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Chapter 12: Is this Home?
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2022-09-01 17:29:40Related chapters
The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 13: Grief
Callie couldn’t for the life of her, control her breathing. Panic attacks weren’t new to her, but panic attacks induced by nightmares were usually the worst. She thought she had outgrown the nightmares, but being involved with the mafia had opened fresh ones.She heard the click of her door and then the quiet padding of feet on the soft carpeted floor. And through the tears and scratching pain in her throat, Callie latched onto the sound to ground herself.“Breathe.” The voice was soft and low, urging Callie to breathe through her fear. “That’s it, deep breaths in… and out… Good girl.”It took a few minutes, and Callie could be mistaken, but she could have sworn Vin had reached over to brush her hair away from her face. When most of her panic had passed, Callie watched Vin rise from her bedside to stride toward the window.“Vin? Uhm… I—” She cleared her throat, wincing at how scratchy it felt. “W-Why are you here?”Thanks to the moon illuminating the dark room, Callie saw with clarity
Last Updated : 2022-09-05The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 14: Songbird
Vin didn’t return to her room after that incident. In fact, she didn’t catch a glimpse of Vin the following day, save for when he caught her sipping tea in the kitchen in the middle of the night after she woke up from another nightmare. She flushed pink at the thought of Vin hearing her cry again. Guilt and embarrassment settled badly in her stomach. Callie had made a habit of singing herself to sleep after her bouts with her repeating nightmares. Every night she cries and sings, cries and sings. Tonight, she cried about her broken dreams. Callie had abandoned her phone and laptop, the devices lay dead somewhere inside her backpack. Why bother? She couldn’t go to school anyway. She wouldn’t be able to graduate. Unless… “Silver lining, Callie,” she muttered to herself as she marched into the kitchen. “Find your silver lining.” “Would you care for some breakfast?” Now, those were words Vin hadn’t heard in a long time. He had been living alone for fifteen years, and he usually grabb
Last Updated : 2022-09-12The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 15: Wish
Vin gave Callie enough time to get changed and finish her waffles before two men enter the dining area. Callie recognized the taller one, Raleigh, from the arena. Without the tapes around his arms and anger marring his features, he looked young—almost too young to be associated with the mafia. His face was bruised, but he held his head high with pride. “Boss, I thought we had a talk about not killing our clients?” the stranger said, his tone was patronizing, but he had a smile on his face. “Seriously, man. It’s bad for business.” The stranger must be ranked up higher on the ladder because Vin merely shrugged and gestured for them to take a seat. His skin was a deep tan, and his smile was friendly and welcoming, but there was something in his eyes that made Callie feel uneasy. “There’s plenty of food. Help yourselves,” said Callie, who was starting to feel awkward. She ignored Vin’s sideways glance at her and smiled pleasantly at the newcomers. “And who might this be?” “Callie Moor
Last Updated : 2022-09-17The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 16: Phantoms
Walking into the gates of the university felt like a breath of fresh air to Callie. Despite how she loved the theater and attending her classes, the university didn’t share that love. Or simply put, the other students didn’t take kindly to having a prostitute for a classmate. The sneers and judgmental looks used to bother Callie, but she has learned to ignore them and focus on her education. Now, it only fueled her desire to graduate and leave this city forever. The day passed quickly and normally enough. Apart from the truckload of schoolwork she missed, it was uneventful. Additionally, Callie intentionally avoided talking to Sienna until the last moment. Outside the university theater, where audition announcements have been posted for the year-end musical were posted, Callie waited for her friend, staring blankly at the page. “Callie! Holy shit, where have you been?” Callie would recognize that voice from anywhere. Sienna tackled the singer into a fierce hug. “I’ve been worried s
Last Updated : 2022-09-18The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 17: Girls of the Night
“Are you sure this is fine?” Callie asked Raleigh as he handed her a burger and soda. As usual, he had picked her up from the university and were on their way back to Vin’s apartment, but not before stopping at a fast food drive-thru for some burgers. Raleigh looked at her with a wide grin, “A little fast food never killed anyone, Callie.” Seeing Raleigh’s smile reassured Callie, and it reminded her that Raleigh was still just a kid. Barely twenty-one, but the wisdom in his eyes betrayed the innocence of his smiles. She couldn’t help but feel safe with him, like she was with a friend. “No, I meant staying out later than my curfew.” It was his turn to chuckle. “Don’t worry about it too much,” he said as he took a bite of his chicken sandwich. “Besides, how else am I supposed to get to know you?” That took Callie by surprise, “You want to get to know me?” “Duh. I’m supposed to spend my precious time with you instead of training. I at least, want to know the person I’m babysitting.
