Revenge Bride of the Disabled Don

The crippled Don of Chicago demanded a bride from the Kovalenko family.

To secure a vital business alliance, my parents decided I would be the sacrifice, as they couldn't bear to send their precious adopted daughter, Sophia.

In my past life, I refused and fled. Sophia was forced to marry him instead.

Her subsequent affair and suicide brought disgrace upon our family and utterly destroyed our business.

I begged my fiancé, Marcus, to save us, but he only sneered:

“I spent a fortune to bring you all down. If you hadn't forced Sophia to marry that cripple, she wouldn't be dead!”

He threw me to his enemies himself, watching as I was tortured to death.

Only then did I realize: in everyone's heart, there was only Sophia.

Reborn, I volunteered to marry into the Chicago family.

But when I wore the matriarch's crown and stood at the pinnacle of power, they were all driven mad with regret...

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1

Seven years ago, Dante Torrino, the Don of Chicago's Torrino family, was ambushed. He barely escaped with his life but has been confined to a wheelchair ever since.

Yet, when it came time to choose a wife, his long, slender fingers clutched the photograph of a Kovalenko daughter.

The Don gave the order: he would marry the Kovalenko daughter.

The news spread like wildfire through Chicago's underworld, and the heiresses of every family were waiting to watch Sophia become a laughingstock.

After all, everyone knew the Kovalenko family had only one doted-upon daughter: Sophia.

My parents were frantic.

As one of the most powerful families in the Ukrainian Bratva, they were used to giving orders, not taking them, but their entire expansion into the Chicago port system depended on this alliance.

They couldn't bear to let the apple of their eye marry a cripple, even if that man was the Don who controlled Chicago's entire underworld.

I gazed at my own youthful face in the mirror and silently counted down in my head.

Three, two, one...

The door was kicked open, and my brother, Viktor Kovalenko, was the first to burst in.

"Katya! You're the one with Kovalenko blood. This marriage should rightfully be yours. Why should Sophia have to marry that cripple?"

"Whether you like it or not, the Torrinos are coming for their bride in a week, and you will be the one to marry in Sophia's place!"

My parents were right behind him.

Judging by the anxious looks on their faces, they must have just rushed over from Sophia's room.

An hour ago, the house was in an uproar. Our old housekeeper, Elena, secretly told me that Sophia had sworn she would die before she married, smashing everything in her room.

My parents were scared out of their wits, and it took all their pleading and coaxing to finally calm her down.

They couldn't bear to force Sophia, so they came to pressure me instead.

But I am their only biological daughter!

I met Viktor's hate-filled gaze without flinching. "Brother, have you forgotten? Ten years ago, in front of all his men, Dad threw me out of the house himself and disowned me."

"He said he would only ever acknowledge Sophia as his daughter and that the Kovalenko family had only one heiress—her!"

"The Torrinos specifically want to marry a daughter of the Kovalenko family. If I, a disowned daughter, marry him, aren't you afraid of angering their Don and bringing ruin upon our entire family in Chicago?"

Sophia is not my mother's flesh and blood, yet she has usurped all her affection. Ten years ago, my mother was kidnapped by a rival family.

Our Moldovan maid took a bullet for her, dying on the spot and leaving behind a young daughter.

My mother, eternally grateful for the sacrifice, kept the girl by her side and personally raised her.

She not only gave her the Kovalenko surname and added her name to the family register, but she also gradually grew distant from me.

Sophia was charming and vivacious, and with my mother's doting, her status in the family soon surpassed mine, that of the trueborn daughter.

Being young, I couldn't hide my feelings and warned her not to forget her place.

But she showed no fear. Instead, she provoked me brazenly, and just as I lost my temper and pushed her, she stumbled sideways and fell into the ice-cold swimming pool.

Without a second thought, my mother dove in like a madwoman and pulled her out.

Sophia's little face was deathly pale from the cold. She timidly tugged on my mother's sleeve, whimpering, "Madam, I… I just missed my own mother so much, I accidentally called you Mom. Miss Katya, she… she wants me dead…"

My mother’s heart ached for her. "You silly child," she cooed, "from now on, just call me Mom!"

Then she turned to me, her eyes brimming with disappointment. "How could you be so cruel? Sometimes, I truly doubt you are my own flesh and blood!"

Watching them in their tight embrace, my heart felt as though a dull blade was slicing through it, inch by inch, the pain so sharp I couldn't breathe.

She wouldn’t even listen to a single word of my explanation. She just let my father lock me in the basement and then personally had my name struck from the family records.

Overnight, I became the only outsider in this family, while Sophia became the treasure of my parents' hearts.

They doted on her like that for ten years. Even my hot-tempered brother, Viktor, was completely disarmed by her.

In my past life, they had forced me to marry in Sophia’s place just like this.

Their cruelty shattered my heart, and I stormed out of the house that very night, only to find I couldn't escape my fate of being ruined by Sophia.

This time, I won't let my emotions get the better of me.

“If I recall correctly, the Kovalenko family’s next crucial shipment has to go through the Torrino family’s docks. Can you afford the consequences if they get angry?”

My reminder finally gave them pause. My parents hesitated for a long time, not knowing what to say.

Viktor scoffed, “Are you blaming Mom for neglecting you?”

“Katya, how could I have such a petty sister like you... Compared to Sophia, you really don't seem like a Kovalenko!” In the past, his words would have broken my heart, but now, I no longer cared.

I knew this was the beginning of my revenge, and my chance to escape this hypocritical family.

A smirk played on my lips as I nodded respectfully toward my parents.

"Father, Mother, I am willing to marry that cripple from the Torrino family."