Duke’s Heiress Married Mafia Prince

My mother is the Royal duchy and I am her sole heir.

My mother was once deceived by my father, which nearly bankrupted our family. That bastard father of mine disappeared without a trace, taking the fortune he'd stolen from my mother and running off with his mistress.

To prevent me from falling for the same kind of man in the future—to keep me from being fooled and robbed blind—my mother adopted two war orphans.

She planned to raise them as potential husband candidates for me.

But mother never knew the truth.

These two men appeared respectful and obedient to her arrangements on the surface. But privately, they were both infatuated with my maid Josie. They constantly neglected me and made my life difficult, all to win her favor.

My favorite, Marcus Reed, even gave up his own last name. He changed it to Josie's—Marcus Thompson.

The betrayal cut deeper than I'd expected.

Before mother died, she asked me the question I'd been dreading.

"Which one do you want to choose as your husband?"

But I had heard something interesting lately.

There was a mafia heir—Vincent Rossi—who was notorious for his violence. He'd killed innocent people. Years of brutal fighting had left him severely injured. The doctors said he had less than six months to live.

The mafia Rossi family wanted to marry him to a noblewoman before he died.

I didn't hesitate to reach out to him. I offered an alliance through marriage.

To my surprise, the Rossi family agreed.

But on my wedding day, Marcus and the other candidate burst into the ceremony.

They begged me to reconsider.

"Please, don't do this!" Marcus shouted, his face desperate. "You can't marry him!"

I stood there in my wedding dress, looking at the two men who had spent years ignoring me for my maid.

Now they wanted me back?

How interesting.

1

"What? You want to marry Vincent Rossi, heir to America's biggest mafia family? Absolutely not!" Mother's voice was weak but fierce. "Everyone knows he's been severely injured from years of violent conflicts. The doctors say he has less than six months to live. If you marry him, your life will be ruined!"

"I've raised two husband candidates for you since childhood. Pick either one of them—they're both better than that Rossi scum."

Mother's already pale complexion turned ashen.

I took her frail hand gently.

"Mama, it's precisely because he's dying and doesn't even have the strength to sleep with me that I must marry him."

"The orphans you raised have no family backing. There's no guarantee they won't develop ulterior motives later. But the Rossi family controls all the underground casinos, port trade, and arms dealing in Southern Europe. They won't covet our family wealth. This marriage will quickly consolidate our family's position. And when Vincent dies soon, I'll inherit part of the mafia resources as his widow, without having to fulfill any actual marital duties. There's no better candidate than him."

The ducal title was mother's lifelong pride. But she only had me, one daughter. We had no other living relatives, and our family's influence was gradually declining.

Afraid that I might experience her misfortune again after marriage—with no one to support me—mother adopted two war orphans to raise as potential husbands for me.

But mother never knew the truth.

These two men appeared respectful and obedient to her arrangements on the surface. But privately, they were both infatuated with my maid Josie. They constantly neglected me and made my life difficult, all to win her favor.

My favorite, Marcus Reed, had even given up his own last name. He changed it to Josie's—Marcus Thompson.

As a candidate for my future husband, changing his surname to match the stable master's daughter was nothing short of betrayal.

When I discovered this secret, I confronted him.

But Marcus showed no guilt whatsoever. His face was cold as ice.

"Good that you know. Even if I'm forced to marry you in the future, I'll never touch you. My heart and my body will forever belong only to Josie."

Those words pierced my heart like knives.

If that's how it was, why should I force the issue?

My mother had been bedridden with severe illness for nearly a month. I stayed by her side day and night, caring for her. But her two adopted sons, Marcus and Ryan Hayes, never showed up, using the excuse of handling family business.

Yet someone had seen them vacationing in the Maldives with Josie.

It was because of this incident that I finally saw their true nature.

I didn't want mother to be heartbroken about such things on her deathbed, so I never told her.

On her deathbed, mother looked at me with reluctant eyes, her voice weak:

"Since you've already made your decision, mama will respect your choice. But Catherine, mama has to leave now. I can't protect you anymore. From now on, you must take good care of yourself, understand?"

When mother was dying, Marcus and Ryan, as her adopted sons, should have rushed back immediately—both emotionally and logically.

But I called them over a dozen times, and every call was hung up. When I finally got through to Ryan, he didn't believe me: "You must be lying to trick us into coming back. Josie is an orphan who's never traveled abroad. Marcus and I want to give her a proper vacation. Stop bothering us."

