Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 70

Chapter 70

I narrowed my eyes at my mother, stunned by what she had just said.

“Are you serious?” I asked, my voice sharp with disbelief.

“Of course I am,” she replied, her tone too casual for the conversation. “I mean, the bullet just didn’t hit anywhere vital from what I hear. I’m sure he’s going to be fine. But if it had struck somewhere more critical… we could have been talking about something else right now. We wouldn’t even be worried about him anymore.”

I stared at her, horrified. She didn’t just say that. She couldn’t have meant that.

“Are you saying… are you actually wishing the bullet had hit his heart? Or his head? Do you wish he had died?” My voice shook as the words left me.

“No, no, no,” she rushed to say, raising her hands like she could shove the words back in. “I would never say that. Why would I say that I didn’t say that.”

But I saw it. It was there-in her eyes. That flicker of frustration. That relief that the situation almost solved itself. She did wish it. She wished the bullet had taken him out of the equation, so she wouldn’t have to keep fighting me about him anymore.

I shook my head slowly. “I can’t even look at you right now.”

I turned to leave, but of course-she couldn’t let it go.

“Please don’t act all high and mighty,” she snapped. “Just think about it. If you married the Don and gave him an heir, your son would have power. Position. Especially with Asher out of the way.”

I stopped cold. My back was still turned to her, but my blood turned to ice.

“Are you forgetting,” I asked quietly, “that Asher has a younger brother?”

She was quiet for a moment too long.

“What? Are you planning on killing him too?”

Her eyes widened. “Why would you say something like that? Keep your voice down!” she hissed. “What if someone hears you?”

I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “Unbelievable.”

That was the last straw. I walked away from her, slamming my bedroom door shut behind me. My hands shook as I grabbed my phone again and dialled Luca. No answer. I tried Asher next. Still nothing.

Please, someone pick up. Tell me he’s okay.

Time crawled until late afternoon, and when I heard the front door open, I bolted from my room and ran downstairs. My father had just walked in. He looked exhausted-like he hadn’t slept at all.

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Chapter 70

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I didn’t even greet him. “How is Asher? Is he okay? Is he still alive?”

He looked at me, and for a moment, my heart stopped. But then he gave me a tired, soft smile.

“He’s fine, baby. He’s okay. He’s out of danger.”

Relief crashed into me like a wave, and for the first time in hours, I could breathe.

I let the news sink in.

Asher was okay. He was alive.

I exhaled slowly, the weight lifting off my chest. “Can I go see him?” I asked quietly.

My father’s face fell.

“Please,” I begged, softening my voice, my eyes wide with the kind of look that used to get me out of trouble when I was younger. The puppy-dog eyes that always worked on him.

He ran a tired hand down his face and said, “I would like to… but I can’t. It’s out of my hands. I don’t have the kind of connections that would get you in to see him right now.”

“But I’m his fiancée,” I said, my voice rising with desperation. “I should be able to see him. He’d want to

see me.”

My father sighed again, longer this time, like the weight of the last twenty-four hours had caught up with

him.

“When I left in the middle of the night,” he said slowly, “I told your mother not to wake you. Not to tell you anything. I was afraid that if you found out something happened to him… you’d do something reckless.”

I blinked.

Reckless.

He thought I’d been sleeping in my bed that whole time. I was actually out there, getting shot at with Asher, who was now lying on a hospital bed. If he had found me there… Oh God. I didn’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened. I’d be grounded for life. Maybe worse.

And the craziest part? It had been my first time defying them like that. The first time I had really gone against them-and this is what happened. I was attacked.

But I didn’t say any of that. I kept the same helpless look on my face. Played the role of the worried, obedient daughter.

“Dad, please,” I whispered again, my voice almost breaking. “I just want to see him. I just want to know he’s okay. Please… let’s just go to the hospital.”

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “but… he’s not at the hospital anymore.”

My heart skipped. “What do you mean?”

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Chapter 70

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“We’re still looking for the people who attacked him,” he explained, keeping his voice low. “We don’t know who attacked us yet. And his father was afraid someone would come after Asher again, so… they moved him.”

My breath caught in my throat. “Moved him where?”

“I don’t know,” he said, eyes tired and honest. “Only the higher-ups know. The top-tier. Even if I wanted to help you, I couldn’t.”

I stared at him, stunned. It was like the floor had disappeared beneath me.

How was I supposed to see him now?

My voice cracked as I asked, “But can I talk to him? Just for a minute? I’ve been calling, but he’s not picking up. I know it’s because he physically can’t. I know that. I just… I need to hear him. Just once. I need to know he’s okay.”

My father stepped closer and gently placed a hand on my shoulder. “If I knew where he was, I swear, baby… I would’ve taken you to him.”

But that didn’t help.

Because he didn’t know. Nobody would tell us. And I was left in the dark.

My dad was about to leave when I stopped him.

“Are you really sure you can’t get me to at least talk to him?”

He paused. “I don’t think he’s in any state to talk right now, dear.”

“But… it was just a shot in the arm. I don’t think that would stop his mouth from talking,” I said quickly, almost defensively.

His eyes flicked back to me-curious, sharp. Suspicious.

“What?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

“How did you know he was shot in the arm?”

D

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