Chapter 3

When Alessio saw how pale I was, he started toward me, wanting to pull me into his arms. He'd barely taken two steps when his phone rang.

He hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Elio just threw up! He keeps crying for his papa. Could you come over?"

Mia's voice came through the phone, soft and pleading in just the right way.

Alessio looked at me, clearly torn.

"Lilia, I…"

I looked at him, swallowing the ache in my chest.

"That's the second one," I said evenly.

His fingers went still, and for a moment, he looked as though he didn't know what to say. But in the end, he still picked up his car keys.

The living room fell silent again.

I sat at the dining table for a long time, unmoving. Luca eventually came out of his room, clutching his old pillow, his eyes red.

"I'm sorry, Mama…" he said softly. "It's because I'm not good enough. That's why Papa gave my spot at school to Elio."

"That's not true," I said, pulling him onto my lap. "You're the best, Luca. You'll go to an even better school than Curtis. I promise."

I forced myself to keep my voice light.

"When school starts, you'll have new friends and a new backpack, too. And I'll pick you up and drop you off every day, okay?"

Perhaps sensing that something was wrong, he buried his face in my neck, his tears soaking through my collar.

"Okay."

That night, after Luca had fallen asleep, I picked up my phone. I scrolled through my contacts for a long time before stopping at a name I hadn't called in years.

The argument from ten years ago still echoed in my mind.

"If you choose him, don't ever call yourself a Moretti again," Papa had shouted.

My mother had stood there with red-rimmed eyes, saying nothing. I had slammed the door behind me without looking back.

For all these years, my family had never reached out to me, and I had never asked them for anything either.

But now, for Luca, I stared at that number, my finger hovering over the call button for a long time.

In the end, I couldn't bring myself to press it.

For now, I'd let Luca stay at Hollybrook Elementary while I continued applying to other schools.

…

Over the next few days, Mia's Instagram became almost the only way I knew what Alessio was up to.

She posted a photo of a custom-made Curtis school uniform, and the comments were filled with envy.

"How did you get him in?" someone asked. "I heard someone made a huge donation to Curtis this year. Was that your husband?"

"There's nothing I can do," Mia replied almost immediately. "He loves Elio too much. He said Elio deserves the very best, and I couldn't talk him out of it. I just had to let him."

She even added a shy little emoji at the end.

It wasn't until Luca started school that Alessio finally seemed to realize how much he had let us down. To make up for it, he suggested that the three of us spend the weekend at Wonderland Park.

Luca's eyes lit up.

I knew how badly he wanted to go, so I agreed.

When we arrived at the entrance, Alessio handed Luca a present.

"Go ahead. Open it."

Luca was just about to unwrap it when Alessio's phone rang again. Mia's voice came through, carefully pitched to sound as vulnerable as possible.

"Elio's being bullied by the other kids," she cried. "His teacher said both parents need to come in, but I'm all alone…"

Alessio hesitated and looked between Luca and me.

The light in Luca's eyes faded, but he still waved at Alessio.

"It's okay. Go be with Elio. I have Mama."

Alessio stood there for a few seconds, then he left.

After he was gone, Luca quietly opened his present. Inside was an old red toy car with scratches on the doors, and Elio's name was still stuck to the bottom.

At that moment, the large screens outside the park lit up with photos of visitors. Right in the center was a picture of Alessio and Mia holding Elio's hands, smiling like a family.

Luca started sobbing so hard that his whole body shook.

I picked him up, and he buried his face in my shoulder, crying so hard he could barely catch his breath.

"Mama…" he choked out. "I don't want Papa anymore."

Realization dawned on me.

Getting a child used to life without his father wasn't that difficult after all. All it took was for Alessio to be cruel enough.