The Godfather Was Too Proud to Love Me, So I Walked Away Chapter 09

The Godfather Was Too Proud to Love Me, So I Walked Away Chapter 09

Iris asked: “What do you want to do?”

I didn’t hesitate.

“Send a cease-and-desist. Have all the supporting documentation ready.”

She sounded surprised. “I thought you were going to say forget it.”

I leaned back in my chair.

“The bedroom? She can have it. Clothes, jewelry-none of that matters. It all came from the Vitale family

anyway.”

“But this is different.”

I had stayed up countless nights creating this.

I earned it myself.

Nobody was taking it.

After we issued the statement, things blew up fast.

Serena’s camp didn’t respond at first. The next day, Mr. Vitale called.

“Odette, can we handle this privately?”

I closed my eyes.

There it was.

“Why?”

“Serena’s new to all of this. She doesn’t understand how things work. She probably just saw your old files and figured since they were sitting there…”

“Dad.”

I cut him off.

“If this were Vitale property and you told me to hand it over, I wouldn’t say a word.”

Silence on the other end.

“But it’s mine.”

My voice wasn’t loud, but for the first time, I didn’t bend.

“I spent three months on that proposal. My team worked on it too. Why should I give away something I built just because she didn’t know better?”

Mr. Vitale was quiet for a very long time.

Finally: “I understand.”

The resolution went smoother than I expected.

Our evidence was airtight-original files, email threads, meeting records, everything accounted for. The

partner brand on Serena’s end pulled the project almost immediately, and she had no choice but to issue a

public apology.

I didn’t respond to her.

Personal matters were personal. Work was work.

A few days later, though, Iris mentioned something. One piece of evidence in the chain-a set of on-site

materials from an industry event two years back-had been sent over by Renzo.

“How did he have those?”

“He was the investor behind that event.”

I went quiet.

It struck me all at once. The Ferraros dealt in shipping, arms, that kind of thing. Why would they suddenly get

involved in the beauty industry?

Maybe because of me.

My adoptive parents’ empire had gone to a cousin. I had zero interest in the underground side of things. They neither supported nor opposed my career in beauty, which meant my start had been rough-although, let’s be honest, the family money was still my biggest safety net.

Iris, ever the gossip: “Not even going to say thank you?”

I thought about it. Then sent him a text.

[Got the materials. Thanks.]

Instant reply.

[That’s it? Not even a thank-you gift?]

No. There wasn’t one.

I didn’t respond.

The day of my exhibition, I was running around from dawn to dusk. Right before I had to go onstage, I was

crouched backstage touching up my lipstick.

A staff member came to find me.

“Odette, there’s a Mr. Ferraro outside.”

My hand stilled.

“He says he doesn’t have an invitation, so he didn’t come in. He just asked me to check if you have ten

minutes after the show.”

Renzo used to walk into my life without knocking.

He knew the code to the Vitale estate. He knew where my studio was. He knew what time I woke up and

what time I went to sleep. He even knew which pocket of my bag held my most-used lipstick.

It never once occurred to him to ask.

Now he was standing outside, waiting for me to decide whether I wanted to see him.

I capped my lipstick.

“Tell him to wait.”

The staff member asked: “Ten minutes?”

“No.”

I stood up and smoothed down my dress.

“After the exhibition.”

He used to make me wait all the time.

Now it was his turn.