Elena Bellucci, a sweet but resilient young woman, sees her world fall apart when her father, a former fallen godfather, is captured by Dominic Valenti, the fearsome leader of a ruthless mafia. To save her father from certain death, Dominic offers her a deal: a marriage contract. This marriage, supposed to seal a strategic alliance, is in reality a way for Dominic to ensure his domination while satisfying an unspoken desire for the beautiful Elena. Caught between her family duty and her wavering heart, Elena quickly discovers that Dominic is not just a cold and calculating man. Behind his steel walls hides a soul tormented by his own demons. But can she really trust him? And more dangerously, can she resist the burning attraction that threatens to consume this marriage of convenience?
The warmth of the morning enveloped me, but it seemed distant, like a vague and uncertain memory. A few years ago, it was in this same room that my father told me stories of glory and power, his voice full of pride. This house, filled with soft light filtering through the thick curtains, was a sanctuary. A house where my mother's laughter still resonated, even after she passed away. I could almost hear it. But today, there were only heavy silences and fleeting shadows that seemed to slide between the walls. Nothing was the same anymore.
I ran my fingers over the porcelain cups my mother had carefully placed in the window. Each cup had a story. Every brushstroke, every hand-painted detail took me back to a time when everything seemed simple. It was before the world turned upside down. Before everything is reduced to a series of desperate decisions.
The phone in my hand suddenly vibrated, pulling me from my thoughts. I took a quick glance at the screen. A message from one of my father's former associates, a man I hadn't seen in too long.
*"He's taken, Elena. We have more time. We must act quickly."*
The words hit me like a slap. My father, the old godfather of whom legends were still told in the dark corners of the streets, was captured. By him. Dominic Valenti . This name, whispered in criminal circles like a curse, was now synonymous with death or submission. I felt a shiver run down my spine. I never thought this would happen. Not to him. Not to us. And yet, it had happened.
I took a deep breath and, without thinking, grabbed my bag. My legs felt stiff, as if they refused to carry me. I had to do something. That was not an option.
The street appeared blurry through the car window, like a scene from a movie that wouldn't come to life. The fresh air from outside could not dissipate the weight of anxiety that was suffocating me. I felt like everything had become a dream, a bad dream, from which I couldn't wake up. My thoughts were lost, escaping in a whirlwind of regrets and fears. How did we get here? How had this world my father had built around us, a strong fortress of contracts and power, collapsed in an instant?
I arrived at the city bank, where I had requested a meeting. The large white marble hall welcomed me with its solemn silence, its lugubrious echo. I approached the counter, my hands trembling, and asked to see the manager. He stared at me, a slight smile on his lips, but I knew that smile was polite, nothing more. He knew why I was there.
The minutes stretched like hours as I waited, alone, in that cold room. The breeze blowing through the half-open windows seemed to whisper secrets. I couldn't get rid of the image of my father, sitting in his leather chair, surrounded by his henchmen, his soft, authoritative voice reassuring everyone. A strong man. A respected man. But this respect, now, was just a memory.
The director finally entered, with a confident gait, but his eyes betrayed a concern I had never seen before. He didn't even dare to greet me. He knew. He knew my request was going to be useless.
"I'm sorry, Elena. You do not have the necessary guarantees. We cannot move forward without it," he says bluntly.
I felt empty. My arms swayed slightly, as if hanging from invisible threads. "You're not serious," I replied, my voice cold but trembling.
"It's the only thing I can offer you," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "You know how it works."
I remained silent, looking at the ground, then looked up at him. "You're not telling me that everything my father built is worthless to you, are you?"
He knelt down slightly and lowered his head. I didn't need more. I knew it was over. The doors were closed. I couldn't do anything without the necessary money, without the power. And I couldn't blame him. There were no more friends in this world. Not here.
As I left the bank, I let out a heavy, almost heartbreaking sigh. It was as if all the air around me had become thick, as if each step brought me a little closer to the inevitable. I had nowhere to go, nothing to hold on to.
Then a faint noise, a car slowing down next to me. I looked up and saw a figure I knew well. Dominic Valenti . The icy gaze, the lips pressed together in a discreet but determined pout.
"Are you looking for something, Elena?" His voice was low, dangerous, and yet there was no explicit threat in his words. Yet, I knew.
