My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin

The news Tommy broke to Liza was something she had never expected.

For her, knowing that her husband had brought Ashley and Lucian home safely was already enough. She wasn’t asking for much.

Yet there she was, weeping as though someone had died.

She couldn’t even get a word out.

All she could do when Tommy told her, "Marshal didn’t have our child killed," was stare at him with wide eyes. Her breathing turned ragged, and somewhere in the back of her mind, her trembling gaze shifted to where Ashley sat.

The moment she saw Ashley smiling so gently, her heart pounded so violently that she thought she might faint.

But she didn’t.

She continued staring at Ashley while listening intently to her husband’s words.

"Marshal took her under his wing as an act of revenge and raised her while barely treating her as his own."

Tommy’s eyes softened as he smiled at his wife, whose attention remained fixed on Ashley.

"No," Liza whispered, her voice cracking on that single word.

She shook her head as she rose to her feet and dragged herself toward Ashley’s chair.

"Please don’t joke about something like that, Tom."

And yet, she was already cupping Ashley’s cheeks, tears streaming down her own. Her lips quivered as she looked Ashley squarely in the eyes.

Seeing her reaction, Ashley bit her lower lip as a lump formed in her throat. She didn’t cry often, but in front of Liza, a sob threatened to tear its way out of her.

Nolan, who was also in the room, covered his mouth with one hand. Shock was evident in his wide eyes as they darted between everyone gathered around the table.

Tommy drew a deep breath and glanced at Lucian. The two men nodded at each other before Lucian reached out and ruffled Primo’s hair.

Primo smiled, his attention fixed on Ashley and Liza.

The boy wasn’t surprised at all.

If anything, Primo was more confused about how the adults hadn’t figured it out until now. As far as he was concerned, he already knew.

His parents wouldn’t allow strangers to look after him, would they? Lucian and Ashley only left him with Nolan or people they trusted deeply.

Tommy cleared his throat as he rose to his feet and approached his wife and daughter.

"I would never joke about something like this," he said as Liza turned to him. "Never."

At those words, Liza’s vision blurred even further as she looked back at Ashley.

"Auntie, please don’t cry," Ashley muttered, her voice strained as she fought back her own tears. "If you do—"

The rest of her words lodged in her throat when Liza pulled her into a tight embrace.

"My baby," Liza choked out, clutching Ashley’s back desperately before pulling away again.

She cupped Ashley’s cheeks once more, studying every inch of the young woman’s face.

"Oh... please tell me I’m not dreaming. Please, please, please."

She rubbed Ashley’s shoulders, her movements almost panicked as her hands trembled uncontrollably.

The mere thought that the daughter she believed she had lost was still alive filled her with a mixture of equally overwhelming emotions. However, the realization that Marshal had taken their daughter and raised her as his own revealed a far more horrifying side to the story.

Tommy, Lucian, and Ashley had agreed on their way there to spare Liza the details.

But that didn’t mean Liza couldn’t imagine them.

She might not have been directly involved in Tommy’s affairs, but she knew Marshal well enough. That man would never raise another child—let alone Tommy’s—with care and affection.

"Ah..." Liza’s trembling hands moved away from Ashley and remained suspended in the air.

She could only stare at her daughter.

Her mind had gone blank, leaving her unsure of what to do next.

Then Ashley leaned forward and embraced her.

Smiling, Ashley tightened her arms around Liza, keeping the woman from completely falling apart. Her eyes squinted with emotion as she patted Liza’s back in a gentle, steady rhythm.

"Mama," she called, the word slipping from her lips so naturally that it surprised even her. "Don’t cry."

Liza’s breath hitched as her face slowly crumpled.

To her surprise, another weight pressed against their legs. When she looked down, she found Primo hugging them both while gazing up at them with a wide smile.

At the sight of him, Liza felt as though her heart might burst.

"My baby," she managed to say, hugging Ashley with one arm while placing her other hand on Primo. "My daughter... You’re alive. Oh, God! God... you’re alive!"

Between her sobs, Liza praised the heavens and called Ashley’s name again and again. Her entire body threatened to collapse, her heart felt close to giving out, and her tears poured like a broken dam.

Still, she remained standing, struggling to process everything without letting go of Ashley or Primo.

Lucian and Tommy smiled quietly as they watched the three of them, choosing not to interrupt.

Meanwhile, Nolan lowered his hand as his expression softened.

"Who would have thought?" he whispered from the sidelines. "Surely, what is meant for you will always find its way back."

A faint smile appeared on his face as tears gathered in his eyes.

Nolan couldn’t confidently claim that he had witnessed Ashley at her lowest, but he had caught a glimpse of it. Finding Ashley hiding in a corner of the kitchen was something he would never forget.

He knew how hard she had tried to earn acceptance from her own family, only to be disappointed time and time again.

But this?

This time, she didn’t even need to try.

Madam... I’m truly happy for you.

He felt honored to witness something so beautiful, even if it was bittersweet. Nolan could only hope that Ashley would never again have a reason to cry.

Or rather, if she ever shed tears again, he hoped they would only be tears of joy.

That day, the family refused to part.

Liza and Tommy stayed the night at Lucian’s insistence. Well, he didn’t need to insist much, considering Ashley, Primo, and Liza were all looking at him pitifully.

*****

Meanwhile...

"Wahhh!" Raka sobbed as he clutched Sammy in his arms. "My boy! You won’t believe what your papa has been through—wahhh!"

Sammy blinked as he looked at his father, who was bawling his eyes out.

"Papa, did you go on an adventure?"

"Adventure? No, I was—" Raka sniffed hard before turning to his son.

He wiped his tears with the back of his hand.

"Yeah! Papa went on a great adventure!" Raka declared. "I was captured by a huge bear, and then it shoved me inside a giant whale’s mouth!"

Sammy’s eyes widened. "Whoa! What did you do to get out?"

"I—I..." Raka cleared his throat as he stared at the expectant look on his son’s face.

What he had endured was probably the most terrifying experience of his life. Even now, he was already considering moving elsewhere or improving their security.

But with his son looking at him with such high expectations, Raka forced the corners of his mouth upward.

"What else could I do? I punched the inside of the whale’s mouth until it couldn’t keep me in there anymore!"

Raka went on and on, filling his son’s mind with an exaggerated story that had never happened. Sammy, however, absorbed every word like a sponge.

"And then—"

Ding-dong!

Raka’s breath hitched, and he nearly bit his tongue when the doorbell rang. His eyes widened as he turned toward the door.

"I’ll get it!" Sammy offered adorably, but Raka quickly grabbed his arm.

"No!" Raka hesitated when his son tilted his head. "I’ll get it. Why don’t you... uh... go to your room and lock the door, okay?"

"Why do I need to lock the door?"

"Just—" Raka stopped when the doorbell rang again. "Let’s just go together."

Holding his son’s hand, he cautiously approached the security monitor mounted on the wall.

The moment he switched it on, he saw a figure in a black cap leaving something outside his door.

Raka furrowed his brows as he whispered, "What the hell is that again?"