The Fake Heiress He Dumped Was the Real CEO

The day the Family made its public consolidation of power, the man I'd given three years to finally came to offer a blood union.

Just not to me.

Jewels were spread across the table. A suitcase gaped open, packed to its edges with cash. Lorenzo Bevacqua stood there holding the true blood daughter by the hand, and when he turned his eyes on me, there was nothing in them but distance.

"Adriana Valente, you're nothing but a mistress the Family never claimed. You can do nothing for my name. Vittoria Valente is different. She's the Don's true daughter by blood, and one day she'll inherit everything the Valente Family owns."

My brow furrowed, and he stepped forward, his face arranged into something like regret.

"Don't worry, Adriana. I can't give you the name, but I won't leave you with nothing either. Be good, and I'll set aside two days a week to spend with you."

"The feast to bind Vittoria and me is in five days. Behave yourself until then, and I'll sign the North End apartment over to you. Call it compensation."

Watching him preen like some small-time soldier drunk on borrowed luck, my expression went cold.

"Someone come in here. Something filthy has crawled into my house. Clean it up."

Laughable, really. Every last dollar of the Valente empire had been earned by me every racket, every front, every debt owed to this Family. What did any of it have to do with Vittoria?

I'd only just clawed my way into the top three most feared names in the Territory, and now this piece of filth had shown up at my door dragging his bad luck behind him.

When the housekeeper came out with a broom, Lorenzo actually looked pleased with himself.

"Adriana, I know how deeply you love me. But a woman with no claim to the blood really isn't a match for a man like me."

"Once Vittoria and I are bound, we'll take the Valente business into our hands together. You've been so completely devoted to me. I give you my word I won't treat you badly."

The Family had just announced its dominance to every rival in the Territory, and I sat at the very top of it. Watching Lorenzo now was like watching a clown leaping and flailing across a stage. Nothing more than laughable.

"Lorenzo, what makes you think that after you betray me to bind yourself to another, I'll sit here like some loyal little lapdog and wait for you?"

Lorenzo let out a soft laugh.

"We were together three years. Everyone knows how much you love me. The way you nearly severed yourself from the Valente name just to be with me is still whispered about in every social club in the Territory."

"Besides, a woman with no name of her own? If you left me, you likely couldn't even keep a roof over your head."

He took another step and leaned close to my ear, his voice laced with temptation.

"Once Vittoria and I are bound, I'll not only give you the North End apartment, I'll send a hundred grand a month for your keep, and take you away somewhere once a year on top of it."

A cold smile pulled at the corner of my mouth. So in his mind I was nothing more than a caged canary, kept quiet with a little pocket money.

Back when the Bevacqua Family was bleeding out, when their whole operation teetered on the edge of total ruin one season after another, the Valentes had refused to let us be together. They feared Lorenzo would drag me down into the grave with him. It was only because I swore I'd stand in the fire beside him that they finally gave their blessing.

I never imagined all my so-called devotion was just one more line in his ledger.

Barely three years, and the moment Vittoria turned up at the door waving a paternity test like a made man's button, Lorenzo was suddenly clamoring to break our binding and take her instead.

I'd asked him about it once. He'd answered with the conviction of a man who believed himself righteous.

"Vittoria is the Valentes' true blood daughter. Once she inherits the Family, she can shield the Bevacquas. I don't have a choice."

"But don't worry. Even after I bind myself to Vittoria, there'll still be a place kept for you. I'll set aside two days a week to keep you company, and any child you bear me will be handed to Vittoria to raise, with the same claim to my name as any other."

That very night, I called in every last arrangement I'd ever held with the Bevacquas.

For three years, if I hadn't quietly been propping them up, a hopeless lost cause like the Bevacqua Family would have vanished from the Territory long ago.

"Adriana, I know you're still upset. But the wise adapt to reality, and I trust you're a smart woman who knows the right choice to make."

Something cold slid against my wrist. Lorenzo had fastened a bracelet onto it.

