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He Defended My Killer,Not Knowing I Was His Wife
NovelShort
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On the day I was eight months pregnant, my husband, Dante Valente, abandoned me in the death zone at the border of the two powerful families. It wasn't an ordinary road. It was a gray area, a long-sta...
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第1章
On the day I was eight months pregnant, my husband, Dante Valente, abandoned me in the death zone at the border of the two powerful families.
It wasn't an ordinary road.
It was a gray area, a long-standing battleground between the Valente and Morano families—no surveillance, no patrols, not even "laws."
There, human life meant nothing.
The reason I was forced out of the car was a phone call from Serafina Morano.
"Dante, I feel terrible… I have a fever…"
The voice on the other end of the line was weak, almost broken.
Dante's face changed instantly.
This man, who could decide life and death with a single word at the committee negotiating table, this advisor who made countless families bow their heads, became like a madman when he heard her voice.
"Don't be afraid, I'll be right there."
He finished speaking without even glancing at me.
The car screeched to a halt at the side of the road.
Before I could react, he had already unbuckled his seatbelt and looked at me coldly.
"Get out."
I froze. “Dante, we’re almost at the ancestral home, your mother—”
“I said, get out.”
His voice was utterly devoid of warmth.
I instinctively protected my stomach.
“I’m eight months pregnant, and the doctor said I could give birth prematurely at any time.”
Dante glanced down at my abdomen, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a commodity.
“You know how this child came to be.”
“I married you only out of a sense of responsibility.”
“Don’t use it to threaten me.”
“It disgusts me.”
In that instant, my heart felt like it had been pierced by a bullet.
I always knew he didn’t love me.
But I never imagined that in his eyes, I wasn’t even human.
Just a vessel to maintain the bloodlines of our two families.
That night, he initiated it.
But the next day, he said I schemed against him.
I forced him into marriage with my body.
Now, he’s not even willing to maintain the last shred of pretense.
“You're not far from the ancestral home, walk back yourself.”
He finished speaking and started the car again.
The phone was still pressed to his ear.
His voice suddenly softened.
“Serafina, don't be afraid, I'll be there soon.”
The headlights flashed, and the black sedan disappeared into the rain.
As if it had never stopped.
I was alone, left behind at the border.
The wind swept across the wasteland, cutting my face like a knife.
This was the gray zone.
No rules.
No protection.
And no one would stand up for a woman who had been abandoned.
I walked slowly.
My stomach tightened in waves.
Every step felt like walking on broken glass.
The sky darkened rapidly, and the rain began to fall.
First a drizzle, then a downpour.
I had to stop to catch my breath.
Just then—
A blinding white light tore through the darkness in the distance.
A modified SUV came hurtling towards me without slowing down.
Too fast.
I didn't even have time to dodge.
The next second—
Bang.
I was thrown through the air.
The moment I hit the ground, I heard the sound of my bones breaking.
A sharp pain exploded in my limbs.
I instinctively reached for my abdomen.
Warm blood, mixed with cold rain, seeped through my fingers.
My child…
My child…
My phone rolled out of my bag.
The screen lit up.
I shakily pressed the only emergency contact number.
The phone rang for a long time.
So long that I thought he wouldn't answer.
Finally, it connected.
An impatient voice came from the other end.
"I'm taking Serafina to the hospital."
"Can you stop messing around?"
"Don't bother me anymore."
Then—
Beep.
The call was disconnected.
At that moment, I suddenly fell silent.
The rain was still falling.
The blood was still flowing.
But I couldn't feel the pain.
It turns out, what's more despairing than being hit by a car is desperately trying to survive, but no one wants you to live.
Not far away, an SUV stopped.
The door opened hesitantly.
A man got out, his voice trembling.
"I hit someone… she seemed to be pregnant…"
A deep, cold voice came from the other end of the phone.
"This is the gray area."
"No one will investigate."
"If she's still alive, let her die."
A brief silence.
The man's breathing became rapid.
"…I understand."
He got back into the car.
The engine roared.
The next second—
The tires crushed my body.
The sound of bones shattering was completely swallowed by the torrential rain.
第2章
When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer human.
I floated in mid-air, like a ghost abandoned by the world.
The rain was still falling.
The crushed body on the ground was a bloody mess, its abdomen caved in.
That was me.
The young mistress of the Valente family, a tool for the Falcone bloodline's marriage alliance, a woman Dante Valente himself had discarded.
I hadn't even had a chance to look at myself properly.
A cold wind swept by.
The next second, I was swept away.
When I opened my eyes again, I was standing beside Dante.
No, floating beside him.
This was a private hospital controlled by the Morano family.
The corridor was eerily quiet.
The overhead incandescent lights emitted a faint hum, like some kind of dying whisper.
Hidden cameras were installed in the corners.
Two men in black stood at the end of the corridor, their suits open, the butts of guns gleaming at their waists.
This wasn't a hospital.
It was a place the Mafia used for dealing with things that "couldn't be seen in the light of day."
