Vanessa Sadler Matteo Giovanni NovelLeaving After Learning My Lesson

My birthday present this year is a written contract titled 'Behavioral Reform Contract'.

My fiance, who was the mafia head Matteo Giovanni, and my parents have already signed their names at the bottom. Together, they had me sent to the Behavioral Correction Center.



The windows are always shut, and the sunlight is filtered through the metal window bars.

They drug, reprimand, and ostracize me to make me shove my feelings of aggrievement down. Even while I am being humiliated and punished, they teach me to force a smile and maintain a steady breath.

It was all done in the name of "treating" me.

A year passes, and I go from being a so-called "troublemaker" to their ideal version of mequiet, elegant, and utterly perfect.

Matteo beams at me and says, "You've finally become my perfect wife. We can finally marry."

I match his smile, a gesture that they think means obedience from my part.

However, it is not true. It is just me bidding my farewell before I leave for good.

There's something I don't understand, however. They constantly found me lacking, so now that I am gone from their lives, why are they falling apart?
Chapter 1
The day of my discharge happened to be on my adopted sister Vivianne Sadler's birthday.
My parents, Andrew Sadler and Rosalie Bloom, told me it was Vivianne who'd voluntarily spoken about me, saying she was willing to "give me a chance to start anew". That was why my parents had agreed to discharge me from the "institution" I was in.
The said "institution" was actually called the Behavioral Correction Center.
It was a secluded organization owned by the Giovannis, a mafia family. On the surface, it claimed to be a wellness center that provided mental reformation for the children of the wealthy. However, everyone knew its actual purpose was to deal with those who defied the Giovannis.
I had already packed my luggage earlier in the morning, so I had been waiting by the door all this time.
However, not a single person from my family showed up all day long.
Only when night fell did my phone finally ring.
"Are you throwing a tantrum again, Vanessa Sadler?" My brother, Hugh Sadler, asked over the phone in a cold and firm tone. "It's been a year since you went to that facility. Haven't you learned to be considerate of others yet? It's Viv's birthday today. Why must you make everyone worry about you?"
My lips curled slightly, but there was not a single shred of warmth.
I'd spent a whole year in that facility, shut in a pure white room devoid of windows, the lights perpetually on. I had to write "I will be obedient" repeatedly each day. They even drugged me to keep me quiet and obedient so that I would not resist.
They called it "reprogramming".
Sometimes, I would be locked in what was called The Silent Room. It was a room that was devoid of all sound and noise. It was so silent that I could even hear my own breath, but I was never permitted to cry.
Now that a year had passed, I had finally learned to behave the way they wanted me to behavesmile, be quiet, act with poise, and not argue.
That was their so-called "treatment" for me.
Hugh continued snapping at me over the phone call. "Mom and Dad said you have to thank Viv for what she did for you. You wouldn't be free today if she hadn't pleaded on your behalf," he said.
I was silent for a long while. Then, I replied in a neutral tone, "I'm still at the facility. No one's come to pick me up yet."
Hugh went silent on the other end of the call. A moment later, he scoffed and suggested, "Find your own way home then. Or can you not bear to leave that place?"
I didn't respond.
Not bear to leave, he said?
The facility was like a prison that would never release its prisoners.
Someone else got onto the call. It was Andrew, whose voice rang out, low but powerful. "We mean well, Vanessa. You needed to reflect on yourself after what you did to Viv before," he claimed.
"I understand, Mr. Sadler," I responded softly.
Andrew went silent for a moment on the other end of the call before he hung up.
My knuckles whitened as I gripped my phone tightly.
Night had befallen the city at this point.
I was going to return to that house and retrieve my personal documents before leaving for good.
This entire year of "treatment" had only taught me one thinghow to gracefully walk away and never look back.
Chapter 2
I spent the entire night walking from the Behavioral Correction Center to Sadler Manor. It was dawn by the time I arrived.
I hadn't received a single message or call on my phone throughout the entire night.
I stood outside the door, hearing the sounds of music and glasses clinking ring out from behind the glass. I could also hear Vivianne's laughter.

The moment one of the staff opened the door, the light from inside shone onto my washed-out clothes.
Hugh's brows furrowed together when he turned and saw me. "Why are you dressed like that? Are you trying to seek our attention again?"
I looked down.
This was the only set of clothes I had. It was the facility's uniform, and its colors had long faded from repeated washing.
Hugh observed me closely. "Look at you, all frail and meek. Did you purposely make yourself look like this so we would feel sorry for you?"
"I am fine," I replied quietly.
Those were the first three words I learned at the facility. After all, having any sort of emotion in that place was considered a mistake.
My mother, Rosalie, was taken aback by how obedient I was. "We'd planned to pick you up at first, Nessie. Viv had a sudden headache, so"
Andrew cut her off. "Yeah. We couldn't make it in time due to some emergency matters."
"It's alright," came my quiet response.
They all sighed in relief upon hearing that. They were used to people being submissive to them, something that I seemed to be doing right now.
With a scoff, Hugh commented, "It looks like you finally learned your manners in that place."
Rosalie looked glad. "Since you've changed your bad habits, we'll still be your family. We can start over as long as you continue being a good girl."
I smiled lightly. "Thank you, Mrs. Sadler."
The smile on her face froze when she heard me call her that. She seemed stunned, as if this was the first time hearing someone address her this way.
Vivianne walked over at that moment. A familiar pink diamond necklace was draped around her neck.