Library
Search
Home / Mafia / Ninety-Nine Times Too Many / Chapter 4

Share

Chapter 4

Author: coco
In the most visible corner of the bathroom counter sat a lace panty that didn’t belong to me.

At the same time, Gianna’s voice message played through Luca’s phone outside the door.

“Luca, I think I accidentally left my underwear in your bathroom this morning when I was getting ready… It’s my favorite pair. Can you bring it back to me? Also, I really loved the suit you wore today. Wear it only for me from now on?”

So that was why Luca had worn the white suit he usually never touched. It was because Gianna liked it.

He really did listen to her.

While listening to the voice message, Luca hurried toward the bathroom.

The moment he walked in, he saw me standing there beside the underwear.

His gaze shifted awkwardly.

“Gianna wasn’t comfortable earlier, so I let her come here to clean up and change.”

“Okay.”

I didn’t react much. I simply stepped aside for him.

Luca packed the underwear away and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped.

“If this is going to make you overthink things, I just won’t bring it to her for now.”

I waved my hand casually to show I didn’t care.

Luca hesitated for a moment, but then Gianna called again to urge him.

After hanging up, Luca said to me, “I’ll come back after I deliver this. You should prepare too. Tomorrow, we’re going to the church for the wedding.”

With that, he left in a hurry.

Once I finished packing everything, I took one last look at the home I had lived in for so many years.

Right then, a text from Luca came through.

[Something came up unexpectedly, and I can’t make it back. Tomorrow’s wedding is postponed.]

Looking at the message, I actually laughed.

This was already the ninety-ninth canceled wedding.

I didn’t reply.

Instead, I picked up the packed suitcase and closed the door to the home I had lived in for eight years.

As the car drove out through the gates, I turned back for one final glance.

The entire estate was lush and beautiful, yet not a single piece of land had ever truly belonged to me.

I once thought this place was my home, having spent eight years of my youth helping Luca manage everything around him.

I had blocked assassination attempts for him, cleaned up his messes for him, and helped turn him from an inexperienced young man into a feared mafia don.

But in the end, I was nothing more than an outsider staying here temporarily.

Not long after the car drove away, Luca called me.

I watched the screen light up and darken without answering.

Then another text came through, carrying his usual unquestionable certainty.

[Once I’m done handling this situation, we’ll have the wedding. I promise. Just wait for me a little longer, okay?]

I stared at the message for half a minute before blocking his number and deleting every way he could contact me.

As the plane took off, I watched the city slowly disappear beneath the clouds.

I touched the scar on my face that hadn’t fully faded, then looked down at the bandages wrapped around my hands.

There was no reluctance, only relief.

Ninety-nine canceled weddings were enough.

This time, I wasn’t waiting anymore.

I was going somewhere that truly belonged to me, where I could finally live my own life.
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Latest chapter

  • Ninety-Nine Times Too Many   Chapter 11

    Out in the hallway, Cecilia was leaning against the wall waiting for me.When she saw me come out, she raised an eyebrow.“You cried?”“No.” I shook my head. “I stopped crying over him a long time ago.”“That’s my girl.” Cecilia handed me a pack of cigarettes. “Want one?”I took a cigarette from the pack and lit it before taking a deep drag.The nicotine made me cough twice, but I quickly got used to it.“Let’s go,” I said. “There’s a meeting this afternoon.”Cecilia patted my shoulder, and together we walked toward the exit.Behind us came the sound of something shattering inside the meeting room, but I never looked back.Just as we reached the staircase, we ran into Don Victor.Standing on the marble steps, he looked at me with a trace of apology in his voice.“Isabella, I’m sorry you had to go through that. I originally thought that if you didn’t want to see him, I could simply throw him out. I should’ve asked for your opinion first.”“It’s alright, Don Victor.” I crush