And Dante sat on a bench.
Dante Valente
He remained calm and composed, as if nothing had happened.
Seraphine Morano leaned on his shoulder.
She was pale, her breathing weak, like a wounded animal.
But her hand gripped his clothes tightly.
That dependence stung my eyes.
I died in the rain.
She lay in his arms.
Then, Dante's phone rang.
A name appeared on the screen.
Donna Lucia.
The true head of the Valente family.
The call connected.
"Adriana hasn't returned to the manor?"
Her voice was calm, yet carried a commanding pressure.
Dante frowned, his tone clearly impatient.
"She's throwing a tantrum."
"I'm with Seraphine at the hospital."
"She did it on purpose."
He said this without even a pause.
As if I, from the very beginning, wasn't worth explaining myself to.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.
Then the call ended.
Dante's face darkened.
He shoved the phone back into his pocket, his knuckles tightening slightly.
The air was heavy.
Even his subordinates at the end of the corridor didn't dare look at him.
"Adriana thinks too highly of herself."
"Just because she's pregnant, she thinks she can control me."
"This time, I won't go to her."
"Let her learn her lesson."
Every word was like a knife.
Unfortunately, I had no heart left to be stabbed.
Seraphine looked up at him. A flicker of almost undisguised smugness flashed in her eyes.
But she quickly concealed it, adopting a submissive demeanor.
Her fingers gently rested on his shoulder.
Then, they traced his Adam's apple.
Stopped on his arm.
The movement was too practiced.
As if rehearsed countless times.
“Dante… don’t be angry.”
“It’s all my fault.”
“I shouldn’t have let you come with me.”
Her voice was soft, tinged with just the right amount of guilt.
Dante almost instinctively pulled her into his arms.
“It’s not your fault.”
“She doesn’t deserve it.”
Not deserve it.
I looked at him from the air.
Suddenly, I wanted to laugh.
So, in his eyes, my life wasn’t even a “mistake.”
Just “unworthy.”
My memories surged uncontrollably.
I first met him at the Falcone Manor.
Cristiano Falcone, the elder brother, was undergoing succession training.
That was the family's core territory.
Gunfire, rules, loyalty—they were all part of the air.
And he sat in the courtyard.
A black suit, cuffs impeccably tailored.
A thick legal document lay open on his lap.
He was just a trainee consultant then.
Yet he was already involved in arbitration between families.
I saw him in an instant.
From that day on, I chased after him.
By then, Serafina had already been deported.
I heard she was adopted by some overseas mafia boss.
Used her, she secured a way out for the Morano family.
Dante was completely distraught.
Cold, distant, absent-minded.
I thought I could fill that void.
I was wrong.
I was just a substitute.
The kind he hated most.
Then that night.
He summoned me to the family hotel.
The moment the door closed, he pinned me against the wall.
At that moment, I thought he had finally accepted me.
But the next day.
The way he looked at me was like he was witnessing a conspiracy.
"You framed me."
"You wanted to force me into marriage this way."
No matter how I explained, he wouldn't believe me.
Then.
I became pregnant.
Donna Lucia gave the order directly.
The marriage was arranged.
The ceremony was small.
There were no blessings, only witnesses.
The ring was engraved with the double coat of arms of Valente and Falcone.
I wore it every day.
Like wearing shackles.
He never even glanced at it.
I kept waiting.
Waiting for him to believe me one day.
Waiting for him to turn back.
But now—
I died at the border.
Dying on the road he himself abandoned.
I could wait no longer. The scene shifts.
Dante has already taken Serafina back to the Morano manor.
The night is pitch black.
His armored limousine drives into the Valente-controlled area.
The men on both sides of the street bow in greeting.
This is his territory.
His kingdom.
And I, not even my body is here.
The car stops.
He returns to what we call "home."
The house is pitch black.
He frowns.
"Quite the temper."
"He doesn't even come home."
He doesn't know.
I'll never come back.
He loosens his tie, looking somewhat agitated.
No messages on his phone.
He finally starts to lose patience.
Just then—
The phone rings.
Piercing the silence.
He picks up the phone almost instantly.
A flicker of expectation, which he himself doesn't even notice, flashes in his eyes.
But when he saw the caller ID,
that emotion vanished instantly.
“Seraphina.”
He answered.
His voice softened.
On the other end of the line, her voice was choked with sobs.
“Dante, about my brother…”
“I’ve already made him turn himself in to the committee.”
“Can you help me?”
Dante closed his eyes briefly and rubbed his temples.
As if handling a mundane family matter.
“Don’t worry.”
“Your brother is my brother.”
“I’ll handle things with the committee.”
“It’ll be fine.”
His tone was calm.
But it was tantamount to a verdict.
第3章
The next day.
Dante Valente woke up on the sofa.
Last night, he sat alone in the living room of the brownstone house.
The light was on.
He'd only drunk half his whiskey.
The documents on the table were untouched.
He did nothing, only glancing at the clock on the wall every now and then.