In the end, I was the only one who accompanied mother through her final moments.

When I was struggling to suppress my grief while handling mother's funeral arrangements, they finally returned. But Marcus immediately accused me because mother's funeral date coincided with Josie's graduation ceremony.

"What's the meaning of scheduling the funeral on Wednesday?" Marcus pushed open the study door, his suit still carrying the sunny scent of the Maldives. "Josie's graduation ceremony is the same day."

Ryan continued, "Change the date. Your mother is already gone anyway. We have to take care of the living. Graduation only happens once. We must attend, or Josie will be mocked. Why didn't you consult with us when setting the date?"

"This follows family tradition. Besides, the obituary has already been sent to other noble families. The date cannot be easily changed," I replied.

It was always like this—they blamed me, expecting me to yield to Josie in everything. But this time, concerning mother's funeral, I wouldn't back down an inch.

On the day of the funeral, Marcus and Ryan still attended Josie's graduation ceremony first, arriving only when the funeral was nearly over. The three of them walked in wearing bright colors, laughing and chatting.

Especially Josie, in a low-cut red dress, causing the other funeral guests to frown in disapproval.

Feeling the strange looks from around the room, Josie cowered weakly behind Marcus.

Marcus coldly swept his gaze over those people, then looked at the urn I held in my arms, frowning:

"This is all because of you. The funeral timing is so inappropriate that Josie didn't even have time to change clothes. I think you deliberately wanted to humiliate her."

No time?

But Josie's graduation ceremony ended in the morning, and it was already dark. How could they not have had time to change clothes?

Ryan sneered:

"That's all the scheming she knows how to do. Just because she's the young lady, she's always selfishly inconsiderate of others' feelings. She just wanted to ruin Josie's graduation ceremony."

"Hey, Catherine, I heard your mother asked you to choose which one of us to marry before she died. Who did you pick in the end?"

His eyes were full of disgust, as if he was terrified I might have chosen him. Marcus's eyes also showed complete rejection.

We had grown up together, and it was my mother who provided them with a wealthy life and superior education. Yet he showed no respect for my mother and was extremely disgusted with me. How ironic.

I spoke calmly:

"You're overthinking it. I chose neither of you."

Both men froze, about to speak, when my phone suddenly chimed with a text message. They instinctively looked at the screen.

"Miss Blackwood, the wedding will be held in three days. Please prepare accordingly."

2

I quickly turned off the screen, but they had already seen the words "wedding will be held in three days."

Ryan immediately exploded:

"So you rushed the funeral just to inherit the ducal title and force us to marry you? Your mother just died, and you already have the wedding arranged. You're a cold-blooded, selfish monster. And you have the nerve to say you chose neither of us? How disgusting!"

Marcus looked at me with a dark expression:

"I know you chose me. For the sake of the Duchess raising me all these years, I can accept this marriage. But Ryan is done with the Blackwood family from now on. Don't you dare try to guilt-trip him anymore."

"Also, after marriage, you must give me an earl's title and transfer 50% of the family trust fund to Josie—since you ruined her graduation ceremony."

I looked calmly at these two war orphans that mother had raised from childhood. Although they held executive positions in the family business, the actual control had always been in my hands.

He was certain I was deeply in love with him and would willingly share the assets after marriage.

Mother had said that as long as they honestly served as my husband candidates and remained loyal to me, whoever I didn't marry would still receive a portion of shares as compensation.

So this was the real reason they stayed despite not liking me—they were after the money.

Before I could speak, Josie suddenly collapsed to her knees, trembling as she held out her phone: "Miss, please don't fire me!"

The screen showed a severance notice sent by the butler to all staff.

"Miss, it's all my fault for letting Marcus and Ryan attend my graduation ceremony and making you unhappy. You can punish me however you want, but please don't kick me out of the Blackwood estate. I have no one to rely on, nothing at all. I won't survive..."

With mother gone and my decision to cut ties with Marcus and Ryan, I would soon marry into the mafia family. I probably wouldn't return to the estate often, so I had the butler arrange to sell the mansion and dismiss the household staff.

I frowned at this stable master's daughter. After mother's death, I had decided to sell the Devon estate and prepared $200,000 in severance pay for each servant—enough for them to live comfortably for three years.

How did providing compensation and arranging their futures become "kicking them out"? How was it that they "won't survive"?

Marcus took her phone, his face immediately darkening. He looked at me like I was garbage.

