Accueil / Mafia Histoires courtes / Leaving the Family, Leaving You / Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

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11

Chapter 1

Vivian Moretti.My name sits quietly at the very top of the purge list, followed by a line of glaring status alerts.Pending Council Approval.I stare at it for a full ten seconds before I finally drag my gaze to the far right.Recommended by: Adrian Bellini.I pick up my phone and call him directly.He answers almost at once. The pounding beat of an underground bar crashes through the receiver, loud enough to make my head ache.“What is it?” His voice is flat.I keep my voice low. “Did you sign off on the purge list?”For two seconds, there is only silence.Then he lets out a soft laugh.“You saw that?”My fingers tighten around the phone. “I asked you if you signed it.”“Celine submitted the exit request for you.” He says it as if he is talking about something perfectly ordinary. “She was just playing around. Trying to lighten the mood.”I look at the approval status on the screen, and my chest sinks lower with every beat.“A purge order has already entered Council review, and you ca

Chapter 2

I look at Celine, but before I can answer, hurried footsteps sound from the end of the corridor.Clearly, this is the moment she has been waiting for.But when she speaks, her voice is soft, wounded.“Miss Vivian, did I do something wrong again?”Adrian strides toward us.“Celine, what are you doing here? I told you to wait downstairs.”Celine’s shoulders shrink in slightly, and she hugs the files tighter against her chest.“I was just afraid Miss Vivian might misunderstand.”“You said you were taking me to the private club tonight. I didn’t know whether I should say yes, so I came to ask her first.”The coldness in Adrian’s expression softens almost instantly.“Since when do I need her permission to take someone out?”Celine bites her lip and says nothing.With her head lowered, she looks as if I have cornered her with nowhere left to go.Adrian turns to me, and there is already no patience left in his voice.“Hasn’t Celine shown you enough respect? Even before going out with me, she

Chapter 3

I sit in the study and look at the Bellini family’s internal network once more.There are only ten minutes left before the purge order takes full effect.In ten minutes, I will no longer belong to the Bellini family.I will no longer have the protection of their name.I will no longer be able to command the men stationed at the East District docks.And I will no longer be Adrian Bellini’s fiancée.Still, I do not click Withdraw.I simply stare at the line marked Pending Confirmation for a long time.Then I close the internal network and open my email.After scrolling down three pages, I finally find a private recruitment email from the Moretti family dated three months ago.It is almost as if they knew this day would come.The message is very short.They are willing to give me an independent squad, three harbor routes, and a seat in the inner council.The offer has no expiration date.I switch back to the internal network and watch the purge order’s status change to Approved.For some

Chapter 4

Adrian stops seeing me. He stops speaking to me.All he sends is one short message.Has the purge order been withdrawn?I reply,Let’s cancel the engagement.His response comes almost immediately.Cancel the engagement? Vivian, do you even know what you’re saying?If you leave Bellini, what family do you think would dare take you in?Then another message follows.You will apologize to Celine. Until you lower your head, I won’t see you again.I block him without hesitation.Two days before the purge order officially takes effect, Adrian’s deputy suddenly comes to find me.“Miss Vivian, the family is holding a banquet in the underground hall tonight. The Boss hopes you will attend.”I am about to refuse.But the deputy looks deeply troubled, and I know how stubborn Adrian can be when he wants something done.I have no wish to make things difficult for someone innocent.So I agree.Still, something feels strange.Why would Adrian choose this moment to hold a banquet?The moment I step int

Chapter 5

At exactly nine o’clock the next morning, Adrian’s call comes in.I glance at the screen and do not answer.Soon, messages begin appearing one after another.I’m downstairs.Vivian, stop making a scene. Be good and come down.Since you insist on acting like this, all of our future plans are canceled.I turn off my phone and continue sealing the last set of East District accounts into a document envelope.At exactly ten, I hand the ledgers, the access keys, and the Bellini family badge over to the Council.The advisor in charge of the handover looks at me, as if he wants to say something.In the end, he only sighs.“Miss Vivian, once the purge order takes effect, there is no going back.”I nod.“Goodbye.”At noon, I board a flight to Chicago.By the time I land, the sunlight is perfect.I have barely arrived at my apartment when Leo sends me an Instagram link.Look at this.I tap it open.It is a photo Celine has just posted.The North District estate. The riding grounds.In the photo,

