Out of His Reach

Five years after our breakup, I saw my ex-fiancé, Nico Luciano, showing off his newborn on social media. The next day, he cornered me at a private club and slid a black card across the table. “Lena, Sophia finally had a boy, the heir to the Luciano family. Now I can marry you.” He tried to soften his tone. “Having been widowed to my late brother for five years, she just wanted a child to care for her. I had no choice after the first two were girls. “Thank you for waiting these extra two years. The wedding is set for next Monday, and the invitations are ready.” What he didn’t know was that I was already married. I am now the lawful wife of Vincent Moretti, the don of the North Alumcian Mafia Commission, and a core decision-maker of the Moretti family’s financial empire. Watching Nico’s confident smile, I sent a message to my underboss. “Notify the elders of the five major mafia families. Next Monday, I’m removing the Luciano family from power.” Then I looked up and smiled at him. “Marry me? Save your own career first.” Chapter 1 “Even if the family’s territory and business shrink this year, you won’t starve.” Nico let out a mocking laugh and slapped a printed guest list onto the table. “This is the wedding guest list I drafted. Take a look and see if there’s anyone else you want to invite.” The invitation template had been downloaded online. Even my name was misspelled. I sneered inwardly. “I’m doing just fine now. You don’t need to concern yourself, Don Nico.” “Lena, stop pretending.” The sarcasm on Nico’s face deepened. “Everyone knows that five years ago, the Sorrentino family was wiped out and pushed out of the mafia circle. You were like a stray dog, unable to lift your head. “If I hadn’t shown some mercy, would you have had the chance to run off to Nassau and survive?” I looked coldly at the man in front of me. “By mercy, do you mean announcing at my wedding that you’d take responsibility for your pregnant widowed sister-in-law and turning me, the bride, into the laughingstock of New Haven?” Five years ago, at my wedding to Nico, his widowed sister-in-law, Sophia, arrived with a pregnancy report. My father, the don of the Sorrentino family, suffered a heart attack on the spot and died despite rescue efforts. My mother, unable to bear the grief, shot herself. The Sorrentino family was carved up by rival families overnight. All territory was lost. I became a target of scorn and fled to Nassau that same night. Nico’s expression darkened. He stood up abruptly. “Lena, when did you become so aggressive and petty? “Sophia was carrying my child. As a man, should I not take responsibility? “She’s understanding. She endured everything without complaint. Do you know how much she has given to the Luciano family all these years? Why can’t you learn from her tolerance and kindness?” I let out a cold laugh. “She was wronged, so I deserved to be abandoned at my own wedding? The Sorrentino family deserved to be destroyed?” Nico raised his voice to force me to give in. “That wasn’t abandonment! It was a temporary solution! “I told you back then that once Sophia gave birth to a son and had someone to rely on, I would cut ties with her and marry you! “You were the one who was narrow-minded and refused to accept it. You insisted on breaking off the engagement and leaving!” He took a deep breath, his tone shifting to play the bigger person. “Alright. What’s done is done. Ask yourself. Can you find a better future than I? “You’re not young anymore. Stop playing these childish games!” “Nico, what makes you think I have to cling to the Luciano family?” I looked at him. “What makes you think I couldn’t already be married?” Nico leaned on the table, looking down at me with contempt. “With the Sorrentino family in its current state, which mafia family in New Haven would take you? “You may have polished yourself in Nassau, but to real families like ours, you’re nothing. “All these years, climbing upward, wasn’t it to prove something to me? To get my attention?” As if to prove his point, he took out his phone and held it before me. On the screen was my social media profile. The bio had five words: Waiting for a dawn. Nico smiled like a victor. “Waiting five years, what else could it be? You’re clearly waiting for me to change my mind, to give you that ‘dawn.’ “Lena, admit it. You can’t forget me. Everything you’ve done was for me to see.” That line was a matching phrase I shared with my husband, Vincent, and Nico just had to twist it into something else. I picked up my phone and adjusted the Luciano family’s partnership risk rating from B+ to C-. As the person in charge of the Luciano family’s M&A financing projects, I had the authority to reassess partners and cut off funding. “Don Nico, my dawn doesn’t need you to plan it.” Chapter 2 Nico kept talking. “Lena, stop saying things out of spite. You came to see me right after returning to New Haven. Doesn’t that mean you’ve been thinking about me all along? “Don’t worry. Sophia is understanding. She even said you could be our son’s godmother. You get a family heir as a son for free, and you’re still unhappy?” I didn’t bother responding and turned to leave. He chased after me and tossed a black card into my car. “Lena, just wait obediently to become my bride. I’ll make it up to you with a wedding of the century!” In the car, the underboss picked up the black card and looked at me hesitantly. “Donate it to a women and children’s shelter foundation. Make a copy of the receipt and send it to the Luciano family headquarters,” I said. “Also, suspend the Luciano family’s financing.” The next day, I didn’t return to the hotel until evening. The moment I stepped into the lobby, noise rushed toward me. Nico had reserved the entire atrium for a lavish banquet. A huge banner read: Welcome to the world, Luciano family heir. This hotel was a top-tier property under the Gambino