I Took Mafia Don’s Empire Chapter 03

I Took Mafia Don’s Empire Chapter 03

Matteo’s eyes lit up.

As if he enjoyed watching two women fight over him.

“Celeste.”

“I knew you couldn’t let me go.”

“Since that’s the case, acknowledge Enzo.”

“And while you’re at it, sign a trust amendment on Ivy’s behalf.”

“Have her give up her claim to the Whitmore trust and the Rinaldi inheritance.”

Ivy lifted her head from my arms and looked at me in confusion.

“Mommy, what’s a trust amendment?”

“If I don’t give it up, will Daddy stop loving me?”

My heart clenched hard.

For four years, Matteo had been making promises to Ivy and breaking them just as easily.

Every time, she would lift her little face and ask me, “Mommy, when is Daddy coming home?”

“He said he’d take me to the amusement park this weekend.”

I didn’t want to destroy the little bit of hope she still had for him.

So I lied to her over and over.

“Daddy loves you.”

“He’s just busy.”

Only now did I realize how wrong I had been.

I shouldn’t have lied.

I shouldn’t have let her wait through hope after hope, only to be hurt by disappointment after disappointment.

Maybe it was time to tell her the truth.

Her father wasn’t busy.

He was just cruel enough to let a four-year-old keep waiting for a love he had no intention of giving.

I looked up at Matteo, and the last tender thing in me died.

“Matteo.”

“Even if every Rinaldi got on their knees and begged me.”

“I would never acknowledge that bastard.”

“And I would never let Ivy sign away a single cent of what belongs to her.”

With that, I carried Ivy and turned to leave.

Behind me, Lucia exploded.

“We gave you a chance to save face.”

“And you threw it back at us.”

Matteo didn’t come after me.

He didn’t even get up from the sofa.

Once the masks were off, they couldn’t even be bothered to pretend anymore.

That evening, Bianca moved into Whitmore Manor.

No.

They had already started calling it the Rinaldi estate.

She moved straight into the master bedroom.

Every morning, she sat at the dining table in a silk robe and drank coffee with Matteo.

They even kissed and flirted right in front of me without the slightest shame.

As if they were trying to drive me insane inside my own home.

That weekend, Bianca invited a group of women to the estate and turned my living room into her private little victory party.

Seven or eight of them lounged around with champagne glasses in hand, dripping in jewelry and laughter loud enough to cut.

Every sound grated against me.

One of the women deliberately raised her voice.

“Bianca, you’re already living in the master bedroom. So where does the official Donna sleep?”

Bianca swirled her glass gently, her smile soft.

“The guest room.”

“What else was I supposed to do? She wouldn’t leave.”

“At least I didn’t make a scene. I let her stay.”

Another woman clicked her tongue.

“I guess it’s true. The woman who isn’t loved is the real mistress.”

“Some people think holding a title means something.”

“If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to stay.”

Low laughter rippled through the living room.

Matteo came out of the study. He walked over and casually wrapped an arm around Bianca’s shoulders.

The gesture was so natural, as if the two of them were the true owners of this estate.

“In my heart, Bianca is my real wife.”

“Certain people are just decorations on paper.”

All the women turned to look at me, their eyes bright with mockery.

Ivy sat beside me, gripping the hem of my dress. Her little face had gone frighteningly pale.

I lowered my head and stroked her hair.

Then I kept scrolling through my phone.

I didn’t even lift my eyes.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to leave.

The default terms on South Harbor hadn’t been triggered yet, and the final filing receipt for the collateral package still hadn’t arrived.

Everything the Whitmore Family left behind.

I wouldn’t let them have a single piece of it for cheap.

Not yet.

All I needed was that one confirmation message.

Once it came through, Rinaldi Group, South Harbor, and this estate would never recover.