Chapter 150 THE ORIGINAL.
\~~~TALIA MONIQUE MONROE.
“I trust you,” Marco grunted, thrusting deeper, his hands guiding my hips as he chased his own release.
The orgasm hit me like a wave, my screams echoing again as I clenched around him, milking every drop as he came inside me once more. We moved together, lost in the rhythm, until we both collapsed, spent and tangled.
But even as the aftershocks faded, my mind raced ahead. This wasn't just about the pleasure, though Marco made it hard to think straight. It was about revenge, and about reclaiming what was ours.
The plan had been brewing for months, ever since I'd fled and watched from the shadows as that imposter wormed her way into my life. Raina, my own blood, stealing my identity, my husband, and my empire. The thought burned hotter than any touch.
I rolled off him, lying on my side to watch Marco catch his breath. His chest rose and fell, the scar glistening with sweat. We had met in the underbelly of Europe, both running from our pasts, and both hungry for power. He was rough around the edges, a hired gun with a grudge against the same families that had chewed me up.
Together, we were unstoppable. His intel had confirmed that Luciano still thought she was me. The switch had been seamless as her face was close enough to mine in the right light, and with the right makeup and whispers.
But cracks were forming, and Talia, that was my name, the real one, would shatter it all.
“Tell me again why we are doing this in New York,” " I said, propping my head on my hand, tracing lazy circles on his arm.
Marco turned to me, his eyes sharp despite the post-sex glow. “Because that is where the heart of it is. The house, the Don, your so-called sister. We hit there, and we hit hard. No escape for her.”
I nodded, the plan solidifying in my mind.
Infiltrate as Raina, the perfect wife, and the trusted one. Slip in during the chaos of Talia's supposed return. Everyone would be on edge, watching for ghosts, and not realizing the ghost was already inside.
Marco would handle the outside, the diversions, and the muscle if needed. And once I was in, I'd unravel it all, poison the well of trust, turn Luciano against her, take back the ring, the bed, and the power.
“You are smiling like you have already won,” he said, pulling me closer, his hand sliding between my thighs to tease my sensitive folds.
I gasped, swatting his hand away half-heartedly. “Because I have. She is soft, Marco. Raised in lies, and not blood. She will never see me coming.”
He chuckled, low and dark. “And if she does?”
“Then I end her. It is that simple.” My voice was steel, no room for doubt.
Raina had played her part well, but the stage was mine now.
I had been the obedient one.
The polished daughter, the one who smiled at dinners, lowered her eyes when necessary, and carried the family name like it was something sacred.
And how did they repay me?
They handed me over to the Moretti wolves.
Not because I failed them, or because I disobeyed.
But because they needed a bargaining chip, a solution and a convenient offering to settle a mess they created.
They thought I wouldn’t find out.
They fucking thought I wouldn’t piece together the whispers, the late-night arguments, and the desperate meetings behind closed doors.
They thought I would simply accept my fate and disappear quietly if things went wrong.
How dare they?
How dare they gamble with my life as if I were a pawn on their board?
Even if it meant losing me in the process.
Even if it meant I might never come back.
I had struggled for years to be their perfect daughter. The graceful one. The strategic one. The pride of the family.
And the moment trouble knocked on their door, they shoved me forward to answer it.
So I left and learned in the shadows. Built alliances where they would never think to look. Strengthened myself in ways they would never understand.
And now?
Now I return not as the daughter they tried to trade.
But as a consequence of their mistake.
And this time, I will not be the sacrifice.
I will be the one holding the knife, but now, with Marco at my side, I'd return not as the broken daughter, but as the queen.
We lay there for a while, bodies cooling, and plotting in whispers. He told me about the contacts he'd lined up, and the low-level guys in Luciano's organization who could be bought or broken.
“One wrong move, and it's over,” Marco warned, his fingers intertwining with mine.
“I know. But that's the thrill, isn't it?’' I kissed his shoulder, tasting him again. “You and me against them all.”
He pulled me on top of him once more, but this time it was slower, his cock sliding into me with a gentleness that contrasted our earlier roughness. I rode him languidly, savoring the connection, and the shared secrets.
As I moved, I thought of Raina's face, those wide eyes, that feigned innocence.
Those shimmering eyes she perfected so well. The softness in her voice and the way she tilted her head as if the world had always been too cruel for her delicate heart.
She feigned innocence so well and wore it like perfume.
But I knew her.
I knew the calculation behind the tremble, and the ambition behind the tears. She thought stepping into my life would make her untouchable.
She thought wrong.
Marco’s forehead rested against mine, our breathing syncing, slowing, steadying.
We came together quietly this time, a soft release that sealed our bond.
I was Talia Monique Moretti, the original, and the rightful one.
And Raina?
She was a placeholder, a shadow mistaken for substance and pale imitation standing in borrowed light.
And very soon… She would be erased.