Ryan shoved me into the hedge. Sharp branches tore through my clothes and cut my skin, blood flowing immediately:

"Catherine, we were just a little late! Your mother is dead, so what? Josie's graduation ceremony happens once in a lifetime!"

"If you have complaints, take them out on us! What kind of skill is bullying Josie?!"

I was reminded of similar scenes from the past.

Josie was originally the stable master's daughter. When her parents died, she was supposed to be sent to an orphanage. Seeing she was about my age, I begged mother to keep her as my personal maid.

I was always generous. At the Blackwood estate, her food, clothing, and living conditions were nearly the same as mine.

Whatever she wanted, I would basically satisfy.

But once, I participated in the International Physics Olympiad and won the grand prize—an exquisite commemorative brooch. I loved that brooch because I had worked tirelessly for half a year to win that competition. The award had great sentimental value.

The next day, I discovered Josie had taken the brooch without permission. When I asked her about it, she demanded I give it to her because it matched her new dress perfectly.

That was the first time I refused Josie.

That very night, Marcus and Ryan barged into my room, aggressively demanding:

"Catherine, just because you have some money, you think you can manipulate people's lives? What right do you have to steal Josie's award? That's the honor she earned through her efforts!"

I stared at Josie in shock, asking when I had ever stolen anything from her.

She cried pitifully then too:

"Brothers, please stop. The young lady took me in when my parents died. No matter how she treats me, it's justified. Don't create conflict with the young lady because of me..."

That day, Ryan smashed everything in my room in front of me, destroying an antique vase and a crystal chandelier worth a million dollars.

Marcus pressed my head down, forcing me to apologize to Josie, threatening to leave the Blackwood family immediately if I didn't, so I'd never see him again.

Back then, my heart and eyes were full of him. What I feared most was losing him, so I had no choice but to apologize to Josie.

The next day, Marcus and Ryan bribed corrupt journalists to report that I had used noble privilege to steal Josie's award. The incident escalated, making me a public enemy and damaging the Blackwood family's reputation.

Finally, my school principal and the competition chairman—two respected experts in the scientific community—came forward to testify that I had won the award through my own merit. Only then did the incident gradually subside.

But Marcus and Ryan still didn't trust me. They would only believe Josie's side of the story.

Seeing my silence, Josie made a show of kowtowing to me, but Marcus pulled her up.

He held Josie in his arms, looking down at me from above:

"Josie has no family left. I'll take care of her for life. No one can drive her away. I'm telling you now—she's no longer your maid and doesn't need to call you 'Miss' anymore."

"Catherine, if you still want me to marry you, treat Josie with respect. If you dare hurt her again, I'll never forgive you!"

With that, he and Ryan protectively escorted Josie away.

I struggled to get up. The wounds from the branches were still bleeding. I straightened my torn clothes and walked home in a daze, holding mother's portrait.

The bedroom still held traces of mother's life, but in this world, there was no one left who loved me.

The next day, the butler told me the mansion had found a buyer, but I needed to sign the papers.

After securing mother's belongings in the house, I went out.

When I returned home, the butler ran over in a panic:

"Miss, a group of workers just broke in! They said they're redecorating the mansion to throw a makeup graduation party for Josie. They've moved all of the Duchess's personal belongings!"

3

My heart lurched. The mansion's front gates stood wide open, with streamers and balloons stretching from the portico all the way to the gardens. Cheerful music echoed from the main hall.

I stood at the entrance, almost thinking I'd come to the wrong place—until I saw Josie wearing mother's favorite Valentino gown, standing on the staircase with a champagne flute, smiling brilliantly.

"Welcome home, Miss Blackwood!" She raised her glass toward me, as if this were her house.

Marcus and Ryan flanked her sides, impeccably dressed in suits, wearing victorious smiles. Behind them, a crew of workers busily dismantled mother's portraits, replacing them with giant graduation photos of Josie.

Mother's funeral had been less than three days ago, and they were already desecrating her memory like this.

"What are you doing?" My voice nearly trembled.

"Throwing Josie a makeup graduation party." Marcus casually adjusted his cufflinks. "Your mother's funeral interrupted her graduation celebration. We can't let her have any regrets."

I rushed upstairs and pushed open mother's bedroom door—

The beige wallpaper had been torn to shreds, furniture dismantled and scattered everywhere. Mother's photographs were strewn across the floor, covered with dirty footprints.

Several workers sat on the ground, using mother's silk scarves to wipe their sweat. Another man held her pearl necklace against his neck, comparing it while a cigarette dangled from his lips.