family, the leading mafia family. I tried to go around through the side entrance, but a familiar voice called out from behind me. “Lena, I knew you’d follow me like you always do!” Seeing everyone’s attention turn toward us, Nico stepped closer and lowered his voice. “I know you’re upset, but today is an important day to announce the Luciano family heir. Be sensible. Don’t make a scene. “I promised to marry you. Don’t get carried away. I won’t go back on my word.” I almost laughed. Make a scene? Even looking at him felt like a waste of time. “You’re mistaken, Don Nico. I’m staying here.” Nico looked at me as if he’d heard a joke, his gaze sweeping over my clothes with disdain. “Lena, is pretending really that interesting? “This is the most luxurious hotel in New Haven. I even had to book three months in advance to host this banquet. “Leave. You can’t even afford the basement here! “Is it worth spending years of savings just to save face in front of me?” I didn’t want to argue. “I’m staying on the top floor.” Nico burst out laughing. “The top floor? Lena, at least make your lies believable. The presidential suite on the top floor is only open to core members of the Mafia Commission. Money alone won’t get you in. Who do you think you are?!” He didn’t know that when this hotel was on the verge of bankruptcy, I personally drafted its restructuring plan. Once Don Gambino adopted my proposal, he made a fortune. To thank me, he permanently reserved a private suite on the top floor for Vincent and me. At that moment, Sophia walked out holding a child. Dressed in jewels, she wore the smile of a victor and leaned affectionately into Nico’s arms. “Lena, you’re here? Come, take a look. This is my son, the future don of the Luciano family. Doesn’t he look just like Nico?” When I didn’t respond, she smiled again. “Lena, it’s not easy struggling on your own. Since you’re back, why not move into the Luciano family estate?” Nico looked at Sophia with approval, clearly moved by her “generosity”. Sophia continued, “Nico worries that I don’t get enough rest taking care of the baby. The maids are outsiders, and family is more trustworthy. Since we’re practically family now, you can help take care of the baby at night. Nico and I would feel at ease.” Nico seemed to find the suggestion excellent and nodded repeatedly. “That’s a good idea! To avoid dividing family resources in the future, before you marry me, you should undergo sterilization. You can take care of the child and build a bond in advance. When you’re old, you’ll have something to rely on.” Looking at the two of them, my anger reached its peak, then settled into calm. I directly called the hotel manager. “Ms. Sorrentino, how may I assist you?” “I’m in the hotel atrium and have run into a small issue. I need to return to the top-floor suite.” In less than thirty seconds, four uniformed security personnel and two white-gloved private butlers hurried over and bowed in unison. “Donna Lena, apologies for the wait. Please follow us upstairs.” Chapter 3 The entire banquet hall fell silent. The mockery and laughter from moments ago stopped abruptly. I looked at Nico’s stunned face and Sophia’s eyes filled with jealousy, and spoke calmly. “Nico, taking care of a child is something you should handle yourself. My time is billed by the second.” Surrounded by security and the butlers, I walked straight toward the private elevator to the top floor without another look at them. Back in the top-floor suite, I stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows as the underboss sent an encrypted message. [Ms. Lena, the black card has been handled as instructed. The new assessment report for the Luciano family is complete. Risk level adjustment to C is recommended, with detailed notes attached.] The next day, when I went downstairs, people pointed and looked at me strangely. Sophia, carrying a luxury handbag, stopped in front of me arrogantly. “Isn’t this the aloof Ms. Sorrentino? Wasn’t it enough to be someone’s kept woman? You had to come out and embarrass yourself?” At first, I didn’t understand what she was talking about. Then, the underboss quietly sent me a link. The title read: [Former New Haven mafia goddess reduced to a plaything who slept her way up.] The post was full of insults, accusing me of climbing the ranks by sleeping with powerful men. It claimed the top-floor suite in the luxury hotel was a gilded cage built by some tycoon to keep me hidden. Rumors spread quickly, severely damaging my professional reputation and family business. Two family partnerships that had already been agreed on were both put on indefinite hold. A week later, I was invited to speak at the North Alumcian Mafia Families Alliance Annual Young Leaders Summit on legal industry transformation and anti-money laundering risk control. I was on stage analyzing global capital trends when the main screen suddenly went black for three seconds, then filled with a flood of my private photos. Some were taken when Nico and I were being intimate. Others were edited images from my meetings with clients. The room erupted. Journalists and young members from various families excitedly took photos of the screen. “So this is a so-called family heiress? She’s worse than a streetwalker.” “How does she still have the nerve to stand on that stage? Maybe everything she knows was taught in bed.” “Didn’t expect her to be this wild. Maybe I should pay for a night and see what the ‘goddess’ is like.” I stood on the stage, as if stripped bare, pushed to the height of humiliation, just like five years ago at my wedding. Nico, sitting in the front row, stood up instinctively. At that moment, the doors of the hall were kicked open. Seven or eight well-dressed women rushed in and started throwing things at me. “Lena! You shameless mistress! Seducing my husband wasn’t enough, and now you dare show your face here?!” “You