He Chose His Adopted Sister, So I Left the Mafia Chapter 10
I rebuilt my life in Canada over the next five years.Â
My right hand recovered enough for me to write.Â
and place simple sutures, but it could no longerÂ
handle long, delicate operations.Â
I could walk on my own again, though my legs stillÂ
ached in damp weather and I couldn’t stand forÂ
too long.Â
I never returned to being a lead surgeon. Instead, IÂ
opened a small clinic in Vancouver.Â
Lucas stayed in Vancouver too.Â
He never asked when I would be ready to give him.Â
an answer.Â
We simply lived our lives together. We ateÂ
together. We went to Stanley Park for myÂ
rehabilitation exercises.Â
It took us five years to build something normalÂ
and steady again.Â
Then Adrian walked into my clinic.Â
The moment he saw me stand up behind theÂ
counter, his eyes turned red.Â
“Your legs…”Â
“They recovered somewhat,” I said calmly. “At leastÂ
I turned out better than you hoped I would back.Â
then.”Â
His face went pale.Â
“Erin, I never wanted this for you.”Â
“You just thought I was faking.”Â
I finished the sentence for him.Â
He swallowed hard.Â
“I know the truth now. I investigated everythingÂ
afterward. Selena altered the records. She wasn’tÂ
studying overseas like she claimed either. SheÂ
kept charging nightclubs and underground cardÂ
games to Family accounts, and she was runningÂ
around with several people who’d already beenÂ
expelled from the Family.”Â
He drew a breath.Â
“She contracted HIV because of her own reckless behavior. When she came back to Chicago andÂ
realized she couldn’t hide it anymore, she blamedÂ
you.”Â
I listened calmly.Â
“Are you finished?”Â
His eyes reddened further.Â
“There’s more. The Drake Hotel. I expelled the enforcer who threatened you with that needle. Everyone involved that night was punished too. And the medication you were taking…”Â
His voice turned hoarse.Â
“I found out what really happened later. Your hand.Â
Your legs. Your father’s crest.”Â
He stopped for a long time, barely able to look atÂ
- me.Â
“And the baby.”Â
My fingers tightened instantly.Â
When I fell down those stairs five years ago, I hadÂ
already been six weeks pregnant.Â
I hadn’t known either until the ER tests came back.Â
But after everything my body had been through, IÂ
lost the baby.Â
Lucas had the record sealed afterward. I hadÂ
never planned to tell Adrian.Â
His voice trembled.Â
“I found the hospitalization record later. Erin, IÂ
didn’t know. If I’d known you were pregnant, I neverÂ
would’ve…”Â
“Stop.”Â
For the first time, I cut him off.Â
“Whether you knew or not changes nothing. You’reÂ
still the one who pushed me to that point.”Â
His face drained of color.Â
He couldn’t say another word.Â
After a long silence, he finally whispered, “Your hand. Your legs. The crest. Erin, I know about all ofÂ
it now.”Â
I looked at him.Â
“So?”Â
For a moment, he had no answer.Â
I continued.Â
“You finally looked into everything. Am I supposedÂ
to thank you because you finally decided evidenceÂ
mattered? Adrian, the truth was right in front ofÂ
you five years ago. You chose not to look. AndÂ
every single time, you showed everyone that aÂ
woman you saw as beneath you didn’t deserve toÂ
be believed.”Â
He took a sharp step toward me.Â
“No. Back then, I just…”Â
“You just thought Selena was Family, and I wasn’t.”Â
He froze.Â
I gave a faint smile.Â
“See? You always knew what the real differenceÂ
was.”Â
Just then, footsteps sounded near the door.Â
Selena walked in.Â
She looked more mature than she had five yearsÂ
ago, but she was still dressed in an expensive white suit.Â
“Erin, your tongue is still as vicious as ever.”Â
She walked to Adrian’s side and naturally slipped her arm through his.Â
“Adrian sacrificed a lot trying to find you. No.Â
matter how much you hate him, hasn’t this gone.Â
on long enough?”Â
My stomach turned.Â
“Take your hand off him.”Â
Adrian immediately pulled his arm away.Â
“Selena, I told you to stay at the hotel.”Â
Her expression stiffened.Â
“I was only trying to help you.”Â
“Enough.”Â
It was the first time I had ever heard him speak toÂ
her that way.Â
But I felt no satisfaction.Â
It was far too late.Â
Adrian turned back to me.Â
“Come back to Chicago with me. I’ve already spoken to the old Don. If you return, the Family will publicly restore your reputation. We can give you shares in the medical center too. It doesn’t matter if you can’t operate anymore. I’ll build you a new rehabilitation center. We can start over.”Â
I gave him two words.Â
“In your dreams.”Â
His face went completely white.Â
“Is there someone else?”Â
I frowned.Â
But he seemed to have already decided on theÂ
answer.Â
“The man who took you away? Has he been taking care of you for the past five years? How muchÂ
does he want? Money, shares, a company, whatever it takes. I’ll give it to him as long as heÂ
stays away from you.”Â
A cold voice came from behind me.Â
“Who exactly are you putting a price on?”Â
Lucas walked into the clinic.Â
He rested one hand on the back of my chair, hisÂ
expression calm.Â
“Erin isn’t an asset belonging to the Moretti Family. And you don’t get to put a price on her with moneyÂ
or shares.”Â
Adrian stared at him.Â
“Who are you?”Â
“Lucas Carter.”Â
His voice was flat.Â
“Her family. And the man who got her away fromÂ
all of you five years ago.”
