Nora checks her phone, then glances at the mountain of wedding catalogs surrounding us. "Three days. We're insane for trying to pull this off in three days."
"We've done crazier things," Vittoria mutters, typing furiously. "I once hacked the Pentagon in two."
Marina drops the fabric. "You what?"
"Kidding." Vittoria's lips twitch. "It was the NSA."
I can't tell if she's joking. With Vittoria, it could go either way.
"The florist can deliver tomorrow," Nora announces, scrolling through her messages. "But they need final numbers by tonight. How many guests?"
"Immediate family only for the ceremony," I say, remembering Pietro's instructions. "The reception is where we make the statement."
"So that's..." Vittoria counts on her fingers. "Pietro, Nora, me, Nico, Dante?—"
"Bruno?" Nora asks quietly.
The room goes still. Vittoria's fingers freeze over her keyboard.
"I don't know," she admits. "He's been locked in his room for days. Won't see anyone except the physical therapist."
"Has anyone tried talking to him?" I ask.
"We communicate through texts and phone calls now." Bitterness creeps into Vittoria's voice. "He won't even open the door for me anymore. Just slides food requests like he's in prison."
Nora sets down her phone. "How bad is it?"
"Bad." Vittoria closes her laptop. "The wheelchair is killing him. Not physically. Mentally. Bruno was always the strongest. The one who could handle anything with his fists. And now..."
"Now he can't," I finish softly.
"He's angry. All the time. At everyone." Vittoria's voice cracks slightly. "Especially at himself."
I think about the cruel things Bruno said to Lorenzo about me. The venom in his voice when he suggested Lorenzo was controlling me.
"This won't end well," Vittoria continues. "I know my brother. He's not the type to accept limitations. He'll either find a way to walk again or?—"
"Or what?" Marina asks.
"Or he'll destroy everything around him trying."
I've only known Bruno as the bitter man in the wheelchair, but the others remember him differently. Strong. Capable. The perfect heir after Riccardo.
My phone buzzes. Lorenzo:Everything okay?
I type back:Wedding planning. Your sister is teaching Marina about hacking government agencies.
Three dots appear immediately:Tell her to stop corrupting civilians.
"Lorenzo says stop corrupting Marina," I announce.
"Too late," Marina grins. "I'm thoroughly corrupted. Kidnapped by the mob, living in a compound, helping plan a mafia wedding. My mother would have a heart attack."
"Your mother thinks you're at a spa retreat," I remind her.
"Right. The very exclusive, very secretive spa retreat."
Nora snorts. "With armed guards and bulletproof windows."
