The Mafia King’s Debt

CHASED

CORA’S POV

“Get out, Cora! I’m tired of seeing your face in this house. You know you don’t belong here anymore.”

My fingers tightened around my clothes, and I glanced at the clock hanging above my father’s old bookshelf, only to discover that it is already 11:37 p.m.

Where exactly did she expect me to go at this hour?

“Sharon, please,” I whispered, struggling to keep my voice steady. “It’s almost midnight, and I have nowhere to go tonight, so can we please talk about this tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? You think you can stay here simply because you have nowhere else to go? This is my house, Cora, and I don’t want you here.”

“I’m not asking you to let me stay forever,” I explained quietly, trying desperately to reason with her. “I only need somewhere to sleep tonight, and tomorrow I’ll leave.”

“That’s not possible.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and moved toward my father’s old bed, hoping that if I sat down and stopped arguing, she might finally leave me alone.

“Did you hear what I said?” she snapped, marching toward me. “Get up and leave!”

Before I could respond, she grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the door, forcing me to stumble backward as I struggled to keep the adoption papers from falling out of my hands.

“Sharon, stop! What are you doing?”

“I’m telling you to leave, and you’re refusing to listen!”

“Because it’s almost midnight!” I cried, finally losing the little patience I had left. “Where do you expect me to go at this time of night?”

“That’s not my problem.”

She shoved me toward the door, and I caught myself against the frame before turning to face her with tears burning behind my eyes.

“Stop pushing me!” I snapped, my voice trembling with anger. “I can walk by myself, Sharon!”

“Then walk! Go back to your boyfriend or whatever it is you both do together. I don’t want you anywhere near me!”

My boyfriend?

I wondered if I had heard her correctly, because the last person I wanted to think about that night was the man who had betrayed me.

“Boyfriend?” I repeated. “Are you talking about the same boyfriend you just heard cheated on me with Piper?”

“How you two got together is none of my business, and what happens between you is none of my concern.”

“You know what happened, Sharon. You know everything that’s happened to me today, and you still can’t find it in your heart to show me even the smallest amount of kindness.”

“Enough!” she shouted. “I’m not interested in your tears or your problems, Cora. Leave my house!”

I stood there for another second, searching her face for some sign that she might regret what she was doing, but the coldness in her eyes told me everything I needed to know.

There was nothing left for me there. Not comfort, not understanding, and certainly not the family I had thought I still had.

I turned away before she could see another tear escape, clutching the adoption papers against my chest as I made my way downstairs.

Sharon followed behind me, apparently determined to watch me leave, and when I reached the front door, she pulled it open and gestured impatiently toward the darkness outside.

“Goodbye, Cora.”

I looked at her one last time.

“One day, Sharon, you’re going to regret treating me this way.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

I stepped outside, and the door slammed shut behind me before I could say another word. For several seconds, I remained on the front steps, staring at the closed door while the cold night air brushed against my cheeks.

Where was I supposed to go now?

The street was unusually quiet, with only a few distant lights illuminating the road, and I had never felt so completely alone in my entire life. To make matters worse, I now had documents claiming that the people who raised me were not my biological parents.

Perhaps I should call Mina.

The thought entered my mind immediately, but I hesitated because I knew she had her own life, her own responsibilities, and her own relationship to worry about. Still, she was the only person I could think of who might listen without judging me, and that night, I desperately needed someone who would simply let me cry.

I began walking toward the road, hoping to find a taxi or at least somewhere with enough light for me to make a phone call without feeling completely exposed.

My shoes scraped against the pavement as I walked, and every passing second made me more aware of how late it was becoming.

Then I noticed headlights approaching from the opposite direction. A car slowed down as it neared me, and my steps faltered.

My first instinct was to keep walking, because the idea of getting into a stranger’s car felt like another terrible decision waiting to happen.

What if the driver was a kidnapper?

The car stopped beside me. I stood frozen, clutching the folder as I peered through the window, trying to decide whether I should ask for help or run in the opposite direction.

The driver lowered the window.

“Hey, are you looking for a taxi?” a woman asked, her voice carrying a gentle, concerned tone.

“Yes,” I answered. “Please, can you take me somewhere?”

“Of course. Where are you going?”

I hesitated before giving her Mina’s address, which I remembered clearly because I had visited her home countless times since our school days.

“Get in. It’s getting late.”

I climbed into the car. Only after we had driven some distance did I finally allow myself to lean against the seat and close my eyes, hoping that the journey would give me enough time to gather my thoughts. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Sharon’s face, and heard Kane’s excuses.

I had so many questions, and I didn’t know which one hurt the most.

Who were my biological parents?

Perhaps Sharon was lying.

Whatever the truth was, I refused to accept a stranger’s papers as the final answer about my own life.

*

*

By the time the taxi reached Mina’s street, the clock on the dashboard read 11:58 p.m.

I paid the driver, thanked her quietly, and stepped outside. Then I stood before the entrance, wiping my cheeks with the back of my hand and trying to make myself look less miserable than I felt.

The door opened a few seconds later, revealing Ethan Caldwell, Mina’s boyfriend, wearing a blue T-shirt and looking surprised to find me standing outside at that hour.

“Cora?” His expression changed when he noticed my red eyes and the folder clutched against my chest. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Is Mina home?” I asked.

“Yeah, she’s in the living room.” He stepped aside immediately, allowing me to enter. “Do you want me to get her?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll find her.”

I walked past him. Mina was sitting on the couch with her phone in her hand, but the moment she looked up and saw me, she put it down immediately.

“Cora? What happened to you?”

I opened my mouth, intending to explain everything, but the words refused to come out, and instead, I reached for her hand and gently pulled her toward the quieter corner near the dining area.

She followed without arguing, her expression growing more concerned with every step.

“What’s going on?” she asked softly. “Have you been crying? Did something happen at home?”

I shook my head, but the movement only made the tears fall faster, and I quickly wiped them away before looking down at the folder in my hands.

“Mina, I need to tell you something.”

“Okay. I’m listening.” She squeezed my fingers.

“I’m not my parents’ biological daughter.”

“What?”

“I was adopted,” I whispered, my voice breaking as I looked down at the papers. “I found out today, and I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“Wait, wait. Are you sure?” she asked, her voice rising with disbelief. “Who told you this? Where did you hear it?”

“Sharon.”

“Sharon told you that you were adopted?”

I nodded, pressing my lips together as another wave of tears threatened to overwhelm me.

“But your parents aren’t alive, Cora. How did she find these documents? Where were they?”

I opened the folder and handed it to her. She began reading the papers while I watched her face, waiting for her to tell me that something was wrong with them or that Sharon had made a mistake.

But Mina said nothing for several moments. The silence became unbearable.