A Bullet for the Don's Protection

After saying those words, I couldn't hold on any longer. My consciousness began to fray at the edges.

The private doctor’s voice was urgent in my ear. "Mrs. Gallo, stay with me," he pleaded, wiping sweat from his brow. "Don't close your eyes. If you fall asleep now, you won't wake up. Think about your husband, your child! They're waiting for you!"

The Don leaned in, his voice a low growl. "He's right. You saved my life. When you recover, the Costello family will be under the permanent protection of the Valeriano family. Your child, whether a boy or a girl, will want for nothing. Just hold on. I've already sent for Ethan."

Hearing this, I managed a weak, bitter smile.

I wasn't a fool. The moment I decided to take a bullet for the Don, I knew my baby was lost.

As for Ethan, he would never come.

Sure enough, Sal, the bodyguard the Don had sent, rushed back alone. He dropped to his knees with a thud, his eyes fixed on the floor.

The Don’s brow furrowed, his anger a palpable force in the room. "Where is Ethan?!"

Sal’s voice trembled. "Mr. Gallo refuses to come, Don. He said… he said you shouldn't use cheap tricks to get his attention."

I knew Ethan's real words must have been far harsher. Sal was just softening the blow for the Don's sake. In Ethan's eyes, I wasn't worth a single tear from Cassandra.

But I was his wife. Cassandra was just his mistress. He had abandoned his Don to chase after her.

I had practically begged on my knees for that emergency pager before leaving. In my last life, I pressed it, and he damned me for being ambitious. In this one, the Don himself summoned him, and he still refused.

If he loved Cassandra so much, why did he marry me?

A surge of rage and grief seized my chest, and I coughed up another mouthful of blood.

The doctor glanced at the Don, his face etched with worry. "Don, her emotional state is too volatile. If she doesn't have family by her side at a time like this… I fear she won't pull through."

The Don glanced at me, his fury momentarily suppressed. He ripped the heavy gold ring, the symbol of his power, from his finger and hurled it at Sal.

He roared, "Tell him it's an order. If he doesn't show his face, he will disappear from this city. Permanently."

The Don was truly enraged. For a man of his stature, this was the ultimate humiliation.

My condition was too critical to be moved, so we waited there for the life-saving medicine to arrive.

This time, Sal did not return alone.

I struggled to open my eyes and saw a face I knew all too well from my past life—Cassandra's loyal follower, Bianca.

Bianca had once been my maid. But during my pregnancy, she had poisoned my drink. By the time I realized it, I was on the verge of death.

I had refused to let it go and was about to deal with her myself when Ethan had walked in with Cassandra on his arm.

Cassandra sobbed, looking at me with pity. "Ingrid, how can you be so cruel? You didn't die, did you? Why take a maid's life? Ethan, give her to me. I may not have any status, but at least I can save one person's life."