A Bullet for the Don's Protection

Don Marco Valeriano was ambushed the day my husband, his Capo, abandoned his post. Ethan Gallo chose to chase after his pouting mistress, Cassandra Thorne, instead of protecting his Don.

In my past life, I pressed the emergency pager. Ethan abandoned Cassandra and rushed back, saving Don Marco. His "heroic" act solidified his position in the family.

However, Cassandra fell into enemy hands during the chaos and was brutally killed.

Outwardly, Ethan said nothing. But when I was nine months pregnant and due to give birth, he locked me in a frozen shipping container. I asked him in agony why he would do such a thing.

Ethan shot me a cold glare. "The Don has plenty of Soldati. Why did you have to call me back? You did it on purpose, didn't you? All you care about is status. If you hadn't pressed that pager, Cassandra would still be alive. For every ounce of pain she suffered, I'll make you suffer tenfold!"

In the end, the gnawing, bone-deep cold consumed me until there was nothing left. My unborn child suffocated with me in the crushing darkness.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day the Don was attacked.

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1

"Protect the Don!" I screamed.

Facing the well-trained gunmen, I instinctively stumbled back. It wasn't a dream. I had been reborn, sent back to the exact moment the tragedy began.

Realizing this, I looked down at the emergency pager clutched in my hand. While no one was watching, I hurled it into the nearby lake with all my strength.

Then, I threw my own body between Don Marco and the gunmen, a human shield.

Under the Don's shocked gaze, I took a bullet for him. I saw the confusion in his eyes slowly melt into gratitude and disbelief.

I knew my gamble had paid off. My husband, Ethan Gallo, was a Capo in the Valeriano family. Normally, he would never leave the Don's side. But today, during the ambush, he was nowhere to be found.

He was busy chasing after his pouting mistress, Cassandra Thorne.

In my last life, I pressed the emergency pager, terrified he would be punished. But after being rewarded for his "heroism," he turned on me. He called me a power-hungry social climber and blamed me for Cassandra's death.

He threw me into a frozen shipping container he had meticulously prepared, letting the biting cold consume me and our unborn child.

Now that I had a second chance, I refused to make the same fatal mistake.

I desperately shielded the Don. Even when a bullet tore through my back, I clenched my jaw and refused to make a sound.

The Don had plenty of bodyguards. As long as I could hold on until reinforcements arrived, I would live.

The Don understood this, too. He had no choice but to take cover behind me.

Realizing I was using myself to protect their target, the gunmen aimed for my abdomen.

I was nine months pregnant. I could feel my baby kicking inside me almost every day.

This gunshot was a pain sharper and more profound than being frozen to death.

An uncontrollable scream tore from my throat as my vision swam with red. Excruciating pain exploded from my lower abdomen, and I felt something precious being ripped from my life.

I reached out, trying to grasp it, but my fingers only brushed against the Don's blood-stained suit.

Soon, the thud of running feet closed in, and I heard the Don's frantic shouts.

"Doctor! Get my personal physician here, now! Who is this woman? Someone, tell me!"

I opened my mouth, but only managed to cough up blood. Yet, Don Marco showed no disgust, leaning in close.

With my last ounce of strength, I managed to force out the words. "I am... Ethan Gallo's wife."