THE DON'S INNOCENT BRIDE: The Queen He Never Knew

BELLA'S POV

"Sign the fucking papers," I cocked the gun swiftly, pointing directly at Dante's skull, "or I paint this office with your brains."

Dante sat perfectly still in his leather chair, eyes locked on mine. That same predatory calm gaze that made me fall in love with him six years ago, the same gaze that haunted me throughout the six years of marriage.

Six years of looking into those eyes and seeing everything except the truth.

"Tesoro," he said, in a low and rough voice, "Put down the gun, or you will hurt yourself."

He still thinks I'm fragile, still thinks I'm his delicate little flower.

My mouth twitched slightly. I slammed the divorce papers onto his desk with my free hand.

"Sign them!"

He laughed, loud enough to irritate me.

"You think you're brave now, huh? Because you learned to hold a gun?" His hand shot out, gripping my wrist.

"I could break your arm before you pulled that trigger." He said, snickering.

I pressed the barrel harder against his skull.

"Try it. See which happens first." I spat, my voice ice cold.

Something flickered in his eyes. Surprise, maybe. The great Dante Caruso, caught off guard by his docile little wife. The thought was ironic. I know.

"What happened to you?" he asked quietly.

You happened to me, Dante. You and your lies.

I stared at him with a bored expression, irritation stirring in my chest. I wish I could hit his jaw with the barrel.

We stayed frozen for a while. His fingers wrapped around my wrist, my gun against his head, both of us daring the other to move first.

He really thought I couldn't do anything.

He's still underestimating me. Good. Let him.

Suddenly, I pulled back with a swift movement and fired.

The bullet slammed into the wall six inches from his face. The crack echoed through the office like thunder. My ears ringing slightly.

Dante's jaw clenched. I could see it in his eyes, controlled rage simmering beneath his perfect handsome mask.

"Does that answer your question?" I kept the gun trained on him.

"Sign the papers, Dante. I won't ask again." My voice was low.

"You won't survive a week without me."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

He reached for his pen.

"You have no money. No protection. No family." He continued.

I swallowed uncomfortably at the mention of family.

Don't react, I said to myself silently.

"That's none of your business now."

"They'll rip you apart." He signed the first page, aggressively.

"Every enemy I've made will come for you. And I have a lot of enemies, Bella."

"Good. Let them come." My voice deliberately dismissive.

Let them all come. I'll be ready.

He looked up, studying my face like he'd never seen me before, like the person standing before him was a complete stranger.

"You've changed."

"You taught me well." I smiled sweetly, too sweet that it looks creepy the longer you stare.

Everything I am now, you created. Remember that.

He kept on signing. His knuckles went white around the pen.

"Is this about the business meeting I attended last week? I told you already what happened."

Liar. I knew nothing. He made sure of that.

"At least leaving you will guarantee my survival from your enemies," I replied.

"Survival?" Dante's laugh was bitter.

"You think leaving me is survival? You're signing your own death warrant." He held eye contact for a while before looking away.

"Better dead than yours." I replied as the irritation rode up my throat. I'm certain his fragile ego would suffer a bit.

Something cracked in his expression. Pain, maybe. Or fury. With Dante, they looked the same.

He signed all remaining pages, then dropped the pen.

"You'll be back," he said.

"Two weeks. Maybe less. You'll realize how good you had it here. Safe. Protected. And most importantly, mine."

That word. Mine. Like I was property. A possession to lock away in his glass tower for a long time.

Maybe I was. For six years, I played the role perfectly. The sweet and obedient wife.

Never again.

"Page six, Dante." I urged impatiently.

He glared at me, picking up the pen again.

He signed it. Then seven.

When he finished, he set the pen down with eerie calmness. Dante was never calm unless he was about to do something violent, but I know he couldn't hurt me.

Wouldn't.

Or could he? Do I really know this man at all?

"You really want this?" His voice dropped to that dangerous whisper he used when daring people.

"You want to walk away from everything we built?"

"We didn't build anything. You built a cage and called it love."

"I gave you everything." He said almost helplessly, but I have been with him long enough to know that he was mocking me.

"You gave me nothing but lies."

I reached for the papers, keeping the gun steady. Our fingers brushed, and electricity shot through my skin.

Even now. Even hating him with every cell in my body, my traitorous body still responded to his touch.

Damn him. Damn this body for remembering.

I jerked the papers away.

"Goodbye, Dante."

I made it three steps before he spoke.

"Veleno."

I stopped, waiting calmly.

That nickname. The one he gave me after I accidentally put too much chili in his pasta. When we were still happy. When I still believed his lies.