  • Ninety-Nine Times Too Many   Chapter 10

    Fate always liked playing jokes.In my sixth month in Macondo, Luca Villani really came.It was a Saturday. For once, I had a rare day off and was sitting at home reading a novel when Cecilia suddenly called me.Her tone was unusually serious.“Isabella, don’t come to headquarters. Luca Villani is here. He says he wants to see you.”The hand holding my phone paused slightly, but only for a moment.“What is he here for?”“He says he wants to clear things up with you. Victor allowed him inside. After all, he’s the don of the Villani family, so outright refusing him wouldn’t look good. “But Victor asked me to ask you. Do you want to see him?”I stayed silent for several seconds.“Yes,” I said. “There are some things that need to be said clearly.”I changed clothes and drove to the family headquarters.Luca sat alone inside the meeting room without any bodyguards.Compared to the man in my memory, he looked much thinner. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, and his hair had gr

  • Ninety-Nine Times Too Many   Chapter 9

    Days passed one after another.Gradually, my life in Macondo settled into a routine.Every morning, I woke up at seven, went for a run by the ocean, then bought a cup of coffee and walked to the office.During the day, I handled intelligence work for the Anderson family. At night, I went home and cooked for myself. Occasionally, Cecilia and I would go out for drinks at a bar.After I finished building the intelligence system, the Anderson family’s information processing efficiency nearly doubled.Don Victor trusted me more and more. He gave me my own office and a personal car.Little by little, people within mafia circles all started hearing the same thing. The Anderson family had a highly capable woman named Isabella.Now and then, I still hear news about Luca.Some people said he had lost a lot of weight and no longer carried the same confidence he once had when he and Gianna appeared everywhere together.Others said he and Gianna had broken up. Supposedly, she took a large

  • Ninety-Nine Times Too Many   Chapter 8

    By my third month in Macondo, I received a major assignment.The Anderson family was preparing to negotiate a weapons partnership with a family from Sicilia. The other side’s demands were extremely harsh, and Don Victor assigned me to handle the negotiations.“Why me?” I asked.“Because you need this opportunity to prove yourself,” Victor replied. “Cecilia said that when you negotiate, there’s no emotion in your eyes, only numbers. In the mafia world, that’s a rare quality. Isabella, I believe in you.”So I went.The negotiations took place inside an old castle in Sicilia.The head of the opposing family was a man in his sixties named Tarantino. Rumor had it that he had dozens of deaths on his hands and had been in this business for forty years.“So you’re the woman who ran away from Luca Villani.” The first thing he said to me wasn’t exactly polite. “I heard about you. The Villani family kid hasn’t been doing too well lately. People are saying you sabotaged things before you le

  • Ninety-Nine Times Too Many   Chapter 7

    Luca was only eighteen then.He had been forced into taking over the family business before he was ready. He was just an inexperienced young man who understood nothing, yet stubborn enough to refuse to bow down to anyone.At the time, I was the assistant secretary to Villani Senior, Luca’s father. When he passed, I chose to stay and help Luca.The Luca then wasn’t like the man he became now.If I casually mentioned having a stomachache, he would run across several streets just to buy me medicine.When I worked overtime until the middle of the night, he would quietly drape his coat over my shoulders.After killing someone for the first time, he trembled while holding me and whispered, “Isabella, I’m scared.”Back then, there had truly been light in the way he looked at me.On the day he proposed, he slipped the ring onto my finger and swore to me, “Once I secure my position, I’ll give you a grand wedding.”I waited for eight years. What I got was his ninety-ninth canceled wed

  • Ninety-Nine Times Too Many   Chapter 6

    On my third day in Macondo, I finally met the don of the Anderson family, Victor Anderson.He was different from what I had imagined.Although he looked only a little over fifty, all of his hair had already turned white.He sat inside the study of the family estate, with a large oil painting of Macondo Bay hanging on the wall behind him.“Isabella Rossi.”When Victor spoke my name, his voice carried the distinct rhythm of local accent.“Cecilia’s told me about your situation. To be honest, I’m not interested in your story. I only care about what you can bring to my family.”I sat across from him with my back perfectly straight.“I have the complete procurement records for the Villani family’s weapons channels over the past eight years. I also know their cooperation model with Eastern Europa and the exact profit-sharing ratios. On top of that, I still have access to El Tricolor’s distribution channels.”Victor’s expression shifted slightly.“What do you want?” he asked.“Prot

More Chapters

You may also like

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status