I stepped back instinctively, my heels hitting the pavement. "What do you want? »
Dominic nodded to his men, who waited a little further away. "It seems you are in a difficult position. I heard your dad is having...serious problems."
I didn't answer immediately, looking down. Images of my father, imprisoned, weak, assailed me. I didn't have the luxury of choice. I looked up at him. "You...you captured him, didn't you?"
He smiled slightly, but this smile did not touch his eyes. "Not captured. Not yet. But I have what it takes to free him. And you too. If you're willing to make a little sacrifice."
I didn't understand right away. "A sacrifice?"
Dominic approached, his piercing gaze penetrating my thoughts. "A marriage. A contract. You marry someone who can guarantee your father's freedom. My marriage. And your father will live. No more, no less."
I was speechless. My whole body tensed, heart pounding in my chest. "And why should I trust you?"
He shrugged his shoulders, disconcertingly nonchalant. "Because you have no other option, Elena. And you know like me that there are no heroes here. »
I looked around, as if the world around me would dissipate, as if reality could dissolve into thin air. But nothing changed. The city continued to buzz around us, indifferent.
My father. Everything I had known up until then was in danger of disappearing. And I had no choice.
"I'll do what I have to do," I whispered, though the words burned my throat.
A smile appeared on Dominic 's lips, and this time, he didn't hide it. He already knew he had won.
I was lost.
Under the gaze of a fallen mafia, Elvie, a young woman with a troubled past and victim of a brutal ex, seeks to rebuild her life. Working as an assistant in the villa of the Corleone, an influential crime family, she tries to avoid conflict with the three Corleone brothers, all as dangerous as each other. But everything changes when Adriano, the eldest brother and heir, breaks his arranged engagement to embrace the war between enemy families and must quickly remarry. Cold and calculating, he sees Elvie as a simple piece in his game. For her, he is just another nightmare to flee. But as they interact, appearances crumble and unexpected bonds are forged. As her ex resurfaces, Elvie will have to choose between her new life, her secrets and the growing violence that threatens everything she has rebuilt.
Alice's life has been devastated by the betrayal of those she believed to be her allies. Five years ago, her fiancé, in the grip of a professional failure, convinced her to sacrifice her dreams to help him get back on his feet. But her best friend, hungry for glory and power, made a decision that would change their friendship forever, by secretly becoming a surrogate mother. When Alice's fiancé, now at the top of his career, left her, claiming that she no longer met his expectations, Alice, broken, accepted the proposal of the mysterious billionaire, Gabriel Hartman. Known for his coldness and indifference, Gabriel seemed to offer Alice an escape. What she didn't know was that he was the one who had orchestrated her best friend's request for maternity... But what if everything she thought she knew was just a decoy? What if, deep down, the price of her redemption is much higher than she imagined? Can the truth really mend broken hearts, or will secrets destroy everything in their path?
Zoe's dreams of marriage are shattered when she catches her fiance in a compromising situation with his best friend. Devastated, she seeks to recover what she has lost. That's when an enigmatic man, a warm billionaire named Maxime Delacroix, offers her an unexpected solution: a loveless marriage, a contractual alliance with the aim of destroying his ex's career. Although reluctant, Zoe accepts, ready to do anything to get revenge. But as their relationship grows, Zoe realizes that the stakes are more complex than she imagined. Between revenge and a budding passion for this distant man, she finds herself torn between her desire for justice and her budding feelings. How far will she be willing to go to get revenge without losing everything in the process?
Lily thought she had a simple life, surrounded by her adoptive parents in a small town. But everything changed the day she learned that her real parents were industrial tycoons and that she had a twin brother, heir to a family empire. Welcomed into a world of luxury, she found herself facing a reality very different from the one she knew. Her brother, a cold and ambitious man, had always hated her. "You're just an intruder, Lily," he told her. But another secret resurfaced: a mysterious businessman claimed that Lily was the rightful heir to a huge hidden fortune. "It's time you knew the truth," he told her. Between betrayals and revelations, Lily must choose between wealth and family loyalty.
