My Husband Is a Million Years Old Vampire-Chapter 170

The second Maria finished speaking, Valentina’s eyes darkened. She pulled the phone slightly away from her ear, stared at it in disbelief, and then brought it back with a scoff.

"You’re asking me to help the family?" Her voice cracked—not from weakness, but from restrained rage.

Then she stood up from where she sat, pacing, unable to sit still with everything Maria had just said echoing in her head.

"The same family that watched me burn? The same people who stood by and said nothing when I was left alone, broken, with no one to even ask if I was breathing?!"

At that moment her tone grew sharper, biting.

"Maria, let me remind you. Long before the fire, long before I disappeared... none of you ever treated me like I was one of you. You made sure I knew I wasn’t. Every dinner, Every occasion, Every silence. You made it clear I was the outsider."

Valentina stopped pacing, staring at the wall like she could see through it—like the ghosts of her past were lined up behind it.

"Now suddenly, I’m smart? I’m useful?" She let out a humorless laugh. "Now you want me to sit at the table and help save your mess?"

She shook her head, voice trembling from the fury building behind it.

"So let me remind you, I don’t owe you. I don’t owe the family. And I sure as hell don’t owe anyone who left me to rot."

Her chest rose and fell sharply, as she whispered through clenched teeth—

"I have nothing to do with the family anymore."

"So, you’re just wasting their time," Valentina snapped, pacing the edge of her office. Her voice was sharp but steady. "If you think I’m going to listen or come running back, all of you’re delusional."

She didn’t need a second to think—her mind was made up. "Both of us know you can handle this kind of contract, Chloe is there. Her father is there. you have lawyers. A team. Everything they need to look into a contract and decide if it’s profitable. So why me?"

She paused, not for an answer, but from pure frustration.

"Oh you want me because it’s convenient. Because suddenly, I’m useful again."

On the other end, Maria stayed silent for a moment, but Valentina could practically feel her trying to stay composed—trying not to explode.

However then came Maria’s voice, forced calm wrapped around restrained fury.

"We know, Valentina," she said softly. "We know we’ve wronged you. All of us. I... I can’t change what’s already happened."

At that moment she took a breath.

"But please, forget about the past just for this once. We need your help, and we know you’re the only one who can look through this and truly understand it. You’re the best person for this."

Again Valentina’s jaw tightened. She was seconds away from hanging up.

"I’m not coming," she muttered coldly, moving her finger toward the screen.

"This discussion is—"

Then, she froze as a small voice echoed faintly through the line. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"Mommy... is that Auntie Valentina?"

Immediately her hand stopped. Her breath caught.

She didn’t say a word.

Valentina’s finger hovered just above the screen, her chest rising and falling with frustration—until she heard it.

"Auntie Valentina?"

Her body stilled, that voice.

She blinked once, slowly, as if her mind was trying to convince her she had imagined it. But it was real. And unmistakable.

Luca.

Valentina’s throat tightened. Her hand dropped slowly from her phone. She didn’t even realize how hard her heart calm unit now.

Maria, on the other end, noticed the shift immediately. A quiet, knowing smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Yes, Luca," she said gently, her voice deliberately loud enough for Valentina to hear. "It’s Auntie Valentina."

Maria didn’t waste the moment.

She turned to the boy who had just walked in—his wide eyes lit up with joy at the name he had just heard. "Do you want to say hi to her?"

Luca nodded so fast it was as if he’d been waiting all his life for this chance.

immediately Maria handed the phone over without hesitation.

He took it carefully, almost nervously, and held it to his ear.

"Auntie Valentina?" he said again, softer this time, full of warmth. "I’ve missed you so much. Can I talk to you... please?"

At that moment Valentina’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out yet.

The phone didn’t feel like a device anymore. It felt like a bridge between a broken past and something fragile, something unexpectedly kind.

Her heart, which had been steeled moments ago, felt suddenly exposed.

Maria use his eyes to motivate Luca to continue speaking, watching him with that calculated smile she wore when things were going just the way she wanted.

Again Luca pressed the phone to his ear and spoke again, his voice soft, but clear enough that it struck Valentina deep in the chest.

"Auntie Valentina..."

Valentina didn’t answer right away. She was frozen, staring at the wall as if her emotions had just been cracked open.

Luca sniffled lightly. "You promised me."

Valentina’s lips parted slightly.

"You promised that no matter what happened, you would always call me. You said I could always talk to you..." His voice wavered slightly, like a child trying to act grown-up but crumbling under confusion. "But... after you got married... you didn’t call. Not even once."

She swallowed, hard.

"I waited, Auntie. Every day, I waited. I checked mommy’s phone to see if you texted. I even wrote your number on the back of my secret notebook so I wouldn’t forget."

His voice broke.

"Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you talk to me? Did I do something wrong?"

Valentina pressed the phone tighter to her ear, her eyes blinking rapidly.

This... this wasn’t a manipulation. This was Luca. Her Luca. The only one who never turned away from her when the world did.

He wasn’t yelling. He wasn’t accusing.

But his little voice carried all the weight of betrayal.

"Wasn’t that your promise, Auntie?" he asked again, quiet now, like he was afraid the answer might hurt more than the silence.