"You think you know what I am," he spoke, barely a whisper.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of when someone takes what's mine."

Oh, that's what he thinks. He believes I'm having an affair. The irony of it is so funny that I want to laugh out loud. From now on, I decide who I'm with.

I looked back at him. He hadn't moved, but something had shifted in his expression. The mask was gone. What stared back at me was pure predator. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

This is the real Dante. The one he kept hidden from me for so long.

"Come find me then," I said.

"If you can." I added, daring.

His smile was slow and deadly.

"I always find what belongs to me. And when I do..." He stood, buttoning his suit jacket casually.

"You'll remember exactly why you fell in love with the devil." He said as the smirk appeared on his devilish beautiful face.

His confidence annoys me. I feel like wiping that smirk off his face.

"I stopped loving you the day I learned the truth." I managed to speak after minutes of silence.

"What truth?"

I met his eyes.

"That you murdered my family."

There. Let him choke on that.

Does that ring a bell, Dante?

The words hung in the air like poison.

Dante went completely still for a while.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me." I turned toward the door. "Goodbye, Dante."

I walked out before he could respond, genuinely happy after years of pressure. Every turn seems to hold memories, both sweet and sour. Standing in front of the elevator, I looked around once more, saying goodbye.

The elevator couldn't come fast enough. It felt like it was taking its time so I could properly say my final goodbyes. My eyes started stinging.

Don't cry. Don't you dare cry. Not here. Not in front of his cameras.

When the doors finally closed, my hand started shaking. I was finally free. I dropped the gun in my bag and pressed my palm against the wall, fighting the sudden surge of mixed emotions.

Freedom is cool, but not this kind.

This isn't freedom. Not yet. This is just the first step.

I will be back for revenge, certainly. I promise.

The parking garage was empty. I climbed into the car I'd prepared months ago. It was loaded with everything I needed.

As I drove away, I looked back, looking at the place that I lived for six years. At least I'm free from the bondage now. It's a new beginning.

Goodbye, Bella Russo. Hello, Isabella Sovereign.

Don't worry, Dante. You will get exactly what you deserve.

That's a promise to you!

I hit the gas pedal and sped off.

BELLA'S POV

My hands didn't stop shaking even when I hit the highway.

All I could think about was what had happened.

I'm free. I'd done it. I'd fucking done it.

Finally. After all this time.

The smell of freedom is so soothing. Although I know it's not for long, I need to enjoy it all for now. I tried to avoid thinking about all that had happened in the past few years.

I want to think about the present, the future. What I could control, but it's impossible.

I stared at the passenger seat. The gun was still in the bag, the divorce papers too were there. I struggled to get those papers, it was tough. Thinking back at all that had happened, my eyes started to burn again.

Three years of planning. Six months of preparation. Weeks of practicing what I'd say, how I'd hold the gun, how I'd walk away without looking back.

And I did it. I actually did it.

I pressed harder on the gas, like putting distance between the penthouse and I could stop the tears. My vision blurred. I blinked hard, refusing to cry.

I can't cry now. I have won. I'm free.

This isn't winning. Not yet. This is just escape.

It's fine, Bella. You will pay him back in his own coin. He won't go scot-free. He will...

I couldn't anymore. I pulled over at a rest stop twenty miles outside Rome, my hands trembling so badly I could barely turn off the ignition.

It's better I let it all out. I didn't cry for so long. When my uncle and his wife died, I didn't shed a tear. When I found out about my husband's scheme, I was so composed that it scared me. I thought I was becoming emotionless. I read the evidence of my husband's betrayal over and over again like a newspaper, only that this is a crime scene that involves two sets of my parents.

Two families. Four people. All dead because of one man.

Everything depends on you now. Justice and revenge. I consoled myself. I always do.

Consoling myself is an art I mastered years ago.

The documents containing all of the evidence lay in the back seat. I picked them up again. Reading what I had read over and over.

My hands clenched. There it was, written in black and white.

They'd investigated Anthony and Elena. They started digging into them three years after I married Dante. It was a week after Anthony's visit. They were killed in broad daylight.

In just a week. One fucking week after this, the investigation was closed.

One week. Seven days to decide they deserved to die.

Coincidence? No. Dante didn't believe in coincidences. He never underestimated coincidence. Neither will I.

I flipped to the next page. Marco's signature closing the case.

Shutting my ears to blur out the memories and calm my trembling heart. It is fucking painful. I can't...

They fucking killed them and lied.

It is getting hard to breathe. I tugged at my blouse collar. I needed more air. Tears spilling uncontrollably. I couldn't stop it.

"Noooooooooo!" I screamed. Finally, I am letting it out. It had locked me in a cage for so long. Finally, I'm free.

