I Thought My Sister Was a Mafia Boss

When the driver stopped in front of the orphanage, I was inside the car. I was still practicing how to comfort my younger sister, Mary, whom I had lost touch with many years ago. “Don’t worry. The Winsley family won’t mistreat you. “Take your time to get used to things once you’re home. “Mom and Dad have actually felt guilty about this all along.” Before I could finish practicing my speech, I pushed open the door and got out of the car. I saw three special-issue vehicles surround the run-down courtyard so completely that there was not even room to squeeze through. The bodies of the vehicles were so armored that they seemed bulletproof. Then, a man dressed in a suit with his face covered in scars bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle to a girl wearing an old school uniform. He respectfully gave her a brown paper bag. The girl took the paper bag expressionlessly. She said plainly, “Handle it the usual way.” In those few seconds, I had two thoughts running through my mind. She was either a mafia’s daughter who lived among ordinary people, or she was a mafia boss dealing with a traitor. I realized that the person my family had brought home might not be my long-lost sister at all. She was a menace. Chapter 1 When Mary turned and saw me, I instinctively straightened my back. A line of men stood rigidly in the run-down courtyard while clutching folders in their hands. The man covered in scars, Mark, remained bent at the waist, as though he were waiting for her final order. She sized me up before asking, “Are you from the Winsley family?” “I’m John Winsley.” “I see.” She then stuffed the brown paper bag into her backpack and turned toward me. Mark immediately called out in a low voice, “Miss Mary, what about the rest…” Mary did not turn around. “Same as usual. Don’t leave anyone out.” My fingertips went numb. Was she talking about the accounts, or a list of names? A little boy ran over from the corner and tugged at her sleeve. “Miss Mary, what if they change their minds?” Mary patted him on the head. “Then, make them learn the rules all over again.” The little boy nodded. He looked as reverent as if he had just been handed a lucky charm. A cold sweat broke out across my back. Mary was just eighteen years old. She wore an old school uniform. Inside a run-down orphanage and surrounded by black cars, there was a man covered in scars and a kid calling her “Miss Mary.” If I put all those details together, it would sound like the setup for an entire season of a crime thriller. As I got into the car, I opened the back door for her. Mary glanced at me before getting into the car. I skirted around to the other side of the car. I moved carefully as though I were afraid of even brushing against the backpack at her feet. We were halfway home when Mary’s phone rang. She answered and said only one thing. “Once it’s signed, seal it up. Don’t give anyone a chance to exploit a loophole.” What was even more alarming was that, after hanging up, she took out a stack of papers from her backpack and flipped through them one by one. When she reached a certain page, she drew a red line across it. I rested my hands on my knees. They gradually tightened into fists. I could already picture black cars filling the driveway outside the Winsley family mansion in the middle of the night. My parents would be forced to sit in the living room and listen as she read out a list of everything they owed. When the car arrived at the front of the Winsley family home, I let out a long breath. The welcome dinner began soon afterward. My father, David, sat at the head of the table. He put on the air of the head of the family as he said, “Mary, now that you’re back with your family, you’ll need to learn the proper rules. Don’t bring those habits from outside back home.” My mother, Theresa, gently chimed in as well. She said, “Fiona grew up with us, so she’s familiar with the family’s etiquette and socializing. You should learn from her more often.” As the servants served the dishes, someone snickered under their breath. “She came from the countryside. I bet she can’t even tell a knife from a fork.” Meanwhile, Mary picked out the fish bones one by one and lined them up neatly along the edge of her plate. I stared at that row of tiny bones, feeling chills run down my spine. That was a sign of her keeping track of who had disrespected her. Just then, Fiona walked over to Mary, holding a bowl of hot soup. “Mary, have some soup.” The next second, her wrist tilted. The scalding soup splashed onto Mary’s legs. I stared at her, with only one thought running through my mind. With Fiona’s mindless act of spilling soup all over Mary, Mary might very well leave our family penniless tomorrow. I instinctively lunged forward and blocked the soup with my forearm. The dining room erupted into chaos. Fiona stood there holding the empty bowl. Tears immediately streamed down her face. “John, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to. I was only trying to give Mary a bowl of soup.” Mary stood behind me. She said very softly, “You didn’t have to block it.” My heart skipped a beat. A big shot like her probably did not like owing anyone a favor. I quickly said, “You just got back to our home. There’s no need for you to handle things yourself yet.” The dining room fell silent. Mary looked at me. I stared back at her. I tried to make my expression as sincere as humanly possible. My unspoken message was crystal clear. ‘Please give our family a chance to survive,’ I thought. Mary fell silent for two seconds before taking an ice pack, wrapping it in a towel, and pressing it against my arm. “Bear with it.” With only three words, she did it calmly and skillfully. It was as though she had treated countless injuries before. I sucked in a breath from the pain, but I became even more certain about something. Mary was definitely not someone to be taken lightly. Chapter 