Follow
Chapters
Share
Discarded Mafia Bride: My Empire Rises Novel Cover

Discarded Mafia Bride: My Empire Rises

I woke from a five-year coma not to the faces of my family, but to my own death certificate. It was signed by my parents and my fiancé, Dante Moretti, the most ruthless Don in our world. He had sworn on his father's grave to wait for me. Instead, he replaced me with Sienna—the very woman who put me in that hospital bed. My own son, Luca, looked at me with cold, unfamiliar eyes. "You're not my mother," he sneered, hiding behind the woman who wore my face. My parents rushed to shield her, not me. "You must understand the bigger picture," my father said. "We did what was necessary for the Famiglia." But the final betrayal came after Sienna pushed me off a bridge and needed a blood transfusion. My own parents signed the consent form to use my blood, and my fiancé gave the order. "Save her," he snarled. The nurse told me they were ordered to "discard the blood bag after use." As if I were trash. I walked out of that hospital, a ghost in my own life. I took the new identity my old professor offered and vanished. This time, I wouldn't be Elara Bianchi, the tragic fiancée. I would build an empire of my own.
Chapters
Share

Chapter 5

Elara POV:

Luca scoffed, his little face a mask of contempt. "Good. I hope you really leave this time." He turned and ran from the room, leaving me standing there, dripping in red paint.

I stood under the shower, scrubbing at my skin with a rough cloth until it was raw and close to bleeding, but I couldn't wash away the stain. I couldn't wash away the memory of my son's hatred; it felt seeped into my bones.

The next day, the city's filthiest tabloid splashed a video across its digital front page. Grainy footage of a car rocking in a darkened parking garage. The headline screamed: "Mysterious Tycoon's All-Night Tryst." The implication was clear. It was me and Dante. Another lie to protect his precious Sienna.

I emerged from my room to find Sienna kneeling at my door, her shoulders shaking with manufactured sobs. Dante stood over her, his expression grim.

"I've already punished her for it," he said, his words meant to soothe me. They only made me feel sick.

I walked past them without a word. He followed, grabbing my arm. "Let me make it up to you," he murmured, his voice a low promise.

He took me to an illegal street race on the outskirts of the city. The air thrummed with the roar of engines and the shouts of the underworld's elite. Dante, dressed in a sleek black racing suit, gave an interview to a rogue reporter, mentioning his "wife" in every other sentence, painting a picture of a man devoted. A bitter memory surfaced of a time when that devotion had been real, when his love for me was the only truth in our violent world.

He dominated the race, his skill undeniable. But on the final lap, he suddenly slowed, allowing another driver to take first place. He came to me, his voice a low apology. "I'm sorry I didn't win the grand prize for you."

"What was the prize?" I asked, a cold certainty already settling in my stomach.

"Something worthless. I had them throw it away," he said.

Just then, I saw her. Sienna, standing near the prize table, discreetly placing a ruby necklace into the winner's collection. My breath caught. It wasn't just any necklace. It was the 'Crimson Tear,' the famed companion to 'The Heart of the City.' It was all a setup. He'd thrown the race for her.

"It's okay," I said, my voice strained, the lie catching in my throat. "As long as you're safe. I didn't need it anyway."

The betrayal coiled in my gut, twisting into a sharp, reckless need to make him see me, to feel something real. An impulse took hold. "I want to race."

Dante hesitated for a fraction of a second, then a slow, predatory smile spread across his face. He helped me into a car, his hands lingering on my waist.

He went to confront Sienna, his voice low and angry-not for the setup, but for bringing Luca to such a dangerous place. Luca, of course, defended her. Dante relented, as he always did for her.

The race began. The world became a blur of speed and noise. On a sharp, hairpin turn, it happened. A car slammed into my side with brutal force. Through the chaos, I saw the driver. It was Sienna.

My car flipped, rolling over and over until it came to a screeching halt, upside down. Dazed, my head throbbing, I saw her car through the shattered windshield. She wasn't getting out. She wasn't checking to see if I was okay. She was reversing.

She floored the gas, ramming my car head-on.

My head slammed against the steering wheel. The world began to fade to black. But before the darkness took me completely, I saw two figures running across the track.

It was Dante and Luca. And they were running. Not to me. To her.

Keep Watching!
The story is getting intense! Switch to App to continue reading
Unlock All Episodes
Search for “KZUQ” on moboreader to read the full book.
Copy the code and search in the NovelShort app to continue reading.
KZUQ
copy
Open the Official Website

