Betrayed While Carrying the Mafia Heir

The boys stared at me, folding their arms across their chests.

"What do you want?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Who were you talking to? And what wedding dress shopping?" Giacomo asked.

"My wedding. And you both aren't invited," I answered nonchalantly.

The boys stared at each other, then burst into laughter.

"Oh, stop, Liliana. You're already married to Giacomo," Pietro said.

"Yes, babe, if you're doing this to get my attention, then don't bother," Giacomo added.

I stared at them. I should have felt insulted by their audacity in assuming that I was bound to him and wouldn't marry anyone else, but I kept calm.

"I was talking to my friend about her wedding," I said instead.

Pietro frowned. "You don't have any friends besides Nadina."

I glared at him. "I have a lot of friends."

Giacomo sighed. "So about earlier, we're sorry we've not been paying you any attention. It's just with Nadina and the baby, everything is so sudden—"

"How did Nadina become pregnant and I didn't know? Who's the father?" I asked, interrupting him.

I wanted to know what lie he would tell just to keep his secret.

Giacomo exchanged a nervous glance with Pietro, and Pietro spoke up immediately.

"The baby is mine!"

Giacomo nodded quickly. "Yes, it's Pietro's. We just didn't know how to tell you 'cause Pietro and Nadina hooked up once and then she got pregnant and, you know, she's your best friend and all," Giacomo rambled.

"Yeah," Pietro nodded.

His thumb pressed into the center of his opposite palm without him seeming to notice.

I stared at them, half-amused. They must think I'm such an idiot, like I haven't figured out the truth yet.

"Listen, maybe I've been a bit harsh on you, especially with the customs situation. It's just you've been making things hard for us too," Giacomo said.

"Also, what did you go to do at customs?" Pietro asked.

"I was trying to get my passport. I lost mine," I lied smoothly.

They nodded, and Giacomo started speaking again.

"So… how about we take you to lunch tomorrow afternoon? It'd be like old times, just the three of us," Giacomo suggested.

I frowned. "What about Nadina and the baby?"

"It's just one afternoon. I'm sure they'll be fine," Giacomo said.

I nodded. "Alright, that's fine."

They smiled excitedly and hugged me, even though it made my skin crawl.

When they left, I locked the door, grabbed my suitcase, and started shoving the rest of my things inside.

When I was done, I hid it under the bed.

Then I brought out the plane tickets my mother had sent, along with my passport, which I had grabbed from the mailbox earlier.

My flight was at noon.

The same time I was supposed to be at lunch with the boys.

Imagine their surprise when they waited… and I never arrived.

Filled with quiet excitement for my trip tomorrow, I decided to sleep early and rest my aching body.

By morning, the boys were knocking furiously on my door. I opened it and was instantly blinded by a slap that sent me reeling to the floor.

I saw stars as I saw Giacomo standing over me, his eyes bloodshot with anger. His right fist clenched and unclenched at his side, over and over, like a second heartbeat.

"W…what is going on?" I managed to croak out.

"What did you do to my baby? Something is wrong and she's not breathing properly, you vile creature!" Giacomo yelled at me.

"I… I didn't do anything, I've been sleeping—"

Nadina's loud sobs interrupted me as she ran toward me and knelt. Her fingertips found the hollow of her throat.

"If you were upset why didn't you hurt me instead, huh? Why offer to feed my baby last night and poison her?" Nadina cried.

I was stunned. "Poison? Feed? I haven't even left—"

"And to think we were trying to be nice to you. Witch!" Pietro spat on me, interrupting me.

"If anything happens to Angela, I will make sure you beg for death, Liliana!" Giacomo swore.

I watched with swollen eyes as they all left in a hurry. I slowly stood up from the floor, my ribs aching in pain.

Wincing slightly I stared at the calendar and a bitter smile crossed my lips. Today was the four-year anniversary of my fake blood-bound union with Giacomo.

I took off my clothes and stood in front of the mirror naked and I couldn't recognize the woman staring back at me.

She seemed to have aged faster than her age. She was covered in bruises, the price she paid trying to make love work.

I shook my head. This isn't the woman I want to keep being. I walked into the bathroom and took a long hot shower as I massaged my swollen eyes with an ice pack.

Then I did a little makeup and dressed up in a beautiful short red dress. The next time I looked into the mirror again with my dark sunglasses, I saw a different woman filled with confidence.

I spent the next hour curating an anniversary package for Giacomo. I wrapped up three boxes and wrote a small note and pinned it to those boxes as I gave them to the courier.

"Make sure they're delivered and opened immediately. Giacomo Russo. The Russo compound," I instructed.

After the courier left, I grabbed my bag and ordered a ride. As I stood inside the compound one last time, a cruel laugh escaped my lips.

"Wait for my vendetta, sweet Russo family," I whispered.

Then I turned on the gas and walked to the front door. I lit the match and threw it into the house and walked out.

As my car drove me to the airport, I watched as the Russo compound exploded in flames and I felt a strange sense of satisfaction. Burning down a family's house. In the old language, it meant total war. Absolute severance.

But this was only the beginning of what I had planned for them.

They just wait and see.