sl*t! Wasn’t it enough in Nassau? You had to come back to New Haven to steal other people’s husbands, too?” “Look at her! What financial expert? She’s an expert in bed! Who knows how many powerful men she slept with to get where she is?!” The women rushed onto the stage like mad, grabbing my hair and tearing at my clothes. My dress was ripped, my hair was yanked, and my face burned with pain. Flashes from cameras filled the room. No one stepped in, and everyone watched as if it were a show. Nico stepped back, watching coldly as I was surrounded. Only after hotel security barely regained control did he slowly stand, putting on a look of grief. “Lena, I truly misjudged you! Back then, you said you were going to Nassau to pursue your career. I had no choice but to let you go. I didn’t expect you to betray me long ago!” Accusing others of what he himself had done. He was the one who betrayed me for Sophia, destroyed my family. Now he was throwing dirt on me. “Nico, you disgust me!” Although I immediately called the police and presented evidence to prove my innocence, the scandal exploded that night. My phone was flooded with abusive messages. Outside the hotel, white funeral wreaths were piled up. Five years later, I had once again become a target of public hatred. At two in the morning, Nico sent an encrypted message. [I told you long ago you can’t make it without me. It’s not too late to admit your mistake. Lena, I don’t mind that you’ve been with other men. As long as you come obediently to the Luciano estate and be a nanny, I’ll help you settle everything.] At that moment, my husband, Vincent, called from overseas. “Darling, are you alright? I can use all my resources to calm the situation in New Haven down in a second.” I refused immediately. “No need. I’ve waited for this day for five years. I’m going to end this myself.” Chapter 4 After I hung up, the hotel butler brought in an expensive, custom-made wedding dress. “Donna Lena, this was sent up at Don Nico’s request.” I had already blocked Nico’s number, so he called the hotel landline. “The wedding will proceed as planned! I expect you to behave these next few days and stop fooling around. Lena, this is your last chance. Don’t disappoint me!” I didn’t take his words to heart. I worked day and night revising the M&A plan, and privately contacted minority shareholders of the Luciano family to acquire their shares. Two days before the wedding, Sophia stopped me in the hotel lobby. She suddenly dropped to her knees, crying, “Please give my son back! I was wrong. I shouldn’t have taken Nico from you. I’m willing to leave the Luciano family and disappear forever! My son is still so young. If anything happens to him, I won’t live either!” I looked at her coldly. “The hotel is fully monitored. I haven’t even left these past two days. How could I have taken your child?” “Who else could it be if not you?” Sophia screamed hysterically. The onlookers around us raised their phones to record, cursing me as a vicious woman. Nico rushed in, pulled Sophia into his arms, and looked at me with burning anger. “Lena, I didn’t expect you to be this cruel, not even sparing a baby!” “I said it wasn’t me.” He seethed, “If not you, then who? Do you have to drive her to death before you’re satisfied?” I looked at him coldly. “Nico, if you have evidence that I took your child, then call the police. Let them decide.” Hotel security stepped forward and stood in front of me. Nico left with Sophia, furious. That night, I didn’t sleep well. My dreams were filled with scenes of my mother shooting herself, her blood splashing onto me, burning hot. The next day, my nose was congested. When I went to the hospital to get medicine, I ran into Nico. “We found the child. He’s in shock and has a high fever.” He blocked my path. “Lena, if you have any grievances, take them out on me. Don’t hurt the innocent! Come with me now and apologize to Sophia and the child!” Dizzy and irritated, I said, “Why should I apologize to that b*st*rd? I’d rather he were dead.” Nico didn’t get angry. He only watched me leave. After getting my medicine and arriving at the underground parking garage, a figure suddenly appeared behind me and covered my mouth and nose with a drugged cloth. My vision blurred. When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed. A nurse was adjusting the IV, her tone sympathetic. “You’re awake. The hysterectomy was successful. Please rest well…” Hysterectomy? I felt as if struck by lightning. I struggled to sit up but fell heavily to the ground. Nico pushed the door open and looked at me. “I ordered it.” “The Luciano family already has a legitimate heir. Removing your uterus is a warning. So you won’t have improper thoughts in the future, giving birth to a child to compete for inheritance and disrupt the family. “Only this way will Sophia feel at ease ending things with me.” He bent down and touched my hair, his tone falsely gentle. “The wedding will proceed as planned. I will give you everything a Luciano family donna should have, except a child.” I tried to call the police, but Nico snatched my phone away. “Don’t waste your effort. Stay here and recover. Tomorrow morning, I’ll send someone to take you to the wedding.” I stared at him, hatred reaching its peak. “Get out!” On the day of the wedding, the most luxurious hotel ballroom in New Haven was filled to capacity. Nico kept checking his watch, but the bride never appeared. “Don Nico, something’s wrong. Ms. Sorrentino is missing!” At the same time, the large screen in the ballroom suddenly changed. I was sitting in the council chamber at the Luciano family headquarters, with all the family elders standing behind me. “On behalf of the Luciano family council, I hereby announce by unanimous vote that Nico Luciano is removed from his position as don, effective immediately. All his authority within the family is revoked.”