Todos os capítulos de I Spent Thirteen Years Taking Bullets for the Mafia Heir: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 9

When I opened my eyes again, I was floating above the ballroom at the Valenti estate.Theo had just finished taking his oath. The Don himself slipped the obsidian ring onto his finger, and the ballroom erupted in deafening applause.I looked down at myself. I felt weightless. When my fingers passed straight through a champagne glass, I finally understood that I was dead.Mom stood among the members of the family's main branch, her eyes shining with pride as she watched the Don place the ring on Theo's finger.The big screen began cycling through photos of my cousin growing up. I floated closer and quickly recognized that several of them were actually me.The public shooting exhibition when I was seven. The family event when I was nine. The security training when I was 11. That was me in every photo, wearing Theo's clothes and pretending to be him.But the name under every photo was Theo's.I reached out to touch the screen, but my fingers went right through my own face. I'd spent years

Theo couldn't wait anymore. He insisted on leaving, but Dad grabbed his shoulder."Get back here. Your succession ceremony isn't over."Theo shook him off. "Uncle Paolo, Daisy never goes this long without answering. I'm going to North Hill now."Dad's face darkened. "She'll be fine."He glanced at the stage as if the answer were obvious."Today's the day you officially take over the Valenti family. We've all waited 13 years for this. Daisy's been training since she was seven. Wasn't it all to make sure you got here?"Mom tried to calm him down too. "Why would she call now, of all times? Daisy knows North Hill well. She knows how to handle herself. Don't worry. Get back onstage. It's almost time for the final signing."I watched my parents reassure Theo. Once again, it hit me that they'd raised me for one purpose: to take the hits meant for him until he could claim his place as heir.That was when my grandfather, Vittorio Valenti, arrived.He came in, looked around, and the first thing

After a long moment, he slowly pulled his hand away. "Daisy... is dead."Mom didn't seem to understand. She froze for a moment, then lunged forward and grabbed my hand. "That's impossible! Look, she's still trying to defend herself!"Dad didn't say a word. Grim-faced, he came over and stared down at my face.Theo stood nearby, his face almost completely drained of color.Dr. Russo checked my pupils and breathing again, then said quietly, "Mr. Valenti, there really is no pulse."Mom shook her head, crying. "She's pulled through worse before. She'll pull through this time too. Doctor, check again."Dad finally spoke, his voice rough. "Try again."Dr. Russo looked down at the gunshot wound in my abdomen and the bandage soaked through with blood. "The bullet didn't hit her heart, and it didn't hit her head."Dad's head snapped up.But the doctor offered no hope. "What killed her was the blood loss. She kept pressure on the wound herself, which is why she survived as long as she did. If you

The next day, Theo shut himself in the training room.He had someone bring out all 13 years' worth of my mission records.I'd never been allowed to see any of them.Dad said a stand-in only needed to follow orders. She didn't need to know how she was being graded.The first record was from when I was seven."Gait not similar enough. Continue training."The second was from when I was shot at age 11."A deviation from the decoy route allowed a second group to get close to the heir. Mission score: 70."When Theo read that, his fingers tightened around the page.The next page was from when I was 17, after I'd been held captive for three days."Escaped on her own. Did not reveal heir's location. Pass."Nobody wrote down that my leg was broken.Nobody wrote down that my wrists were rubbed raw.And nobody wrote down that I'd waited alone in a warehouse all night.In those records, every injury I'd suffered had been reduced to another performance metric I was expected to improve.Some pages ha

I didn't disappear right away.After the funeral, I stayed at the Valenti estate for a long time.Mom went into my room every day.She put the black suits away one by one, but she could never bring herself to throw them out.Once, she used my wish list to buy enough dresses to fill an entire closet.When a maid asked if she should get rid of the old suits, Mom suddenly burst into tears.She had finally understood that no matter how many dresses she bought, I'd never come back to wear them.Later, Mom started going to an orphanage on the edge of the city every week.Many of the girls there were around seven or eight, just as I had been.The first time she went, a little girl with short hair tugged on her hand and asked, "Do you have a daughter?"Mom stood there for a long time. Finally, with red eyes, she nodded. "I do."But I lost her."After that, she bought dresses and cakes for the children and remembered every one of their birthdays.But she never said she was doing it for me.She