Part 1Sold To My Secret Mafia Father

The day the company hit rock bottom, the man I’d loved for five years held me and sobbed through the night.

My heart broke for him. I was ready to swallow my pride and crawl back to the father I hadn’t seen in half a decade—the man I’d sworn to excise from my life like a tumor. The rumors said the former underworld kingpin had finally scrubbed his money clean; his empire now stretched across every corner of the city.

I wanted to surprise him. I didn't say a word. I just spent the afternoon cooking a feast, waiting for him to come home so I could tell him the nightmare was over.

But I never got to eat that dinner. One sip of my drink, and the world began to tilt. I went limp in his arms, the floor rushing up to meet me.

"Regina, baby, please understand... it took everything I had just to get a meeting with Big Mick," I heard him whisper, his voice sounding like it was underwater. "He told me himself. The CEO of Summit Holdings is looking for a woman. He's offering ten million dollars for anyone who matches your description. You’re a perfect fit."

"Don't hate me. If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for being too good to me when I had nothing. You’re too much for a guy like me to keep."

"Don't worry. I heard they’re legitimate now. You’ll be living in luxury. You’ll be happy..."

As my consciousness frayed at the edges, the words Summit Holdings hit me like a physical blow. Suddenly, the terror vanished, replaced by a cold, surreal irony.

Summit Holdings?

That was my father’s company. The "legitimate" front for the man who had spent five years trying to hunt me down, desperate to play the doting parent.

He was selling me to my own father.

If Nelson wanted me to live a life of luxury, he was about to get exactly what he asked for.

...

* * *

The sedative was heavy. I was tossed into the backseat like a piece of luggage. My head felt like it was splitting open, and my limbs were useless weights.

In the front seat, the conversation between Nelson and his assistant, Amber, drifted back to me with agonizing clarity.

"Nelson, are you really going through with this? She’s been with you for five years," Amber said. Her voice lacked any real conviction; she sounded more curious than concerned.

"What choice do I have? The company is dead in the water. Summit has been looking for her for years. They put a ten-million-dollar bounty on her head." Nelson’s voice was a jagged mess of exhaustion and cold pragmatism. "Ten million. It covers every debt we have. It’s a clean slate."

I kept my eyes closed, drifting through the fog of our history.

Five years ago, my mother caught my father in what she thought was an affair. The stress sent her into a tailspin, landing her in a hospital bed she never left. I hated that man. I hated him for breaking her, and I hated myself for carrying his blood.

At eighteen, I walked out. I changed my name, moved across the state, and swore I’d never touch a cent of his blood money.

Then I met Nelson.

Back then, he was just a guy with a dream and a cramped studio apartment in a bad neighborhood. He worked twenty-hour days, but he’d always come home with a hot coffee for me. He promised me that once the company made it, he’d give me the world.

I believed him. I ate instant noodles with him for months. I pulled all-nighters helping him with spreadsheets. I begged clients to give him a chance. I watched him grow from a one-man show into a firm with fifty employees.

I knew my father was looking for me. But I stayed hidden. It wasn't just spite; it was a matter of pride. I wanted to wait until Nelson was a success, so I could walk back into my father’s mansion on my own terms—to show him I didn't need him.

And this was the payoff.

Nelson had succeeded. And now, he was cashing me in.

"Nelson, aren't you afraid she'll hate you when she wakes up?" Amber asked.

"Let her hate me." There was a brief silence. "Regina, don't blame me. I’m at the end of my rope. You’ve suffered through the lean years with me—you of all people should understand. You wouldn't want to see me lose everything, would you?"

Understand? I don’t understand a damn thing about you.

I tried to scream, to lash out, but all that came out was a pathetic, muffled groan.

"Summit Holdings isn't a bad place," he continued, his voice dropping an octave as if he were trying to convince himself. "Mr. Rossi has gone legit. He’s been searching for this specific girl for half a decade. Word is, his wife died years ago and he never remarried. Maybe... maybe he just wants a trophy wife. Isn't that better than struggling with me?"

My brain felt like it was exploding.

Rossi? Mr. Rossi?

That was my father. The man who had been scouring the country for his daughter.

You’re selling me to my own father? And you think he wants to marry me?

Nelson, you delusional sociopath.

I wanted to laugh, but the muscles in my face wouldn't move. I could only lie there, paralyzed, listening to his self-serving monologue.

"Regina, you love me so much. You’ll forgive me eventually. You’re saving me. You’re saving the company. You’re saving everything we built together..."

Everything we built?

Five years ago, when he held me and told me I was his soulmate, he sounded just as sincere. Last night, when he cried about the bankruptcy, he sounded just as sincere. Now, he was selling me and convinced himself it was a sacrifice I was making for him.

The car moved fast. The scenery outside the window began to look hauntingly familiar.

I’d run away from these streets five years ago.

The car slowed as we approached a massive set of wrought-iron gates. The Rossi Estate. The gold-leaf lettering mocked me.

I was home.

Nelson killed the engine but didn't move.

"Nelson?" Amber whispered, touching his arm.

He said nothing.

Amber watched him for a moment, her voice turning soft and manipulative. "Are you having second thoughts?"

Still, silence.

Amber let out a sharp, cynical laugh. "Think about the company, Nelson. Think about..." She paused, and I heard the rustle of fabric. "Think about me. And think about the baby. Do you want our child to grow up in a trailer park, or do you want the life we talked about?"

A tremor went through Nelson’s shoulders.

A baby?

The last string of my heart snapped. Five years of memories. Five years of cold pizza, late nights, and shared dreams. It was all a lie. He’d already replaced me. She was already carrying his future.

I was just the collateral.

"Regina."

Nelson suddenly turned around, looking at me. I forced my eyes open, locking my gaze onto his.

He flinched, clearly not expecting me to be conscious. But the guilt lasted only a second. He gritted his teeth, his expression hardening into something ugly.

"I'm sorry."

He climbed out of the car, and together with Amber, they dragged me out into the cold night air.