A Million Dollars Too Late Chapter 01

A Million Dollars Too Late Chapter 01

For five years, I was the Don of Chicago Marcello Ravello’s mistress. The kind that cost him nothing.

The day I was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, he announced he was marrying the Corvino family heiress.

I didn’t cry. I didn’t make a scene.

I just went to his private club and asked him for a million dollars. Everyone in the VIP room laughed.

“She’s just the Don’s little pet. He’s getting married, and now she thinks she can cash in for a million bucks?”

Marcello lifted his glass and smiled. “Of course she can.”

“Audrey has been with me for five years. When have I ever said no to her?”

The moment he gave his word, relief flooded through me. I walked deeper into the room, thanked him, and told him I hoped he and Valeria would be very happy together.

Marcello kept his promise.

The next morning, his assistant Enzo showed up at the Lake Forest estate carrying a black leather case.

He opened it. No cash inside.

It was stuffed with meal vouchers—worth a million dollars, but only redeemable at Ravello family hotels and restaurants.

My phone buzzed with a message from Marcello.

[Go enjoy yourself.]

[I’ve already called every hotel under my name. Wave those vouchers and they’ll feed you.]

[Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a midnight snack. That should keep you fed for the rest of your life.] When I didn’t reply, he called.

“You wanted money because you were afraid no one would take care of you once I was married. Isn’t that right?”

“Now I’ve got every meal covered for the rest of your life. What the more do you want?”

I stared at the terminal cancer diagnosis on the table. I didn’t have the energy to argue.

Whatever. All I wanted was to die in peace.

***

“Marcello, that’s not what I meant.” I clutched the phone, my voice raw. “I really needed that million dollars. Consider it a loan. Please. I’ll pay you back.”

The click of a lighter came through the line. Then Marcello’s cold laugh. “Keep going. I had no idea my little bird could pull off an act like this.”

I bit my lip until the taste of blood filled my mouth.

“If you just give me the million, I’ll move out of the estate after your wedding.”

“I can keep working for you too. I’ll do anything you want.”

His laughter cut off. “You’d humiliate yourself just to squeeze money out of me and walk away? Audrey, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “In five years, any single necklace you gave me was worth more than a million secondhand.”

“I’m asking for cash. Just this once. Why do you have to humiliate me like this?”

Silence stretched on the other end. I could only hear him exhaling smoke.

Then his voice went flat and cold. “Because you’re threatening me with a pathetic lie. Enough with the drama.”

“Take the vouchers or leave them. You don’t want them? Then figure out how to survive on your own.”

The line went dead.

My phone immediately erupted with notifications.

[Your bank card has been frozen.]

[Your credit cards have been canceled.]

[Your spending privileges under the Ravello family have been revoked.]

Enzo, his assistant, still standing nearby, glanced at his phone. He snapped the leather case shut.

“I’m sorry, Miss Lane.”

“The Don has ordered an immediate halt to all rights you held under the Ravello family. I’ll be taking the vouchers back as well.”

He gave me a brief nod, picked up the case, and left. The black sedan disappeared down the estate drive seconds later.

I was left standing alone at the window.

Ruthless. That was Marcello. He refused to pay for my life, and then he personally shut every door I had left.

An unknown number lit up my phone.

“Am I speaking to Audrey Lane? This is St. Agnes Medical Center.”

There was a note of excitement in the nurse’s voice.

“A slot just opened up in the experimental trial.”

“If the payment comes through this afternoon—the one million—we can get you admitted tomorrow.”

I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn’t come.

The doctor took over the call. “Miss Lane, your brain cancer has reached an advanced stage. The tumor is pressing against your cranial nerves. If we delay any longer, you could suffer a cerebral hemorrhage at any moment.”

I watched Enzo’s car disappear into the snow. Tears ran down my face before I could stop them.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have the money.”

“Give the spot to someone else.”

The moment I hung up, a vicious wave of vertigo crashed into me.

It felt like someone was driving a hammer into my skull.

I braced myself against the wall and stumbled toward the door. I was going to call the guards outside for help.

My knees gave out first. I crashed face-first into the snow. Pain wracked my body, curling me into a tight, shuddering ball.

Even breathing became torture. Snowflakes stung my face. I clenched my fists, nails biting deep into my palms.

Audrey. You’re so damn pathetic.

You actually held onto hope for a man without a heart.

I closed my eyes and made a silent vow. Even if this pain kills me, I will never beg Marcello for anything again.