Abandoned by My Four Dons: The Mafia Princess’s Revenge Chapter 03

Abandoned by My Four Dons: The Mafia Princess’s Revenge Chapter 03

The incisions in my chest and abdomen felt like they’d been ripped open all over again. The pain was so bad my whole body went numb.

How did it come to this?

There was a time when Alessio would panic over the smallest bruise, hovering over me, checking my vitals, refusing to calm down for hours.

He went into medicine because of me. All so he could take better care of me.

Matteo and Dario were the same way.

I’d been sick my whole life, one illness after another, never a break. More than once, the doctors told them to prepare for the worst.

They lit candles at the cathedral every single day to pray for me. They even got me a custom St. Jude medallion, swearing the patron saint of lost causes would keep me safe.

When I finally got better, Matteo and Dario, who had never taken anything seriously in their lives, changed overnight.

Matteo threw himself into the underworld, clawing and killing his way to the top to build the Lazzari family back up from nothing, all so there’d be money to treat me.

Dario went into pharmacology because I couldn’t stand the taste of my medicine. He wanted to make something I could swallow without crying.

They even saved Rafe for my sake, pulling him out of a blizzard half-dead after he’d collapsed.

Everyone in New York said the same thing. The Lazzari princess was the luckiest girl in the city.

Three brothers who treated her like she had hung the moon.

And she’d found Rafe, the future heir to the Bellandi family, before anyone else could claim him. He would’ve done anything she asked.

Since Mom and Dad died, we only had each other. Being loved like that was everything I’d ever wanted.

When the mission was done, I turned down the reward. All I wanted was to stay, to be with Alessio, Matteo, Dario, and Rafe.

But Gianna appeared.

The day they brought her home, Alessio, Matteo, and Dario pulled me close and made me a promise.

“Nina, she looks just like Mom. And she has the same heart condition Mom had. We can’t just turn her away.”

“Don’t worry. Taking her in is good for you too. You’re still our girl, Nina. Our only one.”

I believed every word. I really did want to welcome her.

I gave her my room to make her feel at home.

Whenever Alessio, Matteo, or Dario came back from a trip, I’d remind them to bring something for Gianna too.

Her heart condition kept her cooped up, and I felt bad for her, so I brought her along whenever Rafe and I went out.

Little by little, Gianna settled into the family.

She learned exactly how to talk Alessio, Matteo, and Dario into buying her things.

She’d tease Rafe, pick little fights with him, laugh when he played along.

I didn’t notice when it started to shift. But it did.

When Gianna tripped in front of me, Alessio turned on me instantly. “What did you do to her?”

On the rare occasion Matteo cooked, he only made what Gianna wanted.

Dario’s entire research shifted, all of it aimed at curing Gianna’s heart.

Even Rafe started saying things during our fights.

“Why can’t you be more like Gianna? She doesn’t constantly play the victim!”

Even then…

They conspired to carve my heart out and give it to her.

The grief hit in waves. My chest felt hollow all over again, an ache where something used to be.

I needed to get out of this room.

But I moved too fast and my legs buckled. I hit the floor hard.

The stitches tore in my chest, my abdomen, everywhere, and the pain folded me in half. I curled into myself on the ground.

The pain ate through everything until I could barely think. Their names slipped out before I could stop them.

“Alessio, Matteo, Dario…”

My vision was going dark when I saw them, all four of them running toward me.

Alessio reached me first. He scooped me off the floor, and his voice hit me like a hammer.

“Nina! You saw us with Gianna and did this to yourself? Is that what this is, another twisted stunt for attention?”

…

After they brought me home from the hospital, the private nurse had strict orders to watch me at all times and make sure I didn’t hurt myself again.

My body was too weak to hold me up. I lived in a wheelchair, needing help just to use the bathroom.

Gianna, meanwhile, was already on her feet.

She was out in the garden in a pristine white sundress, spinning and leaping like she’d never been sick a day in her life.

Rafe had his phone out, filming every move she made. Alessio, Matteo, and Dario watched her too, unable to take their eyes off her, all three of them smiling like she was the best thing they’d ever seen.

Something heavy settled in my chest. I gripped the wheels of my chair and started to turn away.

“Ouch!”

A thud behind me. Gianna was on the ground.

“Gianna!” All four men rushed to her side.

I turned around.

Gianna was pointing at the ground, at a heavy metal footrest that had somehow unlatched and dropped from my wheelchair.

Her voice was already breaking.