Feel-Good Story 단편 소설 & Mafia Bullying 소설

Attending the ten-year high school reunion for the cheerleading squad and football team, I arrived in an old domestic Ford, while the parking lot was filled with Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Maybachs, and even a gold Bugatti. It was as if I were the only relic from another era. The moment I stepped out of my car, a former classmate, whose name I could no longer remember, looked at me with a sneer. “Well, if it isn’t the coach’s pet. How is it that after all these years, you’re still driving this beat-up old Ford?” “This thing looks like it belongs in a scrapyard from the last century!” During dinner, everyone gathered around the Bugatti owner, raising their glasses in celebration, while I was left ignored at the side. Only the cheerleading assistant sat next to me, raising a glass in my direction with a comforting smile. “Don’t let it get to you. Your car may be old, but I believe you’ll be driving a luxury car one day.” I let a small smirk curl at the corner of my lips and lowered my voice. “This car may look unimpressive, but it’s been fully upgraded with a carbon fiber body. It’s already worth over half a million dollars. Too bad, none of you even recognized its true value.”

After Isabella loses the three children she carried for the mafia don Matteo, she finally tears herself away from his lies. But when Matteo discovers the truth behind the deaths, his guilt collides with the woman he once used as a pawn, and every secret he buried comes back to destroy the power he thought he controlled.

The syndicate's year-end banquet was wrapping up. A blinding spotlight hit me. "Time for our final toast. To the family's Biggest Dead Weight." Dead silence for a second. Then, malicious laughter erupted across the room. Silas’s new girl, Chloe, nudged my shoulder with a smirk. "Go get your award, Valentina. Don't be shy." "I voted for you too. You earned it." I stayed quiet. Looked at our Boss, Don Silas. He knew exactly what I did for this criminal empire. The untraceable money laundering. The late-night drinks to buy city councilmen. The premium casino licenses I secured through my own family ties. I built the syndicate's most profitable underground cash flows. Blood, sweat, and tears. But now, he just sat at the head table. Staring at me with cold eyes. "What? You don't like the family's reward?" I walked up to the stage. Took that cheap, humiliating plastic chip from a soldier. Chloe handed me the mic. Smiled sweetly, playing the innocent angel. "Any speech, Valentina?" A room full of mobsters in suits waited for the punchline. I held the chip. Looked at the faces I had fed with clean money. Gave a soft smile. "Since the family thinks this is all I'm worth... I'm out." The laughter stopped instantly. They thought I was just a lovesick woman throwing a tantrum. Until the offshore laundering networks shut down. Until politicians and VIPs pulled their money out. They demanded their real contact. Otherwise, all protection was gone. They totally panicked.

It was Thanksgiving. Bianca, the former high school queen bee, was getting married. She sent an e-invite to our private school group chat, tagging everyone. I was going to ignore it. Then, she @’d me directly: "Alessia, I know you faked your wealthy background in high school to show off. But I'm the bigger person. I'll let you come tomorrow. See what a real mafia wedding looks like." Her minions quickly chimed in. "You're too generous, Bianca! No wonder you're marrying into the inner circle of the Castiglione family. You even forgave a vain fake like Alessia!" "Alessia? At a mansion wedding? She'll just humiliate herself if she shows up." The chat was filled with trash talk, but Bianca played the saint. "Let it go, guys. It's in the past. She has nothing anyway. Let's not be hard on her." Right on cue, everyone praised her noble heart. I lay in my husband's massive, cold bed. My fingertips traced the family crest on the silk sheets. His crest. The most feared mafia Godfather in North America. I let out a cold laugh. Back then, she stole my Vitali family name. She turned me, a real mafia princess, into a pathetic wannabe. She made me a target for bullying and humiliation. I opened the e-invite. My eyes narrowed. The venue was my family's estate in the Hamptons. And the groom in the photo looked awfully familiar. Short hair, hooked nose, a scar on his chin. Wasn't that Nico? My husband Rocco's driver? A slow smirk touched my lips. A bloodthirsty glint flashed in my eyes. I grabbed the burner phone Rocco left on the pillow. I texted his private number: "Your lapdog is acting up on my turf." Then I replied in the group chat: "Sure. I'll be there."

After I moved into my new apartment, my neighbor, Bianca Ferraro, started showing up at my door every evening for a free meal. I lived alone and always cooked more than I needed. For the sake of keeping the peace, I did not mind sharing. That changed one workday at 3:00 am, when someone pounded on my door and yelled, "Open up! My boyfriend's waiting at the bar downstairs. Make me a cheese platter and open a bottle of red wine. I need to bring it down." I opened the door, still half-asleep, and stared at Bianca standing in the hallway. "You're serious?" She rolled her eyes. "Don't act like it's such a big deal. It won't even take you that long." My temples throbbed. "I'm not your personal chef. Why would I make you food at 3:00 am?" Instead of apologizing, she crossed her arms and scoffed. "No wonder you're still single. You can't even do someone a small favor. What guy would put up with someone like you? “My boyfriend's the most powerful mafia boss around here. One phone call from me and you won't be living on this street anymore." Well. She clearly had no idea that I was the Principessa of this city's most powerful mafia family. Never mind the apartment, the entire street belonged to me.

"Tap more ash into his cup. He needs to understand this isn't the place for an idiot like him." I went to the break room at lunch to fill my water bottle. The second I walked in, I saw Santo and his crew gathered around my mug, ruining it. Ash coated the rim, and cigarette butts floated in the coffee. The sight turned my stomach. My folder lay on the floor with a few black boot prints across it. Santo raised an eyebrow when he saw me. "Good. You saw it. We don't feed idiots here. Go back where you came from. "You've got one week to leave on your own. After that, I have plenty of ways to make you disappear." I said coldly, "You don't call the shots at these docks." Tony, Santo's right-hand man, laughed, pulled out a gun, and tapped it against my temple once, then again. "You'll find out soon enough whether my word means anything. "You crossed Santo, and you still think you can stay? Dream on!" The others sneered, and every one of them slammed a shoulder into mine on the way out. I watched them go and smiled a little. They have no idea who I really am. And they certainly don't know that one word from me is all it would take to make Santo disappear from this world.