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My Mafia Husband Denied Our Child, So I Chose His Rival
Novelix
new
Completed
"In New York's underworld, no one dared touch the daughter of the family heir at a Bellandi family banquet. But on Nina's seventh birthday, Dante Bellandi pushed her down next to her birthday cake in front of everyone. ""Don't call me Dad."" His voice was cold as a loaded gun. ""I'm not your father."" A second later, he slammed a DNA report bearing a private lab's seal onto the table. The report had one conclusion: Nina was not a Bellandi by blood."
Chapters (3)
Chapter 1
In New York's underworld, no one dared touch the daughter of the family heir at a Bellandi family banquet.
But on Nina's seventh birthday, Dante Bellandi pushed her down next to her birthday cake in front of everyone.
"Don't call me Dad."
His voice was cold as a loaded gun.
"I'm not your father."
A second later, he slammed a DNA report bearing a private lab's seal onto the table.
The report had one conclusion: Nina was not a Bellandi by blood.
The banquet went dead silent.
The Bellandi family's adoptive parents slapped me across the face in front of every family member.
"What do you have to say for yourself?"
Bianca—just brought home, called the true heir by everyone—curled up in Dante's arms, eyes red, defending herself:
"Sorry, Elena. I only said Nina doesn't look like Dante. I didn't think he'd actually do a paternity test..."
With one sentence, she nailed me and my daughter to the dirtiest accusation in the Bellandi family.
I became the woman who betrayed her husband.
Nina became a bastard with no known father.
What was even more absurd—Dante didn't throw me out of the estate immediately.
He just handed me divorce papers, like he was disposing of a family asset that had lost its value.
"Sign it. The Bellandi family doesn't keep traitors. Or children of unknown origin."
For Nina's sake, I held back the urge to tear the papers apart in front of everyone.
I even thought about begging him to run the test again.
Until three days later, when I heard the conversation outside his study.
Dante's friend asked in a low voice:
"You called your own wife a whore and your own daughter a bastard just to make Bianca feel better. Aren't you afraid they'll actually leave?"
Dante laughed softly.
"Afraid of what? The DNA report is fake. Salvatore and Marcella already know."
"Bianca suffered out there for years. Elena took her life. It's time she gave it back."
He paused, his tone certain, like he'd already arranged the rest of my life.
"Once Bianca's had her revenge, I'll remarry Elena. She can't leave me. She can't leave the Bellandi family."
Outside the door, my fingers slowly curled tight.
A few hours earlier, Nina had come home from school in a mud-stained uniform, crying.
Her knees were scraped. The teacher only told me coldly:
"Mrs. Bellandi, other parents don't want their children in the same classroom as a bastard. Please transfer her as soon as possible."
I held Nina as she trembled. She lifted her tear-streaked face and asked me:
"Mom, if I really am Dad's daughter, will he love me again?"
For that sentence, I swallowed my pride and carried her to Dante's private club, begging him to test her blood one more time.
I thought if I could just prove Nina was his biological daughter, there was still something to salvage.
But what I heard was him planning how to coax me back after pushing us into the abyss.
In his eyes, forging the report, destroying my reputation, making the entire underworld despise Nina—it was all just a show to please Bianca.
Even my adoptive parents, who I thought would protect me for life, had quietly allowed it.
In that moment, I finally understood. What I'd protected for over twenty years wasn't a family.
It was just a surname that could be replaced at any time.
I didn't push the door open. I didn't cry or demand answers from Dante.
I just turned and left, and sent my lawyer a message.
"Prepare the divorce papers. I want the Bellandi family to pay."
The next day, I would end this marriage with my own hands.
And Dante didn't know yet—after we walked out of city hall, he would watch me marry the one rival he should never have provoked. The Carbone family's Don. Luca Carbone.
This time, I wasn't looking back.
Chapter 2
I packed a few changes of clothes and led Nina back to the Bellandi estate. The house looked like a mansion on the surface, but underneath it connected to the Bellandi family's arms warehouse and accounting rooms.
Every time I'd come back before, my adoptive parents would smile and greet me before I even got through the door.
This time, my adoptive mother's disgust was barely hidden.
"Why are you here?"
"Mom... I have nowhere else to go. I just want to bring Nina to stay for one night."
She sneered. "The Bellandi estate isn't a shelter. Don't bring your bad luck here."
My chest tightened.
Nina peeked out from behind me, timid.
"Grandpa! Grandma!"
Her voice was soft, the way it used to be, waiting for them to pick her up.
Their faces went cold.
"Don't call us that. We don't have relatives like you."
I felt like I'd been hit over the head with a club. I stood there frozen.
A few days apart, and we'd gone from adopted daughter to people who couldn't even claim kinship?
I remembered my adoptive father lifting me over his head, saying Elena was the Bellandi family's precious jewel.
My adoptive mother bragging to everyone about how outstanding her adopted daughter was.
But after Bianca came back, their love for me seemed to vanish overnight.
The family's ports, casinos, and underground businesses were taken from me one by one.
The connections I'd built through years of hard work were transferred to Bianca bit by bit.
Back then, I told myself Bianca was the real daughter. Making it up to her was only natural.
Now I realized—they hated me.
Hated me for taking Bianca's place. For stealing her life.
Dante's cruel words still rang in my ears.
To please Bianca, they'd allowed that smear campaign, mercilessly grinding me and Nina into the dirt.
I pushed the surging emotions down and tested the waters:
"If... the DNA test was wrong? If the report was fake?"
