I Was The Mafia’s Maid Now I’m Their Regret Chapter 27
The day the lab officially opened, a lot of reporters came.
Chloe, Emma, and Maya were standing in the front row, even more excited than I was.
Chloe held up her phone, searching for the best angle.
“Cosima, over here!”
When the flash went off, I couldn’t help but smile.
Luca stood at my side and handed me the cord for the unveiling.
“Ready?”
“I’m ready.”
I was just about to reach for it when the entrance suddenly went quiet.
My father, mother, Francesca, and Nico walked in.
They hadn’t brought guards, and they hadn’t asked the school to clear the room.
They simply took ordinary invitation cards and sat down in the very last row.
A reporter quickly recognized my father.
“Mr. Marino, we heard you once intended to fund this lab.”
“Did Cosima receive support from the Marino Family to get where she is today?”
My father instinctively looked at me.
Back when the local paper had come to the estate to interview me, Mom had turned away and started talking about Nico.
Now, every camera was waiting for my father’s answer.
He was silent for several seconds before finally speaking.
“No.”
The reporter blinked.
My father tightened his grip on the invitation card.
“The Marino Family did not fund her education, nor did we help her enter Aurelia Academy.”
“Everything she has today, she earned herself.”
The room was utterly quiet.
“I neglected her once, and I also used her name wrongly.”
“That lab application has been withdrawn. Today, I am here only as an invited guest.”
It was the first time he had admitted in front of everyone that he had no right to share in my honor.
It was also the latest justice he could possibly give me.
After the interview, Nico came over to me.
He was much quieter than the last time I had seen him.
“Cosima, congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“My assessment has to be redone.”
He lowered his head.
“I used to think that since you always did everything, it would all just take care of itself. Now that those things have fallen to me, I finally understand how hard they are.”
“They aren’t just hard.”
I looked at him.
“They’re responsibilities you have to carry if you want to become the heir.”
He nodded and didn’t ask me for help.
Francesca stood beside him and handed me a ticket.
“I’m still in the back row.”
“If you have time, come. If you don’t, that’s okay too.”
I took the ticket.
“If the experiment ends early, I’ll come.”
Her eyes lit up at once, but she didn’t hug me, and she didn’t make the decision for me.
It was time for the unveiling.
Luca and I pulled the cover down together.
*Aurelia Applied Cryptography Laboratory.*
There was no Family surname underneath it.
Only a row of names, listed according to contribution.
As the applause rose, Luca turned his head and asked me, “Want to get dinner tonight?”
“A project group dinner?”
“No.”
His ears were a little red.
“Just the two of us.”
I looked at him for two seconds.
“Okay.”
Then I turned back and stood beneath the name that belonged to me.
This time, no one could crop me out of the frame.