I didn't bother looking at the stiff expressions frozen on their faces. I stepped over the mess on the marble floor and walked into the study alone. The door shut behind me with a heavy click, and the silence of the room settled in — the kind of silence that only existed deep inside the Montecarlo Estate, where even the walls knew how to keep secrets.
Early the next morning, Dante had prepared a full breakfast spread. The kitchen smelled of espresso and fresh bread, and the morning light fell across the long dining table where my father had once held court with his Capos over Sunday meals.
When he saw me come out, he shot his daughter a look.
Carina immediately latched onto the hem of my shirt, eyes brimming with pitiful tears. "Mommy, I'm sorry. Yesterday was all Carina's fault. Please don't be mad. Please don't ignore me, okay?"
Before all this, seeing her like that, she wouldn't have even needed to open her mouth. I would've already caved, melted completely, ready to lay the whole world at her feet.
But now, staring at this face that overlapped with Serafina Conti's, all I could think about was the child I had never once laid eyes on.
Was she cold? Was she hungry?