The Don’s Real Daughter

Three days later would be my sixteenth birthday.Every year on that day, Father would throw Bianca Vitale a grand birthday party.All the Mafia families in Corholt received invitations, except me.“Alessia, don’t take it personally. Maybe the butler forgot to give you one.”Bianca stood at the basement staircase in a custom black velvet dress, her face full of apology.I sat there in my worn-out T-shirt without even looking up.It had already been eight years. By now, I was long used to her endless tricks.“Bianca, why are you even explaining yourself to her?” A pretty girl stepped out from behind her, her voice full of contempt. “She was just claiming she’s Don Vitale’s real daughter. How ridiculous. Don Vitale personally said that you’re the Vitale family’s only principessa.”“Exactly. A servant’s daughter, freeloading in the estate. Don Vitale was already merciful enough not to throw her into Lake Macondo.”“I heard she even stole your things. She’s got some nerve. Honest

Mamma’s name was taboo in the Vitale estate.Normally, if anyone dared to mention her, Father would lose his temper on the spot.However, today, when Donna Moretti brought her up, Father only lowered his eyes gloomily.Bianca lowered her head as well, her voice soft.“I miss Mamma all the time. The reason I want to do well in the family business is because I want to carry on her legacy too.”Then she pulled a jade pendant out from her collar.“This was the keepsake Mamma left me. Whenever I feel sad, I touch it, and it feels like she’s still by my side.”All the blood in my body rushed straight to my head.That was mine!That was the jade pendant Mamma gave me!The last thing she left behind for me.I rushed out from the shadows of the staircase and grabbed the pendant.“Alessia! Who allowed you out?” Father’s expression changed instantly.“Bianca, when did you steal it?” My voice was shaking.For the past eight years, I’d touch that pendant every night before sleeping.

When I woke up, I thought I was dead.Otherwise, how could I possibly be seeing Mamma?She sat beside the hospital bed with red-rimmed eyes, her hair still the same deep chestnut curls from my memories, unchanged in the slightest.“Mamma?” I didn’t dare speak too loudly.I was afraid this was a dream and that the moment I spoke, I would wake up.“Yes, Alessia. Mamma’s here.”She reached out and touched my face. Her fingers were cool, but they carried warmth.“Tell me something. Did someone push you into the water?”I was still frozen in shock when another voice came from the hospital room.“Mamma, you misunderstood. No one pushed Alessia. We were just messing around, and something of hers accidentally fell into the river. She jumped in herself to retrieve it.”Bianca stood at the doorway, her voice deliberately soft and gentle.Only then did I realize there were other people in the room.Father stood behind Bianca, while the butler, the family doctor, and the family bodygua

The internal family meeting was held a week later.Every member of the family was there.Dozens of men dressed in black suits sat throughout the hall, and the atmosphere felt as heavy as a funeral.Mamma held my hand as we sat beside the head seat.Father stood at the front, his voice rough and hoarse. “I called everyone here today to clarify something.”Bianca sat in the corner, her hands clenched so tightly that they had turned pale.“Alessia Vitale,” Father paused for a moment, “is the biological daughter of Isabella and me.”The entire hall immediately erupted into murmurs.“Then what about Bianca?” someone asked.Father took out a set of adoption papers. “Bianca was adopted by me from an orphanage in New Haven eight years ago.”The hall grew even louder.“After Isabella disappeared eight years ago, my mental state was unstable, and I made many mistakes.“I treated Bianca as Isabella’s shadow and gave her things that never belonged to her.“Including that jade pendant.

He took his own life.Inside his study, he used the handgun Mamma had given him twenty years earlier.He left all his inheritance to me, including company shares, the estate, the cash, and the collections.He also left behind two letters.One for Mamma, and one for me.I never found out what was written in Mamma’s letter. However, after reading it, she locked it away in a drawer, and that night, she cried for a very long time.The letter he left me only contained a single line.“Alessia, I’m sorry.”There were dried bloodstains and tear marks on the paper.As I looked at those three words, I couldn’t describe what I felt.There was no satisfaction or hatred.Maybe we were simply never meant to be father and daughter.After Bianca learned about Father’s death, she rushed over from New Haven and cried hysterically outside the estate gates.She had lost a lot of weight. Her hair looked dry and lifeless, and she wore a cheap coat covered in lint.“Alessia Vitale, you must be