"My husband...killed my parents. Both biological and foster parents." I repeated out loud. Maybe I can hear it differently. Or maybe to accept and remind myself of the justice I want.

Say it again. Make it real. Make it hurt.

Dante directly ordered the execution of my parents years ago, and he ordered the murder of my foster parents too. The job was so clean that no one could ever guess his involvement. However, he left a witness. The man who he contracted for the murder.

"My job was to shoot them during the commotion and flee the scene." The hitman confirmed it all. Orders came from Dante Caruso. Payment came from Caruso accounts.

Three years later, the same pattern began with Anthony and Elena. Same killer. Same organization. Same methods.

Dante Caruso murdered both sets of my parents.

The evidence was irrefutable.

Four lives. One monster.

Dante controlled more than half of my parents' territory now. Isn't that obvious? The reason he married me. For full control. Trying to make sure I don't break loose from his predatory claws.

I had known all of this without shedding a tear for years. Now I'm scared I might not stop till tomorrow.

Tugging my hair till it hurts. Maybe I would wake up.

Wake up, Bella. This isn't a nightmare. This is your life.

Anthony raised me. He worked himself to the bone at his restaurant to pay for my art school. He warned me about Dante from the beginning. I should have listened. Maybe he would still be alive.

"Stay away from that man, piccola. He'll destroy you."

I can hear his voice as clear as a bell.

Why didn't I listen? Why did I think love was stronger than his warnings?

He'd known.

And they'd killed him for it.

Dante killed my father. He killed him. He killed my mother. He killed Elena.

Repeating the crimes seemed to soothe me.

I chanted the mantra over and over, and after a while I was numb. My eyes were burning. I sat still staring at nothing. A few tears still trying to escape.

I hope they do, because after this, Bella Russo is dead.

She has to be. Only Isabella Sovereign can survive what comes next.

After hours of emotional breakdown, I got distracted by my phone buzzing. It was Dante.

Staring at the screen, I felt nothing. I calmly discarded the phone.

Let him call. Let him search. He won't find Bella Russo. She doesn't exist anymore.

When I said it's over, I'm not fucking playing.

I stared at the remaining documents, the ones I'd recovered from Anthony's basement.

My birth certificate.

My real name. My real family.

I'd found these documents hidden in Anthony's basement after he died three years ago. Then I still called him Papa.

Papa. The last time I said that word was at his funeral.

At first, I thought it was a mistake. Some bureaucratic error. I couldn't comprehend the fact that Anthony wasn't my father.

Then I found photos. A man holding me as a child. Dark hair and eyes just like mine. After several photos and pictures, I found out he was Alessandro Sovereign, and his wife, Marie Russo, strikingly similar to me in body proportion and facial structure.

The truth made me weak.

Everything I knew was a lie.

My entire existence was a plain white lie.

Twenty-five years of living someone else's life.

And Dante had known.

The investigation proved it. He'd married me knowing exactly who I was. Knowing my real parents were dead. Knowing he controlled the territories that should've been mine.

It was never about love.

It was always about power.

Every kiss was a lie. Every "I love you" was strategy. Every night in his bed was conquest.

But why did he let me leave that easily?

BELLA'S POV

I arrived in Sicily early the next morning. It smelled like salt and blood, just like I'd heard about.

This is where it all began. Where I was born. Where my real family died.

I stood at the gates of the Sovereign estate. Or what was left of it. And felt my past pressing against my skin.

Years ago, I was born in this house. And it had died with my parents.

The estate looked like a corpse. You could tell how vibrant and magnificent this place once was. But now the walls were crumbling. Gardens wild and overgrown. Windows shattered.

But the gates still stood. Wrought iron twisted into an elaborate S.

Sovereign.

My name. The thought made my heart skip a beat.

I'm back home. Exactly where I belong.

I pushed through the gates and walked toward the main building. Each step echoing. Several thoughts running through my mind as I looked around.

I needed to find someone. Anyone. I knew they were around here somewhere.

After wandering for an hour, they found me.

Three men. Armed to the teeth. Watching me suspiciously.

The oldest stepped forward. Gun lowered but ready.

"You're trespassing."

"No." I stood straighter.

"I belong here."

Say it. Make them believe it.

The men looked at me like I'd suddenly grown horns.

"My name is Isabella Marie Sovereign. Alessandro Sovereign was my father. This is my family's land."

The men stared at me for a moment. Then burst into laughter.

I'd expected this. I knew they would need proof.

"Alessandro's daughter died with him," the oldest man said.

"Everyone knows that."

"Everyone's wrong." I pulled out the documents from Anthony's basement. The ones I'd carefully arranged.

