After I Died, the Mafia Don Finally Remembered He Once Loved Me

Vito and I had been giving each other the silent treatment for three days, and he never once reached out. With the Family’s enemies hunting me, I hid under a bridge and called him. “Vito, the Colombos are after me. Can you come save me?” Vito said coldly, “Antonia, are you playing the victim again? “I’m in the middle of a Family meeting. Don’t bother me!” The footsteps outside the bridge came closer. I said quietly, “I’m not lying.” He scoffed. “Fine. Wait for me, then.” I curled up under the bridge. The Colombos’ men shot me in the chest. Right up until my breathing stopped, Vito never came... Chapter 1 Before the gunshot, I never once imagined I would die like that, wretched, under a bridge. The pain of the bullet tearing through me lasted only an instant. I kept thinking that if I could just hold on until Vito got there, I would be saved. As my mind blurred, I saw him reaching out to me, complaining fondly that I was throwing another little tantrum, running away from home again. I closed my eyes and blamed him for caring about nothing but his Family meeting while he left me out in the cold. You used to take me to every meeting you had. At those meetings, you introduced me to everyone as your fiancée. No matter how busy you were, you always answered my messages. You said the Family mattered less to you than I did. When I opened my eyes, I saw my own body slumped against the stone wall, eyes shut, my white dress soaked red by the blood that had poured from my chest. My phone was buzzing and the screen was lit. I reached for it on instinct, but my fingers passed straight through it. I froze for a second, and only then did I understand that I had been dead for a while already. I had died with nobody to care, under a deserted bridge. I had died while waiting for Vito to come save me. The screen lit up again. Vito’s messages came through: [Waiting for me to save you?] [Stop lying. Like anything would ever happen to you.] [Get back here.] I wasn’t lying. I said it out loud to myself. “So I really am dead.” From the moment Vito became Don five years ago, his enemies had their eyes on me. Threatening letters became routine. Whenever I felt unsafe, I called Vito for help. The Vito of three years ago would already have been at my side, holding me until I calmed down. Now he didn’t believe me anymore. He said I was oversensitive, that I imagined people were out to get me. Because I was timid by nature, from the day I met him I finally felt safe. He was steady, mature, meticulous about everything. Afraid I would be bored, afraid something would happen to me, he assigned me dozens of bodyguards just to go out. If I said I missed him, that I wanted to see him, he would fly in by helicopter. Every single time. He spoiled me rotten. I even sat in on his meetings, right beside him. And I would say, like a brat, “We’re having the wedding in the conference room.” With all the elders watching, I hugged his arm and wheedled, “I want it in the conference room. “Otherwise I won’t marry you.” Vito smiled gently and kissed my forehead. “You’re being ridiculous.” Then, afraid he had upset me, he changed his tune. “Fine, whatever you want, okay? Give me a smile.” I didn’t say anything. I looked at him for a long moment and gave him a sweet smile. If time could have stopped right there, how good that would have been. But everything changed the day he met Vivian, the “perfect lady.” At that party, Vivian moved through the room with flawless manners, toasting the guests, making small talk, greeting Vito with an elegant smile. That same day I had received a threatening letter. Whoever wrote it swore they would kill me. I fell apart after reading it and begged Vito to protect me. He lowered his voice and told me to go back to my room and rest. I clung to his sleeve and wouldn’t let go. He lost face in front of everyone, and for the first time he snapped at me, “Antonia, why can’t you make things easy for me the way Vivian does?” After that, he stopped bringing me to the conference room and stopped answering my messages the second they arrived. And when I teased him again about wanting to be married in the conference room, all he said was, “Stop it.” I came back to myself and looked at my body. It was damp under the bridge, and at night there were insects. They were feeding on me. At least I couldn’t feel it anymore. While I was thinking that, a black cat jumped onto my body and started batting at my phone. Chapter 2 He was a stray I fed often. When