The Broken & Reborn Mafia Matriarch Chapter 03

The Broken & Reborn Mafia Matriarch Chapter 03

Eric’s mother, Audrey Thompson, asked him and me back to the family estate. 

Over dinner, she turned her sharp, unyielding gaze 

on me. 

“Your treatments were nearly done, Mia. You and Eric are no longer children. The Thompson bloodline needs an heir.” 

Audrey, the same woman who’d run Thompson Arms for a decade after her eldest son was gunned down in a turf war. 

“I understand what you’ve been through,” she said, her tone cold as polished steel, “Eric refused to take over the family business. As his wife, and a Campbell, born and raised in this world, you know your duty.” 

I gripped my silverware until my knuckles turned 

white. 

Audrey had always been fair, if distant. She had no idea her precious son had poisoned me, ruined my reproductive system, and condemned me to a life 

without children. 

Eric’s phone blared across the table. 

Zoe’s sharp, furious voice carried loud enough for everyone to hear. 

“That bastard Aiden! He had a mistress!” 

Eric shot to his feet, his jaw clenched so tight I could see a muscle ticking in it. 

“Where were you, Zoe? I was coming to get you 

right now.” 

Thirty minutes later, Zoe stormed into the dining room, red–eyed and furious. The ice in Audrey’s eyes melted instantly. 

“Zoe, my dear, come here. I’ve been worried sick 

about you.” 

She pulled Zoe into a hug, fussing over her like she was her own daughter–in–law. 

Eric hovered beside them, his whole body tense 

with concern. 

No one even glanced at me. 

I sat alone at the end of the table, bitter bile rising 

in my throat. 

Both the Campbells and the Thompsons had built their empires off underground arms deals. Eric had rejected the life, run off to study psychology 

instead. 

Audrey, terrified of losing her only remaining son to the same violence that took her firstborn, had taken the reins herself. 

But now, age was catching up to her. An heir was all she cared about. Thompsons needed an heir. 

She squeezed Zoe’s hand, her voice thick with 

regret. 

“I always hoped you’d be the one to join our family, Zoe. If only things had been different…” 

She didn’t finish the rest. But I knew that well. 

Zoe shot me a triumphant smirk, like she’d already 

won. 

“I wonder… do you think all those surgeries and pills messed up her ability to have kids? I mean, she’s been taking them for years…” 

She knew. Of course she knew. 

I felt their stares prickling over my skin–judging, sneering, pitying. I’d braced myself for humiliation, 

but when I saw the contempt in their eyes, tears 

spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them. 

I ran to the bathroom and splashed cold water on 

my face, trying to wash away the shame. 

Eric followed, clapping a hand on my shoulder. 

“Don’t take it to heart, Marde. She was just old and desperate for grandkids. She didn’t mean to hurt 

you.” 

No. She didn’t mean to. 

But you did. 

That night, Eric kissed my cheek and said he was 

going to check on Zoe in the guest room. 

Thirty minutes passed. He was nowhere. 

I got up and walked down the hall. The guest room 

door was cracked open. 

Inside, Eric held Zoe in his arms, his face soft with 

a tenderness I’d never seen directed at me. 

“Eric, I regret it so much,” Zoe sobbed into his 

chest. “When I saw Donna Audrey today, I thought 

if I’d married you, she’d treat me like her own daughter. But that old bat from Collins? She told me to reflect on my behavior when Aiden 

cheated!” 

“I let him screw around before and I didn’t say a 

word! But bringing her to our house? How dare 

he!” 

Eric stroked her hair, his voice low. 

“I’ll talk to Aiden. I’ll make him beg for your 

forgiveness. No one hurts you and gets away with 

it.” 

“Really?” 

“I swear on my life.” 

As he turned to leave, Zoe threw her arms around 

his waist and held on tight. 

“Don’t leave. Stay here with me tonight. Just for 

1. one night, let us act like a real couple.”