Echoes of a Stolen Heart

After my parents were killed when I was ten, the first thing my brother Vincenzo did as the new Don was banish me to a remote convent to do hard labor.

Right before I died, he was standing guard over his adopted sister's heart transplant, telling me not to bother him unless I was actually dead.

My dear brother, this time you got your wish. As my heart beats in Lucia's chest, I will never come back again.

After I died, an invisible force tied my soul to Vincenzo.

I watched him waiting outside the ICU. He stared blankly at Lucia's heart monitor through the glass. The twenty-four hours after the surgery were critical.

His eyes were filled with worry as he muttered to himself, "Whether she makes it depends on the next twenty-four hours."

Aldo, the family consigliere, walked up to him and patted his tense shoulder.

"You've already given her the best doctors. The rest is up to God. If this can't save her, then it is in His hands."

"By the way, you got a call during the surgery."

As soon as he finished speaking, Aldo handed him the secure phone.

Vincenzo unlocked the screen and frowned when he saw the name.

There were seventeen missed calls in total, all from the Mother Superior of the convent.

He was about to block the number when the Mother Superior called again.

Aldo reminded him, "You should answer it. Calling so many times in a row means something might have happened to Eden at the convent."

Hearing my name, Vincenzo's eyes instantly filled with absolute disgust and hatred.

"Does she ever stop faking? Every time I visit the convent, she's perfectly healthy. She thinks she can play me for a fool. If she could be half as well-behaved as Lucia, I wouldn't have cut off her trust fund!"

"Don't mention her in front of me, Aldo. Every time I hear her name, I remember how Mom and Dad were blown to pieces."

Floating next to him as a ghost, my eyes filled with despair and bitterness.

Vincenzo, I didn't lie to you, and I certainly wouldn't dare try to fool you.

I just didn't want you to see me in so much pain, so I swallowed a handful of painkillers before you arrived.

Ever since our parents died in that tragic hit, the brother who used to treat me like a princess changed the way he looked at me.

Before that day, Vincenzo was my ultimate protector.

He used to carry me on his shoulders, promising to shield his little Principessa from the darkness. But now, that warmth was completely gone.

After the funeral, he led his men to wipe out the rival family's territory.

During that brutal shootout, he saved Lucia. She had a heart defect and could die at any moment.

My brother brought her back to the estate, got the best doctors for her, and sent me away to the convent.

From that day on, the only Principessa in his eyes was Lucia.

He wouldn't even spare a single glance for me. Even before I died, all he gave me were curses.

But for this adopted sister he took in, he gave his all.

To cure her illness, he assigned the family's best doctors entirely to her case.

He scoured the black market for a matching heart. He didn't hesitate to break the rules, using the family's money and power to get it done.

And I knew this was my only chance to earn his forgiveness. So, on the day of my diagnosis, I signed the donor papers.

I only hoped that this heart, which would save his beloved sister, could wash away his eight years of hatred toward me.

I hoped it could make him forgive me just this once.

Tears fell from my eyes. Just before the call automatically hung up, Vincenzo finally answered.

The Mother Superior's panicked voice came through:

"Hello, is this Eden's emergency contact? She is..."

Before she could finish, my brother coldly cut her off.

"Don't talk to me about her. If she's dead, just let me know so I can collect the body."

The Don who controlled an entire mafia empire only lost his temper when it came to me.

Oh, wait. Lucia too.

He seemed to think that saving Lucia could atone for our parents' deaths, and atone for his own sins as well.

Aldo was my father's most trusted friend, someone who would have laid down his life for him.

Seeing Vincenzo blinded by hate, he had to speak up.

"It's been eight years. Eden wasn't the one who leaked their route! She's your own flesh and blood, the only sister you have left in this world!"

But whenever someone brought this up, my brother would fly into a rage.

"Aldo, I told you never to mention that traitor again! Tonight, I just want to stay here and make sure Lucia pulls through!"

Aldo's face darkened, and he stopped talking. A trembling soldier nearby finally stepped forward.

"Don, about the sit-down with the rival bosses tonight..."

"Cancel everything. I'm going to watch her wake up right here. I won't step away for a second. If anything happens to her, I'll bury all of you with her."

I smiled bitterly as I followed his gaze through the glass window.

A deep sorrow welled up from the depths of my soul.

I had my own heart taken out, but it still couldn't earn me a decent look from him.

Lucia didn't have to do a single thing to make my brother drop the entire family business.

The man who once treated the syndicate like a religion used to stay awake for three days straight just to collect a debt.

But when it came to Lucia, he threw all his rules out the window.

A moment later, Aldo's phone rang, and he answered it.

Staring at the girl on the hospital bed, Vincenzo pressed the speaker button on Aldo's phone without asking.

"Aldo, why is Eden's name on the hospital's critical surgery list? Did something happen to her?"