All Chapters of BRIDE TO THE MAFIA HEIR: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

“I will say, Kylie, I’m surprised by what you’re proposing.”Kylie felt the familiar weight of her father’s gaze on her, but she refused to let it show. She’d been working toward this moment for days, weeks even, ever since Roberto’s attack had thrown everything into chaos. She had pushed and prodded her father relentlessly, and only today had he finally relented. He promised to hear her out—though whether he truly believed in her plan or was just indulging her, she wasn’t sure. His admiration now, that glint in his eyes, almost made the whole fight worthwhile.Almost.She swallowed her nerves and steeled herself. “They’ll be expecting a full-frontal assault. But that's exactly what makes it a bad idea. They’ll be prepared for it. They’ve already fortified their positions. Instead, we hit them where it hurts, without risking lives. Destroying one of their factories will cripple a major source of income for them. And we’ll be able to do it with minimal casualties.”The words felt like

The weight of Kylie's words hung in the air, thick with the grief she hadn’t fully expressed. “That’s how I felt about Ronan,” she said, her voice soft but firm, as though saying it aloud might force the emotions she kept buried inside to the surface. “He was always in my corner, even when we were growing up, fighting like cats and dogs.” A deep, painful shadow flickered across her face, and Roberto could see the grief she’d held in check for so long breaking through the cracks. “I miss him,” she added quietly, her voice thick with unshed tears.“I’m sorry, angel,” Roberto murmured, instantly regretting his choice of words, as if simply mentioning her loss would bring it rushing back in full force. He pulled her into his arms, not sure what else to say, but knowing he had to say something. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”She pulled back slightly, her gaze steady but heavy. “No, it’s okay,” she replied with a shaky breath. “He’s gone, no matter if we talk about it or not. An

Roberto’s gaze lingered on her throat, his expression unreadable, but the tension was evident in the hard set of his jaw. “Just like the bruises,” he murmured, his voice low and rough. His eyes traced the space where the marks had long since faded, as if he could still see them.Kylie’s breath hitched, the memory of those bruises tightening like a phantom grip around her neck. “Roberto, please.” Her voice was soft, pleading, yet there was an undercurrent of steel in it. She needed him to stop before he shattered the fragile walls she had built around herself.For a moment, it seemed like he might push her further. His hesitation hung heavy in the air, a charged silence that made her heart race. A small, treacherous part of her almost wished he would press on, pry deeper. The memory of Daniel’s death was like a raw, festering wound buried inside her. It poisoned her every thought, every feeling. Sharing that burden—unloading even a fraction of it—would feel like tearing open the wound

The thought hit Roberto like a punch to the gut: Did he know about Finch?No, impossible. Roberto shook his head and dismissed it just as quickly as it had come. No one knew. Devlin least of all. But the flicker of unease twisted in his chest, stubbornly refusing to dissipate.“I want to keep her safe,” Roberto said, his voice lower, more resolute. “I can’t do that if I don’t know where the threat’s coming from.”Devlin, leaning casually against the car, tilted his head with a knowing look. “If she’s not telling you, there’s a reason.”“She doesn’t trust me.” The words left his mouth bitterly, and their weight felt heavier than he expected. Sure, he’d known it deep down, but saying it out loud made it real. Kylie didn’t trust him. He dragged a hand over his face, trying to will the frustration away.Devlin’s smile was faint, tinged with something between sympathy and exasperation. “And what have you done to earn that trust?”Roberto faltered, his jaw tightening as the truth hit home.

Sophia slipped into the pulsing crowd, feeling a jolt of exhilaration as the music thrummed through her body. The heavy bass obliterated any chance of conversation, cocooning her in a blissful, anonymous haze. Here, amidst strangers, there were no labels, no expectations, and no whispered judgments about her family name. The weight of being an Connolly melted away, leaving her wonderfully untethered—if only for a while.Dragging Kylie through the crush of bodies, Sophia scanned the sea of writhing figures. From the balcony above, she’d glimpsed Sloan and Keira in the thick of it, and she knew her youngest sister was to blame for dragging Sloan out there. Keira thrived in chaos; Sloan, on the other hand, preferred a quiet corner where she could observe unnoticed. Too bad. Tonight, Sloan wasn’t a spectator—Sophia was determined to make sure of that.Bodies pressed in on all sides, sticky with sweat and vibrating with energy, and Sophia relished it. The crush of people, the electricity i