The Don’s Dead Bride Chapter 04

The Don’s Dead Bride Chapter 04

Outside the door, Luca’s voice was hoarse, ragged. “Elena! What the hell is going on in there?!”

“Open the door! Open it now!”

He slammed against the door.

Again. And again.

The desperation in his voice sounded so real.

How pathetic.

Hearing him care this much—right as I was about to die.

Too late.

The flames licked at the hem of my gown. The burn crawled up my skin.

I closed my eyes and waited for death.

My mind started to fade.

Through the haze, I heard a crash.

Then the air shifted violently.

Someone had run into the fire.

It wasn’t Luca.

An arm wrapped around me—smelling of antiseptic and gun oil. Strong. Steady.

A heavy, water-soaked fire blanket came down over me as I was lifted off the table.

“You want to die?”

A low voice snarled in my ear, teeth clenched.

“You don’t get to die.”

Who was that?

I tried to open my eyes, but the smoke made me cough until I couldn’t breathe.

Darkness swallowed me.

…

I woke up in a soft bed.

The room wasn’t cold hospital white—it was elegant slate blue.

Through the window, I saw a coastline I didn’t recognize.

I sat up fast, my hand going to my stomach.

It was still there. That small curve.

“You’re awake?” A lazy voice came from the balcony.

I turned.

A man in a black shirt leaned against the railing, swirling a glass of bourbon.

Sharp profile. Eyes that glittered with danger.

Matteo Costa.

Luca’s biggest rival.

The don of the Costa family. Known for being ruthless.

“You saved me?” My throat was raw.

Matteo walked over and set a glass of water on the nightstand.

“Who else? That idiot digging through the ashes?”

He turned on the TV.

News was reporting on the hospital fire.

On screen, Luca knelt in a field of blackened rubble. His hands were covered in blood. His suit was destroyed. He was digging with his bare hands, his face caked in ash and madness.

The reporter’s voiceover said, “Sources say the Romano family heir hasn’t slept in three days, searching nonstop for his adopted sister’s remains…”

I looked at the man on the screen. I didn’t feel anything. No pain. No love. Nothing.

“He thinks I’m dead,” I whispered.

Matteo smiled—slow, predatory.

“Not just him.”

“The whole world thinks Elena Rossi is dead.”

“From now on, you can be whoever you want to be.”

He leaned down, his eyes meeting mine.

“You want revenge?”

“You want every single person who ever stepped on you to come crawling?”

I looked into his eyes and saw the ambition there. Then I slowly clenched the sheets in my fists.

If God wasn’t taking me…

If Luca wanted me dead that badly…

Then I’d change the rules of the game.

I lifted my chin and met Matteo’s gaze.

“Yes.”

“But I don’t want to be Elena Rossi anymore.”

Matteo grinned and snapped his fingers.

“Perfect.”

“From now on, you’re Alessia.”

“My… fiancée.”