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Home / Mafia Short Story / After I Took Three Bullets for Him, He Said He Was Just My Uncle / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of After I Took Three Bullets for Him, He Said He Was Just My Uncle: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

17 Chapters

Chapter 1

I took a third bullet for my uncle, Lorenzo, the Don of the Moretti family. Only then did the family elders agree to name me the next Donna.But in the two weeks I lay unconscious, Lorenzo announced his engagement to Ava, the daughter of a family benefactor.In my previous life, I crashed their engagement party and met a miserable end.This time, I have learned my lesson. I will reclaim the token of my love, accept my destiny as Donna, and offer myself in a marriage alliance far away in Sicily.Uncle, I finally understand. A young man is much more fun than an old one like you.The news sent a shockwave through the New York underworld.After all, everyone knew the pride I carried in my bones. I was the Sicilian rose raised by the Don himself.Ava was just an ordinary college girl. She was nothing compared to me, the Moretti princess.So when I appeared at their engagement party in a black gown, nearly every guest had the same thought: I, the reckless girl who had fallen for her guardian

Chapter 2

My heart leaped into my throat. I dug my nails into my leather clutch to keep my expression calm.I took half a step back, putting distance between us. My voice was polite and detached. "A wedding surprise for you and Ava. I asked Madre to help me keep it secret."The surprise was my permanent disappearance from his life. Lorenzo's brow tightened, catching the defensiveness in my posture.After a long silence, he loosened his tie in frustration."It's for the best that you've figured it out. I'm ten years older than you and, in name, your uncle. Enough of this childish talk about marrying me. You're still young. Go meet some men your own age."The air in front of me warped again as the comments reappeared.[Isabella, yell at him! This old man is going crazy because you're avoiding him. He's just saying the opposite of what he means! He's been convinced since the day you kissed him on your 18th birthday.][The ten-year age gap, the titles, he doesn't care about any of it. He's just afra

Chapter 3

The underground cellar was cold and damp. Already weakened from my injury, I knelt for less than three hours before my vision went black and I passed out.Sometime in the night, a fever took hold.In my delirium, I was ten again. After my parents' deaths, the same mafia elders who once fawned over my family now treated me like a problem to be passed around, pushing me away, yet none were willing to let go of the legitimate businesses my parents had left behind.Until a twenty-three-year-old Lorenzo strode into the funeral.He looked every bit the cold-hearted demon, yet he bent down to wipe the tears from my face, his voice impossibly gentle."Principessa, don't be afraid. From now on, I'll kill anyone who dares to touch you. I will always be here to protect you.""Liar..."Tears streamed from my closed eyes as I murmured, my cheeks burning. "You don't protect me anymore."Outside the door, a hand that had reached out to wipe away my tears froze mid-air.After a long, long time, the pe

Chapter 4

"Don't!"Something inside me snapped. I lunged for the case but was held back by two bodyguards.When struggling proved futile, I threw myself at Lorenzo's feet and grabbed his pant leg, my voice trembling."Uncle, I was wrong, I'm sorry, I'll apologize to her right now… Please, don't burn my parents' things… They're all I have left of them…"When he showed no reaction, I lunged for a silver candlestick from the fireplace, its flame still burning, and raised my hand to bring it down on my own arm.The hot bronze handle seared my flesh, but I couldn't stop.I was that helpless thirteen-year-old girl again, kneeling in the mourning hall as fear and despair burned my last shred of reason to ash."Burn me instead! I'll break my own leg for Ava, I'll break both of them! Just don't touch my parents' things. Lorenzo, I'm begging you..."Lorenzo's face changed. He lunged forward, snatched the candlestick from my hand, and pinned me in a tight grip. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he did not back

Chapter 5

Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of a penthouse in Manhattan. It had been a twelfth birthday gift from my parents.The moment I pushed open the door, my numb heart finally, belatedly, felt a pang of sorrow.My father had painted the walls himself. My mother had carefully chosen the Italian leather furniture.I still remembered that day, my mother leading me around the living room when I was twelve, her eyes full of soft light."This is your escape, Isabella. If one day Mom and Dad are gone, no matter what happens, this will be your safe harbor, a place no one can ever take from you."In this living room, where the last traces of their warmth still lingered, I curled up on the familiar leather sofa and fell into a deep sleep.For the next few days, I did not let myself think about Lorenzo.As if taking their cue from my resolve, the comments that used to appear out of nowhere began to fade, their energy draining until they disappeared completely.The next day, I went shoppin