2 The day after Mary returned to the Winsley family, the school forum blew up with rumors. [The real rich man’s daughter’s old photos from the countryside have surfaced. She appears to have close ties to people in shady circles.] [Black cars picking her up, a scar-faced man handing her a bag—the Winsley family’s biological daughter has a questionable background.] [The fake rich man’s daughter actually looks like a socialite. The real one looks more like a gang leader.] They had secretly taken the photos outside the orphanage. Mary stood beside a black car when Mark handed her a brown paper bag. They had darkened the photos to make it look like some sort of crime scene. I stared at the screen. My hands and feet felt cold. This was not some petty fight between kids. Someone deliberately put Mary in the spotlight. First, they used the “black cars,” “scar-faced man,” and “brown paper bag” to stir up a public frenzy. Then, they drew the attention of the school, parents, the media, and even the authorities to her. If someone followed those photos, started digging, and uncovered something they should not, would Mary fly into a fit of rage out of humiliation? Would she think that the Winsley family had failed to protect her? Would she decide everyone involved had a debt to pay? I could already picture a line of men in black suits showing up at our door in the middle of the night and saying, “Mr. Winsley, Miss Mary would like to have a word with you.” With that thought in my mind, I immediately called the tech team. “Trace it back to the source. Find the posting accounts, the forwarding groups, and the money trail. Dig up everything.” My assistant, Vincent, asked, “Mr. Winsley, should we take down the posts?” “No. Taking them down will make us look guilty. Find out exactly what happened and bring the evidence to us.” At 11 p.m. that night, they delivered the information to my study room. The original posts came from several burner accounts. They were Fiona’s friends. The photos came from their group chat. They had paid the online trolls with a supplementary credit card registered under Fiona. I sat in my study room, frowning deeply. Fiona had really lost her mind. She thought she was fighting for our parents’ affection. She had no idea that she actually threw matches into a pan of hot oil. I had the butler summon my parents, Fiona, and Mary to the living room. I placed the evidence on the coffee table. “Did you have someone post those things on the forum?” Fiona’s face went pale. She immediately shook her head. “I didn’t! John, how could you suspect me?” Mom flipped through the documents. When she saw the transfer records, her expression froze. Dad’s expression darkened as well. Fiona cried as she explained, “I lent that card to my friends to buy things. I really have no idea what they’re doing with it. I-I felt a little overwhelmed when I saw that Mary had come back.” After she finished the last sentence, she covered her face with her hands. “I didn’t mean to do it. I was just so afraid of losing you.” Mom immediately softened. “Fiona…” I looked at her. My tone was more serious than it had ever been. “Fiona, listen carefully. You are not to interfere with Mary again. You have no idea how much trouble you can cause in the future with those few photos you posted today.” Fiona froze. Dad frowned. “John, explain what you mean.” I glanced at Mary. She sat in the armchair. She looked indifferent, as though none of this had anything to do with her. The calmer she looked, the more nervous I became. She was far too good at keeping things bottled up. The ones who could put up with the most were the ones you had to fear when they finally snapped. I looked away from Mary and said to my parents, “You need to treat her better. She didn’t come back to us so you can put her on trial or let Fiona dump all her emotions on her.” Then, Mary stood up. “Are you done? I still have school tomorrow.” I immediately stepped aside to clear the way. “Yes. I’m done.” Mary paused mid-stride before going upstairs. She turned back to look at me. “Thank you.” The two words were barely audible. However, I froze. She added another favor to my tab. Good. The Winsley family was safe for the time being. Chapter 3 After the incident on the school forum, Fiona kept a low profile for a few days. Mary went about her usual routine—school, home, meals—with a level of emotional composure that seemed far beyond her years. The calmer she seemed, the less I dared to let my guard down. One night, I went downstairs to get some water. As I passed by the living room, I noticed a desk lamp glowing in the corner. Mary sat on the couch. The cold glow of her laptop illuminated her face. A pile of printed documents was spread out beside her. I glanced over from a distance. Those documents were some sort of old case. Someone took the fall for someone else. There was surveillance footage of an accident. I instantly paused mid-stride. Those words alone were enough to set off every alarm in my head. Mary did not return to us simply to reconnect with her biological family. She had an agenda. I stayed where I was, motionless. Mary looked up at me. “Is there something wrong?” I immediately steadied the glass in my hand. “Just getting some water.” She closed her laptop quickly, but without the slightest hint of panic. “Get some sleep.” I nodded and headed upstairs, but my heart pounded increasingly fast. What was she investigating? Was she digging into some old business involving our family? Was she looking into something our family had gotten involved with that they never should have touched? Or were the people behind her using her return to us as an excuse to turn our family inside out and root out every problem? The next day, I had Vincent look into everyone who had worked for us over the past ten years, including the drivers, butlers, former employees, as well as traffic accidents and compensation disputes. Vincent looked