Todos los capítulos de Stop Testing Me, Don: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 9

I opened the chat. No hello, no explanation. Just a video a little over ten seconds long and a short message.The video was dated last month, on my birthday. The night a blizzard hit.That night, the storm had knocked out the power in our basement apartment. Matteo had called, breathless, claiming the loan sharks had tracked him down and hurt him. He said he had to stay in hiding until morning.I believed him.I spent the entire night huddled beside a candle that had almost burned out, sick with worry. The next day, I even sold nearly a pint of my blood on the black market just to buy him supplements to help him recover.But the video in front of me shattered my last illusion.The video showed a lavish suite bathed in soft, dim light. Matteo lay asleep on a velvet sofa, his jacket discarded and his shirt hanging open, exposing his muscular chest.As the camera moved closer, Victoria's hand entered the frame. A diamond ring sparkled on her finger as she ran her fingertips over the old c

Manhattan. The top-floor suite of a private hospital.Matteo stood by the window, staring out at the raging blizzard, lost in thought.Victoria lay in the hospital bed, her right arm wrapped in thick bandages."Matteo, I can't feel my fingers." Victoria lay propped up against the pillows, her face pale and streaked with tears. "The doctor said a shard cut my ulnar nerve. What if I lose the use of my hand, like my dad did?"The attending physician, Dr. Simon Graves, wiped the sweat from his brow and began, "Don, based on the scans..."Victoria's head whipped around. Even through her tears, the warning in her eyes was unmistakable.The doctor broke out in a cold sweat. He swallowed his words, lowered his eyes, and quickly changed his story. "It could take a long time to heal. She might even suffer permanent muscle spasms."The mention of lasting damage made Matteo's eyes widen. He hurried to Victoria's side.Victoria caught the edge of Matteo's coat with her good hand. Her voice was weak

I used the last of my cash to pay the application fee for the second-round audition at the Paris Conservatory.When I walked out of the admissions office, I didn't have a cent left, not even enough for a piece of stale bread.That night had left me with an ugly gash across my right palm. Whenever I put even a little pressure on it, the scab split open and started bleeding again.My first two weeks in Paris were brutal.I applied for a dishwashing job at a restaurant, but the owner took one look at the bloodstained bandage on my hand, shook his head, and sent me away. I tried waiting tables at a sidewalk cafe, but I couldn't hold a tray steady. After I broke a few cups, they withheld my entire day's wages.Hunger and pain nearly broke me. One cold, rainy evening, I sat on a bench by the Seine and stared at my trembling right hand, unsure whether I could hold out until the audition.Then a black umbrella appeared above me, shielding me from the cold rain."Your hands belong on a cello, n

Sirens wailed over Manhattan.By the time I reached the building where my ensemble rented a rehearsal studio, flames were already shooting into the sky. Firefighters were cordoning off the area. Thick smoke billowed from the building as everything I'd worked so hard to build over the past year went up in flames.Victoria was standing in a dark alley across the street, an empty gas can dangling from her left hand.She was haggard, her hair wild. The right hand Matteo had crushed hung limp at her side, twisted at an unnatural angle. She looked like a demon straight from hell, her face twisted into a maniacal grin."Alaia! You had this coming!" she shrieked. Then she saw Matteo getting out of the Rolls-Royce, and her grin grew even wider. "Matteo, look! She can't play anymore! She's nothing compared to me! You should make me your Donna!"Matteo looked at her as if she were already a corpse. He strode over and kicked her hard in the stomach.Victoria screamed as the kick sent her flying. S