He Hurt Me, I Became the Queen and Destroyed Him

In order to save her imprisoned family, Amelia Richardson married the godfather of the mafia, the man who controlled half of Louisiana’s underground forces. On the night of her wedding, her husband, rumored to be cold, ruthless, and anything but gentle. Pressed the calloused pads of his fingers, hardened from years of gunfire, into the small of her back. But by dawn, tragedy struck. News of an explosion in the Richardson residential area swept through the city like wildfire. Barefoot, Amelia burst into Vincenzo’s conference room. With a dozen muzzles pointed at her head, she dropped to her knees. And stayed there. Three days. Three nights. On the fourth morning, Vincenzo strolled in. Calm, elegant, and cruelly composed. With a slow, deliberate motion, he lifted her chin with the tip of his shoe and smiled like a man who’d waited years for this moment. “Twenty years ago, a single phone call from your father led to seventy-seven members of my family being shot at the docks,” he said, voice low and lethal. “And because of that call, I was sent to the Colosseum of the Callahan family, forced to fight to the death against 999 of the godfather’s adopted sons… all for a chance to survive.” He leaned in, venom curling around his every word. “Madam, everything I am today… I owe to the Richardson family.” Three years into the marriage, Vincenzo locked Amelia away, humiliating her over and over again. She considered ending it all. But she remembered her promise… three years. One final appointment with her sister. So she endured the pain, night after night. Until one day… he injected her with fetal medication. It was so his mistress could carry the child instead. At the time, Amelia would place her hand over her stomach and feel the baby kicking gently against her palm. One month left until the appointment. Fifteen days later, Amelia stood on top of the lighthouse. Her legs dangled over the edge, the wind tugging at her clothes. Just when she thought no one would come, the devil himself appeared. Vincenzo. The man known for his poise and indifference. He dropped to his knees in front of a crowd. He pressed a gun to his own abdomen and begged. “Don’t jump.”