Chapter 3

Early the next morning, the storage room door finally opened. I instinctively turned toward the wall, afraid they'd come to drag me away again.

"Irene, it's me."

My grandfather crouched beside me and wrapped his coat around my shoulders. At the sound of his voice, I finally turned to look at him. He reached down to help me up, but the moment my fingers closed around his coat, I started shaking so badly my teeth chattered.

"Why are you so cold? Did they lock you in here all night?"

I nodded and tried to stand, but pain shot through my side. When Grandpa's hand brushed the swollen area, his face hardened. He spun around and brought his cane down hard on the guard's arm.

"You were told to watch the door. Not to lock her in here and leave her to die."

The guard backed away, not daring to retaliate. Grandpa called his driver over, and together they helped me out of the storage room. I kept my head down as I walked between them, clutching Leo's little jacket to my chest.

When I was little, I'd run to my grandfather's room whenever my father got drunk and Marco wasn't home. Once, Dad came after me, but Grandpa stepped between us before he could hit me and shut the door in his face. I cried myself to sleep that night, safe in Grandpa's room.

On my wedding day, Grandpa had placed my hand in Enzo's and promised that as long as he was around, no one in that family would dare lay a hand on me.

Grandpa pulled me against his shoulder and gently patted my back. Marco and Sofia had made promises too, and they'd both turned on me. Even so, I couldn't stop myself from leaning into him. Wrapped in his coat, cold and shaking, I just wanted him to hold me tighter and never let go.

"Grandpa, don't ask. Just get me out of here first."

"Let's go. We'll get you to the hospital first."

Enzo came out to meet us at the car. He'd barely gotten a word out when my grandfather raised his cane and pointed it at my neck.

"This is what you call rest? Bring me her papers. I'm taking her home today."

Viola looked at Marco, who was standing behind them. My brother had just arrived too. He reached out to help me, but my grandfather shoved him away.

"You were here yesterday, and you still made me come all this way?"

Marco didn't argue. I clung to my grandfather's coat and struggled into the car. The warm air from the vents washed over me, and feeling slowly returned to my fingertips.

"Don't go into the study." I grabbed his arm. "Promise me. No matter what they say, don't go in there."

My grandfather sat down beside me and looked me in the eye. "I won't. I won't leave you here alone."

The moment he finished, Enzo held a tablet up to the car window.

"There's no need to go to the study. Take a look, and you'll understand why I can't let her go."

I reached for it, but Enzo pulled the screen away. I tried to get out of the car and grab it, but Viola was already blocking the door. She shoved me back into my seat.

"Grandpa, don't look."

My grandfather didn't answer. He took the tablet and tilted it. The screen lit his face. I watched his grip tighten around the cane until his knuckles turned white.

There was no sound coming from the tablet. I couldn't see the screen. All I could do was stare at my grandfather's face and wait for him to look up and tell the driver to go. But the longer he watched, the quieter he got. Even when I tugged on his sleeve, he didn't respond.

Marco spoke first. "Yesterday I thought taking her away would fix everything too."

Enzo leaned down and whispered a few words into my grandfather's ear. My grandfather set the tablet on his lap and turned to me. "Did you go to the old house that night?"

"Yes. Enzo was the one who told me to go there. He said Leo was already in the car. I went back later to look for him."

My grandfather closed his eyes. I reached for the tablet, but he blocked me with his cane and pushed me back into my seat.

"How long are you going to keep up this act?"

I grabbed the cane and barely dared to breathe. Just minutes earlier, he'd used it to drive off the guard and clear the way for me.

"You promised to take me to the hospital."

He glanced at my hand on his cane and didn't let go. He only said to the driver, "Turn off the engine."

The warm air stopped soon after. Marco opened my door and pulled me out. I clung to the seat and begged my grandfather to show me what they'd seen.

My grandfather pulled his coat off my shoulders. "Go apologize to the child. I'll take you there myself."

They dragged me to the burned-out old house.

Leo's photo still stood by the door, the one they'd used at the funeral. In it, he was holding a ball and grinning so wide you could see two little teeth. Whenever I came back, I'd stare at the charred beams and wonder if he'd called for me at the end.

My grandfather shoved me toward Leo's photo. I stumbled and caught myself against the wall before I could fall.

"I don't even know where Leo was at the end. What am I supposed to apologize for?"

Viola wrenched my arm away. The cane slammed into my ribs. A cry escaped me, and suddenly I couldn't breathe.

By the time the second blow landed, I was already curled up on the ground.

Marco reached out to help me up, and my grandfather snapped at him to stop coddling me. My brother's hand hovered for a moment before he slowly pulled it back.

I grabbed my grandfather's pant leg and tried to tell him to stop. But when I opened my mouth, all I could do was gasp. He stepped back, pulling the fabric out of my hand.

"Leave her here. She's not going anywhere until she's ready to admit what she did."

By afternoon, I was still sitting against the wall outside the old house. I could barely hold the cup of water someone had given me, and the rim clinked against my teeth. Viola was passing through the covered walkway when she reached into her worn leather bag for her keys. An old phone chimed inside.

She glanced at the screen and headed toward the guest rooms. Enzo followed her, lowering his voice. "Have you eaten anything today?"

I looked up. Enzo's voice was so soft, like he was afraid of startling someone in the guest room. Yet they'd kept me trapped out here for hours, and he hadn't once asked if I was okay.

My grandfather was still in the courtyard. I braced myself against the wall and tried twice before I managed to straighten up. I grabbed the little jacket that had slipped to my feet and called out to him. "Show me. If you all think I deserve this, I want to know why."