I ran away this time, I had even brought him a can of cat food. He was only ever affectionate with me. I named him Soot. Last time I told Vito I wanted to keep him, Vito laughed under his breath. “I’m already keeping you. Now you want to keep a cat too?” He told me he was allergic to cat hair, so I let the idea go. Soot was curious about the glowing screen. He kept patting at it with his paw. When the screen went dark, he turned and looked at me for a while, then picked the phone up in his mouth and set it down by my hand. He patted my face gently with his paw. When I didn’t wake, he must have decided I was asleep. He hopped off me and left. A few minutes later the screen lit up with Vito’s messages: [I’m at the private hospital. Weren’t you angry at me for not going to your checkup with you?] [If you want to come, get your own cab.] Vito had said he was coming to save me. Why was he at a hospital? Had he been hurt on the way to me? I was too worried to stay. My spirit left the bridge, and in a blink I was at the private hospital. The moment I arrived, I saw Vito. He was in a casual suit, on the phone, facing the window. He was composed and mature, and he always put the Family’s business first. I drifted over, wanting him to see me, and heard him say into the phone, “I’m here with Vivian for her checkup. She’ll be fine. Don’t worry, ma’am.” Vivian? Why was she here? A second later Vivian came out. I had met her before. She was the Colombo princess, the only heir to the Colombo Family. Vito hurried over. “Is everything all right?” “I’m fine, Mr. Gambino.” She slipped her arm through his as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “I still don’t feel well. Stay with me a little longer.” The last time Vivian saw me, she told me her health was perfect, not like women such as me who leaned on Vito for everything! I was so angry I reached out to yank her hair, but my hand passed straight through her head. Vito laughed softly. “All right. Whatever you want.” His eyes were soft as water. He treated her the way a gentleman treats a lady. I couldn’t help thinking that if he ever looked at me that way, I would be happy for days. But he hadn’t looked at me that way in a very long time. “Only,” Vito said, after thinking it over, “I promised Antonia I would take her to her checkup.” Vivian’s expression flickered. Then she smiled faintly. “Vito, you’re the most gentlemanly mafioso I’ve ever met. “Antonia’s just an ordinary woman. No name, no family behind her. And you’re this good to her.” Her words seemed to remind him of something. His face went cold. “I’ve been thinking about ending it with her. “I spoiled Antonia. The next time she runs off, I won’t go after her.” The words hit me like cold water. The chill went straight to the bone. My lips trembled and I said, half to myself, “Vito, do you mean that? “It’s all right. I won’t bother you anymore.” After all, Vivian’s men had already killed me. Vivian looked pleased with what he had said. She took his arm and was about to lead him away when his phone rang. Vito frowned slightly. I watched him answer. A woman’s voice came through. “Hello, Mr. Gambino. Have you seen Antonia recently?” Chapter 3 “No.” It was my mother, Teresa. Vito’s face darkened. “That precious daughter of yours has caused me plenty of trouble. She’s run off again. If you’re looking for her, don’t ask me.” My mother was quiet for a moment. Vito ran out of patience. “If that’s all, I’m hanging up.” She said quickly, “No, don’t hang up. I just called Antonia and she didn’t pick up. “Her father is seriously ill. He’s lying in a hospital bed and he isn’t going to last. That’s why I’m trying to find her. “If you can reach her, please tell her.” Vito scoffed. “I can’t reach her either.” I listened to them, grieving, and no tears would come. All that was left in me was bitterness. When my father was young, he saved the life of Vito’s father. The old Don, Salvatore, took me as his goddaughter and arranged my engagement to Vito. From then on I was raised in Vito’s house and treated like a princess. But I never imagined a match that had seemed so secure could be disrupted by Vivian. The Colombos and the Gambinos had been at odds for years, yet business interests kept them bound in an uneasy alliance. I knew that as long as Vito carried the Gambino name, he could not afford to ignore a marriage alliance like this one. Vivian had come to me once on her own. She played the Colombo card and told me I could never beat her. I couldn’t stomach the humiliation and fired back at her, and