I Left the Mafia Don Who Made Me His Stand-In

I was the only kid from St. Mary's Orphanage to get into college, but I was still broke and clueless. Sister Mary, the Mother Superior, sold the last of her jewelry to put me through school. Her biggest dream was that once I made something of myself, I'd buy the orphanage before developers could tear it down. For all my hard work, I only got into an ordinary state college. After graduation, I sent out more than 300 resumes, and the best job I could get paid less than $3,000 a month. So when Victor Amato, the head of the New York mafia, said I looked like his first love, I didn't say no. He offered me $2 million a month and put me up at his luxury estate in New York. He thought I was crazy about him. All I really wanted was the stand-in paycheck that arrived like clockwork. The bags he gave me became the streetlights outside the orphanage. The emerald necklace became the orphanage's new roof. The Ferrari I never drove became the children's library. Everyone in his circle wrote me off as a cheap, shameless stand-in who was only in it for the money. But things between Victor and me were surprisingly stable. Until his first love, Diana Laurent, came home from Europe. Victor started staying out all night and canceling our weekly dinners. He even left me alone at a society gala we'd long planned to attend together. The people around me watched with mocking smiles. But I was busy watching the video Sister Mary had just sent me of the property transfer, quietly doing the math. Five years of stand-in pay was enough to finish the last bridge in our neighborhood and fund ten years of medical coverage for every senior there. I finally let out a breath. Victor's first love had come back at just the right time. The road in our neighborhood was finished, and it was time for me to go home. Chapter 1 "Well, well, Don Amato's leaving? He's not even taking you with him?" As soon as the private dining room door closed, someone laughed. I stood there holding my phone. Ten minutes ago, Victor had been sitting beside me. The waiter brought out the cake I'd ordered ahead of time, with "Happy birthday, Ivy" written in the frosting. But before the candles were even lit, he took a call. I couldn't hear what the caller said, but his expression changed instantly. "Diana's having stomach pains. I'm going to pick her up." Without thinking, I caught the cuff of his tailored suit. "But you promised you'd spend tonight with me." Victor looked down at my hand and frowned. "Ivy, don't be difficult at a time like this." Then he left, surrounded by his bodyguards. Without a moment's hesitation. Now every rich kid and socialite at the table was looking at me. A woman in heavy makeup laughed. "Diana? You mean Don Amato's first love? I heard she just got back from Europe." Angela, who was sitting across from me, smirked. "The real thing is back, so of course the stand-in has to step aside. "Ivy, don't be sad. Five years as a mafia Don's kept woman? You've made a killing." "Exactly. Never mind leaving me here. He could point a gun at my head and I'd ask if his hand was getting tired." The table burst out laughing. Heat crept up my face. When I first came, they laughed at me for being poor. Later, they laughed at me for being a stand-in for money. As if no matter what I did with my life, I'd always be a joke. Angela pushed her phone in front of me. On the screen was a post Diana had just shared. In the photo, Victor was crouched in front of her, buckling the strap of her high heel. The caption read, "Some people, no matter how long we've been apart, still come running the moment I need them." The photo had been taken two minutes ago. Clearly trying to get a rise out of me, Angela watched my face and asked, "Ivy, aren't you mad?" I didn't answer. Just then, my phone buzzed. Sister Mary had sent me a video. Newly paved asphalt ran from the entrance of our neighborhood all the way to the abandoned factory. Along both sides of the road, solar streetlights came on one after another. The kids chased a pickup truck, their laughter spilling through the screen. At the end of the video, Sister Mary, her eyes red, made the sign of the cross at the camera. "Ivy, we've got the deed! "The bank can never seize St. Mary's or kick us out again!" I watched it once, then again. My eyes stung. But not because of Victor. Five years ago, when he first saw me, he said my profile looked like Diana's. He asked me, "How much a month to stay with me?" I didn't know any better, and I was so nervous I asked for $200,000. But he laughed. "Too little. "Two million. You come when I call, and you don't get any ideas." All these years, I never wasted a cent of his money. My first month's pay became the streetlights outside the orphanage. The diamond bracelet he gave me became the church's new roof. The sports car I'd never driven was sold and turned into the children's library. And now we had permanent title to the orphanage, too. I opened my notes. Health insurance, neighborhood security, reinforcing unsafe buildings... Every item had