Lara Sanders and Ethan Cole had been together for five years, but Lara had never been his priority. Ethan, obsessed with his work, did not see the soul of the woman he had married. Lara had tried to rekindle the flame, but in vain. She had had enough. One day, she left everything: the house, the promises, and Ethan. Years later, Lara reappears. She has become a successful entrepreneur, an icon of the business world, and no one recognizes her anymore as the fragile young woman she once was. Far from the shy and discreet Lara, she is now a queen of industry, admired and respected. At a public event, a journalist asks her: "Lara, you are the most influential businesswoman of the moment. What is the key to your success?" Lara, with a mysterious smile, answers: "Never let a man define you. Take charge of your life. » The next day, to everyone's surprise, Ethan appears at Lara's door. The man she thought had been forgotten, who had let her go without a glance, returns with a surprising proposition: "Lara, I made a mistake. Can we start all over again... Together?"
Luca Moretti, an influential businessman, is forced to marry Amélie Lefevre, a woman he considers a simple family obligation. Already in love with another, he vows to make Amélie's life hell so that she will ask for a divorce. However, he does not know that Amélie is hiding a secret that could change his life forever. Behind her calm facade, Amélie is much more determined and intelligent than he thinks. What will happen when Luca finds himself caught in his own game? Will he succeed in breaking their union or will he succumb to the hidden truth?
6 years ago, Lydia suffered a brutal betrayal orchestrated by her own husband and step-sister, who drugged her and framed her. In a twist of fate, she ended up having a one-night stand with a stranger. Don't even remember what he looked like. Later, in the throes of death, she discovered the truth about her mother's death all those years ago. In the blink of an eye, she lost everything. 6 years later, Lydia returned with her genius son, vowing to exact revenge on all her enemies! Little did she know, she encountered an incredibly familiar man at the airport! *** The man was briskly pushing open the door to the restroom, heading to the urinal. Even with such a mundane action, he did it with unparalleled elegance and grace. Lydia, following him in a daze, saw his fierce lower body and suddenly snapped back to reality. She let out a high-pitched scream, instinctively covering her eyes with her hands, her cheeks flushed, and stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do. Lambert furrowed his brows slightly but remained calm as he continued to relieve himself. The sound of water hitting the urinal made Lydia's face even redder. She angrily shouted, "You pervert!" Little did Lydia know that Lambert, seeing her in this state, had a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Memories from many years ago flashed through his mind, and his heart couldn't help but stir. It was her!
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”
"I've warned you from the beginning. Don't marry him, but you won't listen." She stood close to me and smiled with concern. "You are not a woman worthy of a man as handsome, rich, smart, and virile as Blaze." My whole body trembled at her words. "Have you no shame?" I asked in a quivering voice. "Take a good look at yourself, Heather." She looked at me in the mirror. "You can't even look at your ugly face. Do you think Blaze can endure a lifetime of looking at that face?" Heather Bailey had a surprise from her husband that night: a divorce agreement. After a year of marriage and facing ups and downs, she couldn't believe Blaze intended to divorce her. But she was devastated when she saw him gazing lovingly at another woman because that person was closest to her. Shortly after she put her signature on their divorce papers, shock waves caught her up. Her flower shop was severely burnt, beyond repair. Her father's company collapsed, and her parents blamed her. She struggled to rebuild her life from the ground up and became more successful than ever. Having many customers who came from influential families, she started her action against Blaze. She won the very thing he wanted. But that was just the beginning.
Yelena discovered that she wasn't her parents' biological child. After seeing through their ploy to trade her as a pawn in a business deal, she was sent away to her barren birthplace. There, she stumbled upon her true origins—a lineage of historic opulence. Her real family showered her with love and adoration. In the face of her so-called sister's envy, Yelena conquered every adversity and took her revenge, all while showcasing her talents. She soon caught the attention of the city's most eligible bachelor. He cornered Yelena and pinned her against the wall. “It's time to reveal your true identity, darling.”
Elin spent twenty years deeply loving her husband, finally marrying him just as she'd always dreamed. But reality shattered her illusions—he wasn't the man she believed. Instead, he callously destroyed her family, crushing her heart beyond repair. At her lowest point, Ruben, equally betrayed that night, approached her steadily. "Marry me, Elin. I'll help you take revenge." Yet, after their wedding, she quickly discovered he was dangerously unpredictable. "I made a mistake. Let's divorce..." Ruben slid his arm possessively around her waist, whispering a chilling promise, "Only in death."