Chapter 10: The Confession

~ At the Cathedral ~

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned."

The familiar words taste like ash in my mouth as I kneel in the confessional booth. The wood is worn smooth from decades of secrets, and the musty scent of old prayer books mingles with Father Enzo's cologne…something subtle that reminds me of my childhood, when everything made sense.

"How long has it been since your last confession, my child?"

His voice is gentle, patient. The same voice that comforted me after Papa's funeral, and was there when my marriage was blessed to a man who sees me as nothing more than a debt to be collected.

"Three weeks." My fingers twist the rosary beads until they bite into my palm. "Since the wedding."

A pause. The kind that says he knows exactly who I am, what I've become. Mrs. Luca Valenti. The Romano girl who sold her soul to save her family's name.

"What troubles your heart, Elena?"

Everything. The word lodges in my throat like a stone. Where do I even start? The way Luca watches me like I'm a puzzle he wants to break apart? The guards who follow my every move? The fact that I've been mapping escape routes like some kind of prisoner?

"I'm planning to leave him."

The confession spills out before I can stop it. My heart hammers against my ribs, and I press my forehead to the screen that separates us. Cool metal against burning skin.

"Leave your husband?"

"He's not really my husband." The words come faster now, desperate. "He married me for revenge, Father. He hates everything about me, my name, my blood, what my family did to his, even I don’t know except the debt he owned. I'm nothing but a walking reminder of his pain."

"And yet you wear his ring."

I glance down at the platinum band that feels like a shackle. "I had no choice."

"There is always a choice, child. Even when the options seem impossible."

A bitter laugh escapes me. "You don't understand. I can't even leave the estate without permission. There are cameras, guards... I'm suffocating in that marble prison."

"Then why do you truly wish to leave? Is it the confinement that troubles you most?"

The question hits deeper than I expect. Why do I want to run? The obvious reasons…the isolation, the control, the way Luca treats me like an inconvenience he has to endure. But there's something else, something that makes my stomach clench with shame.

"Because I'm starting to..." I can't finish the sentence. Can't admit that sometimes, in the rare moments when his guard drops, I see glimpses of the man beneath the monster. That when he touches me, even in anger….my body betrays every rational thought in my head.

"You're beginning to care for him."

"No." The denial comes too quick, too sharp. "I hate him."

"Hatred and love often share the same root, Elena. Both require us to feel deeply."

I want to argue, but the words die in my throat. Because he's right, and that terrifies me more than any threat Luca's ever made.

"My brother Alessandro is working on something," I whisper instead. "A way to get me out. But Father, I think there are things about Papa's death that I don't know. Things that might change everything."

"The truth has a way of surfacing, no matter how deep we bury it."

There's something in his tone, careful, weighted. Like he's choosing each word with surgical precision.

"You know something." It's not a question. "About Papa. About what really happened."

Silence stretches between us, heavy as the incense that burns at the altar. I can hear him breathing, the soft rustle of his robes as he shifts.

"The seal of confession binds me, child. But I will say this…the night your father died, many secrets were buried with him. Some of them were not his to carry."

My pulse spikes. "What does that mean?"

"It means that sometimes the sins of one generation poison the next. And sometimes, the guilty hide behind the innocent."

The air in the confessional suddenly feels too thick, too warm. My hands are shaking as I grip the kneeler.

"Are you saying Papa was innocent? That he didn't do what they said he did?"

"I am saying that the truth is rarely as simple as we are led to believe. And that young men….." He pauses, and I know he's thinking of Luca. "Young men consumed by grief and rage often strike at the wrong targets."

The pieces start clicking together in my mind, forming a picture I don't want to see. If Papa didn't betray the Valentis, if he wasn't responsible for whatever happened to Luca's family, then this whole marriage, this entire nightmare, is built on a lie.

"Father, I need to know the truth. All of it."

"Some truths are more dangerous than the lies they replace, Elena. Are you prepared for that burden?"

"I'm already carrying it. The weight of something I don't understand, something that's destroying both of us." My voice cracks. "Please. If there's even a chance that Papa was framed, that this hatred between our families is based on deception..."

"Then what would you do with such knowledge?"

The question stops me cold. What would I do? Run to Luca with proof that everything he believes is wrong? That he married me to punish the wrong family? That his precious revenge is just another manipulation?

He'd never believe me. And even if he did...

"I don't know," I admit. "But I can't keep living in a house built on lies. It's killing us both."

"The Romano and Valenti families have been locked in this dance of vengeance for longer than you know, child. Your father and Luca's father were friends once, before ambition and jealousy poisoned everything."

"Jealousy?"

"Power is a hungry beast, Elena. It devours everything in its path, friendship, family, love. And sometimes, those closest to us are the ones who feed it."

A chill runs down my spine. "You're talking about someone inside the families. Someone who benefited from the feud."

"I have said too much already." But his voice is heavy with regret, with the weight of secrets he can't share. "Pray for discernment, child. And be careful who you trust. Even those who share your blood may not share your interests."

The warning hits like a physical blow. Even those who share your blood.

"My brother…"

"Alessandro loves you. But love and wisdom do not always walk hand in hand."

My mouth goes dry. If I can't trust Alessandro, if even my own family might be playing games I don't understand, then I'm truly alone in this maze of deception.

"What should I do?"

"Watch. Listen. And remember that the truth, when it comes, may not bring the peace you seek. Sometimes it only brings more questions."

I want to press him for more, to beg him to break whatever vows keep him silent. But I can hear the finality in his voice, the door closing on this conversation.

"Thank you, Father."

"Elena." His voice stops me as I start to rise. "Your penance is not what you think it is. This marriage, this suffering, it may be the very thing that saves you both."

"How can you say that?"

"Because sometimes we must walk through fire to reach the other side. And sometimes, the person we think is our enemy is the only one who can help us find our way."

I leave the confessional with more questions than answers, but something has shifted inside me. The certainty I clung to that Luca was my captor and I was his victim has cracked open, revealing something more complex underneath.

The marble steps of the cathedral are cold under my feet as I walk toward the waiting car. Dominic is leaning against the hood, his eyes scanning the street with professional wariness. He straightens when he sees me.

"Everything alright, Mrs. Valenti?"

The name still sounds foreign, like a costume that doesn't quite fit. But for the first time, I don't flinch when he says it.

"Fine." I slide into the backseat, my mind racing with Father Enzo's cryptic warnings. Watch. Listen. Be careful who you trust.

As we pull away from the cathedral, I catch Dominic's eyes in the rearview mirror. He's been kind to me, in small ways that Luca doesn't see. Bringing me books, ensuring I have what I need. But kindness can be a mask, just like cruelty.

Trust no one.

The mansion looms ahead, its windows gleaming like watchful eyes in the afternoon sun. Somewhere inside, Luca is waiting, my husband, my captor, my enemy. But maybe, if Father Enzo is right, he's as trapped in this web of lies as I am.

The question is: what happens when two people built their entire relationship on a foundation of deception finally see the truth?

I have a feeling I'm about to find out.