Madeleine 𓎢𓎠𑄻𑄾𓎠𓎡 By the time I made it back to the estate, the sun was starting to dip low, too beautiful for how ugly I felt inside. My legs ached from walking. My chest was still tight with the weight of what I’d just seen, what I’d just learned. I found Alessia in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, hair twisted up, calmly chopping herbs on a wooden board like nothing was wrong in the world. The scent of fresh basil and garlic hung in the air, but it didn’t reach me. I stood there, frozen. My brain wouldn’t shut up. Did she know? Did Alessia know what Adriano really was? Did she know his other self, not the charming, funny face he wore around the family, not the polished businessman everyone respected but the version buried underneath it all? The one that was darker, colder… violent? Did she know he was violent? Did she know what he’d done? That he hunted down my ex, the one who cheated on me, who put his hands on me when I tried to break up with him and beat him. He
Madeleine 𓎢𓎠𑄻𑄾𓎠𓎡I sat in the backseat, curled up small, like I was trying to disappear into myself.The bottle of pills was digging into my palm. I hadn’t let go of it since the pharmacy. The label still said my name, and nothing made sense.My chin started to tremble. I pressed it down with my teeth, clenched so tight it ached. I didn’t want to cry. I just wanted to understand.Why would he lie?Why lie about something so... small? So personal?About the restaurant. About the company card. Whatever was on his tablet, the one he locked so fast I barely saw the screen.And that file about controlled substances and hospitals?And now this?My birth control?Why would anyone fake something like that?Who replaces your medication and doesn’t say a word? Who looks you in the eye, and lies to your face?And why?What would he even get out of it?Was it just about control?You don’t accidentally lie like that.You don’t accidentally lie like that.That kind of lie... it's something
Madeleine 𓎢𓎠𑄻𑄾𓎠𓎡“I just need to swing by the restaurant,” he said, eyes glued to the tablet, “Pick up a few files, then I’ll drop you off at your interview. You want me to stay?”His tone was distracted, like he was only half in the car with me, the other half buried in whatever the hell was on that screen.I smiled like everything was fine, like my heart wasn’t already tilting sideways, “No, it’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’ll hang out with Tom in the kitchen while you grab your stuff.”He gave a vague nod and I just scooted closer like a girl who didn’t know better. I looped my arms around his, laid my head on his shoulder, soft and warm and sweet like I always was, and peeked at the tablet in his hands, pretending it was no big deal.He locked the screen so fast, you’d think it was porn.Then he set it down without a word.Something behind my ribs twisted a little, it was not anger, not even hurt, just that weird quiet ache of knowing someone you love is closing doors behind your
Adriano ⫘☠︎︎⫘“You need to tell her the truth, Adriano,” Alessia said quietly, “This can’t go on forever, she’s not stupid. She’s already starting to feel it.”Her voice barely made it through the weight in my chest. I didn’t answer, just exhaled slow through my nose, like that would calm the fury boiling under my skin.Vincenzo let out a dry laugh from the leather armchair, legs spread wide, gun on the table, “Told you from the beginning to marry the girl, lock it down. Now she’s yours. What’s she gonna do? Run? You think we wouldn’t find her? You think she’d make it past the driveway?”Alessia crossed her arms, glaring at Vincenzo, “And what happens when she does? When she puts it all together, what this family really is? What you’ve dragged her into?”Vincenzo cracked his neck and smiled like a wolf. “Then it’s too late. She’s already wearing the ring.”I knew Maddie. I knew her heart, her soft fear, her blind trust. And I’d wrapped myself in all of it, I let her fall so deep she
Madeleine 𓎢𓎠𑄻𑄾𓎠𓎡I stood there, not moving, my heart pounding in my ears as if my body knew something my brain hadn’t caught up to yet. Claire was jumping like she’d just won the lottery, tears in her eyes, screaming and laughing, holding onto Vincenzo’s arm like it was the best day of her life.Alessia was crying too like a woman who’d just had the weight of a decade pulled off her chest. She was laughing and shaking, her whole body trembling. And then there was Adriano with that smug grin he wore when something went exactly the way he planned it.My eyes flicked to the TV, drawn to it...“ALL CHARGES DROPPED: Costello Syndicate Cleared in Federal Case Tied to Arms Trafficking, Money Laundering, and Racketeering. DOJ Faces Scrutiny Over Botched Trial.”My stomach clenched.Wait, what?Why the hell was Allegra, Alessia’s daughter, even involved in this? Why had no one said anything? Why did they act like she was just off somewhere being a new mom?The anchor was saying words th
Adriano ⫘☠︎︎⫘Neutral ground was a back alley between two warehouses in Chinatown. We picked it on purpose, filthy enough to remind Remo who he was dealing with, quiet enough for no one to hear if things went sideways.Rain slicked the asphalt, turning puddles into oil-slick mirrors. The whole block stank of garbage and gutter rot. I liked it. Set the tone.Luca stood to my left, a mountain in black with his hands in his coat pockets. Dante leaned against a wall, flipping through the contract in his file like he was prepping a Supreme Court case.Then Remo showed up.Two goons at his back, same usual dog-breath energy. He wore a black coat over a suit, but the desperation showed.“Gentlemen,” he said, forcing civility. “Let’s get this over with.”I smiled and lit a cigarette. I didn’t offer him one.“You got the paperwork?” I asked Dante.Dante smacked the file into Remo’s chest like he was handing over a death sentence.“Read it. Every word and read it slowly,” Dante said, “We’re no