"This is a gift I picked out especially for you. Tonight I'll be waiting at the North End apartment for us to spend the night together. Consider it my way of making it up to you."

I looked down at the piece.

It came out of one of my own laundering fronts.

Nothing but a promotional throw-in.

A trinket that came free with the necklace.

And that necklace was hanging around Vittoria's neck at this very moment.

My stomach turned. I ripped the bracelet off and flung it into his face.

"Get out of my house."

Lorenzo stared at the bracelet on the floor, his expression darkening. His hand went to his cuff, straightening the fabric with a slow, deliberate tug.

"Adriana, I only lowered myself to coax you like this because I love you. But my patience has a limit. Keep throwing tantrums like an ingrate, and once Vittoria and I take the Valente name, you won't get a single thing."

With that, Lorenzo turned and left.

I watched his retreating back, sick to my stomach, and pulled out my phone to reach my right hand.

"Send the word out tonight. Within three days I want every dollar of Valente protection pulled off the Bevacqua Family. They have five days to return every cent of tribute. One day late and the Feds and the creditors will do the rest for me."

"Then reach every associate. From tonight, any Family that dares do business with the Bevacquas is standing against me, Adriana. The Valente name goes out against them. No one deals with them again."

Once it was done, I turned back to the ledgers on my screen. In the span of a single day, everything I controlled had doubled.

That evening I had a sit-down arranged with the most feared Don in the territory, a matter of business. The moment I stepped into the Family's private social club, I ran straight into Lorenzo, drinking with Vittoria and their people.

Lorenzo was leaning against Vittoria, and when he saw me, his face lit up with a smug grin.

"I knew you'd come to regret it. I just didn't think you'd lose your composure this fast, chasing me all the way here."

I ignored him and turned toward the VVIP wing at the back. Lorenzo stepped forward and threw out an arm to block me.

"Adriana, that's the VVIP suite behind you. In all this territory, no one but the three most powerful bosses is even allowed inside. Blunder in and disturb the men in that room, and not even old Salvatore Valente himself could keep you breathing."

I looked at Lorenzo coldly, at his provincial little display.

Everyone in the territory knew the club's VVIP wing was held for the most elite bloodlines. To set foot inside was not merely a matter of money; it was a symbol of where you stood in the underworld.

But no one knew the whole club belonged to me.

Vittoria stepped forward too, reaching out to loop her arm through mine with feigned affection.

"Sis, I know you're still angry, but if you offend the men in there, I'm afraid you'll drag the whole Valente Family down with you."

I turned my head to look at that affected, simpering face of hers, and shook her hand off in disgust.

"So now any filthy thing thinks it can touch me."

Shaken loose, Vittoria's face soured. She dabbed at the corner of one dry eye with the back of her wrist, a beat too rehearsed, then threw herself into Lorenzo's arms and burst into wounded tears.

"Lorenzo, I only meant it for her own good. I never thought she'd hate me this much!"

Lorenzo's expression hardened. He reached out and clamped down hard on my wrist.

"Adriana, I know you're still upset, but of all the things a nameless mistress could do, raising a hand to Vittoria is the last one you should have tried. Apologize. Now."

There was a grinding pop from the joint, and my whole wrist was already swelling red.

"Let go. You're not fit to speak to me that way."

Hearing that, Lorenzo's gaze darkened.

"Adriana, have you still not figured out where you stand? You're nothing but a false heir with no blood claim to the Valente name. Sooner or later the Family will cast you out into the street. If you want to keep breathing the air you're breathing, the only thing you can do is stay on Vittoria's good side."

Please her?

They wanted me, the hidden Donna who had built every racket the Valente Family fed on, who moved more money through the Skyline fronts in a night than these men saw in a year, to grovel before some pretty face whose only talent was luring men into bed?

The moment I said it, Vittoria went soft and delicate, catching hold of Lorenzo's hand.

"Lorenzo, it's only right that my sister hates me. If I'd never shown up, all of this would still be hers."

