My Family Used Me to Settle Their Debt—I Never Expected the Mafia Boss to Open His Arms
Chapter 13
The wedding was small.
No criminal associates.
No secret business deals.
No armed men standing behind the bride.
Just family, friends, and the people Elena had helped through the foundation.
Her father walked her down the aisle.
He was nervous.
She could feel his hand shaking.
“You okay?” she whispered.
He nodded.
“I never thought I’d get to do this.”
She smiled.
“Neither did I.”
At the altar stood Luca.
He wore a simple black suit.
No gold ring.
No family crest.
Just silver at his wrist.
When Elena reached him, he took her hand.
The officiant began.
But Elena barely heard the words.
She kept thinking about the first night.
The red dress.
The black car.
The mansion.
The way she had expected fear.
Instead, Luca had asked:
“Who told you I wanted to marry you?”
That question had changed everything.
Because he had given her back something her family had taken.
Choice.
When it was time for vows, Luca spoke first.
“I can’t promise your life will never be difficult.”
Elena smiled.
“I know.”
“I can’t erase what your family did.”
“I know.”
“I can’t change my past.”
She looked at him.
“I don’t need you to.”
He swallowed.
“But I can promise this.”
He took both her hands.
“You will never again have to wonder whether you are wanted.”
Elena cried.
“You will never again be treated like payment.”
He smiled.
“You are not a debt.”
“You are not an inheritance.”
“You are not a secret.”
“You are my choice.”
Elena’s voice shook when she answered.
“I spent years believing love meant someone deciding what was best for me.”
She looked at him.
“Then you opened your arms and let me decide.”
She laughed through her tears.
“And that scared me more than anything.”
Everyone smiled.
“But it also changed everything.”
She squeezed his hands.
“You didn’t save me by taking control.”
“You saved me by giving it back.”
They kissed.
The room erupted in applause.
Later that night, Elena stepped outside.
The garden was quiet.
Luca joined her.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“You’re crying.”
“Happy crying.”
He smiled.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
She leaned against him.
“I still can’t believe this is my life.”
“Neither can I.”
“Do you ever think about the debt?”
He looked at her.
“The debt that brought you here?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head.
“That debt never existed.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“The two million.”
“What?”
“It was never real.”
Elena stared.
“The numbers were fabricated.”
She laughed.
“So my family sold me over a debt that wasn’t even real?”
Luca nodded.
She covered her face.
“That’s almost funny.”
“Almost.”
She looked at him.
“What’s real, then?”
He kissed her forehead.
“This.”
She smiled.
“Good answer.”
But inside the house, Rafael suddenly appeared.
His expression was serious.
“Boss.”
Luca turned.
“What?”
“We found something in the old accounts.”
Elena frowned.
“What now?”
Rafael handed Luca a file.
A transfer.
Made twenty years ago.
From Antonio Delacroix.
To a foreign bank.
Beneficiary:
Elena Carter.
Luca stared.
“That account was never accessed.”
Rafael nodded.
“It’s worth thirty million.”
Elena’s eyes widened.
“I don’t want it.”
Luca smiled.
“I know.”
Rafael added:
“There’s a note.”
“What note?”
He handed it over.
One sentence.
Give her the money only when she learns who she really is.
Elena stared.
She thought she already knew.
But apparently…
She didn’t.
