The Don Who Chose Wrong Chapter 01
My husband’s mistress, Irina Volkov, had blown a million dollars of my black card at an underground casino. Then she had the nerve to call me a “worthless whore who just spreads her legs.”
I froze that card right there at the table.
She couldn’t pay her debt. The casino held her for three days as collateral.
When my husband, Dante Russo, found out, he just brushed his fingers across my cheek. Smiled.
“Baby, why are you competing with a little girl? You’re so much better than her.”
No punishment. Not even a hint of anger.
Then he told me we’d celebrate my birthday at his new underground casino. The one I’d gotten the permits for. The one where I’d greased every cop in the precinct.
Tonight was supposed to be special. I’d finally decided to tell Dante the truth.
I wasn’t Ava Bennett, some nobody.
I was Seraphina Bellandi. Heir to the Bellandi family. I controlled the most terrifying mafia empire in North America, from politicians to police chiefs.
I was going to introduce him to my father, “the Shadow.” The man who made cold-blooded killers piss themselves.
But Dante had other plans for my birthday.
“Ava, wait here. I’ll be right back.” That night, Dante kissed my forehead. “A few things to handle. The real party’s about to start.”
I waited in the VIP room for three hours. Dante’s friends filed in. Mafia bosses. Casino owners. Crooked politicians. Their eyes held pity and anticipation. Like they were waiting for a show.
The air felt wrong. A knot tightened in my gut.
I tried to pay for the champagne and caviar Dante had ordered. The casino manager sneered. “Mrs. Russo, your card was declined. Or rather, frozen.”
“Frozen?” My heart sank.
That morning, Dante had taken all my cards. Said he wanted to “treat me right” on my birthday.
Now I was stuck with a fifty-thousand-dollar bill I couldn’t pay.
“We don’t do credit. Not even for the boss’s family.” The manager’s smirk dripped with venom.
Freeze her card? Was this payback?
The click of stilettos cut through the silence. Dante walked in with Irina on his arm.
She looked like a trophy in a red dress that left nothing to the imagination. Her smile was pure poison.
Dante’s crew followed, every one of them ready to watch me burn.
“Ava, you love humiliating people who can’t pay up, don’t you?” Dante’s voice carried across the room. “Now it’s your turn.”
The room erupted in laughter.
“I heard she used to have nothing,” someone whispered loudly. “A trailer park rat. Only got a good life because of Dante’s charity.”
“Not so lucky now. Look at the new girl.”
“Younger. Prettier. And she knows how to please a man. This one’s about to get thrown out like trash.”
My fists clenched. Rage boiled in my veins.
This was Dante’s plan. He’d orchestrated every second of tonight just to humiliate me.
Dante pulled out a chair for Irina at the center table. Like she was already queen of his empire.
He kissed her hand. Then he looked at me with a cold smirk. “Irina, don’t worry. Whatever Ava did to you, I’ll make her pay ten times over.”
Irina kissed him right there in front of everyone. Then she turned to me with a look of pure contempt. “You’re just a trophy wife. You think you can compete with me?”
She grabbed a bottle of champagne and smashed it at my feet. Glass shattered. The wine soaked my skirt.
“Oops. Dante will pay for that.”
“As for you? You’re dead.”
