After My Fiancé Played Me, I Married the Mafia King

My father, Wyatt Rossini, believed Rhett Raines had the best chance of becoming the next Don of the Raines Family. So he arranged our engagement. For three years, I helped Rhett manage his businesses and the Family. I spent countless hours networking with every major Family in the region and building connections on his behalf. I stayed by his side through enemy ambushes and hails of bullets. Surviving one close call after another made me believe we were deeply in love. He used to hold me tenderly in his arms. Whenever he looked at me, his gaze was warm and full of adoration. "Vera, I'll make you my Donna. We'll spend the rest of our lives happily together." Then, while protecting Rhett, I unknowingly drank poison and ended up in a hospital bed, fighting for my life. By then, Rhett had long since secured his position as Don, but he ended up marrying my best friend, Lina Moretti. In the video, Rhett cupped Lina's face and kissed her with such tenderness, as if she were a priceless treasure. My father stood nearby, wiping tears of joy from his eyes. The pain in my chest felt like a knife twisting through me. "Vera, do you see now? These people were never worth your love." A deep, husky voice came through the video call. I wiped my tears and took a deep breath before answering. "I accept your proposal. We'll have the wedding next week." Chapter 1 Shortly after I hung up the video call, Rhett arrived. Lina trailed behind him. "How are you feeling today?" Rhett asked, his voice full of concern. Lina set a bouquet down by my bed. To my disbelief, it was the bridal bouquet from their wedding! "Vera, I've been worried sick about you! It's all Rhett's fault. If he can't even keep you safe, I'll never forgive him." Lina gave Rhett a playful punch on the arm. "It really was my fault this time. I'll be more careful at business meetings from now on." The day before, Rhett and I had attended a banquet. The host, the Matteo Family, was a business rival of the Raines Family. Though the two Families hadn't openly clashed, I had kept my guard up. When a waiter brought Rhett a glass of champagne, I took a sip first to test it for poison. The champagne was poisoned. I coughed up blood and passed out on the spot. I later heard the banquet had descended into chaos. The Matteo Family swore they hadn't poisoned anyone. But Rhett was the first to draw his gun. He shot the Matteo Family's underboss dead. A firefight erupted, and the Raines Family slaughtered the Matteos. Once I was out of danger, Rhett held me close. "Vera, I'll never let anyone hurt you again." Yet that very morning, he had married Lina. Then he had the nerve to bring me their wedding bouquet. As soon as they noticed me looking at their intertwined hands, Rhett let go of Lina. Lina froze for a moment, then forced a smile. "You two got married, didn't you?" I was tired of watching them put on a show. Rhett was the man I loved, but I wasn't the type to cling to a relationship once it was over. If he had truly fallen for Lina and told me the truth, I would have given them my blessing. Lina was my best friend, after all. She was one of our maids' daughters. We had grown up together, and she was like family to me. But instead of telling me, they chose to hide it. Rhett kept his composure and gave a weary sigh. "Don't be ridiculous." "Yeah, Vera, what are you even talking about?" Lina tugged nervously at Rhett's sleeve, trying to act calm. They were really going to keep lying to my face. "You've been sneaking around behind my back all this time. Was that fun for you two?" I pulled up their wedding video on my phone. Both Rhett and Lina went pale. "Who sent you that?" Rhett demanded. His first instinct was to question me. I didn't answer. I just watched their faces. The tension was unbearable. Lina was the first to break the silence. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. "I'm sorry, Vera. But Rhett and I are truly in love. "You love Rhett too, so you understand how I feel, right?" Rhett pulled Lina into his arms and gently wiped away her tears. "Vera, you scared her. "We were going to tell you after you were discharged. Lina was worried the news would set back your recovery." I let out a bitter scoff. "I was your fiancée. Why was she the one you married?" "It was my idea." My father pushed the door open, his expression stern. "Becoming Don means putting your life on the line. Lina is too gentle and fragile for that. She never would've survived. But you could." I stared at my father in shock. So that had been his plan all along. He had arranged my engagement to Rhett so I could help him become Don and take down his rivals. Once I had done all the hard work, he let Lina marry Rhett and take the place I had risked my life for. "You knew all along. Or rather, you helped plan the whole thing, didn't you?" I looked at Rhett and fought to keep my tears from falling. Rhett said nothing, his jaw tight. His silence said everything. Lina held the bridal bouquet out to me. "Vera, I still hope you'll give us your blessing. "This is the bridal bouquet from the wedding. I brought it just for you. Remember our promise? Whoever got married first would pass the bouquet to the other." Lina's face was the picture of concern, but she kept pushing the bouquet toward me. I'd had enough. I knocked the bouquet out of her hands. Lina stumbled and fell to the floor. Rhett rushed to help her up. Then he turned on me, his face filled with anger. "Vera! I don't care how angry you are. You had no right to push her! She's pregnant. She's fragile!" Chapter 2 Lina was already pregnant! My heart twisted. But that wasn't the only thing eating at me. "The champagne wasn't poisoned by them, was it? You were the one who spiked it." I stared at Rhett. The idea that the Matteo Family would openly poison a drink at its own banquet was too ridiculous to believe. The only explanation was that Rhett had staged