Chapter 1
I was burning with fever when my Mafia Boss husband accused me of manipulating him simply because I asked for a glass of water. Hours later, he brought his new female assistant into our mansion and stood there while she slapped me across the face. By morning, I was gone—and what Vincent didn’t know was that I had taken something with me he had wanted for years without realizing it: his unborn child.
My name is Claire Bennett, and I had been married to Vincent Moretti, one of Chicago’s most powerful Mafia Bosses, for three years.
I never married him for his money or protection.
I married him because I loved him.
But everything changed after he hired Sophia Reynolds as his personal assistant.
That afternoon, I had been sick for two days. My body ached, my throat burned, and even sitting upright made me dizzy.
“Vincent,” I whispered, “could you please get me some water?”
His expression turned cold.
“Women like you are calculating.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“You pretend to be helpless so you can test how much a man will do for you. Sophia warned me about this.”
I could barely believe what I was hearing.
Then he pushed a glass toward me.
When I reached for it, he deliberately splashed the water across my face.
“If you really want a divorce,” he said, “why are you still taking things from me?”
“Get out.”
He left, slamming the door.
I tried to stand, but nausea hit me so violently that I had to grab the table.
Then one terrifying thought crossed my mind.
My period was almost two months late.
Before I could process it, the front door opened again.
Vincent had returned.
With Sophia.
Their hands were intertwined.
Vincent barely looked embarrassed.
“Sophia is going to show you how a wife should treat her husband.”
Sophia looked me up and down.
“You’re supposed to be sick?”
“I am.”
She grabbed my wrist.
“Then get us something to drink.”
“I’m not cooking for anyone.”
She shoved me.
I stumbled, bent over, and began retching.
Sophia laughed.
“Still pretending?”
Then she slapped me.
The room went silent.
Vincent stepped forward.
“Sophia, you shouldn’t have—”
“Why not?” she snapped. “You’ve spoiled her.”
I looked at my husband.
He said nothing.
Something inside me finally broke.
I slapped Vincent.
“You’re disgusting.”
Sophia immediately grabbed his arm.
“Are you going to let her humiliate you?”
Vincent stared at me for several seconds.
Then he turned away.
“Forget it. Let’s go.”
He left with her.
That was the moment I stopped crying.
After they were gone, I took a pregnancy test.
Two pink lines appeared.
I was pregnant.
For years, I had imagined telling Vincent that we were finally going to have a baby.
Now I placed my hand over my stomach and made a different promise.
I would leave.
And I would raise this child without him.
That evening, I placed divorce papers on the table.
When Vincent returned, he stared at them.
“No.”
“I want a divorce.”
“You don’t leave unless I decide this marriage is over.”
I looked at him one last time.
“Do you still love me?”
He went silent.
I asked again.
Nothing.
That silence gave me my answer.
At midnight, I took my suitcase and disappeared.
The next morning, Vincent searched the mansion and called my phone repeatedly.
“Claire, where are you?”
“Come home.”
No answer.
Then the housekeeper murmured nervously, “Madam is sick… and pregnant too. Where could she have gone?”
Vincent froze.
“What did you say?”
The housekeeper turned pale.
After several terrifying seconds, she finally admitted that she had seen my positive pregnancy test.
Vincent’s voice dropped.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because Madam told me not to.”
“What exactly did she say?”
The housekeeper hesitated.
Then she whispered my final secret.
“He doesn’t want this child. I’ll raise the baby myself.”
Vincent stopped breathing.
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And for the first time, the most powerful Mafia Boss in Chicago realized that I hadn’t simply left him.
I had disappeared with his unborn child.