You may also like

Claimed By The Ruthless Dark Mafia Don Novel Cover
8.6
I was the untouchable Mafia Queen, but my reign ended in the blood-soaked depths of a damp dungeon. My half-sister, Kelsey, drove a rusted, sharpened spoon into my chest, screaming about the unfairness of fate. In my past life, my father sold me to the ruthless Don Dante Blackwell as collateral to pay off his debts. To survive, I took a black-market fertility drug, birthed his heir, and clawed my way to the throne through sheer ruthlessness. But in the mafia world, a pregnant woman isn't a queen; she's a walking target. I survived countless bombings and poisonings, only to be betrayed and slaughtered by my own family. Until my last breath, I couldn't understand. I had sacrificed everything to secure our survival in the empire. Why did my blood and tears only earn me a rusted spoon to the heart? Opening my eyes again, I am seventeen, sitting in my father's drawing room. Two black velvet boxes sit on the mahogany table. Kelsey greedily snatches the box containing the fertility drug, her eyes gleaming with feverish triumph. "I'll take this one, Papa." She thinks she is stealing my golden ticket to the crown, completely unaware that she just chose a death sentence. I lower my gaze, letting my eyelashes mask the cold, lethal amusement pooling in my eyes as I take the remaining box. Inside is the detailed psychological profile of the Don's dead fiancée. This time, I won't be a breeding mare fighting off assassins. I will dissect the devil himself.
Secretly Cherished: From Forgotten Bride To The Mafia Boss's Queen Novel Cover
8.2
After three years of marriage, Ashley had only seen her so-called husband twice. The first was for their marriage registration, just before she left for her overseas studies, barely exchanging a handful of words. The second was at the chaotic scene of a car accident-she saved the injured underworld boss, never realizing he was her legal husband beneath the blood and confusion. As his personal doctor, Ashley kept hearing stories about his unwavering devotion and extravagant gifts to his beloved wife, never suspecting she was that woman. On divorce day, everything changed forever. She was shocked to discover that her aloof boss was actually her husband!
He Traded A Diamond For Cheap Glass Novel Cover
9.6
I was the "Ice Queen," the perfect Mafia wife who managed the De Luca empire's millions while my husband, Alessandro, played the part of the feared Underboss. I thought my silence and competence earned me respect. That was until I woke up in the estate's medical bay with a shattered leg. My saddle had snapped mid-jump. It wasn't wear and tear; it was sabotage. Lying in the dark, feigning sleep, I heard Alessandro whispering outside my door with his enforcer. "The buckle was filed down," the enforcer said urgently. "Aria tampered with it. She could have broken her neck." I waited for Alessandro’s rage. I waited for him to execute the mistress who tried to kill his wife. Instead, his voice was cold and dismissive. "Bury it," Alessandro ordered. "It’s just a broken leg. Aria was upset about the credit cards. She just wanted to teach Katarina a lesson." A lesson. My husband wasn't just cheating on me; he was protecting the woman who tried to cripple me. Three days later, at the Family Charity Gala, he humiliated me publicly. He outbid me for my grandmother's heirloom necklace and clasped it around Aria's neck while I watched from my wheelchair. He thought I was broken. He thought I was just a piece of furniture to be rearranged. He didn't know I had bugged the entire villa while I was recovering. He didn't know I had the recordings of what Aria was really doing when he wasn't looking. I gripped the USB drive in my pocket and signaled the tech team to lock the doors. The statue was broken, but he was about to learn that shattered ice is sharp enough to slit a throat.
The Beast Redemption Novel Cover
7.8
After a brutal betrayal leaves him for dead, a powerful mafia heir returns from the shadows to reclaim his stolen throne. Fueled by a cold desire for vengeance, he navigates a world of lethal secrets and shifting loyalties. However, his path crosses with a woman from his past whose presence threatens to soften his hardened heart. In this dangerous game of power and passion, he must decide if love is a weakness or his ultimate salvation.
The Betrayed Princess's New Reign Novel Cover
7.6
I was the Chicago Outfit's princess, and Luca and Matteo were my sworn protectors. We had mixed our blood at ten years old, promising that nothing would ever touch me. But that oath turned to ash the night Sofia Ricci aimed a Roman candle at my chest. The firework slammed into my shoulder, igniting my silk dress instantly. As I rolled on the concrete, screaming while the flames ate into my skin, I waited for my boys to save me. They didn't. Instead, I watched through the smoke as they rushed to Sofia. They wrapped their jackets—the ones meant to shield me—around the girl who had just set me on fire, comforting her because the "kickback" had scared her. They let me burn to keep her warm. When I woke up in the hospital with permanent scars, they brought me a letter of apology from her and defended her "accident." They even cut their palms to pay her debt, ignoring the fact that I was the one in bandages. That was the moment Elena Vitiello died. I didn't scream. I didn't beg. I simply packed my bags and defected to the one place they couldn't follow: the arms of Dante Moretti, the lethal Capo of New York. By the time they realized their mistake and came crawling back to beg in the rain, I was already wearing another man's ring. "You want forgiveness?" I asked, looking down at them. "Burn for it."
The Capo's Regret: The Curse Was A Lie Novel Cover
9.4
For fifteen years, my husband Bennett refused to let me get pregnant. "My blood is a curse, Kelsey," he would say, gripping my hand with terrified intensity. "It kills the women who carry it. I won't risk you." I believed him. I mourned the children we never had just to stay alive for him. Then he brought Aria home. He claimed she was a distant cousin in trouble. But from the shadows of the ballroom, I watched him caress her swollen belly with a tenderness he never showed me. When I confronted him, the mask fell. "You provide the image, Kelsey," he said coldly. "She provides the bloodline. Do not make a scene." To teach me a lesson in obedience, my horse's reins were sabotaged. I woke up in the hospital with a fractured leg, only to learn he had ignored my emergency calls to hold Aria’s hand during a routine ultrasound. Lying in that sterile bed, the truth hit me harder than the fall. There was no curse. He had medically gaslighted me for a decade, stealing my fertility with a lie, just to replace me with a mistress he called "cousin." He thought he had broken me. He thought I would fade quietly into the east wing. Instead, I wiped my tears and planted listening devices in his office. He wanted a legacy? I boarded a train to Paris, leaving behind a bomb that would burn his entire world to ash.