Chapter 6

I do not listen any longer.I end the call.The screen goes dark, but I remain seated in my Chicago apartment for a long time.Afternoon light cuts through the blinds, falling across the unopened suitcases and the bare wooden floor.By the time the room begins to dim, I finally get up and unpack.I have just folded the last of my clothes into the wardrobe when my phone rings.Adrian's name flashes across the screen.I stare at it for a long time before answering."Vivian."His voice is raw, as if he has not slept all night."I checked the airport footage. You really left New York.""Yes."Silence stretches between us."Send me your address. I'll come get you.""No.""Vivian!"His voice rises sharply.I listen without anger and without the ache I once would have felt.There is only a faint, bone-deep exhaustion."Adrian," I say, "our engagement is over. I thought you understood that."The line goes quiet.After a long moment, he forces out the words."I never agreed to that.""It takes

Chapter 7

During my first week with Moretti, I give nearly every waking hour to the family.I am the first person in the council chamber each morning and the last to leave at night.On Friday afternoon, I am presenting my findings on the East Harbor accounts when my phone vibrates.It is a message from my mother.Vivian, Adrian is here again. He has been standing downstairs for two hours. Should I let him up?I frown and type back.Don't. I'll call him.I step out of the meeting room and dial Adrian's number."What exactly are you trying to do?""I only want to see you." His voice is low. "You cut off every trail and blocked every way I had to contact you. I don't know where else to look."I take a slow breath."Ending the engagement was not an empty threat. Adrian, we are over."He says nothing.After several seconds, I continue."Leave. And do not go to my mother again.""And if I refuse?""Do not force me to stand against you, Adrian."A long sigh passes through the receiver."What do I have

Chapter 8

I am in the council chamber when a guard enters and says a visitor from New York is asking for me.I assume it is one of Moretti's business partners and tell him to let the visitor in.The door opens.Adrian walks through it.He has lost weight.His cheeks are slightly hollow, and dark shadows sit beneath his eyes. His white shirt is badly creased, as if he came here directly from the airport."Who gave you this address?" I ask."I used the computer in your old office. I found a way into your email."My brows draw together.The old account will have to be shut down. I will have Moretti's technical team reinforce the new one as well."Why are you here?""Give me a little time. Let me talk to you.""There is nothing I need to hear.""Vivian."He takes one step closer."Do you have to treat me like this? At least give me a chance to explain."I look at him, and all at once, I am tired.I check the time."Ten minutes. You leave before my meeting begins."Adrian freezes, as if he did not ex

Chapter 9

After Adrian leaves, I sit alone in the council chamber for a long time.Matteo knocks and enters with a file in his hand."I've finished my notes on next quarter's East Harbor distribution plan. Take a look.""All right."He sets it on the table and studies me for a moment."Are you all right?""I'm fine."Matteo does not press me.He turns and leaves.I force myself through two pages, but not a single word stays in my mind.At last, I set the file down and walk to the window.The wether in Chicago is nothing like spring in New York.New York is always damp and gray, as if the entire city is trapped beneath a layer of cold fog.Just like my relationship with Adrian.Everyone believed we were unbreakable. Only I knew how little could still be seen beneath the surface.Before I came to Chicago, Leo asked me one question."Can you really let Adrian go?"I told him that even if I could not, I still had to.The truth is, Adrian had disappointed me too many times long before I left.Each on

Chapter 10

Life continues.Moretti's business grows busier, and more harbor routes and shipping lines come under my control.Matteo begins taking me to negotiations with the Five Families, introducing me to the powers in Chicago and along the East Coast.At one meeting, I encounter a family representative from New York.After a few polite words, he asks, "Weren't you with Bellini before?""I was.""Then you know Adrian Bellini. I saw him a few days ago. He's lost a great deal of weight. I heard his health has suffered too."I give him a faint smile."I know him. But we have had nothing to do with each other for a long time."He seems ready to say more, but one look at my face changes his mind.After the meeting, I sit outside the conference room with a cup of coffee.My phone lights up with a message from Leo.Vivian, Celine was thrown out of Bellini's inner circle. Apparently she lost an entire shipment and tried to blame someone else. She deserved it!I reply with one word.Okay.That's it? Jus

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