The Mafia's Mistress: Violent Redemption

Chapter one

*BELLA*

I let out a sigh as I settled into my taxi after work, making my way to my fiancé’s home. I would much rather be there than at home with my stepmother. She was just going to be a pain in the neck, as she always had been, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her craziness. The taxi pulled over right in front of his house, and I couldn’t help but smile at the driver, giving him a small tip before stepping out of the car.

I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder, fixed my hair, and walked up to his door. I was just about to press the doorbell when the door suddenly flung open, and I saw him walking out, struggling with some bags, not seeming to notice me. I took a step back, obviously confused at that very moment. He finally turned to face forward, noticing my presence as he froze in shock. My eyes traveled to the bags he was juggling before landing on his face.

“Bella…” he called out my name nervously, “you’re here… what are you?”

“It’s our anniversary today—have you forgotten?” I said, confused by the sudden nervousness that seemed to overtake him. “I figured I’d come over so we could go out on a date or something. I’m pretty sure you must’ve forgotten since you’ve had a lot to deal with.”

“Yeah,” he said, scratching his head as he let out a nervous laugh. It was obvious he was struggling to find the right words. Feeling uneasy, I couldn’t help but ask, “Are you doing alright? Is there something wrong?”

“It’s not…” He couldn’t finish his sentence before a heavily pregnant woman joined us, also carrying some bags. She didn’t notice me at first, but when she did, she froze just like my boyfriend—no, like Luke—had done earlier.

“Hello,” I greeted her with a smile, but she didn’t bother to return it. I turned to Luke, feeling even more curious as I asked, “May I know who she is? And are you traveling somewhere without telling me? You’re packed like you’re moving out of the country or something.”

“Actually…” he said, his voice trailing off as if searching for the right words. He looked at the pregnant woman and continued, “Actually, she’s a distant cousin, and I plan on staying with her for a while. I got a new job somewhere far from here, so I’ll be living with her for a short time.” A new job, and he didn’t tell me?

“Oh, drop the act, Mike,” the pregnant woman said, and I was left confused, muttering, “Mike?” Who is Mike? “The woman already offered us a lot of money, so we don’t need her anymore—she can know the truth now.” The pregnant woman turned toward me and said, “Hey, I’m Olivia, nice to meet you.” Then she turned back to him, saying, “I’m his wife, and we’re moving out of the country, so if you could move out of the way, that’d be great.”

Wife? Did I hear correctly, or was my mind playing tricks on me? What does she mean, wife? My eyes darted between the two of them. Luke—or should I say, Mike—now had a more laid-back expression, as if he had just received a sudden boost of confidence, a stark contrast to the shock he displayed earlier. “Wife? Moving out of the country?” I blurted out, my heart pounding by this point, but I tried my hardest to keep myself in check. Maybe I was just overthinking things—there’s no way this could be real.

“Look, Bella, I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” he said, running his fingers through his hair before adding, “I mean, it is what it is, I guess. I have a wife, and I was with you because of the support you provided. I’m so sorry for that, but a man has to do what he has to do to survive. I planned to collect a good amount from you and start fresh with my wife somewhere far away. But your stepmother made it known to me that you wouldn’t be inheriting your father’s property because apparently, your father owes a lot of money, and all his property has been confiscated by the government.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I said, trying to grasp the situation. “What are you talking about? What are you saying? Explain this to me. What do you mean?”

The pregnant woman, who happened to be his wife, stepped forward, saying, “You heard him correctly, so why are you in so much disbelief? We were going to try to get some money from you to start fresh besides the little you’ve been giving us for our survival. And now that your father doesn’t even have any property for you to inherit, your stepmother offered him some money to leave your life for good and that is exactly what he is doing. So please, move aside—we have things to do. I mean, it’s not even that hard to comprehend.”

My eyes were locked on him the entire time. An ache started building in my chest, and tears began to fall freely as I struggled to keep myself from breaking into full-blown sobs. Why would he do this? None of it made any sense. “If this is a prank, Luke, stop it right now.”

“Can you just move aside?” Luke snapped, his anger rising by the second. “I’ve already explained the entire situation, so what makes you think it’s a prank or something?” He paused, sighing before adding, “What would you have had me do? You were a rich, naive little Don’s daughter who saw a bit of attention and jumped right at it, is that my fault? You can call me a user but don't deny the fact that you were very stupid too. It's pathetic of you to even think a man like me would be remotely interested in a rich, spoilt brat like you, but it is what it is. I used you, and now that I’m done with you, I don’t think you expect me to keep you around, do you?”

Anger suddenly surged within me, and I lifted my hand to slap him, but he caught my wrist in mid-air before I could. He shoved me to the ground, and I fell flat, wincing in pain from the impact. His face twisted with fury as he spat, “If you ever try that again, I’ll make sure you join your stupid father in heaven, you stupid girl.” I looked up at him in disbelief—was he speaking to me that way?

This man was my father’s driver, only a little older than me. He presented himself as a sweet, understanding man, someone I could turn to for support, especially when issues arose at home. Ever since my father married my stepmother, it’s been one problem after another. Everyone knew I was my father’s favorite, but she somehow managed to turn him against me, making me a stranger in my own house. It was easy for a man like Luke—or Mike—to take advantage of that and fool me into love.

