"You will each receive twenty lashes tonight," he continued without hesitation. "For one full month, you will have no outings, no toys, no entertainment of any kind. You will rise at dawn and scrub this entire estate until your hands bleed."
Gianna gasped, lifting her head. "But Grandpa—"
"Silence," he snapped.
"But it was just a prank—"
"A prank?" Don Montecarlo's voice rose, filled with disbelief and rage. "You call this a prank? Taking the life of a helpless creature? Shame on all of you."
Enzo tried to say something, but the Old Don silenced him with a single look. The same look that had once stripped a capo of his territory in front of twenty men without a word being spoken.
"This is my house," Don Montecarlo said firmly. "And Seraphina is still family under this roof. If she wishes it, I will throw every one of you out myself."
Enzo froze, clearly shaken.
For a fleeting moment, something stirred inside me. A faint sense of protection.
But it came far too late.
Nothing could undo what had already happened.
I stood up slowly and walked past them, ignoring their whispers, ignoring the hatred in their eyes. I did not look back.