“Happy birthday, my love,” I whispered.
When I got home, night had already swallowed the mansion whole. The glass walls reflected nothing but darkness, like veins running through a dead body. Even the lights felt dimmer, like they were afraid to shine too brightly.
I stepped inside.
And Vincenzo was already there.
He emerged from the shadows before I could even fully register his presence.
Then his hand struck me.
Hard.
So fast I didn’t even see it coming.
The impact echoed through the foyer like a gunshot. My head snapped to the side and slammed into the doorframe. White flashed across my vision. A sharp ringing filled my ears as my body staggered under the force.
But I didn’t let go of the urn.
My child. The last thing I still had of him. My arms locked around it like my body understood I had nothing else left to hold onto.
Vincenzo’s roar filled the staircase, shaking the walls.
“Have you lost your mind, Olivia? You’re disrespecting my parents inside my own house?”
I blinked slowly. I swallowed the metallic taste in my mouth and said nothing.
He came closer, his voice sharper now.