been checked off. Five years. I'd finally repaid the tuition the nuns and kids had scraped together for me a hundred times over. Angela was still needling me. "Why don't you call the Don? Beg him, and maybe he'll come back for you." "No need." I closed Sister Mary's video and calmly picked up my coat. "He has someone more important to be with tonight." Someone behind me snickered. "Who's she kidding with that gracious act? Her heart's probably in pieces." I didn't stop walking. They didn't know. I'd just booked a one-way flight to a remote town outside Boston, leaving in three days. At one in the morning, I got back to the Long Island estate alone. The living room lights were on. Victor sat on the couch, his shirt collar open, impatience all over his face. When he saw me, he asked coldly, "Why didn't you answer your phone?" I paused, halfway out of my coat. Sure enough, I had three missed calls from him. "It was too loud in the private room. I didn't hear it." "You couldn't leave early?" He said it as if it were obvious. As if it were my fault he'd left me with a bunch of people waiting to laugh at me. I looked down and changed my shoes. "Next time I will." Victor stared at me, and his face only grew darker. "Ivy, isn't there something you want to ask me?" I looked up. His cuff had a smudge of pale foundation on it, and he smelled of an iris perfume that wasn't mine. I thought for a moment. "Is Ms. Laurent's stomach still hurting?" He froze for a second. Then he sneered. "You're awfully good at pretending to be generous." I didn't explain. Because I wasn't being generous. I just didn't care anymore. Chapter 2 The next morning, Victor sent over a diamond necklace. Paolo, his second-in-command, stood at the door with a polite smile. "Ms. Rowan, the Don says this is to make up for leaving so suddenly last night." I opened the box and looked inside. The center stone was a large blue diamond. The auction house conservatively valued it at $8 million. Just enough to fill the orphanage's emergency medical fund for the next ten years. I closed the box. "Thank him for me." A strange look crossed Paolo's face. In all his years with the Sicilian family, he'd probably never seen a Donna get abandoned in public, then accept jewelry the next day without a word of complaint. But I wasn't the Donna. I was an employee paid by the month. My boss stood me up, then volunteered $8 million to make up for it. An employer like that was one in a million. At noon, I called the auction house and arranged to sell the necklace. I'd just hung up when a sports car roared up outside the estate. Diana walked in wearing a long white dress, and Victor followed behind her, carrying her suitcase. She gave me a gentle smile when she saw me. "Ivy, it's been a long time." I'd only seen her once before. Five years ago, Victor held up her photo and tipped up my chin, comparing us again and again. In the end, he said, "The eyes aren't quite right." That day, I learned that the most valuable thing about a person could be nothing more than looking like someone else. Victor handed the luggage to Hughes, the butler. "Diana's place is still being cleaned. She'll stay at the estate for now." I nodded. "I've already had the guest suite in the east wing freshened up." But Diana looked up at the second floor. "I'm a light sleeper. The east wing is near the guards' patrol route. Their footsteps will keep me up." She paused and gave me an apologetic look. "Ivy, could I stay in your room?" My room faced south. When I opened the windows, I could see the whole bay. Victor had picked it out for me himself five years ago. He'd said I got cold easily, and the south side was warmer. Those words had made me secretly happy for a long time. I'd been so easy to please back then. Victor looked at me. "Move into the guest room." It wasn't a question. It was an order. I was silent for a few seconds, then smiled. "Okay." Diana looked surprised. Maybe she'd come ready for a fight and was waiting for me to make a scene. Too bad she'd come too late. I was already getting ready to leave. That afternoon, I started packing. Very little of it was actually mine. A few old clothes, a computer I'd used for seven years, and the drawings the kids back home had mailed me. One of them was of a sturdy red-brick house. Beside it, in crooked letters, were the words, "Ivy, when we grow up, we want to be as amazing as you." When Diana pushed the door open, I was putting the drawing into my suitcase. She leaned against the doorframe and asked softly, "Do you hate me?" "Not really." "Because you know Victor doesn't love you?" My hands stilled. She walked in, running her fingertips over my vanity. "For five years, he was good to you only because I wasn't here. "I'd barely gotten back, and last night he ditched you. "Ivy, a stand-in is just a stand-in. No matter how long you fill the role, you'll never become the real thing." I looked up at her. "Ms. Laurent, I think you've got the wrong idea." She frowned. I meant every word. "I've never wanted to become you. "After all, you can get the Don to love