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Chapter 8
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Keep the Crown, I Chose MIT Chapter 9
Three days after Luca left Cambridge, the Bellini scandal broke.NY1 never aired the interview at the estate. Instead, someone on the crew began asking why one of America’s most accomplished students had disappeared without her family knowing where she had gone.My former classmates started talking.Then the café manager admitted that Mother had collected my wages and replaced them with counterfeit bills.The superintendent confirmed that I had lived alone for a year in a Bellini-owned building.The headlines spread across New York.THE FORGOTTEN BELLINI TWIN: NATIONAL GENIUS LIVED UNGUARDED WHILE FAMILY CELEBRATED HER SISTERSHE WON REGENERON, TURNED DOWN STANFORD, AND LEFT HER FAMILY FOR MITI saw the story while eating pizza with my roommate.She slowly lowered her phone. “Valentina...is this about you?”On the screen was a photograph of my old apartment.The four LEGO figures sat alone on the table.I looked at them for a moment, then nodded.“Yes.”She didn’t ask for details or o
Keep the Crown, I Chose MIT Chapter 8
Two weeks later, Luca found me at MIT.I had just stepped out of the library when I saw him standing at the bottom of the stairs. Luca looked exhausted. His clothes were immaculate, but shadows darkened his eyes.The moment he saw me, relief crossed his face.“Val.”He hurried toward me.“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”I stopped but didn’t run into his arms.Once, no matter how angry I was, the sight of him would have softened me.Now I only asked, “What do you want?”Luca faltered.Then his fingers tightened around the object in his hand.“I was wrong,” he said quietly. “We were supposed to be at Stanford together.”He held out the postcard I had torn apart.Someone had carefully taped the two pieces together, but the tear still cut through Hoover Tower—and through Luca’s promise on the back.I’ll be waiting for you at Stanford, Val.“I never meant to take that future from you,” he said. “I was scared Bianca would hurt herself again.”“And you thought I would survive anything
Keep the Crown, I Chose MIT Chapter 7
Rain streaked the windows when my flight landed at Logan Airport.No one was waiting for me outside baggage claim.For years, that would have hurt.I had spent most of my life waiting—for Mother to remember her promises, for Father to look at me with pride, for Dante to treat me like a sister, and for Luca to become the boy who once promised to wait for me at Stanford.Now, for the first time, being alone felt like freedom.My phone filled with missed calls the moment I turned it on.I silenced them all, ordered a rideshare, and gave the driver the address for MIT.The summer research program had arranged early campus housing for me. When I arrived, a graduate coordinator met me in the lobby with my ID card and room key.“Valentina Bellini?”I nodded.Her face brightened. “The Regeneron winner and IMO gold medalist. Everyone in the department has been waiting to meet you.”I wasn’t accustomed to hearing my achievements spoken without someone immediately mentioning Bianca.She handed me
Keep the Crown, I Chose MIT Chapter 6
Ten minutes later, the news crew was escorted into the Bellini reception room.To the public, Don Bellini was a powerful businessman. Inside his home, no one was allowed to forget what he truly was.The woman leading the crew introduced herself as an education correspondent from NY1. A cameraman and producer followed her, both visibly uneasy beneath the guards’ attention.“We’re looking for Valentina Bellini,” the reporter said. “Is she available?”Mother’s expression stiffened. “Why do you want Valentina?”The reporter glanced around the room, apparently surprised by the question.“You haven’t heard?”Father’s eyes narrowed. “Heard what?”“Valentina won first place in the Regeneron Science Talent Search,” the reporter said. No one in the room moved.“She also won a gold medal for Team USA at the International Mathematical Olympiad. She is the first American high school student ever to achieve both.”Mother stared at her. “That can’t be right.”“She was graduated as valedictorian with
Keep the Crown, I Chose MIT Chapter 5
The Bellini estate was alive with preparations.Bianca’s UCLA welcome package occupied the center of the coffee table. The blue-and-gold folder lay open beside a Bruins pennant, an admitted-student handbook, and a welcome letter Mother had already read at least six times.“Our Bianca is going to UCLA,” she said, unable to hide her smile. “All those tutors and private admissions consultants were worth it.”Father sat across from her, reviewing a guest list on his tablet.“We have two daughters leaving for college. The family will mark the occasion properly.”He began naming capos, allied families, and councilmen who would be invited.“We’ll open the ballroom,” Mother suggested. “The girls can make their entrance together.”Dante shook his head as he scrolled through his contacts.“The ballroom won’t be large enough if we invite all five New York families. We should use the south lawn and bring in a pavilion.”This wasn’t going to be a simple college send-off.It would be a Bellini event
Keep the Crown, I Chose MIT Chapter 4
窗体底端That night, I fled back to my apartment on an empty stomach, the counterfeit bills stuffed inside my bag.The moment the café opened the next morning, I stormed inside and threw the envelope onto the counter.“Why did you pay me with fake money?”My manager barely flinched.“I didn’t.”“What?”“Your mother came in yesterday with two Bellini soldiers. She collected your wages and left that envelope in their place.”The room seemed to tilt beneath me.“You gave my paycheck to her?”“She’s the wife of Don Bellini.” His mouth twisted bitterly. “What exactly did you expect me to do?”I grabbed the counter to steady myself.“She said you needed to learn that earning money wasn’t as easy as you thought,” he added. “And that once you ran into trouble, you would remember who you were supposed to depend on.”I had no money left for a cab.I took the train north, then rode a bus as close to the Bellini estate as the route allowed. From there, I walked almost a mile beneath the afternoon sun.
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