CHAPTER 1
1464 Words
Chapter 1
Alesia De Luca’s POV
I was brought back to the age of fourteen.
Back to the day I was pulled out of foster care and brought to my real family.
I stepped out of the car slowly.
“Welcome home, Miss Alesia,” the maids greeted.
Home.
I almost laughed.
The De Luca family was feared and respected by every mafia family. It was ruled by the powerful Don De Luca, my grandfather.
I walked into the mansion.
Then I saw him.
Marco De Luca.
My father.
In my past life, he bruised me and treated me like trash.
He always called me a street rat.
He would throw things at me and cut my face with broken glass.
“You’re not my daughter,” he would always say.
“You’re just a mistake.”
Standing beside him was his wife, Rachel De Luca.
And next to her was Giana De Luca.
The De Luca family’s princess.
My stepsister.
They were never my true family.
And this was never my home.
They bullied me for fun.
They enjoyed watching me suffer.
“Welcome to the family.”
I looked up.
It was Sal De Luca.
My dad’s younger brother.
My uncle.
In my previous life, I realized too late that they were all plotting against me.
They were afraid I would take Giana’s place as the heiress.
The position that rightfully belonged to me.
My eighteenth birthday flashed through my mind.
The pain.
The blood.
The betrayal.
“You really thought you could take my place?” Giana laughed as she shoved a knife into my back.
I fell to the floor.
Unable to move.
Unable to breathe.
“Well done, sweetie,” my father praised her.
Then he took the knife from her hand.
“Here, give me that. You don’t want a bastard’s blood ruining an antique.”
He calmly wiped the blood from the blade.
“Oh, Alesia,” he chuckled.
“You were just a mess we had to clean up.”
“Giana is the only daughter this family needs.”
They laughed.
Then they walked away.
Leaving me to die in my own pool of blood.
Killed by the people I trusted most.
The people I called family.
I endured their abuse for four years.
If I could do it all over again, I would choose anyone but them.
This time, things would be different.
I would use everything I learned in my previous life.
And I would make them pay.
“Oh! Disgusting!”
Rachel’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.
She walked over to a young man sleeping on a chair and smacked him.
The man only groaned and continued snoring.
I stared at him.
Then I remembered.
Enzo De Luca.
The eldest son of the family.
The one who was supposed to be the heir.
The only person who was kind to me in my previous life.
“He’s a disgrace to this family!” Rachel shouted.
I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Stop!” I yelled.
Everyone turned to me.
“Leave him alone.”
Rachel stood up angrily just as I expected.
“How dare you give me orders, you insolent little street rat!” she screamed.
Before she could continue, a deep voice interrupted her.
“Where’s the girl?”
The room instantly fell silent.
Everyone turned toward the entrance.
My grandfather had arrived.
Don De Luca.
Dressed in a black suit, white shirt, red tie, and black hat, he walked into the room with his walking stick in hand.
Two men followed closely behind him.
He marched straight toward us.
Power seemed to follow him wherever he went.
In this life, I have to survive.
And I have to win.
He stopped right in front of me.
His sharp eyes stared directly into mine.
And to do that…
I must make Grandpa, the Don, see my worth.
“You claim to be my granddaughter?” Grandpa asked.
I nodded.
“Yes.”
“Blood is sacred in this family,” he said.
“If you betray us, you suffer the consequences.”
He stretched out his hand.
I took it and kissed it respectfully.
Grandpa nodded and stepped back.
Then he turned to my father.
“Now, we talk business.”
My father immediately sat up straight and adjusted his suit.
“The Costellos or the Petrovs?” Grandpa asked.
“Which family should we align with to avoid a drug war?”
“Marco, you’re the heir.”
I stood quietly and listened.
In my previous life, this meeting happened too.
Back then, I knew nothing.
This time, I knew everything.
“The Costellos,” my father answered confidently.
“The Russians are unreliable. We’ve had problems with them before.”
He looked around the room.
“The Costellos share territory with us. They’re old Sicilian blood. They can be trusted.”
I shook my head.
They didn’t know the truth.
But I did.
I had already lived through it.
“I’ll make the call,” my father said as he reached for his phone.
“You’re making a mistake.”
The room fell silent.
Everyone turned to me.
Grandpa looked surprised.
“What did you say?”
I took a step forward.
“If you work with the Costellos, they’ll burn this family to the ground.”
Rachel jumped to her feet.
“Bastard!” she yelled.
“What do you know about our family’s business?”
I folded my arms.
“I know that allying with the Costellos will destroy this family.”
Rachel glared at me.
“Don’t start talking like you actually belong here.”
The same words.
Just like in my previous life.
I scoffed.
“I’m more of a De Luca than you.”
Her eyes widened.
“You only married into this family.”
I pointed at her.
“You’re nothing but a gold-digging bottle blonde.”
Rachel’s face turned red.
“You rotten little b***h!”
She rushed toward me and raised her hand.
But my father quickly grabbed her wrist.
“No.”
Rachel froze.
My father turned back to his phone.
“I’m making the call.”
Then he looked at me coldly.
“And when we’re done, we’re sending her back to the gutter she came from.”
He started dialing.
Grandpa looked at me.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
I walked over to the television.
“This is what I mean.”
Sal laughed.
“And how exactly is a TV supposed to prove anything?”
I ignored him.
I turned on the television.
Then I looked at the screen.
Three..
Two..
One..
A news reporter appeared.
“Breaking news! The entire Costello crime family has been arrested. They have been found guilty of multiple counts of racketeering, money laundering, and drug trafficking.”
“Fool!” My grandpa yelled at my dad. He used his stick to knock the phone from his hand and crushed it with the tip of his stick.
Rachel’s eyes widened.
Sal stopped laughing.
I watched their reactions and smiled to myself.
This was only the beginning.
“How the hell did she know that was going to happen?” Uncle Sal asked, shocked.
My father looked at me.
“Do you think you’re so smart because you watch a little news?” he asked, his voice shaking with anger.
“Clearly, she knows more than you do.”
Grandpa’s voice cut through the room.
Everyone fell silent.
He stared at my father.
“Your mistake would have aligned us with monsters.”
He pointed his cane at him.
“And right now, we would all be in handcuffs.”
My father’s face darkened, but he didn’t say a word.
Grandpa then turned to me.
For the first time since I arrived, a faint smile appeared on his face.
“Maybe you really are my granddaughter.”
The room went silent again.
Rachel looked furious.
Sal looked confused.
My father clenched his fists.
Grandpa turned to them.
“The girl stays.”
His voice was calm, but firm.
Nobody dared argue.
Then he looked back at me and gave a small nod.
“Carmela.”
A maid immediately stepped forward.
“Yes, Don.”
“Get her ready.”
The maid lowered her head respectfully.
“Tonight, she becomes a true De Luca.”
My heart skipped a beat.
In my previous life, this never happened.
Not once.
I looked at the faces around me.
Rachel looked like she wanted to scream.
My father looked humiliated.
Sal could barely hide his shock.
But I showed no emotion.
No smile.
No excitement.
Nothing.
Because I wasn’t here to be accepted.
I was here to make them pay.
⸻
- Writer
