All Chapters of I Closed the School, Then the Widows Begged Me Back: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

I’m Isabella Moretti. My exceptional security skills earned the Don’s trust and made me the Donna of the Moretti Family.Every year after that, I held a memorial for the members who had sacrificed their lives for the Family. I even founded a high-security school for the children they left behind.The armed security cost more than the Family could afford, so I covered the rest out of my own pocket.I believed the Family would only grow stronger if we never forgot those who had sacrificed for us.After this year’s memorial, I went to inspect the school.The children were playing happily outside.Marco Moretti and Sophia DeLuca were racing. Marco pouted while Sophia threw her arms up in victory.Their smiles were brighter than the sun.I smiled before I could stop myself.But suddenly！A steel security door let out a sharp creak.My smile vanished. If that sound rang out in the middle of the night, it could give away the children’s location.“Order the latest security door from New York. H

Chapter 2

The next day, the widows packed the family lounge. The room had turned into a trial with me as the defendant."I have to give her advance notice just to pick up my kid. Who's the mother here?"Another mother jumped in. "Exactly. Last time I wanted to send my child to his grandmother's, they demanded two days' notice."Vera raised her voice. "Has anyone had a family member denied a visit?"Four or five hands went up."Pickups require notice. Address changes must be reported. Family visits need approval." Vera counted them off. "She controls access to our own children. That place is tighter than a prison."Vera concluded. "The school has been open for years, and not one child has been attacked. That proves the threat was never real."Isabella keeps going on about this hit list. Either she's paranoid, or she's exaggerating the danger to take our money and make the Family depend on her."Everything I'd done to protect those children had become proof that I was paranoid and hungry for power

Chapter 3

The Moretti Family Council meeting began.At the long table, Vera sat at the center, calm and confident.Dressed in black, the widows around her whispered to each other, certain they had already won.A phone sat on a stand above the table, its red camera light glowing. They were already livestreaming."She'll give in." Vera sat straight and glanced at Liana and Lucia. "Don Lorenzo's not here. She can't hold up the Family's name on her own."As long as she wants to keep her acting authority, she'll have to bow to us in front of the Council."That was what I walked into.I took the seat across from Vera.The phone camera on Vera's side of the table shifted slightly, pointing directly at me.I smiled."I admit the school's rules made many mothers feel trapped."Pickups require notice. So do address changes. Family visits need approval."I was so focused on protecting the children that I failed to explain why those rules were necessary."The widows exchanged glances.Vera smirked. She swep

Chapter 4

The office door was closed, but I could still hear the chaos outside.Someone shouted my name, demanding that I reopen the school.Others screamed at each other.A woman's voice rose above the rest. "You're the one who shared that photo first! I told you not to send that shift schedule...""Vera! If it comes to a transfer, you're the one paying for it."Lucia's timid voice followed. "We can't blame everything on Vera...""Oh, now you want to play nice? The Donna saved your daughter, and you joined in the shouting just the same!"Something slammed into the door. Then came the sounds of shoving outside.Matteo squeezed through the gap and shut the door behind him. The pounding continued outside, now muffled."The Council has decided. There'll be an impeachment hearing in 24 hours."They won't punish Vera alone. That would look like they're making one widow the scapegoat, and it wouldn't solve the real problem."I sighed. Just as I'd expected.The Moretti Family had always been strict abo

Chapter 5

Matteo opened the door and relayed my decision to everyone."The Donna will see everyone tomorrow morning in the main conference room. She'll hear each of you out."Anyone could submit her own grievances privately, or take back what she had told the media.The noise outside faded. The women exchanged wary looks.They quickly left. There was plenty they didn't want me to hear.Sure enough, within half an hour, Vera was rallying everyone in the group chat again."She's scared!""Isabella doesn't have the guts to kick us out!""Tomorrow we don't just make her reopen the school. We make her pay us back that $10,000.""Everyone in black tomorrow! Nobody talks to Isabella alone!""Our demands are clear: the school held our children hostage, the hit list is a lie, and that $10,000 a month goes back to the mothers!"The women who had just been arguing with Vera began to waver.Liana sent the first thumbs-up. More quickly followed.Vera immediately posted a screenshot.It was an ad for Belmont

