The Shoeshine Girl and Her Godfather Father Chapter 08

The Shoeshine Girl and Her Godfather Father Chapter 08

Renata froze for a second. Then she whined into the phone, her voice dripping with indignation.

“That woman killed herself. What does that have to do with me?”

“It’s not my fault she was weak. If she couldn’t take it, that’s on her.”

“Antonio, why are you yelling at me over an outsider?”

“Did that little bitch tell you something? I knew she hadn’t given up yet.”

“I’m your real wife. Have you forgotten?”

“She made me lose the ability to ever have children again…”

Before she could finish, my father hung up. His face was dark with fury.

He looked at me. His eyes were heavy with guilt.

Then he said, “Sophia, wait for me. I’ll avenge you and Lena.”

Over the next few days, the Moretti family came down on Renata’s family like a storm.

Their businesses were attacked from every direction.

Within a week, the family was completely ruined—bankrupt down to the last cent.

Renata stormed over to pick a fight with my father. She even used her dying parents as leverage.

My father only laughed coldly.

“Do you know how much I’ve already done for your family all these years?”

“I abandoned my wife and daughter to repay that debt.”

“Whatever I owed your parents was paid back long ago.”

His eyes were filled with rage.

“You killed Lena. You had Sophia’s leg broken.”

“Your whole family knew. They all helped you cover it up.”

“You owe Lena a life—and you’re going to pay for it.”

Renata stared at him in disbelief. She never imagined the truth would come out.

She threw her arms around him and burst into tears.

“Antonio, I only did it because I loved you.”

“I’m your wife now. We’ve been married for three years.”

“Please. Spare my family. Spare my parents.”

“My father had a stroke last night. My mother almost had a heart attack from the shock—”

Out of now here, my father slapped her.

The slap caught her off guard and sent her stumbling across the room.

My father’s face was twisted with fury.

“The pain wasn’t yours. That’s why you don’t care.”

His voice shook.

“Do you have any idea what it felt like for Sophia to lose her mother? Do you know what Lena went through?”

“You want me to spare you? Then what about Lena? She was beaten to death because of you!”

“What about Sophia’s leg? You destroyed her life! She couldn’t even get into college!”

He stared at her as if looking at something filthy.

“Are you even human? How can you be this vicious?”

Renata covered her swollen cheek. Her eyes filled with jealousy and hatred.

“They deserved it!” She screamed hysterically.

“We grew up together! We were engaged first! It was that bitch Lena who stole you from me!”

“Why did she get to be Donna? What was she compared to me?”

“How could she ever be worthy of you—”

“Enough.” His voice cut through hers, cold and final.

The disgust and disappointment in his eyes were unmistakable.

“The divorce will be handled by my lawyers.”

“I’ve already filed charges against you—for Lena, and for Sophia. You’ll spend the rest of your life in prison.”

He looked at her coldly.

“And remember—the fact that I’m handling this through the law, and not the family, is the greatest mercy you’ll ever receive from me.”

Despair flooded Renata’s face.

“No! Antonio, you can’t do this to me!”

“I only told them to rough them up!” Her voice rose into a scream.

“You’re the one who threw them out! Now you’re playing the devoted husband—”

My father’s fist clenched. The veins on his forehead bulged.

“Get her out of my sight.”

His men dragged her away. Even then, she kept screaming and cursing.

The polished socialite image was gone. She looked completely unhinged.

When my father later sent me the recording, I only watched a few minutes.

Then I tossed the tablet aside.

“You can go now. I’m tired.”

I closed my eyes, refusing to look at him.

He stood beside my bed for a long time. As if he wanted to say something. In the end, he left without a word.

The next time the hospital room door opened, I frowned.

“Didn’t I tell you to—” The words died in my throat as I met a pair of crazed, venomous eyes.

Renata charged into the room. A knife gleamed in her hand.

“You bitch! It’s all because of you and your mother!”

“If it weren’t for you, I would never have fallen to this! Go to hell!”

She lunged—the knife aimed straight at my chest.

Before it could reach me, my father burst into the room.

He threw himself between us.

“Don’t you dare touch my Sophia!”

They crashed into each other, struggling for the knife.

Outside, nurses screamed and called the police.

By the time officers arrived—my father was lying on the floor.

The blade had pierced his chest. He wasn’t breathing.

Because of his protection, I walked away without a scratch.

Renata was convicted on multiple counts of attempted murder, murder, and aggravated assault. She was sentenced to death.

A few weeks later, my father’s lawyer came to see me.

He brought a copy of the will.

My father had left everything to me, including his shares, properties, and every cent of his estate.

I glanced through it once. Then sold it all.

The inheritance made me wealthier than I ever imagined.

I owned an estate. I had butlers, assistants, and staff at my call.

My right leg was fitted with a fully automated prosthetic.

It responded directly to nerve signals. Under long pants, you could barely tell it wasn’t real.

I moved my mother’s grave to the estate. Now I could see her every day.

I hired private tutors. Studied at home for a year. And got into a decent university.

The morning my chauffeur drove me to campus, the sunlight was beautiful.

My eighteenth year had ended three years ago—on the day my mother died.

Three years later, I was finally stepping into the age that should have been mine all along. I was nineteen.