Last Updated : 2022-09-20The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 18: Shots fired
“How’d the meeting go?” The rain hasn’t let up since Vin left home, and the constant pitter-patter was starting to irritate him. He fixed Soren with a bored stare. “Do you even have to ask?” the crime lord replied. “Any news for me?” Soren smirked as he opened the car door for Vin, droplets of rain wetting his shoulder as he protected his master from the rain. “I have a package waiting for you at the warehouse,” said Soren as he settled into the driver’s seat. “Finally.” When the duo arrived at the said warehouse, Z was already there, picking at his nails waiting for them. “Took you guys long enough,” Z muttered as he slid the door open to let the two in. “It was freezing.” Vin ignored the complaint, while Soren snickered at Z’s expense. The warehouse as they call it was an old storage facility for their weapons. Towers of empty wooden crates lined each of the four walls. Vin didn’t want to dump them for they made excellent soundproofing, perfect for activities like this. “Loo
Last Updated : 2022-09-24The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 19: Death Anniversary
Callie saw Vin’s men off with a small smile while Ella started to set herself up in the guest bedroom. The doctor insisted saying she wanted to be there in case Vin needed her.“Well, uhm… I’ll see you in the morning, then.” Callie left Ella to get settled in. As Callie climbed up the stairs to retreat to her own bed, she spared a glance at Vin’s room.Her feet started moving on their own, entering Vin’s room quietly and gazing at his sleeping form. The beginnings of a song bloomed from her chest and before she knew it, Callie was humming a soft melody.Maybe it was her shock, but seeing Vin now, she finally figured out why she was so terrified. The chaos of seeing a bleeding Vin and his men scrambling to help him reminded her of her parents’ painful death. Tomorrow marked the sixteenth year of their passing, which didn’t help her mood at all.Callie sang in a hushed voice, careful not to wake the crime lord, but her feelings were all there. Her song soothed her pain and she hoped tha
Last Updated : 2022-09-29The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 20: Surprisingly Gray
Callie watched with mixed horror and fascination as her bullies’ faces blanched at the sight of Vincent Baros before them. Her breath caught in her throat at the notion of him exposing himself, but it didn’t matter who they thought he was. Vin walked and talked with certainty, and there was something in this aura that made him so terrifying. Whatever it was he told them, it must have been awful. Vin walked back to the car with the same swagger, smirking as if he were proud of what he’d done. “What did you do? What did you say to them?” Callie asked when Vin returned, craning her neck over the dashboard to see her classmates run back into the building. “I don’t want to talk about it either,” Vin repeated Callie’s words back to her with a small amused smile before putting the car into gear. The car eased out of the campus and into the near-empty highway. It was still a few hours before nightfall, but as they entered the Ashen City, some people have already set up candles and lanterns
Last Updated : 2022-09-30
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The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 101: Plan
Fresh out of the bath, Callie softly called out that she was done.The woman who had prepared the bath for her entered with a white fluffy towel draped on one arm, and a salve resting in her other hand.“Thank you…” Callie started when the woman handed her the towel.“Nabi,” the woman answered, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.“Thank you, Nabi. I’m Callie.”Nabi offered a small smile as Callie slipped into a fresh white robe, then she led the singer to sit in front of the vanity.“I’ve heard your name before,” said Nabi as she pulled one drawer open to grab a brush. Slowly, she took a section of Callie’s hair and started to brush it.Callie didn’t ask her to elaborate. Somehow, people knew her name by her association with Vin, and every time, nothing good came out of it.They stayed silent even as Nabi pulled the hair dryer out of another drawer and started to dry Callie’s hair. The blonde brushed and pulled sections of Callie’s hair and pinned them away from her face in
The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 100: Cast Aside
Callie’s ears rang with Cullen’s howling of frustration but her mind remained on the memory of Vin. His words, no matter how hurtful, his touch no matter how brief.She couldn’t look him in the eyes, feeling disgusted to put on display like that to a man who threw her out once. But she caught glimpses of him. His tired eyes, the downward curve of his mouth, the way his shoulders sagged a bit, these were details only Callie noticed. To anyone else, Vin was a picture of a bored man, but Callie saw through the façade. She saw the darkness that ringed his eyes, his pale skin, and sunken cheeks. Her stomach twisted with worry that he hadn’t been eating well.Maybe he’d changed his mind. Perhaps he’d come to save me, Callie thought earlier. But Vin’s words cut too deeply to be fake. She was a passing plaything. And she will never be more, because Vin had cast her aside for the second time.Callie’s empty stomach tightened as she swallowed the bile that threatened up her throat. Disgust cra
The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 99: Sorry, Little Bird
Vin drummed his fingers onto the tabletop of Cullen Reich’s private game room. The wait was pissing him off. He had a clear idea why Cullen ever so politely invited him into his territory and into his private establishment.“He’s going to gloat,” said Soren during their earlier meeting. “Callie will be there, that’s given. But we have no news whatsoever after her location was confirmed. We don’t know if…”“We don’t know if she’s alright,” Vin finished for him. “She’s alive. That much, I’m certain. He wouldn’t call me out like this otherwise.”The date of their meeting came. Two full days after Callie left, no, since Callie was taken.Vin reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a small flask. The whiskey burned down his throat, but it did nothing to ease his nerves.On the outside, he was a picture of calm, but the storm in his eyes betrayed his exterior.Callie was somewhere in Reich’s territory. The plan was already in place, he only needed to set a few more pieces on the board