As if waiting for someone.
But that person never returned.
He didn't fall asleep on the sofa until the early hours of the morning.
When he got up, his movements hesitated for a moment.
His gaze swept over the entryway.
The slippers were there, neatly arranged.
Immaculate.
As if no one had ever worn them.
Dante's face instantly darkened.
He stood there for a few seconds.
Then he took out his phone.
For the first time.
He messaged me.
[Adriana, if you don't want to come back, then never come back.] His tone was cold and hard, without a trace of hesitation.
I stood beside him, looking at the message, and couldn't help but laugh.
A silent laugh.
"Don't worry."
"I'll never come back."
Dante didn't look at his phone again.
He washed up and changed.
A black suit, tie impeccably tailored.
Perfect as always.
As if last night's wait had never happened.
The car started.
Heading towards the city center.
Heading towards his world.
—The headquarters of the Valente-Falcone Alliance.
On the surface, it was a law firm, an arbitration body, a business consulting firm.
In reality, it was the central nervous system of two major families in Avar.
Behind every contract was a gun barrel.
Every arbitration was a matter of life and death.
And Dante was one of the rule-makers here.
He had just sat down.
The door was knocked.
Then he pushed the door open.
Seraphine Morano walked in.
She was pale, her eyes red-rimmed.
She carried a stack of documents.
Like a woman driven to desperation.
“Dante…only you can help me.”
Her voice trembled.
Dante almost immediately stood up and helped her to a chair.
The movement was as natural as instinct.
“Speak.”
He took the documents.
He opened them.
His gaze swept over them quickly.
Seraphine spoke softly.
“It was Nico.”
“Last night…he hit someone in the grey zone inside and outside Baro.”
She paused.
As if suppressing fear.
“He said it wasn’t intentional.”
“It was raining, visibility was poor, the road was slippery…”
Dante’s fingers stopped on the pages.
His voice turned somber.
“Is the person dead?”
Seraphine nodded.
The air instantly chilled.
Dante continued, his tone now serious, as if handling a case.
“Identity.”
“Has it been confirmed?”
“Have the family been contacted?”
Seraphina shook her head.
Her hand unconsciously went to her throat.
That detail flashed through her mind.
“No.”
“Nico said…the person was thrown into the air, crashing directly into the windshield.”
“The face is disfigured.”
“There’s nothing to confirm the identity.”
“And no one has claimed the body.”
She spoke these words softly.
As if recounting an accident unrelated to herself.
Dante remained silent.
The silver lighter in his hand was held between his fingers.
He turned it gently.
Click.
Click.
The flame flickered, then went out.
“Speed.”
“Surveillance footage.”
“Witnesses.”
His questions were precise and calm. Like a machine.
“Within eighty miles.”
“The incident occurred in the gray zone; there are no surveillance cameras.”
“It's raining; nobody's around.”
Seraphina lowered her head.
“Dante…you'll help him, won't you?”
Dante didn't answer immediately.
He looked at the documents.
His gaze grew increasingly intense.
“Did Nico flee?”
“Did he conceal the speed?”
Seraphina suddenly looked up.
Her eyes reddened.
“Are you doubting me?”
Her voice trembled.
“He contacted the hospital immediately.”
“After confirming the death, he went to the military police to turn himself in.”
“He's still inside.”
Tears streamed down her face.
“Dante, you're all I have left.”
These words.
completely shattered him.
Dante immediately reached out and pulled her into his arms.
“I’m not doubting you.”
“I’m helping you.”
“I need all the details to reduce his sentence at the committee.”
His tone was low, yet carried an undeniable control.
“I’ll handle this.”
Seraphina buried her face in his chest, crying even harder.
“You must save him…”
“I can’t lose any more family…”
Dante held her tightly.
His voice was solemn.
“I will protect him.”
One sentence.
That was the verdict.
In this city, if he said he could live, he wouldn’t die.
I stood beside them.
Suddenly, I felt ridiculous.
So my life.
Worth only a defense.
After a while.
Seraphina seemed to suddenly remember something.
She looked up.
Her voice was so low it was almost inaudible.
“There’s one more thing…”
Dante looked at her.
“Speak.”
She paused.
Then she spoke softly.
“That person…was pregnant.”
The air.
froze instantly.
The lighter stopped.
The flame went out.
Dante's fingers stiffened for a moment.
His pupils contracted sharply.
“The location.”
His voice was terrifyingly low.
Seraphina, as if startled, whispered.
“Outside Barone…the old road.”
At that moment.
Something exploded in Dante's mind.
That road.
Last night.
The rain.
The woman he abandoned.
Eight months pregnant.
All the clues overlapped in an instant.
He froze completely.
Like being shot.
I stood before him.
For the first time, I saw him lose control.
Just then—
The office door was flung open.
Cristiano Falcone burst in.
His face was grim.
His aura was sharp.
“Dante.”
“Where is Adriana?”
“She hasn’t replied to my messages all day.”