the whole thing so he could wipe them out once and for all. He knew I always tasted his drinks first. All he had to do was spike the champagne, let me drink it, blame the Matteo Family, and open fire. "Yes. You know me well enough to understand why I had to do it. A surprise attack was the only way to take them down for good. And it worked. "Don't worry, though. The dose wasn't lethal. I kept it small." Rhett admitted what he had done without hesitation. "And the wedding? How did you get the Elders to agree?" "The Elders were against it, but Lina's pregnant. And besides, you signed the consent form yourself." My heart skipped a beat. I had trusted Rhett, so whenever he handed me stacks of documents, I signed without a second glance. I had never imagined he had slipped a consent form for his marriage to Lina into the pile. Everything I had believed was love had actually been Rhett's manipulation. I'd had enough. In one furious sweep, I knocked everything off the table. "Get out! All of you, get out!" Rhett shielded Lina and ushered her out of the room. My father stayed behind, his face tight with exasperation. "You need to be smarter about this. Think about where you stand. We rely on the Raines Family now. If Rhett decides he's done with you, things will not end well for you. Use your head." With that, he turned and left. That night, I was still weak from the poison, and everything I'd learned pushed me over the edge. My fever shot up. Through the haze, I heard the doctor's nervous voice. "Don Raines, Ms. Rossini has a high fever. She keeps calling for you. Would you like to see her?" "Lina's home alone and she's scared. I need to get back. Vera's been through worse. She can handle it." I'd been beaten protecting Rhett from assassins. My right leg had been shattered, and I had been shot in the left shoulder. Those old injuries still ached. He used to sit by my bedside day and night. Now he said I could handle it on my own. Tears slid silently onto my pillow, and I let myself sink into the darkness. When I woke the next morning, Rhett was gone. His right-hand man was the only one there, along with several boxes of supplements Rhett had sent. "Ms. Rossini, you're awake. The doctor cleared you for discharge. The Don asked me to take you home." By the time I got home, I could barely stand. I forced myself upstairs, only to find my bedroom locked. "Who told you to lock my room? Open it. Now." I stopped a maid passing by. She lowered her head before answering. "Ms. Rossini, this is Mrs. Raines's room now. "Those were Don Rossini's orders." My father had even given my room to Lina! "I'm sorry, Vera. I'll be staying here from time to time. You know I'm carrying Rhett's baby. I need a large room with plenty of sunlight. "Father insisted on giving me your room. It wasn't my idea." Lina stroked her still-flat belly and put on an innocent expression. "He's my father!" I shot back. Then something on her chest caught my eye. She was wearing the brooch my mother had made for me before she died! It was the keepsake my mother had left me! "How dare you wear my brooch! Give it back!" I lunged for it, but my father stepped between us and shoved me back. "Vera! Is this any way for a Rossini to behave? You're an embarrassment!" "That's my brooch! She has no right to touch my things!" My father calmly adjusted his collar. "She has every right. She's my daughter too. That makes her just as much a Rossini as you are." Chapter 3 Lina was my father's illegitimate daughter! She was my father's child by another woman, and he had secretly raised her in a villa on the outskirts of the city. Every so often, he brought Lina to our house and told everyone she was a maid's daughter. That gave her an excuse to spend time with me. He'd been trying to make us close all along. "Lina is family. She's your little sister. I expect you two to get along. "Vera, don't make this difficult for me." I looked at him with disgust. My mother had loved him with all her heart. How could he have done this to her? "I'll never accept that bastard! Why should the child you had with the other woman stand equal to me?" "Watch your mouth!" My father slapped me across the face. "Lock her in the cellar! She can come out when she's learned her lesson!" At his order, two bodyguards grabbed me and dragged me down to the cellar. As the eldest daughter of the Rossini Family, I had only ever been the one who put people in this cellar. Now I was the one behind the locked door. Later, Rhett came down with some medicine. I turned my head away and ignored him. He didn't care. He reached over and rubbed ointment onto my swollen cheek. "Why did you talk back to your father? Does your face still hurt?" When I refused to answer, he continued. "I'm married to Lina now. That ring belongs to the Donna, so I need you to give it back." I stared at him in disbelief. I looked down at the ring on my finger. Rhett had bought the pink diamond at an auction shortly after we got engaged, paying a fortune for it. Then he'd spent three months looking for the right designer. It took another year before the ring was finally finished. Our names were engraved inside the band. At our engagement party, Rhett had surprised everyone by slipping it onto my finger early. In front of everyone, he swore that he and the ring would belong to me and no one else. Now he was taking that promise back with his own hands. "Our Families need this ring to seal the alliance. It's time you accepted the truth. Your father chose Lina over you." So that was it. The ring had only ever been a bargaining chip for the resources and connections behind me. Every moment from the very beginning had been calculated. I'd worn the ring for three years, and it had left a pale mark around my finger. It took effort to wrench the ring off. The moment it came free, I threw it at him. "Get out. Don't ever come near me again." Rhett picked up the ring. He didn't even flinch. He just looked at me like