I Took Mafia Don’s Empire Chapter 05

I Took Mafia Don’s Empire Chapter 05

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

An encrypted message appeared on the screen.

[Everything is done.]

I finally let out a breath.

It was time to lay the cards on the table.

When Matteo hung up, his fingers were still shaking. He whipped his head toward me and stared me down.

“It was you?”

“That performance agreement for South Harbor. You set me up?”

“You mortgaged the entire Rinaldi Group?”

His voice trembled.

His eyes looked like he wanted to tear me apart alive.

I nodded.

“Yes.”

“How else did you think you landed a billion-dollar harbor project like South Harbor?”

“With your little credit line, Matteo Rinaldi?”

His face went white.

“Are you insane?”

“You gambled the entire Rinaldi Group?”

“Celeste, you’re insane!”

“What do you gain if the Rinaldi Family falls?”

Bianca stood behind him.

The smug look she had worn only minutes ago, the one that said she was about to take my place, had shattered completely.

Lucia collapsed onto the sofa.

Her lips trembled, and for a long time, she couldn’t form a single sentence.

I lifted Ivy out of the mud and used my sleeve to wipe the dirt from her face, bit by bit.

“What does Rinaldi Group’s money have to do with me? No matter how much it makes, none of it goes to me.”

“And none of it goes to my daughter.”

I looked at Matteo and spoke each word clearly.

“Oh, I almost forgot.”

“I didn’t just mortgage Rinaldi Group.”

“I put this estate into the collateral package too.”

“In a few days, a court-appointed receiver will come take control of the property.”

“You should pack early.”

“And get out.”

I carried Ivy and turned for the door.

Behind me, Lucia shrieked, “You’re insane! You wouldn’t dare!”

Matteo roared after me.

“Celeste Whitmore! Stop right there!”

Bianca’s voice was sharper than both of theirs.

“Security!”

“Stop her!”

No one stopped me.

Everyone on this estate knew one thing.

For the past six years, the estate security contract had been under Whitmore Holdings. They knew exactly who signed their paychecks, better than Matteo ever did.

I carried Ivy through the front hall and down the garden corridor I had designed with my own hands.

At the end of it, I pushed open the estate doors.

A black Maybach was already waiting outside.

The driver opened the door, and I got in with Ivy in my arms.

The moment it shut behind us, every scream from the estate disappeared.

Ivy had stopped crying.

She leaned against me, her small fingers clutching my collar, quiet and still.

After a long while, she whispered, “Mommy. I don’t want to love Daddy anymore.”

I looked down at her.

Her lashes were still wet, but the fear from earlier was gone from her eyes.

All that remained was a seriousness no four-year-old should have had.

I sighed and held her closer.

“Ivy, listen to me. Your daddy’s choices are not your fault.”

“Some people only know how to love what makes them feel powerful. They don’t love with their whole heart. They love with conditions.”

“Your father looked at you and saw what you weren’t, instead of seeing everything you are.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re not enough.”

“It means he isn’t.”

Ivy blinked. Her voice was very soft.

“Because I’m a girl?”

I didn’t lie.

“Yes.”

“Some people think only boys can carry a family name, inherit an estate, and sit at the family table.”

“But that is their problem.”

“Not yours.”

“It’s like some people liking red and some people liking blue.”

“Just because they prefer red doesn’t mean blue isn’t beautiful.”

“That’s called prejudice.”

Ivy thought about it seriously for a long time. Then she nodded lightly.

“It’s okay.”

Her voice was small, but steady.

“I don’t need them.”

“I know Mommy loves me.”

My eyes stung at once.

“Yes.”

“Mommy loves you.”

“And not just Mommy.”

I looked down at her, my voice a little hoarse.

“Grandpa and Grandma love you too.”

Ivy’s tearful eyes widened.

“Grandpa and Grandma are back?”

“Yes.”

I held her tight and looked out the window as the streets blurred past.

“We’re going to see them now.”