you for free. I can't do that. "I'm more practical. No money, no work." The smile on Diana's face froze. At that moment, Victor walked in. He'd only heard the last line. "What's this about no money, no work?" I closed my suitcase. "Nothing. Just joking with Ms. Laurent." Victor's eyes landed on the suitcase. "Why are you packing?" "To make room for Ms. Laurent." His brow relaxed a little. "Good. At least you're being sensible." That evening, the chef served an Italian feast. Every dish was a favorite of Diana's. Victor cut her steak, then set the plate in front of her. I looked down and drank my red wine as if I hadn't noticed. Then Diana laughed. "Victor, you still remember I don't eat basil?" "When have I ever forgotten anything about you?" As he said it, Victor glanced at me. As if he were waiting for me to be hurt. I just took out my phone and saw a message from Sister Mary. "St. Mary's medical trust is still $5.2 million short." I texted back, "It'll be there tomorrow." The blue diamond necklace had just sold for $6 million. The extra $800,000 would buy the orphanage new heaters, too. I couldn't help smiling a little. But Victor suddenly slammed down his knife and fork. "Ivy, what are you smiling about?" I looked up. "Nothing." I just thought Diana had come back at the perfect time. Every time she took something from me, I'd get to go home a little sooner. Chapter 3 The day after Diana moved in, the estate changed. She didn't like the dark curtains, so Hughes had them replaced with off-white ones overnight. She didn't like the look of the lawn, so she had the gardener tear it all out and plant imported roses instead. That patch of lawn was where I'd grown tomatoes when I first moved in. Victor had laughed at me for being such a country bumpkin. But he still had a heated greenhouse built next to it, saying I could grow them in winter too. Later, I gave him my first crop of tomatoes. He took one bite, said it was too sour, and tossed it in the trash. I was miserable all night. Now, watching the gardener pull up the last tomato vine, I felt surprisingly calm. Diana stood on the steps and asked me with a smile, "Ivy, you're not going to miss it, are you?" "No." I was leaving anyway. Whether they planted roses here or dug graves, it had nothing to do with me. That afternoon, Sister Mary called. The money for the medical trust had arrived. She was sobbing on the other end. "Ivy, it's enough... Lord, it's really enough. "What kind of job have you been doing in New York these five years? How could you send back so much money?" I looked at the face in the mirror, the one that looked quite a bit like Diana's, and said softly, "I work on Wall Street. "The guy I work for has more money than sense, and the pay's pretty good." Sister Mary laughed and scolded me for being cheeky, then asked when I was coming back. I looked at the suitcase I'd already packed. "In three days. "This time when I come back, I'm staying." I'd just hung up when Victor walked in. "Who's staying?" I casually turned off the screen. "The family doctor the orphanage hired. She signed a long-term contract, so she's staying." He didn't ask any more questions. He just tossed a gold-edged invitation onto the table. "Charity banquet tomorrow night. You're coming with me." I glanced at it. The gala was raising money for underprivileged children across the country. What a coincidence. I still had one last paycheck to put to use. The next evening, I came downstairs in my gown. When Victor saw me, he seemed lost for a moment. He'd given me this dress five years ago. That day, after a gang shootout, he'd gotten drunk, held me, and called me Diana. When he woke up the next day, he probably felt guilty, so he had this couture gown sent over. I'd worn it many times since. Every time, he told me I looked beautiful in it. But tonight, when Diana stepped out from behind him, she was wearing one that was almost exactly the same. Victor quickly looked away. "Diana's coming too." I nodded. "Then I won't go." "Stop right there." His voice dropped. "What's gotten into you?" "The helicopter only seats two," I reminded him. Diana took his arm and said softly, "Ivy, don't get the wrong idea. I'm not feeling well, so I wanted Victor with me. "How about you take the car behind us?" The car behind us was the van carrying the bodyguards and hired muscle. Victor looked at me, clearly on board with her plan. I suddenly thought back to five years ago. The first time I went to a party with Victor, I was so nervous my palms were soaked with sweat. He'd put me in the car and said coolly, "Stay close to me. Don't get lost." So some people's promises had a shorter shelf life than yogurt. I gathered up my skirt and walked toward the van. "Okay." At the banquet, Victor donated $30 million in Diana's name. The whole room broke into thunderous applause. The mayor joked with a smile. "Don Amato, that's quite a donation. Should we expect good news soon?" Diana blushed. Victor didn't deny it. The society crowd all turned to look at me. Someone laughed under their breath. "Diana's practically