she left in a huff. The next day I went to Vito to push for a wedding date. I brought it up myself, hoping to see him look pleasantly surprised. Instead he looked disgusted. He held up a voice recorder and demanded to know why a woman who had always been as gentle and well-mannered as I was would speak so viciously. The recording had been edited. Vivian’s attacks on me were gone. Every hostile word I had said to her was still there. Vito seemed to remember all of that. He said to my mother, “Ma’am, your daughter takes my indulgence for granted, and I’ve put up with it for a long time. “She hurled insults at Vivian, who is my fiancée now. Where is the gentle, sweet girl she used to be?” Vivian listened beside him with the smug smile of a winner, then quickly put her delicate face back on. Vito heard a nurse’s voice on the other end of the line. “If you still can’t cover the medical bills, please stop taking up the bed.” His expression turned knowing, and he said to my mother, “I heard that. You’re short on money, is that it? Is that what I am to your family, a cash machine? “Let me tell all of you, I’m not giving you a cent. Stop sending her to me for money.” With that, Vito hung up on her without mercy. He sent me two more messages: [I assume you came to me for my money too. Don’t bother coming back.] [The Gambino Family raised you all these years. We don’t owe your family anything.] He put the phone away and took Vivian’s arm. “Come on, let’s go home. She isn’t coming.” As they were leaving the hospital, one of Vito’s men was brought in with a gunshot wound. Vito glanced at him and asked what had happened. One of the men escorting him said, “Don, someone hit our warehouse. We don’t know which Family yet. A few of ours are dead. We’re still looking into it.” Vito swore, got into the car with Vivian, and rode with her to see her home. They had just pulled out of the hospital gate when someone knocked on the rear window. Vito rolled it down, saw one of the men from inside, and asked impatiently, “What now?” Chapter 4 “Don, is this pin yours?” He held out a brooch, a rose carved in gold with a ruby at its heart, and put it in Vito’s hand. It was the anniversary gift I had given him back when he first became Don. He recognized it. “It’s mine.” The man said he had found it at the hospital entrance. Vito thanked him flatly. The window went up and the car pulled away. On the drive, Vito’s mind was clearly somewhere else. When Vivian asked about the brooch, he said nothing. I sat on the other side of the car by the window, glancing over at him now and then, and in a daze I remembered the year we had loved each other most. That brooch had cost a fortune. I bought it with money I earned myself. I had studied dance since I was a child, and to save up I signed on with a company for performances. Two shows a day, three solid months of dancing without a single break, and then I could finally afford it! That night there was a grand Family dinner. Everyone was celebrating Vito taking over from the old Don. Nervous, I saved the gift for a moment when we were alone, and told him to close his eyes. He closed them without arguing. “What surprise have you got for me this time?” I took the gift out and laid it gently in his palm. He started to open his eyes and I said quickly, “Not yet.” He laughed quietly. “Okay.” I opened the box for him so the brooch would be the first thing he saw. Those three months of work had all been for that one moment when he saw it. I told him, “You can look now.” Surprise flashed in his eyes when he saw it. As the new Don, he happened to need exactly that kind of pin to symbolize his position. Once the surprise passed, he smiled at me. “Put it on for me, Mrs. Gambino.” It was the first time he had ever called me that. I held down the joy rising in me and pinned it on with shaking hands. Under his burning gaze, I fled to the bedroom. I lay on the bed imagining him wearing it every day while he ran the Family’s business. A little later he came into the bedroom, pulled back the covers and gathered me into his arms. “I was about to ask you how it looked on me and you ran off.” I caught the faint scent of his cologne and said, a little shy, “It looks good, obviously. I spent forever picking it out.” Vito said, “I have a gift for Mrs. Gambino too.” He scooped me up and carried me to the dressing room. His gift was an evening gown he had commissioned a couture designer to make for me. “You love to dance, don’t you? From now on you’ll wear this and dance with me at the parties.” I