Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Mafia Boss's Pregnant Bride: Kabanata 271 - Kabanata 280

“You’re not gonna like this,” Nico said, dropping his pack on the table with a heavy thud.Landon looked up from the map spread out in front of him. “Tell me anyway.”Nico pulled a thumb drive from his vest and tossed it down. “Spotted a squad moving low through the southeast ridge. Eight guys. Tactical gear. No insignias. They didn’t look lost.”Max leaned forward from where he was cleaning a sidearm. “Mercs?”“Trained,” Nico said. “Quiet. Coordinated. The kind you don’t send in unless you’re planning to take something and walk away without a trace.”Daphne stood by the wall, arms crossed, back rigid. “Did they see you?”“No,” Nico said. “They weren’t looking for me. They were looking for us.”Daphne pushed off the wall and stepped closer. “He’s not here to kill us,” she said flatly. “Not yet.”Max looked over at her, eyes narrowing. “You sure about that?”Daphne nodded. “If he wanted a body count, we’d already be counting. He’s after control. He’s here to collect.”Landon met her ga

She looked up, stunned.Landon stood over her, rifle raised, smoke curling from the barrel.Daphne staggered to her feet as Landon helped her up.“Ella?” he asked.“With Alma,” Daphne said.“Good.”Then Landon looked past her, eyes locking onto the figure emerging from the smoke once more.Marquez.The bastard still stood tall, untouched. And this time, he didn’t smile. Landon’s face went stone-cold.Landon stepped forward, shielding Daphne without hesitation.Marquez tilted his head. His gaze slid between the two of them, settling on Landon like he was an insect that had crawled into the wrong place.“Landon Costello,” Marquez said. “I imagined you taller.”Landon didn’t flinch. He didn’t even blink.“You imagined wrong,” he said. “But I’m the last face you’re going to see.”Marquez gave a soft, fake laugh. “That’s cute. Do you love her?” he asked, eyes narrowing like he already knew the answer. “Or is she just your charity case?”Daphne stepped out from behind Landon. “Shut up.”Mar

The curtains were closed again.Suzi didn’t remember when she closed them last, or if it had been her at all. Maybe her mother had done it quietly while Rodrigo shouted at the housekeeper in the hall.Or maybe the wind had pushed them shut the way it sometimes did in this old house, as if even the weather understood shame.She sat cross-legged on the carpet in her room, an open sketchpad in her lap and charcoal dust on her fingertips. The page stared back at her, half-finished, like always. A single eye. A curl of hair. A mouth, slightly parted. The kind of face people might stop for. She always stopped before the rest of it came.Because she never knew how to draw the other side.Her hand paused near her cheek. The skin there always felt warmer. She didn’t need to look to know it was red today. It always flared up when she was nervous. Or sad. Or simply… breathing.She scratched lightly at the edge of her birthmark, then pulled her sleeve back down even though no one was watching.“S

The black convoy pulled up to the Myers estate just past six. Polished, silent, and too expensive for the neighborhood.Rodrigo stood waiting in the doorway, his best smile slapped on like a mask. Irina hovered a few steps behind him, her hands clutched so tight the knuckles had gone white.Tonight was the night Elizabeth’s fate would be decided.From the first car, Antonio Costello stepped out, buttoning his jacket like he had all the time in the world. Next came his wife, Valerie, tall, elegant, and sharp-eyed. Landon followed, glancing around with a bored look, but the woman at his side, Daphne, watched everything. Even her smile looked like it came with a warning label.And then came Maxwell.He stepped from the second car like he didn’t belong to anyone but himself. Black slacks, dark shirt rolled to the elbows, and a gold chain that glinted just beneath his collar. His face gave away nothing. But his eyes…forest green, framed by lashes far too dark, looked around curiously.Rodr

The plates had been cleared. The wine refilled. And despite the awkward current running under every smile, Rodrigo stood tall at the head of the table like a man who still thought he was in control.He lifted his champagne glass with flair. “To unity,” he declared, voice booming just slightly too loud. “To legacy. And to the future Mrs. Maxwell Costello, my daughter, Elizabeth.”Everyone paused mid-sip.Max didn’t stand.He didn’t smile either.Suzi was sitting smaller than ever, her shoulders curled in, her hands folded in her lap like she was praying not to exist.Max set his glass down gently.“Before we celebrate,” he said, his tone calm but slicing through the room like a blade, “I need to say something.”Antonio arched an eyebrow, and Valerie gave her son a measured glance.Max stood.He didn’t bother with theatrics. Just a slow inhale, then…“I’m not marrying Elizabeth.”Silence.“I’m sorry if that’s awkward,” Max added, scanning the table, “but I want to be clear. I won’t be m