Chapter 4

At one in the morning, I finished sealing up every confidential file and personal item I needed to take. I leaned against the headboard and rubbed my forehead.

The comm by my pillow buzzed.

The screen lit up. It was an encrypted text from Riccardo.

"Luca loves the Beretta. He fell asleep holding it. Elena asked me to thank you."

At one in the morning, my husband was thanking me on behalf of another woman's son.

I stared at the screen with a scornful little smile.

Even anger felt like too much effort.

None of it mattered anymore.

I tapped out a reply and hit send.

"Don't thank me. I'm not the one who gave it to her."

"And for the record, Dante wanted that gun more than anything for his fifth birthday. He hasn't fired a single shot with it. He's been saving the first one for when you have time to teach him."

After the messages went through, I pulled the battery out of the comm, rolled over, and went to sleep.

I didn't care how Riccardo reacted when he read them.

At eight the next morning, Riccardo came home for breakfast, for once.

The moment he stepped into the living room, he saw the suitcases in the corner.

He stopped short.

"You need this much gear to check on some businesses?"

He didn't even hand his coat to the staff. He stormed into the dining room and demanded an answer.

I was cutting up the steak on Dante's plate and didn't even look up.

"It's not very safe where we're going. We're bringing extra protection."

At that, he immediately looked at Dante.

Dante played along and nodded. Only then did the tension leave Riccardo's shoulders.

He tossed his coat on a chair and pulled three invitations out of his pocket.

"Haven't you always been upset that I never took Dante to the underground arena?

"I had someone get VIP passes for today. The three of us are going together."

He pushed the invitations toward us like he expected a medal, smiling indulgently.

I paused, knife and fork in hand.

He'd favored Luca for almost a month. Only now did he remember his promise?

Then I thought of those humiliating texts from last night.

And it all made sense.

It was nothing but cheap guilt.

I didn't bother answering and went back to my food.

Dante was so excited he dropped his fork and fixed his bright eyes on me.

"Mother, I want to go!"

I started to smile, but before I could answer, Riccardo cleared his throat.

He began to stammer.

"Elena found out we're holding the investiture today. She's worried Luca will be upset if he hears about it. So... the ceremony with the archbishop... let's put it on hold for now."

As he said it, he couldn't even look me in the eye.

Dante's smile froze. I watched the joy drain from his eyes.

"Oh. I see."

He lowered his head and looked away from the passes on the table. His eyes were red.

Riccardo didn't seem to notice. He kept trying to smooth things over.

"It's a small favor for Elena. I've thought it through, and it won't change anything important.

"We just won't hold it in public this time. There'll be other chances.

"Dante, you understand, right?"

He had no idea.

Early the next morning, Dante and I would board a helicopter and leave his territory for good.

This was the last chance he'd ever get to make things right.

Dante and I exchanged a look. Neither of us said what we were thinking. We simply nodded.

"Deal."

"No problem."

Riccardo let out a long breath.

Relief spread across his face.

"Then I'll let Elena know. I'll meet you two in our box at the arena at three this afternoon."

With that, he left without taking a single bite of breakfast.

He stopped just short of the front door and turned around.

"Silvia, Dante, thank you for understanding."

Dante and I looked at him without a word.

Once the door closed, Dante pushed his plate away and jumped down from his chair.

"Mother, I don't want to see Uncle anymore. Can we go right now?"