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Chapter 7

Author: TJ
Father had sent only one message.

I had your crown remade. Come home and take it.

He had never been a man of many words.

Whenever an argument broke out, he rarely raised his voice or explained himself. He simply delivered the final verdict, like a judge closing a case.

And somehow, I was always the one found guilty.

For Father, that message was already an apology.

I understood that. I simply didn’t want it.

I stopped reading the messages, though I didn’t block any of them.

Maybe I still hadn’t d
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  • They Crowned My Twin,So I Left the Mafia Family   Chapter 8

    Four summers later, I graduated from MIT.Marco had continued sending me messages during those four years.He never called without asking first, and he never again tried to persuade me to return to New York.Most of his messages were brief.Mother sits in your room sometimes.Father took control of the Calabreses’ docks. He says they’ll be yours one day.Bianca moved out of the estate.And occasionally:Are you ever coming home, Elena?I read every message but I rarely answered.It wasn’t because I still hated them. Hatred required a kind of attachment I no longer had.MIT had become my world. I spent my days in the lab, buried beneath research papers and decision models. Professor Warren eventually allowed me to lead part of the study I had proposed during my first interview.My name appeared on my first published paper in my junior year.When I received the email confirming its publication, I stared at the screen for almost a minute.My name was there. Not beneath anyone’s.Mine alo

  • They Crowned My Twin,So I Left the Mafia Family   Chapter 7

    Father had sent only one message.I had your crown remade. Come home and take it.He had never been a man of many words.Whenever an argument broke out, he rarely raised his voice or explained himself. He simply delivered the final verdict, like a judge closing a case.And somehow, I was always the one found guilty.For Father, that message was already an apology.I understood that. I simply didn’t want it.I stopped reading the messages, though I didn’t block any of them.Maybe I still hadn’t decided how I wanted to face them.Or maybe some part of me wasn’t ready to close that door forever.Two days later, I received the email confirming that I had been accepted into the lab.My first lab meeting was the following Monday.When I arrived, nearly everyone was already seated around the conference table. I hesitated near the door, unsure where I was supposed to sit.Professor Warren looked up from his notes.“Elena. There you are.”He pointed to the empty chair beside him.“We saved you

  • They Crowned My Twin,So I Left the Mafia Family   Chapter 6

    For the next several days, Marco left the estate early each morning and returned long after dark.He checked the airports, called every Bellini-owned hotel in the city, and reached out to anyone whose name he remembered hearing me mention.Eventually, he went to my high school.At the front office, he introduced himself as my brother and asked if anyone knew where I had gone.The receptionist looked at him strangely.“You’re Elena Bellini’s brother?”“Yes. I need to find her.”“Why would you come here? She left for MIT.”Marco went still.My guidance counselor happened to be passing by. At the sound of my name, she stopped.“I’m sorry,” she said, studying him. “Did you say you were Elena’s brother?”“Yes.”“Then how could you not know she was going to MIT?”The question caught him by the throat. He had no answer.The counselor stared at him. “She asked the school to mail a copy of the offer to her home. Have you not received it?”Marco remembered the thick MIT envelope that had sat uno

  • They Crowned My Twin,So I Left the Mafia Family   Chapter 5

    Everyone at the Bellini estate had been awake since dawn.It wasn’t until they were about to leave for the ceremony that Bianca came hurrying down the stairs.“Mom, Elena’s room is empty. She didn’t come home last night.”Mother couldn’t believe it. “What do you mean, empty?”“Her suitcase is gone.”Marco checked the time. “She probably went straight to the venue.”“Without telling anyone?” Bianca asked.“She’ll show up.” He sounded unconcerned. “She always does.”Mother held on to those words.She believed I might be angry. But I had never truly defied the family before.Forty minutes before the ceremony, Mother finally sent me a message.Where are you? We are at the venue.There was no reply.At the ballroom, the Bellini Family’s most powerful members were already gathering beneath the family crest.The first thing they noticed was the crowns displayed at the center of the ceremonial table.One of the senior capos stepped closer to examine Bianca’s crown.“Beautiful work,” he said.T

  • They Crowned My Twin,So I Left the Mafia Family   Chapter 4

    The day before the induction, everyone at the Bellini estate was run off their feet.Father spent the morning confirming the guest list. Mother went through Bianca’s gowns, jewelry, and ceremonial gifts again and again, terrified that the slightest oversight might spoil her precious daughter’s big day.Marco was at Bianca’s beck and call—collecting her friends from the airport, speaking to security, personally inspecting the ballroom.No one asked whether I was ready.On the console table by the front door lay my MIT acceptance package. I had deliberately left it where no one could miss it.No one had opened it. No one had even asked why it was there.They were so busy preparing Bianca’s future that they never noticed I had already chosen mine.I changed my shoes and left without telling anyone where I was going.Before leaving New York, there was one last thing I wanted to take with me.The sapphire bracelet my grandmother had left me.It was one of a matching pair that had belonged t

  • They Crowned My Twin,So I Left the Mafia Family   Chapter 3

    Three days before the induction, Mother surprised me by asking me to lunch.“Just the two of us,” she said. “We could talk about what comes next for you.”I knew better than to read too much into it. Still, a small hope stirred inside me.Maybe, for once, she wanted to hear what I wanted.I reserved a table at her favorite Italian restaurant for noon the next day. By eleven thirty, I was already there.I ordered the lobster bisque she liked, along with the truffle risotto she always claimed no other restaurant in Manhattan could make properly.Then I waited.At twelve thirty, I sent her a message.At one, I called.At two, the waiter quietly replaced the ice in her untouched glass.By three, the lunch crowd had disappeared. Mother still hadn’t come.At three forty-seven, my phone finally lit up.My mom texted me:Something urgent came up. We’ll have lunch another time.Before I could reply, a photograph appeared in the Bellini family group chat.It was from Bianca.Look what Mom helped

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