Not Afraid of the Mafia Heir’s Threat Chapter 07
The next day, I dragged Vanessa out shopping.
I bought her clothes, handbags, necklaces, so many things she barely stopped yelling long enough to breathe.
She finally snapped when I tried to buy her a watch, grabbing my arm and practically shouted, “What kind of watch costs eighty grand?”
“Please don’t!”
With both hands pressed together like she was praying for mercy, she stared at me in horror. “At this point I’m starting to think you want one of my kidneys.”
I had no choice but to put the watch back.
When the moment felt right, I said carefully, “Vanessa, I’m leaving the country.”
The argument I’d braced for never came.
Vanessa actually looked delighted.
She grabbed both my hands and shook them hard. “Congratulations. Seriously, congratulations.”
“Are you going abroad for school? Somewhere amazing? Juilliard or something?”
Now I was the one caught off guard.
A little embarrassed, I admitted, “I’m still applying.”
“I’m not majoring in music anymore. I’m switching to finance.”
Vanessa went quiet.
After a long pause, she hugged me. “That’s okay.”
“Sera, do what feels right.”
“You’ve got a whole future ahead of you.”
That night, right before bed, Vanessa jumped onto my mattress, furious, phone in hand. “What fresh hell is this?”
“Lorenzo moved on that fast?”
Still half asleep, I blinked up at her as she held out her screen.
It was another Instagram story from Gianna.
The location tag said Norway.
[I always wanted to see the Northern Lights. I thought it would never happen for me, and then I met him.]
The photo showed two people leaning against each other under the night sky.
For a moment, I just stared.
Lorenzo had injured his leg years ago.
It had never healed quite right, and cold weather always made it flare up.
So whenever he asked me where I wanted to travel, I always smiled and said, “Somewhere warm. I hate the cold.”
Lorenzo used to frown at me and say, “Then why is your whole saved folder full of snow-covered mountains?”
I’d just throw my arms around him and laugh it off. “Oh, that? I just saved them randomly.”
He’d go quiet then, looking at me like he saw far more than I wanted him to.
And in the end, he’d always say the same thing.
“Okay.”
I looked away from the photo and said flatly, “Love conquers all, apparently. Good for them.”
Then I pulled the blanket over my head and went to sleep.
For the next few days, I threw myself into getting ready to leave
Visa paperwork. Recommendation letters. Bank statements.
Vanessa, meanwhile, kept getting mad on my behalf, sending me screenshots of Gianna’s Instagram.
“The cheating idiots are in London now, taking pictures by Big Ben!”
“And they took couple shots. They look ridiculous.”
I only glanced at them before getting back to what I was doing.
By the time I got back to the dorm one night, it was already three in the morning.
My phone lit up out of nowhere with a photo from Lorenzo had sent me a photo of a snow-covered mountain.
[Next time I’ll take you here. It’s beautiful.]
Then another message followed.
[And Sera, I love you.]
Instinctively, I did the math.
It should have been around eleven at night where he was.
I locked the screen.
I had too much to do the next day.
I needed sleep more than I needed answers.
The next time I saw Lorenzo was at the singing competition, watching him from my seat in the audience.
He stood near the front of the auditorium, directing people to check the chandeliers and the sound system, making sure everything was perfect.
Gianna was wearing a white dress.
She looked like a pearl under the lights.
Or maybe a rabbit—pretty, delicate, and built to make people want to protect her.
She turned to him, cheeks flushed, and said something I couldn’t hear.
Lorenzo paused.
before crouching crouched down and adjusted the hem of her gown for her.
A few girls sitting in front of me practically melted on the spot.
“That boyfriend energy is insane. Where do I pray to get one like that?”
“Lorenzo and his girlfriend are adorable. Childhood connection, mafia engagement, all of it. I ship them so hard.”
“Oh my God, yes.”
They were giggling so hard that one of them knocked over her soda, sending it splashing all over me.
The short-haired girl spun around in a panic. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!”
But when she got a proper look at me, her jaw dropped. “Wait… you’re Sera?”
“Then who’s the girl up there with…”
Her friend slapped a hand over her mouth and laughed awkwardly. “She’s had too much Coke. Ignore her.”
I wasn’t in the mood for embarrassment.
I stood up and went to the restroom.
There wasn’t really much to clean.
The stains barely showed on my black dress.
Maybe I just needed an excuse to step away.
When I came back, someone was sitting in the seat beside mine.
Lorenzo had his eyes half closed, tapping a finger against his knee.
As if he sensed me, he opened them.
“Sera,” he said quietly, “why haven’t you answered any of my messages?”