Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 101

Chapter 101

I go

back into Dad’s office. Head straight for the safe. I kneel down, press the familiar numbers, and it clicks open.

Same passcode. Same stacks.

Still there. Not enough for four people. Maybe not even enough for three if we’re being smart.

But for one? It’s more than enough.

Now comes the hardest part.

The body.

I need a body in that room. Something to burn, something to leave behind.

I need someone dead Or… already dead.

My hands are shaking as I leave the house.

3

I do everything I’m not supposed to know how to do. I get the burner phone. I get the wig, the cheap makeup, the cover identity. I make the calls. I ask the questions that you’re not allowed to ask unless you’ve seen too much of the world.

And somehow I don’t even know how…

I do it. I get what I need.

An already cremated female body. Bagged. Heavy Silent.

By the time I return to the house, no one’s there.

I carry the gym bag upstairs. Put it under my bed and start putting everything in motion.

The escape. The fire. The lie. All of it.

And just as I step out of the shower, my towel still wrapped tightly around me, towel clinging to my damp skin, I freeze.

My mother is standing in my bedroom.

She’s by the window, her arms crossed, staring outside like she belongs here.

I wasn’t expecting her, she’s been avoiding me lately. She turns at the sound of the door, and I realize she’s dressed up. Elegant. Formal.

My eyes narrow. “How can I help you?” I ask flatly, cutting straight to the point.

I hate that I have to pretend. Hate that I have to act like nothing is wrong.

She sighs as if she’s the one who’s tired. “Your father came to pick us up. The Don invited us

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for dinner.”

“For dinner? With the Don?” I ask, my voice low, and uncertain.

“Yes,” my mom answers, her tongue sharp, clipped. No room for questions.

I stare at her, my pulse rising. “What if it’s not really for dinner? What if he’s calling us there to ambush us? To poison us or….kill us? Have you ever thought about that?”

She exhales sharply, already annoyed. “What do you want me to do, Ariella? He’s the Don.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“In fact,” she says, lifting her chin, “it’s an honour to be invited to his house for dinner.”

“An honour?” I repeat, laughing without humour “So it’s an honour now to be summoned by a man who could have us killed on a whim?”

“If he wanted us dead,” she snaps, “he wouldn’t wait for a dinner invitation. He’d do it in our sleep.”

My eyes narrow at her. “Wow. You’re really something else.”

She ignores me, brushing invisible lint off her sleeve. “Okay, just get dressed. Your father’s in a mood. He doesn’t want to get out of the car.” And she says almost to herself,

“This is the first time he’s actually called me instead of coming in person” she adds, almost wistfully. “Told me to get ready. He’s outside, waiting in the car. He couldn’t even bother to get out of it….”

“That’s your problem,” I mutter, walking away. “I don’t want to hear about your fights with Dad.”

She sighs again.

“Can you just get dressed?”

I stop in my tracks. “Do I have to go?” I pause. “Does that include me?”

“I think you should come,” she says.

“I’m not going,” I answer without hesitation. I walk past her toward my dressing table and begin rubbing oil into my skin, deliberately ignoring her presence.

She stays there, silent. Watching.

I drop the towel and walk to my closet, fully exposed. Let her be uncomfortable. Let her feel out of place in my space for once.

But then she snaps.

“You know what? Fine.” Her voice trembles with something between frustration and fear. “I’ll

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Chapter 101

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say you have a headache. That you’re sick. Whatever. Just…stay. Don’t go anywhere. Do not call Asher. Do not see him. Please.”

Her eyes flicker to my neck. My chest. That’s when I realised what she’d seen.

The marks.

His Bite marks.

From last night.

I turned around, calmly pulling on underwear, acting as if she saw that was part of the plan.

She calls my name.

“Ariella…..”

“Fine!” I snap back.

She says nothing more. She leaves.

And the second the door closes behind her, I know. This is it. This is the moment. My chance.

I change. No more soft colours and cream dresses

I throw on black-tight jeans, a dark hoodie, and anything that won’t stand out in a crowd.

I grab my backpack and start stuffing in only what matters: cash, documents, burner phone, hoodie, gloves. Essentials for escape.

Then I creep down the hallway. The house is silent.

I peek past the stairwell. No sign of my mom or dad, they already left.

This is the beginning of my disappearance.

Not exactly how Dad planned it… But with a twist. I have to make on my own.

I open the gas can slowly, my hands trembling just slightly as the fumes hit me. I followed every step just as my dad had instructed, carefully burning all his documents together- evidence of his plan, his desperation for us to disappear.

As I work, I hope-I hope he forgives me.

I hope he never finds out what I did. Because I know… he was only trying to protect us. Trying to be the father I’ve always known. The strong, unshakable pillar of our family. The head.

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