Betrayed by the Don, Claimed by the King

My father cheated. I cut him out of my life.

To get my forgiveness, my father put Lucas Moretti, the Don of New York, in my bed.

I fell for Lucas, fast. He knew how to play gentle.

Night after night, he’d hold me tight, fuck me like he owned me, and whisper how obsessed he was with me.

Six months later, I was pregnant.

I was the princess of New York's underworld.

My father and Lucas gave me everything. They treated me like I was made of glass.

But the day of the baby's blessing at the church? They were a no-show.

My father said there was family business to handle.

Then I got an anonymous link. A wedding. Live.

In the video, my father, Lorenzo, was walking his mistress, Carla—the woman who killed my mother—down the aisle, a happy smile plastered on his face.

And the other happy couple? My fiancé, and my father's bastard daughter, Sofia.

I could hear Lucas’s voice clearly: "Well, Bella used to bully Sofia. I'm just helping her get the justice she deserves... As for Bella, it's time she was unburdened from a life she isn't built for."

"I'll take over the Gallo family shares for her," he continued, "so she and our child can live without a care in the world."

My father’s voice followed. "Bella’s too much like her mother—ambitious. That’s not a good thing for a woman."

As my world shattered, a text from an unknown number lit up my screen: "Marry me, and the child you're carrying will be the sole heir of the Russo family."

I thought I was the treasured princess of the Gallo and Moretti families. But three months pregnant, I found out my fiancé had already married my father's bastard daughter. It was all a setup, just to make my child a bastard too.

"Bella, you're so lucky. Mr. Gallo and Lucas treat you like a real princess," a socialite told me, her eyes full of envy.

Their gazes swept over my expensive jewelry and dress, proof of how much my father and Lucas supposedly worshipped me.

I forced a smile, my face felt stiff.

Princess?

A princess betrayed by her father and her fiancé, about to become the laughingstock of the city?

What a fucking joke.

My phone buzzed in my palm. "Lucas" flashed on the screen.

I took a deep breath, walked to an empty corner of the church, and answered. I didn't say a word.

It wasn't Lucas's voice on the other end, but a roar of rough laughter.

It wasn't Lucas's voice on the other end, but a burst of rough laughter.

"The Don’s got some moves. Bella finally agreed to sign over the Gallo shares," a gravelly voice said. One of Lucas’s top guys.

"If it weren’t for Miss Sofia whispering in the Don’s ear every day, saying Bella’s mother raised her wrong, that all she cares about is power, the Don would’ve never made up his mind."

"Tell me about it. Miss Sofia’s so sweet. Always saying, ‘My sister’s just confused. Taking her shares is for her own protection,’" another voice chimed in. "The Don’s killing two birds with one stone. He gets the shares, Miss Sofia becomes the official Miss Gallo, and he gets to play the hero. Now Bella can finally focus on the baby instead of meddling in all this dirty business."

So that was it. Everything was for Sofia, all under the guise of ‘what’s best for me.’

I thought back to three months ago, when Lucas had me sign the share transfer agreement. He’d said the Gallo family business was too dangerous, that he didn't want me and the baby caught in the crossfire. He'd manage everything for me, let me be his carefree princess.

And like a fool, I believed him.

The line went dead quiet. A beat later, Lucas's smooth voice came on, laced with a hint of panic he couldn't quite kill.

"Who touched my phone?"

"Sweetheart? When did you call? Did you… hear anything?"

He knew I was on the line.

I did my best to sound normal. "It's nothing. I just missed you…"

Just then, Sofia's sweet voice cooed in the background, "Honey, the baby's kicking!"

Lucas mumbled a few quick words to calm me down and hung up.

That evening, I returned to the villa that once felt like home.

My father and Lucas were already there.

My father looked exhausted, but he still pulled me into a hug. "Bella, sorry I couldn't be with you today. Some family business came up, but it's all handled. From now on, you don't have to worry about these things."

Lucas presented me with an elegant velvet box. Inside was a key and a document. "An island in the Maldives. I named it after you. Do you like it? A little something to make up for today."

They were perfect actors, playing the good father and the loving fiancé.

Lucas came closer, reaching for my hand.

I flinched back, avoiding his touch.

He froze. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said, pulling a document from my purse. I handed it to him, trying to keep my voice steady. "You know how pregnant women get, Lucas. Insecure. I just… need some reassurance. Sign it."

Lucas glanced at the cover: "Asset Transfer Agreement." He must have thought I was having a moment, looking for another way to test his love.

He didn't even open it. He just picked up a pen and scrawled his signature.

"There, my princess. Feel secure now?" he said with a smile.

I took the document back and walked to my room.

The second I closed the door, the tears finally broke free.

I flipped to the last page, to the clause I’d buried deep in the fine print: "Lucas Moretti voluntarily relinquishes all rights of inheritance, ownership, and guardianship over Bella Gallo and her children."

Then, I wiped my eyes and dialed the lawyer my mother had trusted most. "Mr. Capello, I need to activate the full authority of my mother's trust. Immediately."

I paused, watching Lucas and my father chatting happily downstairs through the window.

"And," I said, each word sharp as glass, "cut off all funding to the Moretti family's operations."