Part 2The Real Heiress Mafias Feared

The air went dead silent.

Chloe's body went stiff for a second.

Then she exploded into sobs. Even more dramatic than before.

“I wasn't faking! I was just... I was so scared!” She clutched Eleanor's sleeve, tears streaming down her face. “Mom, does she want to kill me? If she wants me dead, I'll die right now!”

“Don't talk nonsense!”

Eleanor hugged her tighter. Then she shot a look at me. Her eyes were tired. And full of disappointment.

“Aurora, you are a massive disappointment.”

I stood under the blood-red crystal chandelier.

Listening to my own mother judge me.

“You don't have a single drop of Callahan honor in you. You're nothing but gutter trash from the slums!” Eleanor accused, heartbroken.

Honestly, I felt nothing.

In Italy, my adoptive father Silas was afraid I'd be wronged. He blew up half a city block and handed me control of his biggest washing operations.

In Russia, my adoptive brother Killian was afraid I'd be bored. He tossed me the keys to his armory like it was a toy.

Compared to that, this cheap emotional blackmail from the Callahans... it felt like kids playing house.

I looked right at Eleanor. “I did grow up on the streets of the Bronx.”

“And nobody there ever taught me how to be best friends with the thief who stole my life.”

I smirked. “If you can't stand me, just call a car. Throw me back on the street where I belong. I'll even pay for the ride.”

“Shut up!”

Victor's face went dark.

He'd probably never met anyone like me. Someone who couldn't be bought or broken.

In their script, I was supposed to grovel to please them. Or pull a gun out of jealousy over Chloe.

Not this. Not stand here like an outsider, laughing at their little show.

Victor's face was cold. He pulled a file from his suit jacket. Slammed it on the mahogany table.

“Since you keep calling Chloe a thief, then prove it. Prove you didn't come back just for the family fortune.”

I glanced down.

It was a waiver. For the Callahan family territory.

It listed the family's five most valuable smuggling routes. And half their illegal casinos on the East Coast.

“Sign it.” Victor's voice was a command. “Give up these core assets. Prove you're clean.”

He lifted his chin, like a king tossing a coin to a beggar. “You keep your head down. Stop bothering Chloe. I guarantee you'll have a place in Boston. A roof over your head, food on the table. Enough to live on.”

I almost laughed out loud.

Threatening me with the things I was supposed to inherit anyway? To prove my innocence?

The Callahan's logic was a joke. Robbery, plain and simple.

Julian sneered from the side.

“You hear that, Aurora? That's the best offer you'll get from Victor.” He swirled his glass, his eyes full of contempt. “Take the deal. Before you end up with nothing. A girl from the gutter like you should be grateful for a place to sleep.”

Hearing that, Chloe sat up straight in Eleanor's arms.

She wiped away tears that weren't even there. Her face a mask of ‘I'm so hurt but so generous.’

“Brother, don't force her.” Chloe bit her lip, her voice trembling. “I don't want any territory. I just want to be with you all. To see Mom and Dad and you every day... that's all I need...”

“You see!” Eleanor's eyes were red with emotion. She glared at me again. “Chloe is willing to give up her life, and all you care about is power and money!”

I looked at the three of them.

A posturing brother, a fake fiancé, and a drama queen with a terrible script.

Did they really think they could leash a wolf who clawed her way out of a pile of bodies?

I picked up the blood-stained Montblanc pen from the table. Didn't even read the agreement. I signed “Aurora” on the last page.

No hesitation.

Victor froze for a second. He clearly didn't expect me to do it so easily.

Julian frowned, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

“Done.”

I slammed the pen back down on the mahogany table. It stuck in the wood with a dull thud.

“But, Victor.”

I looked at him, a faint smile on my lips.

“Since I've given up my claim to the Callahan territory...”

“...if the Callahan family ever gets its house burned down, don't come crying to me for a gun.”