blushed and agreed on the spot. He insisted we dance right then. So I changed into the gown, and under the night sky and the lights we danced until neither of us wanted to stop. When I came back to myself, we had already reached the estate. The old Don sat in his wheelchair, watching us get out of the car. He said a few kind words to Vivian, then turned to Vito. “Antonia’s father called me a little while ago. He said he isn’t well, and that he hasn’t seen his daughter in days. “Do you know where Antonia is?” Vito was always respectful with his father. “Antonia and I had a fight. She’s sulking. I haven’t seen her in days either. “I messaged her to come to the hospital so I could take her for her checkup. She never answered.” Vito showed him the message history. The old Don frowned. “Antonia has always been a sensible girl. You must have hurt her, or she wouldn’t have left. “Go find her. Her parents and I all have a bad feeling about this.” Vito still hesitated. “Father...” The old Don pressed him. “Go. I won’t rest until I see her.” Chapter 5 Vito laughed lightly and tried to reassure him. “What could possibly happen to her? “I’ve spoiled her. The smallest thing sets her off. She wants every thought in my head to be about her. “Besides, all of my people would protect her.” The old Don tapped the arm of his wheelchair. His face was grave. “At that party, weren’t you deep in conversation with Vivian? You never noticed what state Antonia was in. “She had just received a death threat. Think about it. A young girl gets a threat on her life. How could she not be afraid? “I wasn’t at the party either. I only heard it later from a friend of hers. She was so frightened she curled up under the covers and cried all night.” The old Don’s face was heavy with worry, and he didn’t notice that Vito had gone rigid. “Antonia is a good girl. She loses her temper with you because she cares too much. “But the moment you show her even a little impatience, her mind runs in circles and she decides she doesn’t matter to you.” Vito’s voice came out hoarse. “And then?” The old Don looked up and held his gaze. “Do you remember, the last time you two fought, I was the one who went to her. “She saw me and threw herself into my arms crying.” He lowered his voice near Vito’s ear. “She asked me whether she was worth nothing to this Family, and whether that was why you chose Vivian. “She said that if something ever happened to her, she didn’t want you grieving over her. She didn’t want any of us to grieve. “She said that if you ever missed her, you could look up and find the brightest star.” The old Don raised a hand and wiped his eyes. “She is far stronger than you think. Stop treating her like an ornament!” I stood there listening quietly, wanting so badly to throw myself into his arms one last time. In all the years I lived in that house, he had looked after me constantly, and that was why I didn’t want him grieving over my death. But even a wish that simple was out of my reach now. I wrapped my arms around the old Don in a ghost of an embrace and didn’t look to see how Vito had taken it. I used to envy Vivian. Her background matched Vito’s so perfectly, and her parents backed her unconditionally. As the Colombo princess, she had the full weight of the Family behind her. To clear me—the fiancée—out of her path, she went so far as to send killers. Vito was silent for a long time. His eyes were cold. “She did contact me. She’s probably short of money.” The old Don snapped, “She was never with you for your money! “I gave her a credit card once. She wouldn’t take it, and she wouldn’t even wear the clothes we bought for her. “How could she suddenly be calling you because she’s broke?” Vito was unmoved. “Calm down, Father. Her own father is ill. That’s why she came to us for money.” The old Don’s face darkened further. “She didn’t need to ask you for that. I already gave it. “Her father saved my life. Do you think I would look the other way?” Only then did Vito’s expression change. “Really? Then why did she call me...” The old Don let out a breath. “You young people just need to clear the air. “Call Antonia. Ask her where she is and coax her home. “Tell her I want to see her. She’s a good girl. She’ll soften and come back with you.” I looked at the old Don’s face and thought how lucky and how unlucky I was. He had been so good to me. If only I weren’t dead... Vito took out his phone and called me. I watched, unable to say whether I was sad or not. Just when I thought the call would never connect, it went through after all.