Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO REFUSED THE MAFIA BOSS
Vincent was accustomed to obedience.
I discovered this quickly.
He gave instructions.
People followed them.
He made decisions.
Nobody questioned him.
Except me.
One morning, he called.
“I've arranged a driver.”
I stared at my phone.
“For what?”
“To take you to work.”
I sighed.
“Vincent.”
“Yes?”
“I have a car.”
He paused.
“I know.”
“Then why do I need a driver?”
“Security.”
I took a breath.
“Then explain the risk and let me decide.”
Silence.
Finally, Vincent said:
“Fair.”
I nearly dropped the phone.
He continued.
“There have been two suspicious vehicles near your building.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
He exhaled.
“Because I thought you'd refuse the driver.”
I closed my eyes.
“Vincent.”
“Yes?”
“That's exactly why you need to tell me.”
He was silent.
Then said:
“I'm learning.”
I smiled faintly.
“Slowly.”
He laughed.
Over the following weeks, we worked together.
We reviewed old records.
Spoke with former employees.
Visited properties connected to my father's business.
And slowly, I began seeing a different side of Vincent.
He was patient with elderly employees.
He remembered the names of staff members' children.
He donated quietly to a neighborhood hospital.
But he was also dangerous.
Quick-tempered.
Accustomed to control.
One evening, I asked him:
“Do you ever wish you weren't Vincent Marino?”
He looked at me.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then whispered:
“Every day.”
May you like
I studied him.
And for the first time, I wondered whether the man everyone feared was also trapped by the world he'd inherited.
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