Eight Years as the Invisible Mafia Princess of the Family Chapter 02
The next day, Katerina cut the cake in half. “Vesper, let’s share.”
“No thanks.” I turned and headed for my room.
Silas’s voice chased after me. “Ignore her. She’s always had a chip on her shoulder.”
I went back to the cramped little room at the end of the back stairs, locked the door, and blocked their laughter out.
I pulled open the bottom drawer of my desk.
Inside was every single thing they’d ever given me.
The beat-up leather purse my dad tossed me after a trip to Mexico City. I’d held it all night, too happy to sleep. I found out later he’d given Katerina a custom pearl necklace.
That’s how it always was. A wool scarf my mom shoved at me because she didn’t like it anymore. A little carved bird Silas made from leftover wood after building a swing.
Every time they gave Katerina something expensive, they’d scrape something together and toss it my way—a reminder that I still existed.
Beneath all that was an old photo album. In every family picture, Katerina was in the fanciest dress, planted dead center, surrounded by Mom, Dad, and Silas. I was always shoved off at the edge.
In a few shots, a huge bodyguard blocked me out so bad I was just a blurred half-face. I swept everything I’d once treasured into a trash bag.
Early the next morning, my mom knocked on my door. “You’re leaving for New York soon. The East Coast’s a whole different animal—Vitale, Moretti, all those families up there. You and Katerina are both doing the security training today.”
She said it was for both of us. But the second we got to the training, their eyes locked onto Katerina and never left.
My mom and the instructor stayed glued to her side, drilling every detail. “More important than how to fight back is spotting exits, cameras, and suspicious cars before anything goes down.”
My dad launched into his old war stories about dodging the port ambush when he was young. They were laughing, easy and comfortable, like a family on a lazy field trip.
On my side, only Silas came over to adjust my grip. “Relax your shoulders. Don’t lock your wrists so tight.”
Then he reached up and ruffled my hair. “Once you’re in New York, we won’t see each other much. Take care.”
For half a second, I almost told him about the Vitale contract. I almost said I wasn’t headed to some dorm in New York. I was walking into Vitale’s sealed training program. I’d be gone for eight years.
Right then, Katerina’s voice floated over. “I’m getting kind of tired. After training, let’s go grab chargrilled oysters?”
Silas turned instantly, that wide, easy smile I almost never saw spreading across his face. “Yeah. Don’t leave me out.”
I pulled my gaze back, settled my ear protection, and kept aiming at the target.
“Vesper?” Katerina stepped behind me. “Take a break. Oh—you can’t hear me with those on, can you?”
She reached for my ear protection without any warning. The sudden touch jolted me. My arm jerked, and the gun cracked. “Watch out!” Silas shouted.
The recoil slammed me off balance. My back hit the steps, and my palm dragged across a jagged piece of the metal railing. The bullet grazed my safety glasses. Fragments sliced open a gash above my eyebrow. Pain burned white-hot through my skull.
Katerina stumbled back half a step, twisted her ankle, and sat down hard. Her eyes went red-rimmed instantly. “Vesper, I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to—”
In the same breath, every single person stepped around me and surrounded her.
Mom crouched down, frantically checking her ankle. “It’s swelling up already! Does it hurt? How did this happen?”
Dad’s face hardened as he steadied her. “Don’t move. It could be a ligament.”
Silas jogged back, didn’t even glance my way, bent down, and lifted Katerina onto his back. “Ochsner Medical Center. Now.”
I sat on the steps, knee scraped raw, heat pulsing above my brow, the bandage on my palm already soaked through with blood. I called out, quiet, “Mom.”
She whipped her head around and glared at me like she couldn’t even see my injuries. “Katerina’s hurt this badly and you have to pull this right now?”
Silas was already carrying her to the car, his tone ice-cold. “You can’t even keep yourself steady. If you hadn’t flinched, she’d be fine.”
Katerina lay on his back, lashes wet with tears. “Silas, don’t blame Vesper. I got too close.”
That broke my mom wide open. “You’re still defending her? God, you’re too sweet. This is exactly why you always get hurt.”
Dad pulled the car door open and guided her in gently. Only then did he look back at me. “Vesper, you stay here and think. We’ll talk after the hospital.”
My face was pale white. I lifted my bleeding hand. “My hand hurts too.”
The car door slammed shut and swallowed my voice. They drove off and left me there alone.