Chapter 33 Salvatore

Letta stood in the middle of the sitting room like she owned it, chin lifted, eyes blazing. I’d seen her angry before, but this… this was something else. Something unhinged. Roc stood beside me, arms crossed, jaw tight. He looked like he wanted to drag her out by her ear the way their father used to when she acted out as a kid.

“Letta,” I said, keeping my voice level, “you need to calm down.”

“Calm down?” she snapped. “You humiliated me in front of those… those people!”

“My wife’s family,” I corrected.

She flinched like I’d struck her.

Roc stepped forward. “Letta, what the hell is wrong with you? You can’t talk to people like that.”

She ignored him completely, eyes locked on me. “You brought them into our house.”

I stared at her. “Our house?”

“Yes!” she shouted. “You and me! You’ve taken me to galas for years. You let everyone think...”

“I let everyone think nothing,” I cut in. “You were a shield. A date to keep other families from trying to push their daughters at me. You knew that.”

Her lip trembled. “You always treated me with respect.”

“Because you’re Roc’s sister,” I said. “Because your father was loyal to mine. Because you were a kid who needed guidance.”

Her face twisted. “I’m not a kid.”

“No,” Roc muttered, “but you’re acting like one.”

She spun on him. “Shut up, Rocco! You don’t understand anything!”

He stepped closer, voice low. “I understand you’re embarrassing yourself. And me. And Dad.”

Letta’s eyes filled with tears, angry ones, not sad. “You replaced me,” she whispered to me. “With her. With Sara.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but footsteps pattered down the hall. Gabe. He burst into the room, smiling. “Dad! Can we have my birthday party here? With the pool? Please?”

Letta froze. Her eyes snapped to him. Then to me. Then back to him.

“Dad?” she repeated, voice sharp and poisonous.

Gabe blinked, confused. “Yeah. He’s my dad.”

Something in Letta snapped. “She has her bastard calling you dad?,” she hissed. The word hit the air like a gunshot. Gabe’s face fell.

Before I could move, before Roc could grab her, before Letta could spit another word, Sara stormed into the room. And slapped Letta across the face. The sound cracked through the house. Letta staggered back, hand flying to her cheek, eyes wide with shock.

“You don’t ever,” Sara said, voice shaking with fury, “speak about my son like that.”

Roc stepped between them instantly, holding his sister back even though she wasn’t fighting, she was too stunned.

I moved to Gabe, pulling him close, shielding him with my body. He buried his face in my shirt, trembling.

Letta stared at Sara like she’d never seen her before. Like she couldn’t believe someone she considered beneath her had dared to touch her.

Roc’s voice was low and deadly. “You need to leave. Now.”

Letta didn’t argue. She just backed away, eyes darting between me, Sara, and Gabe… and something ugly simmering beneath her shock. She turned and fled the room. Roc cursed under his breath and followed her out.

Gabe was still trembling against me when Letta fled the room. Sara stayed close, one hand on his back, the other curled into a fist like she was ready to swing again if necessary.

Gabe sniffed, wiping his face on my shirt. “I didn’t do anything wrong…”

“You didn’t,” I said immediately. “Not one thing.”

Sara’s jaw tightened. She looked furious and shaken all at once. When Gabe finally pulled away and went to get a drink of water, she turned to me. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

I blinked. “For what?”

“For slapping her.” She exhaled hard, shoulders tense. “I know she’s Roc’s sister. I know she’s connected to your family. I know I probably made things complicated but...” Her voice cracked. “No one disrespects my son. No one.”

I stepped closer, lifting her chin gently so she’d look at me. “Sara,” I said, voice low and steady, “you have nothing to apologize for.”

She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have...”

“Yes,” I cut in softly. “You should have. You protected our son. You did exactly what a mother should do. And exactly what a Ricci wife does.” Her breath caught at the word wife. I continued, “Letta crossed a line. A line she knew better than to cross. And she will face the consequences for it. Not you.”

Sara swallowed, eyes softening. “I just… I don’t want to cause problems between you and Roc.”

“You didn’t,” I said. “Letta did. Roc knows that.” She nodded slowly, tension easing from her shoulders. I brushed my thumb across her cheek. “You defended Gabe. I’m proud of you.”

Her eyes widened slightly, as though she hadn’t anticipated it. Seizing the moment, I kissed her and drew both her and Gabe into my embrace.