a spoiled child throwing a fit. On my father's orders, the servants brought me no food or water all day. I tried to ignore my hunger, but then the cellar door opened and Lina walked in. She was carrying a pitcher of water and a few pieces of bread. Her face was all smug cruelty. "Well, well, Vera. Look how far you've fallen. "You always acted so high and mighty, looking down on me. We're both our father's daughters! Why did you get to be the Rossini princess while I had to pretend to be the maid's kid? "You got the name, the money, the power. I had to scrounge for your leftovers like a stray dog, and you acted like every scrap was some great favor!" I'd always known Lina was sensitive about the difference between us. That was why I'd made sure she got the same clothes and jewelry as me. I never imagined she'd seen those expensive gifts as an insult. "But tonight, Dad is going to announce who I really am in front of everyone at the banquet and bring me into the Family. "And Rhett will tell everyone that I'm the true Donna of the Raines Family! "Haha! Look at you now, Vera. How pathetic. After everything you did for them, you can't even get a meal." Lina held out her hand and flaunted the ring on her finger. My ring. Rhett had taken it from me only hours ago. Then Lina tipped the pitcher over my head. She dropped the bread at my feet and ground it beneath her heel. "Vera, get down on your knees and lick the water off the floor like a dog. Do that, and I'll ask Dad to let you out." Chapter 4 Lina emptied the entire pitcher over me. My soaked clothes clung to my skin. The cold draft in the cellar made me shiver uncontrollably. "You—!" I snatched the pitcher from her, ready to smash it over her head. But mid-swing, I forced myself to change the angle and slammed the pitcher into the wall instead. Glass shattered, scattering shards across the floor. The cellar had security cameras. Everything Lina had done was meant to provoke me so Wyatt and Rhett would hate me even more. If I actually hurt her, I would only be digging my own grave. Sure enough, I caught the look of disbelief on Lina's face. She had expected me to crack her skull open. But she recovered quickly and threw herself to the ground, pretending to be terrified. Her head struck the floor, and her hand landed on the broken glass. Blood ran from her scalp and her palm. Before I could even react, my father burst in and kicked me across the room. "Vera! Lina came down here with food to make peace, and this is what you do to her! "I thought that after all these years of privilege, you'd feel guilty about how Lina was treated. Instead, you're vicious to the core! "This is what I get for spoiling you!" Rhett came rushing in after hearing the noise. The instant he saw Lina on the ground, his expression changed. He scooped Lina up and glared at me, his face dark with fury. "If anything happens to Lina or the baby, I'll make you pay." He rushed out with Lina in his arms. My father hurried after them, his face tight with worry. I lay where I had been kicked. Shards of glass were embedded in my left leg, blood pooled beneath me, and my palm was badly scraped. The pain was blinding. Gritting my teeth, I pulled the glass from my leg one piece at a time, then tore strips from my clothes to bind the wounds. The agony had me drenched in sweat. I worked slowly. By the time I'd finished bandaging myself, Rhett reappeared. "Lina's fine. I checked the security footage. You're both to blame. "Lina's already apologized. She's pregnant, and your father favors her. For the sake of the alliance, I can't punish her. "As for you, your father wanted to keep you locked up for a month. "But I put in a good word for you. You can leave now." I had been ignoring Rhett, but I needed to get out. Someone was coming for me tonight. Rhett would have conditions, though. He and my father would never let me go for nothing. At my signal, Rhett continued. "Tonight we're publicly announcing Lina as the adopted daughter of a distant relative. I need you at the banquet to back up the story." I raised an eyebrow. "Why?" "If word gets out that Lina is illegitimate, it'll be a scandal. My family would never accept an illegitimate daughter as the Donna. "You need to guarantee you'll never reveal Lina's real identity. If you do, I'll cut off every resource you have." Three years together, and now he was threatening me. "Do you even remember what today is? It's my birthday." Rhett froze. A flicker of pity crossed his eyes. "After the banquet, I'll throw you a small birthday party. But the banquet is non-negotiable." His tone left no room for argument. I gritted my teeth and agreed. "I'll make it up to you later. Go get your wounds treated. See you tonight." Rhett left. I found a doctor, had my injuries treated, and packed a few belongings. Outside the house, I found the car I'd been expecting. I got in and left without looking back. That evening, the banquet began. "Rhett, I'm a little scared." Lina held his hand. "Relax. I've taken care of everything. It'll be fine." Rhett sounded distracted as he said it. "Rhett? Rhett?" Lina called his name several times before he finally looked at her and asked what was wrong. "Dad's about to introduce me. Let's go." Lina took Rhett's hand and led him toward the stage, but his feet felt like lead. His gaze swept the room, but the person he was searching for never appeared. The unease in his chest grew heavier. To Lina's surprise, Rhett suddenly pulled his hand away and called one of his men over. "Find out whether Vera came to the banquet." The man returned quickly with an update. "Don Raines, street cameras show that Ms. Rossini left in a black car at six this evening. She never came to the ballroom." He hesitated, visibly nervous, before adding. "The car appears to belong to the Valentino Family." At that moment, another man rushed in and handed Rhett a wedding invitation. The Valentino Family crest was stamped across the front.