The Real Mafia Heiress They Left Behind Chapter 03

The Real Mafia Heiress They Left Behind Chapter 03

The next few days passed in suffocating silence.

I woke up every morning on schedule, finished the housework, then spent the rest of the day studying English.

Every now and then, someone would post vacation pictures in the family group chat.

Not one person ever asked how I was doing.

On the fourth night of their trip, my phone suddenly rang.

Luca.

I stared at his name flashing across the screen for several seconds before answering.

“Hello.”

The roar of ocean waves echoed through the call.

Luca sounded impatient.

“Serena, that red braided bracelet I made you… was it inside the hidden compartment of the blue suitcase?”

My heart skipped.

He had woven that bracelet for me eight years ago before leaving the farm.

A tiny silver lucky bead hung from the braided cord.

I’d worn it almost every day since.

Only this time, because they were going to the beach, I’d been afraid the saltwater might ruin it.

So I’d hidden it inside the suitcase.

“Yes.” My grip tightened around the phone. “Why?”

Luca sighed.

“Ivy thought the suitcase was too heavy today, so she emptied everything out of the compartment while organizing it.”

“The bracelet accidentally fell into the sand.”

“We couldn’t find it.”

For a second, I forgot how to breathe.

“You couldn’t find it?”

“Did you actually look?”

My voice rose before I could stop it.

Ivy’s tearful voice immediately came through the speaker.

“Serena… I’m so sorry…”

“I swear I didn’t mean to.”

“There was just so much sand.”

“I searched forever…”

Then Mom cut in sharply.

“Serena, why are you yelling?”

“It’s just some cheap little string bracelet.”

“How much could it possibly be worth?”

“Ivy spent half an hour searching for it in the blazing sun.”

“Now she’s dizzy because of you.”

I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood.

A cheap little string.

To them…

Everything that belonged to me was worthless.

Luca took the phone back.

His patience was obviously gone.

“Serena, it’s just an old bracelet.”

“I’ll buy you a new one when we get home.”

“A diamond bracelet.”

“It’ll look a lot better than that thing.”

“Ivy’s already upset.”

“Stop making her cry.”

“And try acting like the mature one for once.”

Again.

Always be the mature one.

I closed my eyes.

A tear finally escaped, splashing onto the back of my hand.

I didn’t make a sound.

After a long silence, I finally whispered,

“You don’t have to.”

Luca paused.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you don’t have to replace it.”

My voice had become eerily calm.

“If it’s gone…”

“It’s gone.”

After all…

It wasn’t important anymore.

Not because the bracelet meant nothing.

Because the person who had given it to me no longer did.

The line fell silent.

A couple of seconds later, Luca finally spoke again.

“We’ll bring you back some local souvenirs.”

I didn’t answer.

I hung up.

Then tossed my phone onto the bed.

I curled into myself and wrapped my arms tightly around my body.

Winters on the farm had always been brutal.

Grandma never let me inside to warm myself by the fireplace.

I’d hide alone in the woodshed, shivering until my fingers went numb.

Back then, Luca had been visiting relatives nearby with his parents.

He had found me there.

Without saying a word, he’d slipped his hand warmer into my hands.

Before leaving, he’d scribbled a note.

[Don’t be scared, Serena. I’ll protect you from now on.]

I had kept that note for eight years.

After he returned to the city, we kept writing letters.

He promised he’d take me to see the ocean one day.

He promised he’d buy me beautiful clothes.

For years, he had been the only light that kept me alive through the darkness.

Now…

That same light had extinguished every last piece of hope I had left.

I stood and walked to my desk.

Pulling open the bottom drawer, I took out an old tin box.

It was filled with every letter Luca had ever written to me.

I carried the box into the kitchen.

Then I turned on the gas stove.

One letter.

Then another.

The flames devoured the yellowed paper.

And with it…

They consumed the last of what I’d ever felt for him.