After I Died, Everyone Regretted It

In the seventh year after I cut myself loose from the De Luca family, I checked into Santa Maria Hospice under the name Nora Vale.

My pancreatic cancer had already spread. The doctors said I had three months at most.

When my parents, Marco and Isabella De Luca, found me, I had just finished signing my do-not-resuscitate order and my will. The last document renounced the De Luca name and barred my burial in the family cemetery.

"Sofia, come back to the estate with us." Marco stood beside the hospital bed. "You will confess to the Council of the Five Families."

I closed the folder. "You have the wrong person. My name is Nora Vale."

Isabella stared at my hollowed-out face, and her lips moved.

"Are you really this sick?"

She reached out to touch me, saw the IV port on the back of my hand, and stopped.

"That is not your concern."

"I am your mother."

"You stopped being that seven years ago, the day you handed me to the Bertini family yourself."

Marco tapped the floor with his cane. "That decision was made for the whole family. Come back with us now and apologize to Celeste. I will not pursue what happened seven years ago."

"I did nothing wrong, and I will not apologize to her."

Marco's face darkened.

A spasm tore through my stomach. I gripped the edge of the bed and waited it out. Isabella took a step forward without thinking, and Marco raised a hand to stop her.

"The doctors will handle it," he said.

I looked at them. "What has Celeste done this time?"

Neither of them answered.

"Go on. What am I supposed to take the blame for now?"

Marco finally spoke. "Last night, Anthony Bertini, heir to the Bertini family, was shot dead at the docks. Whoever did it left behind the De Luca seal, your old cipher, and a gun registered in your name. The Council has given us seventy-two hours to turn over the killer."

"Celeste says you planned the murder while you were in hiding," Isabella added.

I pulled back the blanket, revealing legs wasted to skin and bone.

"I need help to reach the bathroom. You think I could plan a murder at the docks?"

Isabella looked away. "The evidence all points to you. Celeste would not lie about something like this."

"Then why does she still have my old cipher? Why was that gun never taken off the register after I disappeared?"

She had no answer.

Marco had no intention of verifying any of it.

"The Bertini family wants an answer," he said. "Sign a confession before the Council and this ends."

"You did not look for me for seven years. You found me now because she needs me to die for her again?"

Isabella's eyes reddened. "Celeste's parents died to save us. We promised to protect her."

"That is a debt you took on. It is not mine."

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

Marco glanced at the chart at the foot of the bed. "The doctors say you have three months. Give up those three months to save Celeste's life and prevent a war between our families. It is the only reasonable choice."

Isabella's head snapped toward him, and for the first time something in her face wavered.

"Marco, she is still our daughter..."

"Because she is a De Luca, she has a duty to this family."

Isabella's fingers tightened around her purse, and in the end she said nothing.

I used to believe that if they ever saw me this sick, they would at least ask whether it hurt.

It turned out that even my life weighed less than family duty.

"I refuse."

Marco looked down at me. "You are in no position to refuse. Within seventy-two hours I will take you to the Council."

He turned and left. Isabella reached the door and looked back at me.

She seemed about to say something, then simply followed Marco out.