Looking into Vittoria's fragile eyes, Lorenzo melted, pulling her into his arms to shield her.

"Vittoria, you're the true blood daughter of the Valentes. Adriana is nothing but a thief, stealing a life that was never hers."

Then his cold gaze swung to me.

"Apologize."

My face darkened too.

"And if I don't?"

Lorenzo hadn't expected me to push back so hard. His expression turned uglier still. He tugged at his cuffs, lifted his chin.

The men around him were egging him on. Made men of a fading house, laughing to cover the debt closing over their heads.

"Lorenzo, if you can't even bring one false heir to heel, how are you supposed to sit at the head of a Family someday?"

"Lorenzo, if you can't whip her into line now, aren't you afraid she'll show up in five days and make a scene at your alliance feast?"

Vittoria clung to Lorenzo's hand and cried harder, looking all the more wronged. She dabbed at the corner of her eye with the back of her wrist, a beat too rehearsed.

"Lorenzo, if you truly can't let my sister go, I can step aside and give the two of you my blessing. It's just that, for the Family throne to pass to me, I'd have to bind myself to someone else."

Hearing that, Lorenzo panicked instantly, his eyes turning icy as they cut to the soldiers beside him.

"Hold her down for me. I'm getting this apology out of her no matter what."

The words had barely landed before two enforcers stepped forward. The private room went quiet. Somewhere behind the bar, ice settled in a glass.

My eyes went cold, and my hand shot up, striking one enforcer across the face.

"If any of you dare lay a hand on me tonight, by tomorrow you'll disappear from this Territory. No Family will ever find the pieces."

The two enforcers traded uneasy looks, neither daring to move. Their hands hovered near their jackets, then went still. Lorenzo couldn't stand losing face, so he grabbed a glass from the table and hurled the wine at me.

"Adriana, wake up! Do you really still think you're the high-and-mighty eldest daughter of the Valentes?"

The cold wine slid down my cheeks, and rage flared through me in an instant.

I raised my hand to swing it across Lorenzo's face, but the next second he seized my wrist in a hard grip.

"Adriana, have I spoiled you so much that you've forgotten exactly who you are?"

With that he dragged me in front of Vittoria, his other hand clamping viciously around the back of my neck, forcing my head down. "Apologize."

I clenched my teeth, refusing to make a sound, but Lorenzo was far too strong.

Just then, behind me, the door of the Family's private suite suddenly opened, and a man stepped out.

"Ms. Valente, Don Falcone has been waiting for you a long while."

That one line froze everyone in the room.

Lorenzo's face fell. His grip loosened.

"Since when do you know the men in there?"

Vittoria was even more stunned, her hand freezing mid-gesture over her mouth, the performance gone.

"No wonder my sister was acting like she feared nothing on earth. Turns out she's got herself under a man even more powerful than you, Lorenzo."

Lorenzo's men broke into whispers too.

"I said it, didn't I? Adriana loved Lorenzo so much, how could she suddenly turn so cold? Turns out she's being kept by someone else."

"Being the little sweetheart of one of the three Dons who own this Territory really does beat playing the false heir of the Valentes."

"Lorenzo, that safe house of yours on the North End is nothing next to whoever's sitting behind that door."

Lorenzo listened to their chatter, his face ashen, his fingers dragging once more at cuffs that no longer straightened anything.

"Adriana, you actually had the nerve to step out on me behind my back? How can you be so shameless?"

I watched Lorenzo coming apart at the seams and let out a cold scoff.

"Why? You're allowed to betray me, but I'm not allowed to betray you?"

Hearing that, his face turned even uglier.

"Adriana, how much is that man paying you a month, that you'd willingly become his kept woman? Aren't you afraid that once the word goes out, no Family in the Territory will let you stand on their ground again?"

I met those bloodshot eyes of his and smiled in mockery.

"Funny. I don't remember you wearing that face when you named your price for me."

"Adriana!" His fists clenched tight; he looked like he was on the very edge of exploding.