Chapter 6

The next morning, just as I was leaving the consulate after getting my exit visa, my phone blew up with messages from Cici:"Bella! Look at the headlines!"Confused, I opened my phone. When I saw the news, I felt like I'd been plunged into ice water.Last night, dozens of people who bought seafood from the market run by Ava's foster parents suffered heavy metal poisoning. The seafood, it turned out, came from industrially polluted waters.But instead of a photo of Ava's foster parents, the headshots they used were of my mom and dad.I immediately called the paper's editor and demanded he remove my parents' photos.But the editor hemmed and hawed, refusing. It wasn't until I threatened to have our family lawyers pay him a visit that he finally coughed up the truth."These photos... Miss Ava's assistant paid us a huge sum to keep quiet and specifically requested the change. The assistant also hinted that this was a PR move to protect the family's reputation, one personally approved by th

Chapter 7

A corner of my mouth twitched, but my heart felt only desolation.I hadn't even had to try very hard to get a copy of that purchase order from the supplier. If Lorenzo had a shred of trust in me, he would have followed this lead and uncovered the truth long ago.The boarding announcement for my flight came on for the second time.I lowered my head, powered down my phone, then popped out the SIM card and tossed it into a trash can by the gate.From this moment on, the bloody conflicts of the East Coast had nothing to do with me....One hour earlier.Moretti Group, top-floor office."...But I still don't believe Isabella would use such a cheap trick."Marco leaned against the leather sofa, arms crossed, his brow furrowed."Do you remember when she was attacked at ten years old?"Lorenzo leaned back in his office chair, his deep gray eyes narrowing slightly."What do you mean?"His voice was low, but a flicker of panic, one he didn't even recognize himself, stirred deep within him."The

Chapter 8

Marco slammed his hand on the table and stood up."Go find out the truth. We all know Ava is the long-lost daughter of the man who saved your life. His dying wish was for her to be reunited with her family. That's why you agreed to marry her, to use your position as Don to protect her.""But you can't torture Isabella over that debt! She was an orphan too, her parents dead, a girl you yourself brought back from a church!"Every word was a lead bullet, striking Lorenzo in the chest.A sudden, suffocating tightness seized his chest. He reached into a drawer, pulled out a Cuban cigar, and clipped the end with a golden cutter.Just as the lighter flame touched the tip, an image of Isabella's scrunched-up nose flashed in his mind.She had just turned twenty, lounging on the leather sofa in his office, swinging her bare feet. She had plucked the half-smoked cigar from his mouth and dunked it in his whiskey glass."Lorenzo, cigars stink. I'm serious, you're already ten years older than me, pr

Chapter 9

A deafening roar filled Lorenzo's head, as if he'd been struck by a blunt object. His throat was so dry he could barely form a word."What the fuck did you just say?""Miss Ava just sent a text, telling you to call her back after you hang up. The FBI has her parents in custody. The purchase contract is in black and white; they can't deny it. The news photos were also changed by Miss Ava, who paid someone off to use Miss Isabella's parents' pictures, trying to frame her…"Vincent took the phone, his voice urgent. He paused, then lowered his voice."Don, this time… you've truly wronged the Principessa. She must be heartbroken."Lorenzo's Adam's apple bobbed with a difficult swallow. After a long silence, he rasped out his instructions."You go to the federal building and smooth things over. I'm going after her."He let his hand fall. His face, once described by the family as "coldly perfect," was now ashen.A gaping hole tore open in his chest.All the details he had deliberately ignored

Chapter 10

Lorenzo stared at the lines on the screen, his gaze as sharp and cold as a blade. But when he spoke, his voice was unnervingly gentle. "Don't worry, Ava. Your parents will be fine. I'll take care of it."Oblivious to the coldness beneath his gentle words, Ava let out a sigh of relief, her voice suddenly cheerful."That's wonderful, Enzo! I'll see you at home!"She hung up the phone, overjoyed.Lorenzo's expression, however, turned as cold as ice.He dialed the direct line to the family's lawyer and gave a single order."Dig up everything on Ava and her foster parents, from birth to the present day. I want all the dirt you can find."Lorenzo knew his benefactor was one of the most principled and honorable men in Manhattan. Even if his child had been lost for years, she couldn't have grown up to be so calculating.But the evidence suggested that Ava, despite her soft and kind appearance, had a side to her much darker than he knew.In that case…Lorenzo's knuckles turned white as he gripp

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