made their relationship public. How can the stand-in still show her face here?" "If I were her, I'd have crawled into a hole by now." I sat in a corner and unlocked my phone. I transferred the entire $2 million I'd just been paid that month into the orphanage's endowment account. The moment my balance dropped to almost nothing, I let out a long breath. What I owed the orphanage, I'd paid back. And whatever foolish feelings I'd had for Victor, it was time for those to end too. When the banquet ended, Victor left first with Diana. Paolo came over to tell me. "Ms. Rowan, Ms. Laurent is feeling a little dizzy. The Don asked me to arrange a driver to take you home." I shook my head. "No need." It was pouring rain outside. I stood alone at the hotel entrance in my thin gown. A new post from Diana popped up on my phone. In the photo, she was leaning on Victor's shoulder. He was looking down, warming her hands. The caption read, "Someone never lets a single drop of rain fall on me." The wind blew the rain in and soaked the hem of my dress. I looked at it for a few seconds, then hit like. Then I rebooked my flight for early the next morning. Chapter 4 When I got back to the estate, it was already midnight. Victor wasn't back yet. I took off the soaked gown and dropped it by the bed. I didn't send it to be cleaned. And I didn't carefully hang it in a garment bag like I used to. When you don't plan to keep something anymore, there's no need to take care of it. I opened the wardrobe and stuffed the last of my clothes into my suitcase. Five years of life, and it only filled half a suitcase. The bags, jewelry, and sports cars Victor gave me had long since become a clinic, the orphanage, and health insurance. The only thing I hadn't sold was a cheap silver cuff link. I'd bought it for him at a flea market after my first paycheck. It cost $25. When Victor got it, his face soured. "Ivy, you're giving me junk like this?" Later, I found it in the trash can in his study. That night, I crouched on the floor and polished it for a long time. And the whole time, I lied to myself. He just doesn't know how to show it. Deep down, he does have some feelings for me. Thinking about it now, I'd been such a fool back then. When a man doesn't love you, there's no secret reason holding him back. He just looks down on you. I set the cuff link on the nightstand. Then I took out the black card Victor had given me. In five years, I'd lived on my salary and never charged a cent to it. He didn't know. He probably didn't care either. I put the card under the cuff link and left a note that read, "Don Amato, I'm ending the contract early." After writing that, I thought for a moment and added another line, "There are 13 days left this month. No need to pay me for them." It wasn't that I'd suddenly found some backbone. It was that everything for the orphanage was done. I didn't need those 13 days' pay anymore. At four in the morning, I dragged my luggage downstairs. The security guards were all dozing. The whole estate was as quiet as a gorgeous, empty tomb. Just as I reached the door, my phone rang. It was Victor. I stared at his name for a few seconds, then answered, "Hello." I could hear the bustle of a hospital in the background. Victor sounded irritated. "Diana has a fever. I'm not coming home tonight." "Mm." "Tomorrow morning, have the kitchen make some light soup. Bring it over yourself." "Okay." Maybe because I agreed so readily, he went silent for a moment. "Ivy." "What is it?" "Don't read too much into tonight." I pushed open the wrought-iron gate. The sea breeze hit my face, damp and cold in the hour before dawn. "I'm not reading anything into it." That was the truth. Victor said quietly, "Once Diana's feeling better, I'll make it up to you." "Okay." Either way, I wouldn't be around for any of the somedays he'd promised me. Before he hung up, he gave his usual order. "Wait for me at home." I looked at the dark sky in the distance and answered softly, "Okay." It was the last lie I ever told him. I turned off my phone, took out the SIM card, snapped it in half, and threw it in the trash can by the gate. At the corner, the cab I'd booked was already waiting. The driver put my luggage in the trunk and asked casually, "Where are you headed so early, young lady?" I got into the car. "Home." "Far?" I looked out the window as the estate fell away behind us and smiled. "It used to feel far. "Now that the road's fixed, I'll be there soon." The car drove into the morning fog. At six, Hughes got up and made two breakfasts as usual. At seven, once Diana's IV was finished, Victor dashed off a text telling me to bring the soup. At eight, the roses on the estate bloomed one after another, wet with dew. And I was on the first flight home. Outside the plane window, the city skyline slowly faded away. The sun rose behind the East River and lit up the bridges. Victor thought I was still at home waiting for him. Diana thought she'd finally won my place. Even Hughes thought I'd just slept in a little. No one knew. By the time the city woke up, I was already gone.