Choking back his fury, Lorenzo tugged his cuffs straight and leaned in close to my ear.

"Cut it off with him. Right now. Whatever he pays you a month, I'll double it."

I shoved him away in disgust.

"You can walk in there and say that to his face. I'd love to see whether the Bevacqua name still has the guts."

With that, I stepped straight into the VVIP suite, ignoring every stare in the room.

Lorenzo watched my back with something sinister settling in his eyes.

"Adriana, if you dare walk in there, the day Vittoria and I are bound, I'll see you cast out of the Valente Family for good."

I didn't slow down for even a second.

The moment he tied himself to Vittoria, I would call in every last dollar of protection I had ever laid over the Valentes.

Five days later, the Family made its move into overseas territory. To mark it, I booked out an entire floor of the Skyline Hotel and put every soldier and associate under my roof for the night.

I finished around noon and went straight for the hotel.

The second I walked in, I saw Lorenzo standing at the entrance in a pressed suit, flanked by two of his father's tired old enforcers.

When he spotted me, he came over wearing a look like he had it all figured out.

"I knew you couldn't let me go."

"But I'm warning you, today is my alliance, my day. You'd better behave. Once this is done, I'll be the Valentes' son-in-law-to-be, and whatever that man can give you, I can give you double."

I glanced at the welcome placard propped near the doors, and only then did I understand Lorenzo and Vittoria's binding feast was set in this same hotel.

In the cheapest ballroom they had.

I let out a scornful laugh.

"Save that pocket change of yours to cover the catering."

His face darkened, and he yanked hard at my hand.

"How much did that man give you, that you can't bear to let him go?"

"So what if he treats you well? He can still only keep you in the dark, out of sight. I'm different. I can give you love too. There's always been a place for you in my heart."

I stared at Lorenzo coldly and gave a mocking smile.

"Your love? I wouldn't dirty a gutter with it."

His grip tightened, and his expression turned cold and grim.

"Adriana, get your attitude straight. If you didn't still carry me in your heart, why would you chase me all the way to this hotel? Because you can't let me go."

I fought to shake his hand off.

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm going to the eighth floor. This ballroom of yours isn't fit for someone of my standing."

At the words eighth floor, Lorenzo paused, then let out a soft laugh.

"Adriana, how did I never notice what a fine actress you are? I already asked the management. The Valente Syndicate is holding a celebration on the eighth floor today. A kept woman like you wants to go up to the eighth floor? Are you trying to get thrown out onto the street?"

Lorenzo's stupidity nearly made me laugh out of sheer anger.

"Lorenzo, if your head isn't working, go up and see for yourself. Don't go biting people like a mad dog."

I turned for the elevator, and he stepped in front of it at once, his men shifting to close the space.

"Adriana, I'm telling you this for your own good. A mistress barging into someone else's business to make a scene? Aren't you afraid you'll drag the Valente name down with you?"

"Vittoria already went to the garage to bring up Don Salvatore and Francesca Valente. When they arrive and hear what you've done, they'll cast you out of the Family without a second thought."

Watching him put on that earnest, wounded act just turned my stomach.

"Fine. Go ahead and tell them everything about me. Let's see if they've got the nerve to strip me of the name."

Seeing that nothing touched me, Lorenzo lost his patience entirely and hauled at my hand, trying to drag me off.

"If you dare go to the eighth floor today, you'll bury me and the Valente Family right along with you."

"I will not let you ruin my binding with Vittoria. I'll have someone drive you home. Once today is done and everything's settled, I'll set you up in an apartment in North End. From now on you'll be mine, quiet and out of the way. I won't treat you badly."

The words had barely left his mouth when the elevator gave a soft ding.

My right hand hurried out of it and came straight to me.

"Ms. Valente, everyone's upstairs. They're only waiting on you to go up and speak."

Lorenzo went utterly still, and the look he turned on me flooded with panic.

"What did the Valente courier just call you?"