"Anthony Russo took care of me. I was given to him as a child to keep me safe. Now I'm here to claim what's mine."

The oldest man took the documents. His hands started shaking as he read.

"Dio mio," he whispered.

"The eyes. You have his eyes."

"I have more than his eyes." I stepped closer.

"I have his name. His blood." I looked at each of them.

"And I need soldiers. Are you interested? Or does your loyalty belong somewhere else?"

The men exchanged glances. Some silent communication I didn't understand.

Finally, the oldest knelt.

"Tommaso Ricci, Lady Sovereign. I served your father for twenty years." His voice broke.

"I was there that night. The night we lost everything."

"Then help me take it back."

First mission accomplished.

They brought me to their safehouse. A warehouse on the edge of Palermo. Filled with men who'd been hiding in shadows for fifteen years.

"How many?" I asked Tommaso.

"Forty-three men. Some women. Children of soldiers who died."

"We've been waiting, Lady Sovereign. Fifteen years. Hoping the heir Alessandro mentioned was real."

"We were hunted after Alessandro's death," he paused, "by Don Caruso."

My hands fisted. My jaw clenched.

Of course. Dante again. Always Dante.

"Don Caruso is my ex-husband," I said quietly.

The room went completely silent.

I told them everything. The marriage. The lies. Finding the truth. The divorce at gunpoint.

"I'm here to avenge my family," I concluded.

Tommaso was quiet for a long moment. Then he spoke.

"We had nothing to fight for before. Now we have direction. We will fight for you, Lady Sovereign."

The room erupted. Men shouting their loyalty. Pounding fists on tables.

I felt something shift inside me. Something cold and hard settling into place.

This is real. This is happening.

"We thought Anthony didn't survive," Tommaso said.

"We never heard from him after everything died down."

Hearing Anthony's name brought the pain back. Sharp and fresh.

He knew who I was. Who Dante was. And I ignored his warnings until it was too late.

I remembered Anthony's body in the river. Elena's remains found years later.

How dare Dante. How dare he take everyone I loved.

"Who ordered the hit?" I asked. My voice barely steady.

"Who killed my family?"

Tommaso leaned forward.

"It was blamed on the Vitales. Lorenzo Vitale's son supposedly led the attack. But the real orchestrator was obvious. Someone who benefited when Sovereign territories became available."

"The Carusos controlled the territories after. Right?"

Tommaso nodded.

"Within months of your family's death, Caruso moved in. Claimed the territories were abandoned. That they were maintaining order." He spat.

"Maintaining order by dancing on graves."

I stood. My legs unsteady.

I made the right decision leaving. At least I made one good decision in my life.

"What do you need from us?" Tommaso asked.

"Everything." I turned to face all the men in the room.

"Teach me everything I need to know. I'm a Sovereign by blood. Now I need to become one by skill. I need to take back what was stolen from us."

"And Dante Caruso?"

"I'm going to destroy him." My voice was ice.

"Piece by piece. Everything he built on my family's blood, I'm going to burn to the ground."

The room erupted again. Louder this time. Men pledging loyalty. Swearing vengeance.

I stood there feeling my old life die. And something new rising from the ashes.

Bella Russo is dead. Long live Isabella Sovereign.

That night, I stood on the balcony overlooking Palermo. A city my father once controlled.

My city. My birthright. Stolen by the man I married.

Tommaso appeared beside me.

"Tell me about them," I said.

"My parents."

He sighed. The silence stretched long.

"Tomorrow. Not tonight. You should rest."

He paused.

"It won't be easy, Lady Sovereign. Becoming who you need to be. It requires sacrifice."

"I've already sacrificed everything."

"No." He looked at me with sad eyes.

"Not yet. But you will."

He walked away, leaving me alone. Watching the city sparkle below.

The war has started. And I'm changing.

I just hoped when this was over, when I'd burned down everything Dante built and stood victorious in the ashes, I'd still recognize the woman in the mirror.

But I'm willing to risk it. Even if I die trying.

My phone buzzed again. Dante calling. Again.

I turned it off.

Let him search. Let him worry. Let him wonder what happened to his sweet, obedient Bella.

He wouldn't find her. She didn't exist anymore.

Tomorrow, the real work would begin. Training. Planning. Building an army.

But tonight, I allowed myself one moment. One breath. One last look at the scared girl I used to be.

Then I'll let her go.

And became someone new.

Someone dangerous.

Someone who would make Dante Caruso regret the day he decided to marry Alessandro Sovereign's daughter.

I'm coming for you, Dante. And when I'm done, you'll wish you'd killed me too.