All Chapters of After She Stole My Ring, I Married the Don's Rival: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The air froze.Maximo turned slowly, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his gold-rimmed glasses, examining her with cold indifference."What did you just say?"His voice carried an oppressive weight.The crystal chandelier overhead was blinding. I looked at the face that had once captivated me, and my stomach turned.“I said, the wedding is off.” My voice was flat. Not a single tremor.“Pfft—”Gia giggled, a sound like poison poured into honey.“Oriana, don't be so petty.”she purred, pressing against Maximo, deliberately twisting the massive diamond ring on her finger.“Maximo only feels sorry that I had no impressive jewelry to show off at the pre-show dinner.”“This ring can realize its greatest commercial value when worn on my hand.”“ You’re usually so sensible, so why are you being so unreasonable at such a critical moment?”She called him "Maximo." So naturally.I’d never heard a woman use a word like that. Not once in five years."Take off the ring," I told her, my voice cold.G

I bent down and picked up the wet garment bag. I unzipped it. Inside was a red dress.It wasn't a dress. It was a cheap maid's costume. The kind you find in a sex shop. The neckline plunged to her navel and the skirt was a postage stamp. The polyester felt like sandpaper against my frozen skin.Tommy grinned, his voice oozing superiority. "Boss says this is your last chance. Put this on, go to Gia’s send-off party for Paris Fashion Week tonight, and serve drinks. You do a good job, maybe your bank accounts get unfrozen tomorrow. He'll even save you a seat at the wedding, so you can watch from the audience."He paused, a vicious glint in his eye. "It's a huge honor, Miss Oriana. Other girls would kill for this opportunity."The blizzard whipped at my face, stinging like a thousand tiny knives. My body was shaking from the cold, but my back was ramrod straight.My voice was a blade against the wind, sharp and clear. "You tell Maximo to go to hell."Tommy's face darkened. "You ungrateful

I hung up, clutching the black satellite phone. The icy water running down my face couldn't extinguish the fire in my eyes. The noise of the party seemed a world away. Maximo and Gia were soaking up their moment of glory.The minutes ticked by.At the twelve-minute mark.ROAR—The sound of massive engines drowned out the blizzard.Ten black, armored Cadillac Escalades tore down the street, escorting a stretched Rolls-Royce Phantom. They smashed straight through the hotel's security barricade. The metal fence crumpled with a deafening shriek. Security guards scattered.The motorcade screeched to a halt at the back entrance. The engines died.Dead silence.Then, the Phantom's door opened. A custom-made Italian leather shoe stepped onto the snow.Raphael Falcone stepped out, a black umbrella in hand. He wore a black cashmere coat, and the air around him crackled with violence. Each step was solid, crushing the snow beneath his feet.His eyes scanned the area, finally landing on me.When h

"What do you mean, frozen?" Maximo's voice shook.Giuseppe's face was white, sweat dripping from his chin. "The family's biggest source of underground capital was cut off at 3 a.m. The half-a-billion-dollar line of credit, gone. The Commission is asking why our funding has disappeared. All our legitimate businesses have been seized. The port is on lockdown. Even the longshoremen don't know who to take orders from anymore."Maximo stared at the screen. One after another, every account showed a balance of zero. The numbers that had been his pride and joy had vanished."This is impossible!" he roared. "That's my money! Those are my businesses!""Don Maximo..." Giuseppe trembled. "I've checked everything. All these capital sources, all these businesses... they all trace back to one ultimate owner.""Who?" Maximo's eyes were bloodshot. "Tell me who dares to touch my money!"Giuseppe opened a file. A complex web of shell corporations and financial flows appeared on the screen. But at the end

The entire street was blocked off, a line of luxury cars as far as the eye could see. Raphael's men stood guard every few feet, forming an impenetrable wall around the cathedral.Maximo straightened his back, trying to muster the old authority of a Gallo Don, and strode toward the entrance."Get out of my way! I'm here to see Oriana!" he yelled at the guards.The two men looked at him, their faces blank. One of them didn't even bother to look down at him. "No invite, you die. Simple as that."Maximo cried out and collapsed onto the steps.The immense wall of class and power was real. Here, Maximo Gallo was nothing.He knelt on the cold steps, bitter tears of humiliation mixing with the melting snow in his mouth. He struggled, screaming at the doors."Let me in! Oriana is my woman!""You dogs, tell Raphael to get his ass out here!"The family bosses who used to flatter him now gave him a wide berth, casting looks of scorn and pity."Isn't that Maximo? What happened to him?""Some small