She Tore the Mafia Heiress’s Designer Coat Chapter 01
I went to the most exclusive luxury dealership in New York to pick up a new car. Before I stepped out of the private VIP lounge, I left my $68,000 cashmere trench coat on the sofa. My family had worked with this dealership for years. I didn’t book the appointment under the Moretti name. I was tired of people using that name as an excuse to call, flatter, and ask for favors.
So I used my late mother’s maiden name. In their system, I was just Erin Hall. A regular customer. The dealership had been doing business with Moretti Group for years. By the rules, no one else should have been allowed into that VIP lounge while I was gone. A sales consultant pulled me into the next room to sign the insurance papers.
Before I left, I made a point of checking the nameplate on the door. Only my reservation was there. Less than ten minutes later, I came back and found an influencer standing in front of my car. She had my trench coat on, a selfie stick in her hand, and the nerve to pose like she owned the whole showroom. Her name was Leah Blair.
She had built millions of followers by pretending online to be a trust-fund heiress. She got in because the dealership manager, Mark Hill, wanted to suck up to Lucas Moretti. So he handed her my VIP lounge in secret, just so she could film her fake “luxury car delivery day.” He thought I was some regular customer. A few fake apologies, maybe a gift card, and I’d go away. Leah struck one pose too hard, and the hem of my coat caught on the Bentley badge.
She frowned, grabbed the fabric, and ripped it straight in half. The sound snapped through the lounge. It carried through the half-open glass door, all the way into the showroom. I stood in the doorway, and my face went cold. The VIP lounge, the display car, the livestream camera, and my torn coat were all in one frame.
No misunderstanding. No missing context. I didn’t show my hand yet. Since she wanted an audience, I’d let the performance run until everyone saw what she really was. I walked over and held out my hand.
“Pay for it.”
Leah dragged her eyes over me and rolled them.
“Wow. Now anyone can walk into a place like this and pretend they have money.”
“You show up in some Canal Street knockoff and try to shake me down?”
I pulled out my phone and put the receipt in front of her. Sixty-eight thousand dollars. She barely looked before sending me five hundred and twenty dollars, like she was doing charity.
“There.”
“Take it and leave.”
“That rag isn’t even worth five hundred.”
“The extra twenty should cover a cardboard box for whatever bridge you sleep under.”
Mark Hill came rushing over. He didn’t even glance at the receipt. He pointed in my face and barked, “Do you have any idea who Miss Blair is?”
“She’s Mr. Lucas Moretti’s fiancée!”
“And you’re trying to shake down someone from the Moretti family?”
“You must be tired of living in New York.”
“Leave now, or I promise you’ll vanish from New York before midnight.”
Lucas Moretti?
My fingers went still. That illegitimate half brother who begged me every month to approve a little more family money? The one who needed my signature just to pay for his supercar maintenance? I looked at Mark’s bootlicking face. Then I laughed under my breath. Leah had already lifted her selfie stick again.
“Guys, look at this!”
“I came to pick up my car, and this woman tried to shake me down!”
She shoved the camera right into my face. Then she yanked off my coat like it was dirty.
“Look at this trash. She wants sixty-eight thousand for it!”
She grabbed one torn half and waved it in front of the camera.
“I was nice enough to give her five hundred and twenty, and she’s still not happy.”
“Tell me, are broke people always this crazy?”
Within minutes, the livestream shot past one hundred thousand viewers. The comments flew.
“She’s broke and crazy.”
“She tried to scam our Leah? Does she know who Leah has behind her?”
“One word from the Moretti family, and she is done in New York.”
Leah watched the comments roll by, and her smile only got bigger.
“Thanks for the gifts, guys.”
“Follow me, okay? Today I’m showing you what a broke clout chaser looks like in real life.”
She slammed the phone stand onto the hood of my Bentley. I stepped forward and swept the stand off the car.
“Get that off my car.”
The phone hit the marble floor face-first. A white crack sliced across the screen. Leah screamed and stumbled back two steps.
