The Real Mafia Heiress They Left Behind Chapter 02

The Real Mafia Heiress They Left Behind Chapter 02

The next morning, I went to school.

Ms. Green was already waiting for me in her office. She slid a thick stack of paperwork across her desk.

“Serena, this is a full scholarship offer from Cambridge.”

“There are only a handful of these awarded worldwide every year.”

“I’m so proud of you.”

She looked at me with unmistakable pride.

I reached for the pen, but my hand hesitated.

“Ms. Green… does the acceptance form have to be signed by a legal guardian?”

She blinked in surprise.

“Normally, yes.”

“But…”

She pulled up my student records and smiled.

“I almost forgot. You turned eighteen just last week.”

“You can sign it yourself.”

Eighteen.

My fingers tightened around the pen until my knuckles turned white.

Last Wednesday had been my eighteenth birthday.

That same day, Ivy had decided she was craving a cake from an old family bakery across town.

My parents and Marco had driven halfway across the city just to buy it for her.

Luca had stayed home to keep her company while they played video games together.

Not one of them remembered it had been my birthday too.

“Serena?”

Ms. Green’s voice pulled me back.

“If your family has concerns, you should probably talk it over with them first.”

“Studying abroad is a huge decision.”

I drew a slow breath.

Then I signed my name on the last page of the acceptance form.

“I don’t need to discuss it with anyone.”

“I can make this decision myself.”

Ms. Green studied the determination in my eyes. She didn’t argue.

“All right.”

“I’ll submit everything today.”

“The school will help you arrange your visa and flights.”

“If everything stays on schedule, you’ll leave in about two weeks.”

I thanked her and stepped outside.

The afternoon sun was blinding, making my eyes sting.

I found a bench beneath a tree and pulled out my phone.

A notification popped up on Instagram.

Mom had posted new photos.

Every picture radiated happiness.

There were shots of the family laughing as waves crashed around their ankles.

A lavish seafood feast spread across a waterfront table.

The last photo showed Luca and Ivy sitting side by side.

Luca was carefully peeling shrimp for her while she smiled up at him with obvious delight.

The caption read:

[Our perfect family vacation. As long as Ivy’s happy, that’s all that matters.]

The comments were already filling up.

One of Mom’s friends asked:

[Where’s Serena?]

Mom replied almost immediately.

[She spent too many years running wild on that farm upstate. She doesn’t know how to behave. If we’d brought her along, she probably would’ve embarrassed us somehow.]

I stared at the words as my fingertips grew cold.

Running wild on that farm upstate.

That was all they believed I was.

They didn’t know I had been up before sunrise every morning, hauling feed and cleaning stalls in the barn.

They didn’t know I washed clothes by hand in an icy creek through the dead of winter.

They didn’t know I had studied every night beneath moonlight because I couldn’t afford proper lamps, all so I could earn this scholarship.

Without thinking, I tapped the heart button.

Then I closed the app.

Two weeks.

Just two more weeks.

Then I’d finally leave this place behind forever.

When I got home, I started cleaning the house exactly as Marco had instructed.

I dusted every corner of the living room until it sparkled.

Then I walked into Ivy’s bedroom.

Her room was spacious, bright, and flooded with afternoon sunlight.

Her closet overflowed with designer clothes from the newest collections.

Her vanity was covered with luxury skincare products and rows of collectible figurines.

After mopping the floor, my eyes landed on a velvet jewelry box sitting on her nightstand.

The lid was half open.

Inside rested a sapphire necklace.

[Luca’s gift for Ivy’s eighteenth birthday.]

I had seen that necklace before.

Months earlier, I’d accidentally noticed it saved in the notes app on Luca’s phone.

The title had read:

Serena’s Eighteenth Birthday Gift.

In the end, it had ended up around Ivy’s neck instead.

Luca’s explanation had been simple.

“Serena, Ivy fell in love with it the second she saw it.”

“You hardly ever wear jewelry anyway. Just let her have this one.”

“I’ll buy you something even nicer later.”

I hadn’t argued.

I hadn’t cried.

I had simply erased that necklace from my heart the same way it had been erased from my future.

I quietly closed Ivy’s bedroom door and returned to the tiny storage room that served as mine.

Carefully, I tucked my acceptance papers into the deepest pocket of my backpack.

They were my only ticket to freedom.

I lay down on the hard wooden bed and stared at the cracked ceiling.

If you expected nothing…

…you could never be disappointed.

It had taken me three years to truly understand that.