My adoptive mother paused. "The evidence is conclusive. You still want to argue?"
My adoptive father looked at me coldly too. "So many people saw it. The Bellandi family's face has been ruined by you. The DNA test isn't enough? What do you want? Do you need to be caught in bed to admit it?"
A bone-deep chill spread through me.
They knew it was all fake.
And they were still cursing me with that venomous tone, nailing me to the pillar of shame.
My adoptive father frowned, his tone like charity.
"Fine. If you really want to stay, then tomorrow you'll make a statement. Publicly admit you were unfaithful in your marriage. Admit Nina isn't Dante's child. Then withdraw from the family's core council and transfer your company shares to Bianca unconditionally."
I couldn't believe my ears. My voice shook.
"You want me to admit what? Nina is not a bastard!"
My adoptive mother didn't even lift her eyelids.
"Something born from a fake—what else would it be?"
A buzzing filled my head. Something inside me shattered completely.
Footsteps came from upstairs.
Bianca came down, eyes red, looking startled.
"Dad, Mom, don't be like this..." She looked at me, voice gentle. "Elena, I know you're hurting, but Mom and Dad are getting older. The family has a reputation. You can't drag everyone down just for your personal life. Just admit you were wrong. Once this blows over, we're still family."
She looked down at Nina, her eyes full of performed sympathy.
"As for whether the child is Dante's flesh and blood... Dante is such a good man. He won't hold it against you."
I tried to speak, but my adoptive parents had run out of patience.
They ordered the family guards to throw my things out.
"We raised you for twenty years. We wanted to leave you some dignity. Since you won't admit fault, don't come back to the Bellandi family again."
Chapter 3
It was deep into the night when we left the Bellandi estate.
Nina curled in my arms, eyes swollen, silent.
I stroked her hair, thinking she'd just cried herself out, and hurried to find a place to stay.
Standing in the hotel lobby, I was a mess.
"Hello, I'd like a suite."
I handed over my supplementary card.
The front desk swiped it and looked up. "Sorry, ma'am. It's been frozen."
My heart dropped. I dug out my own bank card.
Even the savings in my own account had been transferred out.
My fingertips went cold. A wave of nausea hit me.
Dante could be that ruthless.
He didn't just want me to bow. He wanted to cut off every escape route.
The front desk clerk's tone was flat. "Ma'am, do you still want the room?"
My throat tightened. I called my best friend.
"Can you lend me some money? Or book a room for me? Just one night for me and Nina."
Two seconds of silence. Her voice dropped.
"Elena, it's not that I don't want to help. But my family's been in talks with the Bellandi family. This thing you're in is too big. If I step in, my family's group could get dragged in."
She didn't finish. I already understood.
I hung up and looked at my reflection in the marble floor. It suddenly seemed ridiculous.
Twenty-some years of living, and I had nothing.
Only the daughter in my arms, who would stand by me without hesitation.
Then she swayed and collapsed softly against me.
I touched her forehead. My heart went cold.
She was burning up.
I scrolled through my contacts and finally stopped on a name I least wanted to trouble.
After borrowing money, I carried Nina back to the front desk.
"Please, just give me a room. My daughter has a fever."
The clerk suddenly rolled her eyes.
"No wonder the cards are frozen. You're that fake Bellandi daughter who cheated in her marriage."
I froze.
She looked me up and down, her tone growing sharper.
"You're trash to the bone, and you had to pop out a bastard to embarrass everyone. This is a respectable hotel. Please leave before you dirty our floor."
Guests turned to look at me.
I wanted to explain, but I had no words left.
I could only carry Nina out of the hotel in disgrace.
On the late-night street, the cold wind cut like a knife.
Nina was delirious with fever, face buried in my shoulder, murmuring:
"Daddy... don't leave me..."
That one sentence tore my heart apart.
I bit down and finally pulled out my phone, dialing Dante's number.
Ten calls. No answer.
My fingers shook as I typed a message.
【Nina has a fever. Can you come?】
A long time later, he replied:
"She's not even my child. I don't have time for your sob story."
I stared at those cold words.
The street was loud with people, but I couldn't even cry.
In the end, I took Nina to the hospital alone.
The emergency corridor was crowded. I'd just finished registering when I heard a familiar voice.
Dante was helping Bianca into the emergency room.
The nurse handed Dante a test sheet, her tone reproachful:
"Early pregnancy bleeding, threatened miscarriage. The first few months are critical. As her husband, be careful. Don't exhaust the mother!"
Dante took the sheet, instinctively pulling Bianca closer. "Does it still hurt?"
Bianca shook her head lightly, eyes red.
Dante frowned. "Don't go back tonight. Stay at my place. I'll take care of you."
Bianca bit her lip, murmured agreement, and leaned into his arms.
I stood frozen, blood turning to ice.
Years ago, when I was pregnant with Nina, I'd been held like that too.
My morning sickness was so bad I couldn't keep down water.
He cleared his entire schedule. For ten months, he stayed by my side.
He said, "Elena, you and our daughter are my life."
Now he was the one grinding his "life" into the dirt.
The one pushing me and Nina into the abyss was him.
I almost wanted to laugh.
So this is what it means. When someone loves you, it's real.
When they stop, they're just as cruel.
Nina was still burning in my arms.
My phone buzzed.
I looked down. Dante had sent a message:
"Elena, I'm not waiting anymore. Three days. City hall."