confused. “Mr. Winsley, do you really want me to look into all of that?” I gave him a cold look. “Yes. It’s better to check everything.” Three days later, he brought me a preliminary report. It included a traffic accident from five years ago. Our family driver, Arthur Strong, was drunk when he drove on the road. He hit and killed a young man. They convicted Arthur and sent him to prison. Dad and the former butler, Robert Townsend, had handled the matter back then. They kept it as quiet as possible. When I reached that part of the report, my brow slowly furrowed. Around the same time, Fiona had coincidentally taken a trip abroad to “clear her head.” However, the details of the trip were vague, and the flight records did not line up. At dinner, Dad brought up a birthday party. “Fiona’s birthday is next week. It’ll be the perfect opportunity to officially introduce Mary to everyone in our social circle. I want both of you there.” Fiona lowered her eyes and said softly, “Dad, you don’t have to throw a birthday party just for me. Mary just came home. Everyone’s bound to be more interested in her.” Mom immediately felt sorry for her. “What are you talking about? Of course, we’re celebrating your birthday.” Dad nodded. “The party is happening. Everyone should already know that we’ve found Mary. Nonetheless, you’re also our daughter.” As soon as he said that, I noticed the faintest hint of a smile at the corner of Fiona’s mouth as she lowered her head. She planned to make her move at the birthday party. A public event with crowds, reporters, and plenty of guests was the perfect place to smear someone. Once the damage was done, even defending herself would make her look desperate. I made arrangements ahead of time for tighter security. I had someone to screen the media guest list. Then, I backed up all the surveillance footage and had people keep an eye on Fiona’s friends. The day before the birthday party, Fiona came to see me. She stood at the study room door. Her eyes were reddened from tears. “John, I know you care more about Mary. But I didn’t mean to hurt her with what happened on the forum. Please believe me, okay?” Chapter 4 “It doesn’t matter whether I trust in you or not.” I lowered my voice. “What matters most is that you don’t test Mary’s limits. “She isn’t some sort of helpless country girl whom you think you can push around with no one backing her up.” Fiona bit her lip as tears rolled down her cheeks. “John, you make her sound terrifying.” I thought to myself, ‘She really is terrifying.’ However, I kept that to myself. “Just remember what I told you.” The next afternoon, the birthday party began. Fiona stood under the crystal chandeliers in an haute couture gown. She looked like a beautiful flower that had been carefully cultivated in a greenhouse from the day she was born. Mary stood on the other side of the room in a long black dress. She pinned up her hair. She did not put on any jewelry. However, her cool, distant presence reminded me of a sheathed blade. People glanced her way and whispered among themselves. “So, that’s their biological daughter, huh?” “She has a pretty good presence, but she’s awfully cold.” “I heard she grew up in the countryside. Honestly, it’s impressive she turned out this well.” I stood nearby with a glass of wine. My temples throbbed. They had better pray that Mary hadn’t heard them. Mary simply looked down at her phone. She acted as though their whispers were nothing more than a passing breeze. I, on the other hand, grew increasingly uneasy. It was too quiet. It was always this quiet right before the storm. Halfway through the party, a commotion abruptly broke out at the side entrance to the ballroom. Several unfamiliar men barged in. The security guards moved in to stop them, but the man leading the group shoved one of the guards aside. The bleached-blond leader pointed at Mary and shouted, “Mary Winsley, you think you can simply brush us off by hiding yourself among a rich family, huh?! “When are you going to pay back the money you owe us from the countryside?” Another man held up his phone. “Everyone, take a good look. The great Mary Winsley used to run with us, and now she’s pretending to be some sort of a rich young lady!” A third man took out several printed screenshots of chat messages. “We know exactly what she was like back then!” The guests erupted into an uproar. Someone took a step back. Others took out their phones and started recording. Several cameras from the press section turned toward them as well. Dad’s face turned livid. Mom instinctively grabbed Fiona’s hand. Fiona went pale as if she had been frightened, but she quickly stepped in front of Mom. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Mary, if you’re in trouble, you can always tell the family. Why did you have to let these people come and cause a scene at my birthday party?” With just one sentence, she pinned the entire mess on Mary. Every alarm in my head went off at once. This was not some ordinary disruption. They deliberately dragged Mary’s “country connections” into a high-society banquet. They turned the scandal into a spectacle that would spread through the entire social circle within minutes. These people wanted the guests to record everything, the media to run with the story, and the Winsley family to lose any chance of quietly burying the incident. Once that happened, more and more people would start digging into Mary’s past. If anyone uncovered the orphanage connection, the black cars, or the scar-faced man, things would spiral completely out of control. That idiotic Fiona thought she was ruining Mary’s reputation. She had no idea she might actually be sending the entire family straight into the line of fire. I immediately ordered the security guards to clear the room. However, Mary raised her hand and stopped me. Her hand was perfectly steady. It was so steady that my heart sank. She was finally going to spring her trap.