Chapter 21 He Found Me

I was startled.

Another unknown number! I had a feeling it must be Antonio. If I answered, he would surely command me to get off the plane, telling me that my current actions were suicidal!

But if I didn't answer, when Antonio found me, I would inevitably face his severe punishment—I never denied that my escape was futile, I couldn't escape Antonio's control.

I turned off my phone directly. As long as I got to Philadelphia, no one could find me.

It will be fine, it will be fine. Could Antonio really kill me?

Why not?! He might be a mafia, is killing someone difficult for him?!

But I've done what should and shouldn't be done, trying to redeem myself now is meaningless; what's more important now is to find my father before he ruins Valentina's wedding.

I didn't sleep on the plane, the one-hour flight was too quick, I felt exhausted, and I followed the crowd off the plane in a daze, picking up my luggage from the conveyor belt.

I yawned, placing my handbag on top of my suitcase. I took out my phone, pressed the power button, and after a brief lag, the startup chime rang, followed by a barrage of missed calls and emails—I didn't need to open them to know they were definitely from Antonio.

He must be furious, maybe even smashing things in rage!

Should I call him back to calm him down? What if he demands to know where I am? What if he orders me to rush back to Boston immediately? If I disobey, would he come to Philadelphia to disrupt Valentina's wedding and expose my facade of peace?

Reason told me not to provoke Antonio anymore, I should apologize for my sudden departure, but my body honestly dialed another number.

"Thank goodness, Miss Corsetti, you finally answered the phone," came the excited voice of the real estate agent, Austin, "A gentleman here took an interest in your house after learning about it, and he wants to visit the site as soon as possible."

"If he has time, he can view the house anytime, I've left the keys at the neighbor's, I'll send you his contact information shortly." I didn't expect things to go this smoothly, could today really be my lucky day?

After hanging up, I immediately called the neighbor, asking him to hand the keys to Austin, facilitating the viewing of the house.

I decided not to call Antonio yet, as a boss, I guessed he must be very busy, and I, merely his mistress, wasn't worth him dropping his work to find out where I was.

I opened the note-taking app on my phone, which recorded my mother's address in Philadelphia. I regretted my bad habit of not setting a password, as my father had answered a call from my mother and must have browsed through my notes and found her address.

Regretting now was useless, the only solution was to find him.

These past years I've been busy with my studies and part-time jobs, dealing with the trouble caused by my father, while my mother returned to Philadelphia to start her new life and career, our communication gradually decreased until it finally broke off entirely. After so many years since my parents divorced, I hadn't once visited my mother's house.

I had never been to Philadelphia, it was an unfamiliar city, and my mother's family was also unfamiliar. I didn't know if there were any more family members in her clan, were my grandparents healthy? Did my mother have any siblings?

Suddenly, I felt scared, I didn't know if this family would welcome my arrival, and there was my sister Valentina...

As I was dragging my suitcase through the crowd, a dark shadow flashed in front of me, a strong force yanked at me, pulling my shoulder bag off. I almost instinctively reached out to grab it, looking up to see a man in black wearing a mask and a cap tugging at the other strap.

His strength far exceeded mine, pulling me forward a few steps, the strap biting painfully into my hand before slipping out of my grasp.

The man snatched my bag and quickly disappeared into the crowd after bumping into several people, leaving me screaming in panic, "Robbery! Help! That man took my bag!"

The backpack was not valuable, but the camera inside was my most important asset—it was my graduation project, my research topic, my livelihood! With my current financial situation, I couldn't afford to lose the camera, I had no money to buy a new camera and lens.

I dropped my suitcase and chased after the man, the Philadelphia airport was too big, too crowded, and I quickly lost my way, but I was sure, today really was my lucky day.

A distinguished gentleman helped retrieve my camera, at the cost of his glasses getting broken and his coffee spilled all over the floor.

"I'll pay for the glasses," I offered, hardly believing that I had to spend more money while still in massive debt, but the compensation was necessary. Gratefully yet apologetically looking at him, I awkwardly suggested, "Maybe leave your email address and you can send me the bill for the new glasses, and I will pay for them."

"No need for that, miss," he casually dismissed, taking out a new pair of glasses from his suitcase and putting them on, "See, it hasn't caused me any trouble."

"But..."

"If you feel sorry about it, why not treat me to a coffee?" he suggested, nodding towards a coffee shop behind me.

Reluctantly agreeing to just a cup of iced coffee as a thank-you, I followed him into the coffee shop. With each step, I felt a twinge of pain in my ankle, surely from a twist earlier.

Enduring the pain, I found a seat by the window and ordered two iced coffees.

The waiter brought our coffees, and I took a sip, the rich, slightly bitter taste finally easing my tense nerves. But I couldn't sit for long; I needed to hurry to my mother's house.

"Just so eager to get away from me to meet other men, are you?" A force yanked me up from my seat as Antonio bellowed in my ear, "You're even more desperate than I thought, Sienna!"

Antonio's grip made me unstable, worsening the pain in my ankle, but more terrifying was his rage and his unfiltered insults, constantly displaying his possessive desire over me, telling the world about the shameful status of me bing his mistress.

Trembling, I dared not look at the stranger across from me. I feared his disdainful gaze; it was too humiliating.

"This gentleman, whatever you think you've misunderstood, please let go of this lady, or I will have to call the police!"

"Fuck you..." Antonio reached towards his lower back. I knew what was there—it was a gun! Antonio wanted to kill him!