LOGINLucaThe car was waiting at the front steps when I emerged from the house.The morning was grey and cold, a damp wind sweeping in off the coast. It matched the hollow churn in my gut.I paused for a second on the top step, gripping the railing tighter than I meant to.The driver, Marco opened the back door without a word. He didn’t look at me.I couldn’t blame him.No one liked to look too long when a man was about to go hunt down his own mother.I forced myself to move, every step a reminder that I was still weaker than I’d ever admit. The cane hit the flagstones with a dull, deliberate rhythm, like a metronome marking the seconds before everything collapsed.Once I was in the car, Marco shut the door and took his place behind the wheel.Enzo climbed into the front passenger seat. He twisted around to look at me, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses.“They were seen again,” he said without preamble.My jaw tensed.“Where?”“West, toward the coast. A rental car registered to a shell co
LucaI’d never known a moment so quiet.Not the hush before a gun went off.Not the silence after a man took his last breath.Not even the bone-deep stillness of lying awake at night, wondering if I’d made the right choices.None of that compared to the silence of sitting in this hospital room, watching my son sleep against Lila’s chest.He was finally here.A part of me one I hadn’t even known existed felt anchored by that truth.But under the relief and the wonder, there was something darker, too.A coil of dread that tightened around my ribs every time I looked at him.Because I knew exactly what kind of man my father was.And I’d spent my entire life trying to prove I was nothing like him.But now, holding my son’s entire future in my hands, I couldn’t help wondering what if the rot was already in me?What if I became him?What if, one day, this little boy looked at me the way I used to look at Richard Romano with fear instead of love?The thought made something in my chest seize
LilaThe first thing I realized when they wheeled me out of the hospital was that nothing felt normal anymore.Not the hum of the automatic doors sliding open.Not the warm breeze on my face.Not the way Luca walked beside the wheelchair, one hand resting protectively on my shoulder, as if he thought I might vanish if he let go.Everything felt raw and unfamiliar, like the world itself had shifted while we were inside those hospital walls.And maybe it had.Because nothing could ever be the same again.Gabriel was bundled in my arms, warm and impossibly small. He made a soft, hiccupping sigh, and I pressed my lips to the top of his head, breathing in that sweet, milky scent.I still couldn’t believe he was real.Luca had arranged for a black SUV to meet us at the curb. One of his men opened the back door, and Luca turned to help me in, his jaw tight with concentration.“You okay?” he asked gruffly.I nodded, though my whole body ached in ways I didn’t even have names for. My arms felt
LilaI didn’t think I could cry anymore.My tears had run dry hours ago, or so I thought.But the second they placed him in my arms warm, tiny, impossibly perfect I started all over again.He was so much smaller than I expected.His little hands were curled into tight fists, one pressed to his rosy cheek. Dark hair stuck to his damp forehead. His skin was soft as velvet against my chest.And when he turned his face just enough to make a small, hiccupping noise, something in me broke open completely.I forgot the pain.I forgot the fear.I forgot the way my heart had nearly torn itself apart when I realized I’d be delivering him without Luca at my side.Because he was here now.And so was Luca.I looked up from the baby our, baby to find Luca watching me from the chair beside the bed.He hadn’t said much since they’d cleaned our son and tucked him against my chest.He’d just sat there, one hand braced on his cane, the other clenched so tightly on the armrest his knuckles were white.Hi
LilaThe first thing I realized when they wheeled me out of the hospital was that nothing felt normal anymore.Not the hum of the automatic doors sliding open.Not the warm breeze on my face.Not the way Luca walked beside the wheelchair, one hand resting protectively on my shoulder, as if he thought I might vanish if he let go.Everything felt raw and unfamiliar, like the world itself had shifted while we were inside those hospital walls.And maybe it had.Because nothing could ever be the same again.Gabriel was bundled in my arms, warm and impossibly small. He made a soft, hiccupping sigh, and I pressed my lips to the top of his head, breathing in that sweet, milky scent.I still couldn’t believe he was real.Luca had arranged for a black SUV to meet us at the curb. One of his men opened the back door, and Luca turned to help me in, his jaw tight with concentration.“You okay?” he asked gruffly.I nodded, though my whole body ached in ways I didn’t even have names for. My arms felt
LilaI didn’t think I could cry anymore.My tears had run dry hours ago, or so I thought.But the second they placed him in my arms warm, tiny, impossibly perfect I started all over again.He was so much smaller than I expected.His little hands were curled into tight fists, one pressed to his rosy cheek. Dark hair stuck to his damp forehead. His skin was soft as velvet against my chest.And when he turned his face just enough to make a small, hiccupping noise, something in me broke open completely.I forgot the pain.I forgot the fear.I forgot the way my heart had nearly torn itself apart when I realized I’d be delivering him without Luca at my side.Because he was here now.And so was Luca.I looked up from the baby our, baby to find Luca watching me from the chair beside the bed.He hadn’t said much since they’d cleaned our son and tucked him against my chest.He’d just sat there, one hand braced on his cane, the other clenched so tightly on the armrest his knuckles were white.Hi
The DistractionLucaThe moment I turned away from her, I knew I had made a mistake. Not the kiss.But the fact that I’d let it mean something.I walked down the dark hallway, each step echoing off the marble floors like an accusation. My hand lifted to my mouth, fingers brushing the lingering heat
The KissLilaI didn’t speak to him when we stepped out of the elevator into the penthouse.I didn’t look at him, either.If I looked at Luca, I knew I’d start to feel things I wasn’t ready to feel, things I didn’t have the luxury of feeling.I kept my eyes fixed on the polished marble floor as I wa
The MemoryLucaI’ve spent most of my life mastering the art of detachment, in my line of work you need it to survive and get ahead of the game. It’s easier that way. Cleaner. When you grow up in my world, blood on your father’s hands, power traded like currency you learn to build walls so thick no
The VisitLilaIt had been at least twelve hours since the gala. I had not seen or spoken to Luca at all until this morning when he abruptly told me we were taking a trip to the hospital to see my mom. The car ride to the hospital was silent as expected. Not the thick, simmering silence of our nig