At first, I kept our relationship a secret because I knew my father would never approve. I did everything for him, including supporting him financially in every way possible. An argument between my father and me when he found out I was dating him led to my old man’s heart attack and, ultimately, his death. To this day, I still feel guilty for that, and now, even more guilty, realizing just what a bastard and liar I’ve been with all along.

“Our ride is here,” the pregnant woman said, her eyes lighting up as a car suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Luke didn’t seem to notice my existence anymore as he quickly packed the bags, purposely kicking me and hitting me with the bags as he rushed toward the car. He came back for his wife, pulling her in close as he said, “Thanks for all you did, my wife and I here really appreciated all your financial contributions. Next time, don’t be so foolish and seek so much attention. I hope you take my advice and be fine in life. I am going to another country to spend the rest of my life with my wife and family” he said as he placed his hand on her stomach before kissing her on the lips.

Olivia, the woman, reached into her purse, pulled out a handful of money, and threw it at me before saying, “Very soon, you’ll be dirt poor, so you’re going to need that.” With that, she smiled evilly at me before Luke escorted her into the waiting vehicle, and they drove off. I sat there on the floor, not knowing what to feel or how to react at that very moment.

Should I cry? Should I panic? Should I be scared? My emotions were all jumbled up because it didn’t even feel real. Maybe it was a nightmare, but the pain in my heart was all too real for this to be just a bad dream. Tears streamed down my face as I stared into nothingness. “It can’t be real. This isn’t real. It can’t be real,” I muttered, quickly hurrying to my feet.

I still didn’t know how to process my emotions. I ran into the street without thinking and almost got run over by some cars, but I managed to dodge them. I stopped a taxi and got inside. Tears were rolling down my face as my body trembled, my anxiety taking over as my heart hurt so badly, it felt like I was going to die from the pain. I still didn’t want to believe it was real; I still didn’t want to believe Luke had betrayed me. There must be a mistake or something. The taxi drove me all the way home. The butlers opened the door for me as I stormed inside, and there was my stepmother, having coffee with a few people—men who looked scary, big, and dressed in black.

Her eyes landed on me immediately as I stormed into the room, and she smiled softly, saying, “Oh, there she is.” She rose to her feet, adding, “Where have you been?” She stood up from the couch, walked towards me, and said, “Your guests have been waiting. They are here to take you away.”

I closed the distance between my stepmother and me, trying my best not to let my tears fall as I said, “What did you do? Who did you throw money at this time? What the hell are you up to?” Her eyes traveled up and down my frame, as she replied.

“Oh, if you’re talking about that stupid boyfriend of yours, then you should be thanking me. I did you a favor anyway,” she said, glancing backward at the men who were sitting down. “Go upstairs and pack your things. These gentlemen are here to take you away.”

I looked at the men waiting for me before turning back to her, asking, “What do you mean? What are you saying? Take me away to where?” I was confused—everything was too confusing. She smiled sheepishly at me, not saying a word. My grief was slowly turning into anger as I demanded,

“What do you mean? What’s this about my father owing debt and his property being seized? What is all that about?” I questioned.

She looked at me, letting out a cold, cruel smirk before saying, “Oh, that was just a lie I told that fool you were dating, right before tossing some money at him to leave your life. And he actually believed it, as if he didn’t know who Don Matthew was.” She let out a cold, cruel laugh before continuing, “The truth of the matter is, this wealth isn’t enough for all of us to share. I deserve everything your father left behind—me and my daughter. So for that, I’m going to be getting rid of you. I wanted to kill you before, but that was far too suspicious, so I came up with something else.” She smiled before saying, “Don Lorenzo wants you, so I’m offering you to him.”

Don Lorenzo? The powerful Don of a rival Mafia group and my father’s number one arch-nemesis. This woman wants to give me to Don Lorenzo? What sorcery is this? How is my life spiraling out of control today?

“Now you will be taken to his house, and he’ll be free to do whatever he wants with you while I get to enjoy all of your father’s wealth—me and my daughter, Stephanie.” Stephanie was her daughter from her former marriages, my age, and we never got along. There had always been a rivalry, especially since my father started giving her more attention. This woman was planning on stealing everything that belonged to me and offering me to my father’s enemy. What the hell is happening?

“Will you go upstairs, or do they have to use force?” Anger boiled within me. There is no way she’s going to do this.

“You’re crazy,” I said as I tried to walk away from her and go to my room upstairs. But just then, those men stood in my way, preventing me. I glared at them as I said, “Move out of my way!” I barked at them, but they didn’t budge.

I turned to face my stepmother, saying, “Tell them to move out of my way right now!” I barked at her, but she simply smirked and said “This is a game you can not win Bella, don't make me have to kill you someday” She turned to the man behind me,

“I think she prefers to do things the hard way.” And then, without giving me time to react, I felt the man grab me from behind. Before I could fight back, they pressed something like a piece of cloth over my nose and mouth, cutting off my air supply. Suddenly, it became hard to breathe as the chemicals seeped into my nose. I struggled against them but to no avail. I soon began to feel the weight of the poison on me, my body weakening as my vision blurred. I was starting to slip out of consciousness. The last thing I heard was my stepmother’s voice saying,

“Remember, he is your father’s enemy.

I can’t wait to see him do all the wicked things he couldn’t do to your father—to you…”