Chapter 135 *
Scarlett’s POV
My phone buzzed in my lap. I glanced down at the screen.
Unknown number.
I was about to silence it when I saw the notification underneath. A voicemail. From a law firm.
What the hell?
I played it on speaker.
"Ms. Romano, this is Patrick Irons from Irons & Associates. I'm calling on behalf of Lorenzo Romano regarding the trust fund he's established in your name. The initial deposit of one million dollars has been processed. You'll receive the formal documentation within three to five business days. Please don't hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions."
The voicemail ended.
I stared at the phone.
One million dollars.
Lorenzo set up a trust fund. For me.
My stomach turned.
Next to me, Damon glanced over. "What was that?"
"Nothing." I locked my phone. Shoved it in my bag.
But it buzzed again immediately. Text message.
I pulled it back out.
Lorenzo: Hey. Just wanted to check in. How are you doing?
Another text came through before I could even process the first one.
Lorenzo: I know things have been rough. But you don't need to work anymore. The money I sent should cover everything. If it's not enough, just let me know.
Then another.
Lorenzo: Also, I'd really like to meet your boyfriend. Not to interfere or anything. I just want to make sure he's treating you right. You deserve someone good, Scar.
My eye started twitching.
He was calling me Scar now. Like we were close. Like we'd always been close.
I wanted to throw my phone out the window.
For six months I lived under that roof. Six months of walking on eggshells. Six months of being ignored at best, insulted at worst.
Lorenzo had been the least awful. He didn't mock me like Nico. Didn't parade around with fake concern like Graham.
He just... didn't see me. Didn't care enough to see me.
And I'd been pathetic enough to think that made him the good one.
Now? Now that I'd left? Now that I'd cut ties and walked away?
Suddenly he cared. Suddenly he was checking in. Sending money. Wanting to meet my boyfriend.
It was like having a barnacle attach itself to your hull. Or a tick burrowing under your skin.
The more you tried to shake it off, the tighter it held on.
My phone buzzed again.
I opened my call log. Scrolled through the list of blocked numbers. All Lorenzo.
I'd blocked him so many times my thumb hurt from hitting the button.
The only reason I hadn't thrown this phone in a river was because University needed emergency contact information.
My phone started ringing.
I looked at the screen. Lorenzo. Again.
My first instinct was to decline. Block this number too.
But that would just mean another call tomorrow. From another burner phone. Another voicemail. Another string of texts.
I took a slow breath. Hit answer.
"What." My voice came out flat. Cold.
"Scarlett! Finally!" Lorenzo's voice carried that edge of relief. "I've been trying to reach you."
"I noticed." I stared out the window. "Say what you need to say. Then leave me alone."
Silence on the other end. Just for a second.
"I just wanted to check on you." His voice softened. "Make sure you're okay."
"I'm fine."
"The money I —"
"I'm not taking it."
"Scarlett, please. Just listen for a second—"
"No." I cut him off. "You listen. I don't want your money. I don't want your concern. I don't want anything from you or that family."
"That's not fair." His voice got sharper. "I'm just trying to help."
A bitter laugh escaped my throat. "Help? You want to help?"
"Yes! That's all I'm trying to do!"
"Then why weren't you helping six months ago?" The words came out harder than I meant them to. "When I actually needed it?"
He didn't answer.
"Where was this concern when Viviana was treating me like garbage?" I kept going. Couldn't stop now. "Where was this money when I was wearing Zelda's hand-me-downs to school?"
"I didn't know—"
"You knew." My voice dropped lower. "You all knew. You just didn't care."
The line went quiet.
I could hear him breathing. "I know I messed up." His voice came out rough. "I know I should have done more. Should have been better."
"But you weren't."
"No. I wasn't." He paused. "But I'm trying now. Doesn't that count for something?"
I wanted to laugh again. Wanted to tell him exactly what his "trying" was worth.
But I was tired. So tired of this conversation. This family. This whole situation.
"You want to know something?" I said quietly. "When I first came back, I thought you were different. I thought you were the good one."
Lorenzo went very still on the other end.
"You didn't mock me like Nico. You just... ignored me. And somehow, in that house, being ignored felt like kindness."
My throat felt tight. I forced myself to keep talking.
"Then you told me to marry Adrian Santoro. A man I'd never met. A man who was paralyzed and probably violent. You stood there and told me it was my duty. That the family needed this alliance."
"Scarlett—"
"That's when I knew. You weren't different. You weren't the good one. You were just better at hiding it."
The silence stretched out so long I thought he'd hung up.
"I'm sorry." His voice came out broken. "I'm so sorry."
"I don't want your apology." My hand tightened around the phone. "I don't want anything from you."
"Then what do you want? Tell me. I'll do anything."
"I want you to leave me alone." The words came out tired. Final. "I want you to stop calling. Stop texting. Stop sending money. Stop pretending we're family."
"We are family—"
"No." I cut him off. "We're not. Not anymore."
"Blood doesn't just disappear because you're angry!"
"You're right." I looked down at my hands. "Blood doesn't disappear. But it doesn't mean anything either. Not by itself."
I took a breath. Let it out slowly.
"Water can't be gathered once it's spilled. A broken mirror can be fixed, but the cracks will always show." I paused. "We're done, Lorenzo. Accept it."
"I can't accept that." His voice rose. "You're my sister!"
"Then you should have acted like my brother when it mattered."
I was about to hang up when his voice changed. Got sharper. More desperate.
"Wait! Just wait. Please."
I didn't respond. Just waited.
"I'm not asking you to come back." He was talking fast now. Like he was afraid I'd hang up. "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I just... I need to know you're okay."
"I already told you I'm fine."
"Are you though?" His voice got that edge again. "This guy you're with. Your boyfriend. Is he good to you?"
My stomach dropped.
"That's none of your business."
"It is my business!" He shot back. "You're twenty-two years old. Living in some luxury apartment. With a man none of us have met."
"So?"
"So where did that apartment come from?" He kept going. "The building's worth millions. The rent alone is probably twenty grand a month. Who's paying for that?"
My jaw clenched. "I said it's none of your business."
"Is it him? Your boyfriend? Did he buy it for you?"
I didn't answer.
"What does he do?" Lorenzo's voice got harder. "What kind of man can afford that at his age?"
"Then let me meet him." He said it like it was reasonable. Like I owed him this. "Just once. Let me see for myself that he's treating you right."
"No."
"Scarlett, please—"
"I said no." My voice came out cold. "You don't get to vet my relationships. You don't get to interrogate the people in my life. You lost that right when you tried to force me into marrying a stranger."
Silence.
Then his voice came back. Quieter now. "Is he married?"
The question hit me like ice water.
"What?"