"Hey, this stuff's worth good money, right?" One of them grinned, pinning mother's brooch to his filthy work uniform.

"Don't touch her things!" I rushed forward, but a burly man shoved me aside.

"Get lost, little girl." He roughly grabbed my wrist. "Mr. Hayes said everything in this room is ours for the taking—consider it overtime pay."

His companion laughed loudly, picking up mother's nightgown and rubbing it against his face: "Smells real nice. Wonder what the woman who wore this was like in bed?"

"Stop it! I'm the lady of this house. You broke in here and are destroying property—this is illegal trespassing!"

The lead worker looked me up and down, impatiently shoving me away:

"Bah, I only know the lady of this house is named Thompson—she's the apple of Mr. Reed and Mr. Hayes's eyes. Who the hell are you?"

"Mr. Reed said he's an earl now, and nobles need to redecorate bedrooms for their wives. He told us to get rid of everything in this room. What's it to you? Get lost before I bash your head in with this hammer!"

It was Marcus and Ryan who ordered this? How could they treat mother this way?!

I quickly scanned the room, and a chill ran down my spine.

Mother's urn was gone!

Nausea and rage churned in my stomach. When I turned to confront Marcus and Ryan, I discovered their party had already ended.

Marcus and Ryan were waiting for me with Josie.

Josie held a broken necklace in her arms, her eyes red-rimmed—completely different from her happy expression at the party. Ryan didn't hesitate to rush over and slap me across the face:

"Catherine, you're such a malicious bitch! Just because Josie forgot to change clothes yesterday, you destroyed her mother's keepsake?! You made Josie cry!"

"Since you bullied Josie, you must pay the price. We hid your mother's ashes in the northern garbage dump. Whether you can find them depends on your skills. Go find them yourself. No servants, no police, or we'll dump them straight into the river."

Having grown up together, they knew I had germaphobia and asthma—I couldn't stay in such a filthy place for long. Yet they still wanted to use this method to get revenge for Josie.

I looked pleadingly at Marcus, trying to explain:

"Marcus, please believe me, I didn't..."

I'd never even seen that necklace before.

Josie immediately said pitifully:

"Forget it, Marcus. Sister Catherine is a noble lady after all. Someone of my status is naturally destined to be bullied. Don't make her unhappy because of me..."

Marcus's initially hesitant expression instantly turned cold and hard. He took Josie's hand and said coolly:

"Unhappy? She did something dirty—what right does she have to be unhappy?"

"Catherine, I hate people who bully the weak most. You were just born lucky—what right do you have to bully Josie? When it comes to kindness of heart, you're not worth a strand of Josie's hair. If you still want me to marry you, go in there obediently, or don't blame me for changing my mind!"

With that, he unhesitatingly led Josie away, leaving me alone.

I rushed to the garbage dump without stopping. The sky began to rain.

The dump covered dozens of acres, with mountain-high piles of black garbage bags reeking sourly in the rain. I stepped into the slippery mud, rotting vegetable leaves and broken glass sticking to my shoe soles.

The first hour, I searched through the nearest garbage piles. Plastic bags had rotted from the rainwater and tore at the slightest touch, leftover food and decaying animal organs coating my arms. Flies buzzed around my ears, some crawling into my hair.

The second hour, my fingernails filled with grime, my palms cut by broken glass, blood mixing with rainwater flowing down my sleeves.

The third hour, I began vomiting. The nauseating smell invaded my nostrils, my stomach churning with acid. I knelt on the ground dry-heaving, my throat burning with pain.

When I finally dug to the deepest part of the dump, a group of scavengers appeared. They kept shoving me, some even secretly tearing at my clothes. I fought back desperately with all my strength before driving them away.

Finally, I managed to unearth an urn from the deepest part of the garbage pile.

When I returned to the mansion, my clothes were torn to shreds, my undergarments completely exposed, my face covered in filth, my hands and knees scraped raw from the long search.

Seeing my wretched state, Marcus and Ryan's eyes flashed with shock.

Before I could speak, Josie quickly said:

"How did Sister Catherine get herself into such a state? We just put the ashes by the garbage dump entrance—it shouldn't have taken long to find. Sister Catherine couldn't have done this on purpose..."

Ryan immediately kicked me:

"I knew it! Josie specifically told the servants to put the ashes by the entrance, but you deliberately made yourself look like this, even tore your clothes off. You're just trying to guilt-trip Marcus into marrying you!"