“You broke my phone!”
She turned and shouted at Mark.
“Manager Hill, is this how your dealership treats VIP customers?”
“My fiancé is Lucas Moretti!”
“If you don’t handle this today, I’ll have Lucas tear this dealership down!”
Mark noticed the sales contract in my hand. All I saw in his eyes was contempt.
“You came here three times just to scrape together a down payment. You’re financing the cheapest Bentley on the lot, and you still want to act like old money?”
He turned to Leah with a kiss-up smile.
“I’ve seen people like her before.”
“They want into rich circles so badly they’ll patch together a down payment and call it status.”
“She says that trench coat costs sixty-eight thousand?”
“Looks fake to me.”
I looked at him and held out my hand.
“Refund my deposit.”
Mark sneered. He pulled the sales contract from the folder and ripped it in half in front of everyone.
“Refund your deposit?”
“In your dreams.”
“You’re suspected of extorting the future Mrs. Moretti and disturbing our business.”
“Under the contract, we can cancel the deal ourselves.”
“Your deposit stays frozen as a penalty.”
“And that’s not all.”
“I’ll make sure every luxury dealer in New York blacklists you.”
Leah picked up her cracked phone and saw the livestream was still on. She aimed it straight back at me.
“Everyone, did you hear that?”
“This is what happens when you try to scam the wrong person.”
“If you have no money, don’t come to a place like this and pretend you belong.”
“How embarrassing.”
Just then, my phone started vibrating like crazy. Leah had shoved my sales receipt into the camera. My name and phone number were on it. Just like that, this stopped being a simple fight over compensation. It became a public dogpile. Unknown numbers flooded my screen.
“Old hag, get on your knees and apologize to Leah.”
“You dare mess with someone from the Moretti family? Do you have a death wish?”
“Watch yourself when you go out. Wouldn’t want a car to hit you.”
I ended the calls and shut my phone off. Leah leaned in, her smile full of malice.
“What? Too scared to pick up?”
“This is what happens when you offend me.”
She raised her voice.
“Security!”
“Get this woman out of here!”
Four security guards rushed into the VIP lounge with collapsible batons. The one in front pointed at the door.
“Ma’am, leave now.”
“Don’t make us use force.”
I pulled a spare phone from my bag and started recording. The camera caught the torn contract, the guards with batons, Mark’s fawning face, and Leah’s twisted expression.
“What are you recording?”
Leah reached out to grab it. I stepped back and dodged her hand.
“Keep talking.”
I looked at her.
“You said Lucas would shut this dealership down for you?”
Leah crossed her arms and laughed coldly.
“That’s right.”
“One word from Lucas, and street trash like you will vanish from New York.”
I smiled, but there was no warmth in it. I didn’t rush to leave. First, I sent my assistant my location and uploaded the video to our secure drive. Then I turned for the main showroom. I was going to call the police and end this farce there. But Mark moved faster than I did.
He locked the VIP lounge door from the inside.
Click.
That tiny click sealed us in. From that moment on, every threat stayed trapped in the same live frame. Leah planted her heel on my dusty coat and looked down at me.
“You want to leave? Too late!”
“The viewers have already doxxed your daughter’s school.”
“If you don’t wipe the soles of my shoes clean today, I’ll have people wait outside her school entrance every day starting tomorrow.”
My gaze went ice cold. Leah acted like she didn’t see it. She dialed a number.
“Baby, come here right now.”
“Some crazy woman is bullying me.”
From the other end of the call came the roar of a supercar engine. A rough male voice followed.
“Who has a death wish?”
“Who put hands on my girl?”
Leah’s eyes reddened at once. Her voice instantly went soft and shaky.
“She not only tried to extort sixty-eight thousand dollars from me, she also broke my phone.”
“She even insulted you. She said the Moretti family was nothing.”
“Lucas, I’m so scared.”
“Five minutes.”
“I’m bringing people.”
The call ended.
