truth behind the romantic scandals. Videos of them that have been taken in secret, as well as salacious gossip featuring the two, are spread like wildfire in New Albion. It's an act of declaring ownership over Giovanni that he himself has silently permitted. There are even busybodies who don't know their place and decide to prod me for answers with smiles on their faces. "Does this mean someone else is going to replace you as the Donna of the family?" That night, the underworld of New Albion secretly goes through a thorough purge. I file for a divorce with Giovanni immediately before marrying his biggest enemy, Franco Messina. After that, the Santoro family goes into bankruptcy. Their power and authority easily crumble into dust. Giovanni kneels before me. With tears running down his face, he begs me for forgiveness. I just smile while waving the divorce agreement in my hand. "Sorry, but we're already divorced."

Five years into my marriage to the Don, Ives Moretti, he left me for dead during a shootout to get his mistress, Isabella, to safety. I woke up three days later in a private hospital room. No apology. Ives was cold. “You’re my wife. You knew the risks. Stop being so dramatic.” Then, he added, “Isabella’s different. She’s fragile. She needed me.” That was followed by three months of the silent treatment. Like always, he expected me to be the one to break, to come crawling back begging for forgiveness. Three months later, I handed the Irish deal to Isabella on a silver platter. The big one I’d spent half a year building myself. Ives thought it was a peace offering. He smiled, a rare, genuine thing these days. “I knew you’d come around. As a reward, we’ll go to Vegas. I know you’ve always wanted to go.” The next day, Isabella whined about being bored, and he broke his promise. He took her to Vegas instead. Told me it was “urgent family business.” This time, I didn’t cry. Didn’t make a scene. Ives was pleased I was being so understanding. He had no idea I was already cutting all ties to the Moretti family. That he’d already signed the divorce papers. I was free.

Depois que minha família faliu, meu noivo, Luis Ribeiro, rompeu o nosso noivado sem hesitação e escolheu Paula Sousa. Foi Jone Loureiro quem me ajudou a pagar as dívidas, cuidou do funeral do meu pai e me resgatou do caos. Nos três anos seguintes, ele nunca me deixou. Eu estava prestes a acreditar que tinha encontrado minha salvação, mas, na véspera do nosso casamento, ouvi ele conversando com o amigo Carlos Araújo: — Você realmente vai se casar com Sofia Lima? Não tem medo que um dia ela descubra que a morte do pai e a falência da família Lima foram obra sua? — Paula já está casada com Luis, e eu estou com Sofia. E se ela descobrir, qual é o problema? Paguei as dívidas dela, enterrei o pai. Já fiz mais do que deveria. Só então eu soube que Jone Loureiro também tinha me enganado. Do começo ao fim, a única que se entregou nessa história fui eu.

Eu concordei em me transferir da Academia Central do Lobo com Lucien porque ele disse que estava sofrendo bullying. Aos dezoito anos e ainda não despertado, em uma academia obcecada por pureza de linhagem e dominância, ele se destacava de todas as formas erradas. Então, ele me implorou para partir com ele, para nos mudarmos para uma escola menos exigente, onde a linhagem importasse menos. No dia anterior ao que deveríamos finalizar tudo, eu fui procurá-lo. Do lado de fora da porta. Foi quando eu ouvi. Um de seus companheiros Betas falou arrastado, divertido. — Eu admito, Lucien. Fingir que você estava sendo caçado apenas para fazê-la deixar a Academia Central por você. Outra voz hesitou. — Vocês dois cresceram juntos. Você vai realmente deixá-la ir assim? Lucien respondeu sem pausa, seu tom relaxado, levemente divertido. — Não é nem no exterior. Ela ficará bem. Então, mais frio. — Ela se agarrou a mim desde que éramos crianças. Eu estava ficando cansado disso. Isso é… eficiente. Eu não o confrontei. Eu me virei e fui embora. De volta ao meu quarto, reabri o formulário de transferência. Risquei o nome da academia de lobisomens comum que ele alegou precisar, e escrevi o nome daquela em que meus pais insistiram anos atrás. Todos haviam esquecido de algo. Eu sou a única herdeira da Alcateia Bloodmoon. E Lucien, um filho ilegítimo tolerado pelo Alfa da Silvercrest, nunca tocaria o trono de Alfa sem um vínculo formal comigo. Um dia, ele perceberia que o que descartou não foi apenas a minha devoção.