Marcus also looked at me with disgust:

"Catherine, to get me, you'll really use any method. Making yourself look like this—do you have no shame left?"

I had no strength left to argue. I just held the urn and examined it.

The moment I opened the lid, my expression changed dramatically, and I cried out:

"These aren't my mother's ashes!"

4

The urn looked the same as before, but what was inside wasn't mother's ashes at all—it was protein powder!

Marcus and Ryan were stunned too, both looking toward Josie.

Josie immediately teared up, crying pitifully:

"I'm sorry, brothers. I just couldn't bear to put the Duchess's ashes in a garbage dump, so I hid them in the basement storage. But I got too flustered and spilled the ashes. I was too scared to touch them, so... so I replaced them with protein powder. I meant well—the Duchess was so kind when she was alive, she surely wouldn't blame me."

I got up with red eyes, grabbing Josie by the collar:

"What right do you have to touch my mother's ashes?! What gives you the authority to handle her?!"

Josie looked pleadingly at the two men beside her.

Ryan immediately felt heartbroken and kicked me away:

"We told her to do it! Why are you taking it out on Josie? Such typical spoiled lady behavior—no manners at all. The Duchess is already dead. How could we let Josie live in the same house with such unlucky things?"

Though they weren't mother's biological children, she had cared for them thoroughly all these years, treating them no differently than real noble sons.

Now he was calling mother's ashes unlucky?

I looked sadly at Marcus. He met my gaze for a long time, finally sighing:

"Alright, I know you're angry, but Josie meant well. She didn't do it on purpose, so don't take it to heart."

"I promise you, I'll show up at the wedding tomorrow on time to marry you. Isn't that what you want most? Let's end this matter here. You destroyed Josie's keepsake, so we want to compensate her with luxury items. Your mother's belongings include some nice jewelry—we'll go to the bank vault to get them. Clean yourself up."

His tone carried compromise and charity, like reluctant resignation to his fate.

Ryan glared at me fiercely, dragging Marcus and Josie away.

All night long, I knelt on the dusty storage room floor, tearfully collecting mother's ashes bit by bit.

At dawn, my phone received another unknown text:

"Miss Blackwood, the wedding venue will be at Windsor Castle."

I was puzzled. Vincent Rossi was severely injured and dying—how could he travel all the way to Windsor Castle for a wedding?

But it didn't matter. As long as I could get far away from Marcus and the others, anywhere would do.

I lay exhausted on the cold floor, remembering all the moments from these years, letting tears fall freely.

I clutched the urn tightly in my arms, choking out:

"Mama, don't be afraid. I found you. This will all be over soon."

The next day, Marcus and Ryan didn't return. They took my mother's money and went shopping with Josie at the mall.

When I arrived at the wedding venue, I found they were already waiting there.

Marcus wore a formal suit, while Josie wore a limited-edition wedding dress, shyly leaning against his chest as if they were the ones getting married.

I frowned slightly. Today was my wedding to Vincent Rossi—what were they doing here?

I was about to find the manager to ask, when Marcus approached with Josie:

"The wedding venue is beautifully decorated. Josie loves it. I promised Josie I'd give her a wedding, so she'll never have to endure people's scorn again."

"Don't worry, I'll still register the marriage with you. You'll be my legal wife, but I've decided to save myself for Josie. After marriage, I'll never touch you. If you want an heir in the future, you can have Josie bear one for you. After the wedding ends, Josie will be family anyway."

I was so angry I nearly laughed. He wanted to directly give my ducal position to Josie and his child?

"Marcus, I told you—I won't marry you. This wedding has nothing to do with you. Please take your precious darling and leave immediately."

Marcus frowned:

"I know you're upset about switching brides, but Catherine, you've had everything you wanted since childhood. Josie just wants a wedding. Just let her have it."

"No matter what, today's bride must be Josie. If you insist on making unreasonable trouble, don't blame me for not wanting you anymore."

Ryan also laughed mockingly:

"How about it, Catherine? Scared now? If you really had backbone, you wouldn't have spent all these years circling around Marcus like a lapdog."

"You're a noble lady who's never lifted a finger—do you know how to run a company? Your mother's dead, and the Blackwood family still needs us two to support you. I advise you to quickly give the wedding to Josie, or we might not take care of you anymore!"

Just as he finished speaking, the hotel doors were pushed open.

A low, magnetic voice rang out:

"Is that so? Then get lost immediately."

"My wife is certainly not for two dogs to manage!"