Second Life: The Mafia Wife’s Cold Awakening Chapter 03

Second Life: The Mafia Wife’s Cold Awakening Chapter 03

Chapter 3 Blood and Ashes

The knife had long since slipped from Lucian’s grasp. His knees buckled uncontrollably, and he hit the floor with a heavy thud. His forehead pressed into the cold tile like he was trying to bury himself. Didn’t dare look up.

Liliana was even worse off. Silent. Shaking. Didn’t even breathe too loud.

Dominic didn’t waste a glance on them. He crossed to me, shrugged off his jacket, and laid it gently over my shoulders.

“Doctor.” One word. Ice cold.

The medical team flooded in. Hands everywhere. Pressure. Gauze. Urgency.

“I gave you a chance.” Dominic’s voice was soft. Too soft. “After the dock ambush, I let you breathe. Twelve years of blood. That bought you one stay of execution.”

Lucian shuddered. Slammed his forehead into the floor. “Thank you, Don! Thank you for your mercy! I’ll never f*ck up again!”

“Loyalty?” Dominic sneered. “You show loyalty by stripping my guard detail while I’m taking fire? By storming into a hospital to call the woman who saved me a wh*re-right after she lost her child?”

Every word drove Lucian’s face deeper into the floor.

“Starting today, you go to Warehouse No. 3 at the docks and work as a laborer. When I decide you’ve bled enough to balance the scales, maybe we’ll talk.”

Lucian’s head snapped up. Disbelief twisted his face. “Don! You can’t do this! I’ve killed for this family! I’ve bled for it! I’ve earned my stripes! And you’re throwing me in with the grunts?!”

“Your stripes?” Dominic stepped toward him, looking down with a predatory gaze. “The second you turned on me, I wiped them clean.”

All the color drained from Lucian’s face instantly.

He stared into those flat, empty eyes and knew-the Don wasn’t bluffing.

He ground his teeth. Lowered his head. “…Yes, Don.”

Dominic flicked his hand. Two guards hauled Lucian up by his arms and dragged him out.

He passed my bed, head snapped around. Those eyes locked on me like a blade to the throat.

The venom and resentment in his gaze coiled around me like a viper, making me shiver involuntarily.

I knew he wouldn’t let this go.

As for Liliana, Dominic spared her exactly one frozen look. “Get out. If she ever lays eyes on you again, I’ll let you join Mia. You know where she is.”

Liliana looked like she’d been pardoned, scrambling out of the ward without daring to look back.

The ward finally fell silent.

Dominic didn’t linger. A few quiet words to Finch Marco-guard her, and then he was gone with his men.

He had a mess to clean. The dock ambush. Rats in the family. Rival crews circling like vultures.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

Lucian was alive. Just demoted. And as long as he had a pulse, he’d find a way to come for me.

But I wasn’t the same woman who froze to death in that freezer.

This time, I’d drag him and Liliana to hell myself. With my own two hands.

A month later, I was discharged from the hospital.

Didn’t rest. Didn’t recover. I went straight to Finch Marco.

“I’m taking over all operations at Warehouse No. 3 at the docks. “I got straight to the point.

Finch blinked. Frowned. “Mrs. Ashford, that place is a sewer. Full of the worst kind. And… Lucian’s there.”

“That’s exactly why I’m going.” I met his eyes. Steady. “The only place I can watch him. Every second. Every breath.”

He hesitated. Chewed on it. Finally nodded. “Fine. I’ll tell the Don. But you promise me-anything happens, you call me first.”

Finch Marco then personally escorted me to the dock.

Warehouse No. 3. Just as advertised. Rusted crates stacked to the ceiling. The air is thick with salt, iron, and

rot.

Tattooed brutes were everywhere, shirtless and hauling heavy loads, their mouths full of curses and their eyes filled with hostility.

When Finch Marco announced I’d be in charge of Warehouse No. 3, everyone froze. Then a roar of laughter erupted.

“What? A woman’s gonna run us?

”

“You sh*tting me? She can’t even lift a crate. How’s she gonna handle this crew?”

“She’s just here to get f*cked.”

Their eyes crawled all over me. Stripping. Dismissing. Like I was a piece of meat that didn’t even look fresh.

Finch Marco’s face darkened at once. He was about to speak, but I stopped him.

I knew how this worked. Respect isn’t handed out. You take it. Or you die trying.

In the days that followed, I lived at the dock.

Hauled crates beside them. Ate their slop. Worked their hours. Learned every corner of that warehouse. Every route. Every man’s breaking point.

It didn’t take long to see it. The previous manager had been lining his pockets-cutting wages, swinging on anyone who complained. They were just waiting for a spark.

Chute & Blood and Ashes

So I audited all the accounts, exposed the corrupt managers, and handed them over to the Don.

Then I rewrote the pay system, raised their wages, and gave big bonuses to anyone who worked hard.

Little by little, the workers’ attitude toward me changed.

They stopped seeing me as a spoiled, bossy lady and started seeing me as their real leader.

Lucian watched every bit of this from the shadows.

He wore tattered work clothes every day, hauled the heaviest cargo, and did the filthiest, most exhausting work.

The family’s top killer. Reduced to a grunt anyone could spit on.

Every time I passed, he’d drop his head. Pretend I wasn’t there.

But I felt it. Behind that greasy hair, his eyes were on fire. Hate. Rage. Waiting.

I knew he was waiting for an opening.

One clean shot to bury me.