The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 98: Sold Again
Callie woke up shivering and sputtering the water that was thrown in her face. Disoriented and cold, she was pulled from the floor and forced to sit in a wooden chair.“Tie her legs and arms,” said a voice she vaguely recognized. “I don’t want her filth touching me.”Callie’s head pounded along with the throbbing ache in her jaw. She ran her tongue across her lips, surprised when she tasted copper upon them. The slap from earlier must have left a cut. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt her wrists being bound together by zip ties, followed by her ankles.“Is she alive? Wake up, darling.” It was the same voice, deep and masculine, but it held a sinister vibe that Callie couldn’t help but shiver. Another splash.Sputtering and coughing, she slowly opened her eyes, groaning when the bright overhead light invaded her vision, worsening her headache.Memories came flooding back after she’d regained her bearings.She had been kidnapped; beaten; drugged three times with sedatives; and now
The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 97: Missing
Ella stared at Vin’s back wondering what the best way to murder him was. She’d asked him—no, begged him before not to hurt Callie, and yet he still did.The doctor waited until Liam was out of earshot before she spoke, and she didn’t bother disguising the venom in her voice.“You fucked up,” she told him icily. “You fucked up big time, Vin. Callie is a one-in-a-million. No, one in a zillion!” Ella watched Vin’s shoulders straighten as he faced her, his face a mask of indifference. “You’ll never find another woman like her, and you gave her up just like that, for what?”Vin’s skull throbbed with a migraine on top of the ache he felt in his right thigh. With his hands fisted at his sides, he fought through the pain to answer Ella.“I didn’t give her up,” he replied. “I gave her freedom.”His voice sounded strained and tired, but it held a hint of doubt.“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Ella scoffed. “You’re an idiot.”She turned his back on him and started to put away the
The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 96: She'll Be Back
The air in Vin’s office seemed to thin by the minute. It had not been a day, and yet Callie’s absence weighed on him like they had been apart for years.There was only so much he could do to distract himself from the fact, but Sienna, Callie’s best friend was not making it easy for him.“How could you?” Sienna asked, disbelief thick in her voice. Vin didn’t need to look up from his laptop to know she was glaring at him. He had enough on his plate, Sienna’s outburst was the least of his priorities, but Raleigh’s presence warranted the crime lord’s attentionRaleigh was like a son to Vin, so when he looked up and saw confusion and disbelief in Raleigh’s eyes, Vin’s chest pricked.“I never question you, Vin. You know that,” the boxer said in a low, even voice. “But this is just wrong. You know more than anyone that Callie belonged here with us.”A muscle throbbed at Vin’s jaw upon hearing those words.“That’s enough,” he growled. “I don’t need any of your opinions, and I do not appreciate
The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 95: Three Doses
Callie’s heart thudded in her ears. Nothing registered except for the pain, so much pain that she couldn’t tell what was hurting.It was like Vin ripped her heart out from her chest, dropped it on the ground, and stomped on it with heavy boots.Tears blurred her sight, she struggled to pull herself and the suitcases out of the elevator, and once the doors closed behind her, she collapsed.It was over.She hit the ground hard, scraping her knees and palms, but the pain was nothing compared to the pain in her chest.She sobbed into her hands, crying out, uncaring that a few stories above her, Vin was probably hearing her as he sipped on his drink, uncaring.The tears were unrelenting as was the stabbing in her heart. She sat on the ground, crying until no more tears fell from her eyes. She cried until she felt exhaustion wrapping its arms around her. She needed to leave before she collapsed in front of Vin’s elevator.Mustering the strength to stand was equivalent to squeezing her heart
The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 94: You Love Me
Soren stared at Vin, worried about his friend. He had suspected that the letter would contain some kind of message from Jimmy, but he didn’t want to break the news to Vin. There was no way to make this easy for him.Vin could lie to himself all he wanted, but anyone with eyes could see that he was in love with Callie. And his reaction to the letter he held in his hands was proof of that.“Callie’s free,” Vin whispered a second before crumpling the piece of paper in his hand.The world seemed to spin around Vin. Callie had been a constant in his life for only a few months, but he knew he couldn’t live without her.Everything in him screamed not to let her go. To find an alternative. To buy her back. But another part of him, the moral side of him, knew that Callie deserved to be free.That deal was to play with her, right? Never did he think he’d be this devastated when this day finally came.Callie wasn’t a bird trapped in his cage anymore, and she deserved to see the world, as the wor
The Mafia's Songbird Chapter 93: Free
“Where are we going?” asked Liam as he sucked on his chocolate drink. Vin helped him get strapped into his seat in the back. “Home. We’ve been gone for too long.” Callie looked at Vin nervously, but she managed to plaster a smile on for Liam. “You hear that Liam? We’re going home!” she said excitedly, buckling her own seatbelt. She turned to Vin then. “You okay?” Vin glanced over at Callie as he eased the car out onto the highway. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” But Callie could tell something was wrong. Something had been wrong since the night of her attempted kidnapping. Had she said something to piss Vin off? But if she had, then he would have called her out on it already. Vin wasn’t the type of person to hold back on her punishments if she needed it. So, what was wrong now? “We’re driving straight home,” said Vin after a couple of minutes on the road. “If you need something, just let me know. We can pull over for food or bathroom breaks.” Callie’s eyebrows scrunched together