Chapter 6

Early the next morning, women in black filled three rows of the conference room.Vera sat in the center, giving last-minute orders."Remember, no one speaks alone. Whatever she says, don't engage."If she doesn't offer a cash plan, we all stand up and walk out."Reporters are waiting downstairs. The Moretti Family can't afford another scandal."One woman nodded eagerly, already imagining that extra money in her account.8:59 a.m.Every phone in the room buzzed at once.Each woman received her own evidence file, listing every violation tied to her.The photos she had shared. The lies she had fed reporters. The routes she had leaked. And the damage each leak had caused.Lucia stared at her screen, her breath catching.The first item was printed in bold, spelling out exactly what she had done. She had deleted the record showing that Sophia had been followed, then sent the media only the footage of guards refusing to open the gate.Below it was a screenshot of her original message to the r

Chapter 7

One widow stood, tears running down her face."What did we do wrong?""Our children are locked behind walls. Everything we say or do has to go through approval.""When have we ever had a say? We didn't lie. We were scared!"Her words rallied several widows beside her, and they quickly joined in."Exactly. We were just scared."I was losing patience. "You have every right to be scared. You can disagree with me. You can take your children out of St. Anna. All of that is your right."I swept my gaze across them. "But being scared and fabricating abuse are two different things."Demanding cash and leaking another child's route are also two different things."Don't dress up illegal acts as legitimate grievances.""Now, here's how the four categories will be handled."The dejected women immediately straightened up and listened closely."First, anyone who only complained will not be punished. Second, anyone who made up claims of abuse must publicly correct them and retract every false stateme

Chapter 8

I opened the file. Several audio recordings appeared.Lucia pressed play.Vera's harsh voice filled the room."Of course I know the school isn't holding anyone hostage. I know Isabella saved those kids when that car followed them."She laughed. "But it's been years since anything happened. No attacks. No shootings. Not even a broken window."Those old grudges are dead. Why keep burning money on guards when we could put that $10,000 in our own pockets?"The recording continued. The second clip had clearly been made in a quieter setting.Vera lowered her voice a little, as if she were speaking to someone privately."Belmont pays me for every student I refer. Once everyone transfers, the Council will have to create a fund for the widows. They've promised to make me chair."In the third recording, Vera sounded drunk. Her words slurred, but her logic was clear."When has she ever lost a husband? She only has that seat because of her marriage, because Lorenzo was willing to hand her the Fami

Chapter 9

I stood in the command center, the children's names in my hand and my eyes fixed on the monitors."Not a single child gets hurt!"On the live feed, the school bus switched lanes for the third time. The black sedan pulled up beside it.The gray sedan closed in from behind. They were trying to force the bus off its route.I scanned the map, trying to figure out where they were taking it.At some point, Vera, Lucia, and several other mothers entered the command center."Donna, please, I'm begging you. Save my child. I'm on my knees.""Don't beg her. She probably staged this whole thing." Even now, Vera refused to back down.A woman next to her shoved her hard. "Get out. This is all your fault, you bitch. You're the one who made us transfer. If anything happens to my child, I'll tear you apart."I raised a hand and had security take them out without looking away from the monitors."The abandoned warehouse!"It hit me all at once. I suddenly knew where they were headed."Block the road to t

Chapter 10

Vera had one week to leave her secured apartment.She expected Belmont to pay her remaining referral fees and help her find a new home.She waited all week. All she got was an automatic reply from a dead email address.She had lost her membership, job, stipend, and lawyer. Her accounts were frozen until she paid for the damage caused by the leaks.She ended up in a cheap apartment with no gates, no guards, and rats in the halls.She stared at the grimy, grease-streaked walls and slapped herself twice, hard.The check-ins, the cameras, the patrols she had once despised were all gone now. Yet she was too afraid to sleep with the lights off.The next morning, she went out for food. When she came back, the apartment had been torn apart.A bullet hole pierced the dirty window. Someone had scrawled across the wall in red paint: KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!The D'Angelos now saw her as a useless pawn and a dangerous witness. They had sent people to search for any related documents.She didn't dare c

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