My Boyfriend Sold Me to Bellandi—Too Bad I Was Bellandi’s Heiress Chapter 01

My Boyfriend Sold Me to Bellandi—Too Bad I Was Bellandi’s Heiress Chapter 01

Christmas Eve. Ethan Vale — my boyfriend of three years — invited me to his family’s home for dinner.

He drugged me before we even sat down to eat.

“Elena, they’ll cut off my hands if I don’t settle my marker.”

“I didn’t have a choice. I had to hand you over to the Bellandi syndicate.”

“Don’t blame me for this. Blame your face. You’re a dead ringer for the woman our Don’s never gotten over.”

“My marker gets wiped, and you? You could end up living like a queen. Everybody wins.”

The Vales drove me to an estate I knew too well, my head still swimming from whatever they’d slipped into my water.

Because unless I was seriously wrong, this was my uncle’s own turf.

My uncle adored my mother — his own sister. In his entire life, no woman had ever mattered more.

The last man foolish enough to cross my mother had been my own father. My uncle shipped him to the Ashwood Mines for months on end.

So who was really screwed here? Take a wild guess.

…

The drug still hadn’t worn off. I lay crumpled in the back seat, too weak to move.

Ethan and his parents were talking, but their voices kept drifting in and out.

We’d started dating in college and stayed together through graduation.

Things between us had been easy. No drama. No red flags.

I’d kept my real identity hidden the whole time. Nobody knew I was a Bellandi. After my mom died, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life trapped in the Family business.

On Christmas Eve, Ethan had looked me in the eye and said he wanted to bring me home and talk about getting engaged.

The Vales were small-time. A fading outfit in Oakhaven with almost no street cred left. But Ethan was still next in line for Boss.

I’d spent all week getting ready. I wanted his family to like me.

His mother handed me a glass of water. I took a few sips, and the room started to swim.

“Elena, don’t blame me.”

“I’m backed into a corner here.”

“Where am I supposed to get fifty mil?”

“They said they’ll actually take my hands if I don’t pay up!”

I wanted to rip him apart, but my tongue was dead weight. All that came out was a useless slur of sound.

“Besides, it’s not like you’re getting a bad deal.”

“Belonging to the Don isn’t exactly a death sentence. He already likes your face.”

“This works out for both of us. Don’t you get that?”

Win-win. Right.

He could choke on his win-win.

The car cut through the dark. The world outside the window blurred past.

I fought to focus, trying to figure out where we were headed.

The car slowed. Stopped. A massive black iron gate loomed dead ahead.

That gate. This compound.

My stomach dropped. The fog in my head split open, and for the first time since that glass of water, I could almost think straight.

No. No way.

Ethan and his mother hauled me out of the car, one on each side, and half-dragged me across the driveway.

Two soldiers flanked the front door. Black suits, blank faces. They watched us approach.

“Let the Don know the Vales have arrived.”

Ethan’s father offered the soldiers a thin, ingratiating smile.

“We brought the Don a tribute for the holidays. Trust me — he’s going to love it.”

One of them shined a flashlight in my face.

I flinched against the glare.

“Her?” Flat. Unreadable.

“Yes, yes — she’s my son’s girl.”

Ethan’s mother jumped in, grabbing my jaw and angling my face toward the light.

“Look at her face. Tell me she isn’t the spitting image of the woman the Don mourns every year.”

“We did our homework.”

“She’s a dancer, too. Very flexible. She’ll know how to keep him happy.”

My stomach turned.

The soldier studied me for a beat, then jerked his chin at the other one.

“Go tell the Boss we’ve got visitors.”

He turned back to us.

“Not my call. Go inside and wait.”

“Thank you, thank you!”

Ethan ducked his head and half-carried me through the door.

My legs gave out the second they let go of me in the reception room. I hit the floor, and the cold of it bit right through me.

“The Don’s in a sit-down. Wait here.”

He left without waiting for an answer.

The second the door shut, Ethan dropped to his knees in front of me.

“Elena, please. Just this once. Help me.”

“When the Don gets here, just tell him you came willingly.”

“I’m begging you. I won’t hold what happens tonight against you. I swear I’ll make it up to you.”

I stared at him. Nothing came out.

“Say something!”

Ethan’s mother crowded in, her nails digging into my arm.

“If the Vales go down, you’re going down with us!”

“He’s your man! You owe him this!”

“Mom, you’re scaring her.”

Ethan waved her off like he was the reasonable one, then turned back to me with that soft, practiced voice.

“Elena, I know you’re angry.”

“But I’ve got nothing left.”

“It’s fifty mil. They’ll kill me…”

The drug was loosening its grip, slowly.

Feeling crept back into my arms and legs. My tongue finally loosened.

I dragged in a breath and forced out the only words that mattered.

“Go to hell. I’ll never…”