The Shame of the Marchetti Heir

Rocco's ally, Principessa Bianca of the Fabbri family, was pregnant. The father's identity was unknown, a scandal that threatened to ignite a war in the Chicago underworld.

To preserve the alliance with the Fabbri family, my husband, Rocco Marchetti, the Underboss of the Marchetti family, decided to claim the child as his own.

Overnight, the true Marchetti heir in my womb became the symbol of my alleged infidelity. In this cruel world, my child and I could be executed at any moment for that crime.

"Bianca is the Principessa of the Fabbri family; she cannot afford such a scandal." With that single, casual sentence, he crushed our five years of love into dust.

Later, Marchetti family Soldati dragged me into an underground chamber to eliminate the stain in my womb, while Rocco stood by Bianca's side, shielding her like a precious jewel.

When he returned to the estate, expecting me to be waiting in a corner for his pity as usual, the child was gone, and I had vanished from his world completely.

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1

The very day I confirmed my pregnancy with the family doctor, Bianca Fabbri announced that she, too, was expecting.

I had just returned to the Marchetti estate and barely stepped through the door when I heard her delicate, arrogant voice drifting from the study.

"Rocco, what should we name our baby? I'm so scared… What if everyone finds out the truth? It would ruin the reputation of both our families."

Through the partially open door, I saw Rocco Marchetti’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, his gaze holding a rare tenderness. As they spoke in hushed tones, Rocco’s head shot up, his eyes locking with mine at the doorway.

I strode toward him, my steps deliberate. "Rocco, what does she mean?"

His arm remained tightly around Bianca as he sighed. "Seraphina, go back to our room. This isn't a conversation for you. I'll explain later."

"Explain it. Now," I demanded, though the tremor in my voice gave me away.

Rocco’s face darkened. "Seraphina, don't make a scene."

Desperation swamped my reason. I lunged forward and slapped him across the face.

"How dare you touch him?" Bianca shrieked, shoving me back violently and shielding him as if I were the threat.

She jutted out her still-flat stomach. "I am carrying Rocco's child. This is the heir to the Marchetti family. What right do you have to touch him?"

In that instant, a cold fist clenched around my heart. Tears streamed down my face.

Rocco frowned at the sight of my tears. I could see in his cold eyes that his authority as the Underboss had been challenged and his patience had evaporated.

"Seraphina, don't listen to her. The child isn't mine."

Before I could process his words, Bianca began her masterful performance. Her eyes, red-rimmed and brimming with hurt, fixed on Rocco as if he had just betrayed their entire family.

"Rocco, you promised you wouldn't tell anyone! How could you tell her?"

"Seraphina is my wife. I have no reason to hide things from her."

At his cold words, Bianca stopped crying. In its place, a cruel smirk touched her lips.

"Then shouldn't you also tell her that for my sake, and for the child in my womb—for the alliance between our families—she and her child will become the shame of the Marchetti name, forced to live forever in the shadows?"

My head snapped toward Rocco. An icy weight settled in my chest, constricting so tightly my breathing grew ragged.

Rocco, however, said nothing. His silence was the only answer I needed.

Bianca couldn't hide her smugness, proudly stroking her abdomen.

"Rocco is making such a great sacrifice for me, all to quell a potential war between our families. I'm truly touched. In the future, my child will be Rocco's firstborn, the rightful heir to the Marchetti family. As for your child… whether we keep it as an adopted son or dispose of it, we can discuss that later."

Throughout it all, Rocco never refuted a single word.

Rage surged through me. I clenched my fists and pounded on his chest. At first, he just stood there, letting me vent. Then, he seized my wrists and dragged me roughly toward our bedroom.

"Let go of me! Tell me what the hell is going on! I am your wife!"

I didn't understand. Was Bianca really that important? So important that my child and I didn't even have the right to live?

Rocco's eyes burned with undisguised annoyance, as if my resistance was a personal slight against his authority.

"Bianca is the Principessa of the Fabbri family. If this scandal gets out, it will start a war between our two families, and she will be executed by her own people," he explained coolly, as if discussing a business deal. "I need the Fabbri family's support to take the southern territories."

"So I'm taking the fall for this? You're going to let my child be called a bastard?" I demanded.

"Of course not!" Rocco shook his head. "This is only temporary. Once she gives birth and the crisis is over, I'll tell everyone the truth."

I stared at the man before me, a stranger wearing the face of the man I once loved.