"Pietro—" Nora starts, but he raises his hand.
"Let me finish." He leans back in his chair, still holding my gaze. "But I've been asking myself what I would have done. If I'd discovered Dad's betrayal at twenty-two. And the truth is..." Pietro exhales hard. "I might have done the same. Might have thought I was protecting everyone by keeping it buried."
The admission doesn't absolve me, but something in my chest loosens slightly.
"I hate this life."
We all turn to Vittoria.
"I love you all," she continues, her voice shaking. "But I'm so tired of the people I love most proving me wrong. Showing me I never really knew them at all."
Tears gather in her eyes. "I loved Dad so much. He was my hero. The man who taught me to be strong, who said family came first, who—" Her voice cracks. "And all that time, he was playing us. Had another family. Other children. Another life."
The guilt crushes me. Not just for keeping the secret, but for shattering her image of Giuseppe. For being another man she trusted who let her down.
"I can't forgive myself for not seeing it," Vittoria whispers. "For being so blind."
"You were a child," Nora says gently.
"I'm not a child anymore." Vittoria's eyes find mine. "And you knew. You knew and you looked me in the eye every day for twelve years and said nothing."
I set down my fork.
"You're right." My voice comes out rougher than intended. "I looked you in the eye every day and said nothing."
Vittoria's jaw tightens, waiting for excuses that won't come.
"I wanted to tell you all immediately. Had my phone out in the car, ready to call Riccardo." The words stick in my throat. "But Giuseppe asked me one question that stopped me cold."
"What question?" Pietro's voice is deadly quiet.
"He asked if I wanted to be the one to destroy our mother."
The temperature in the room drops.
"He said, 'Your mother's heart is already fragile. This would kill her. Do you want to be responsible for that? For breaking Vittoria's heart? For making everyone question everything they believe about family?'"
I meet each of their eyes in turn. "And I was a coward. Because I couldn't do it. Couldn't be the one to shatter your world the way mine had just been shattered."
"So you carried it alone," Nora says softly.
"I'm not asking for sympathy." My voice hardens. "I made my choice. And honestly? Even knowing how much you all hate me right now, I'd make the same choice again."
Bruno's laugh is cold. "Of course you would."
"Because this family comes first. Always." I lean forward, my voice dropping. "Even when it means being the villain. Even when it means you all despise me. The family survives. That's all that matters."
"That's bullshit," Vittoria snaps. "Family means honesty?—"
"Family means whatever keeps us alive and together." The words come out harsher than intended. "You think I enjoyed keeping this secret? You think I didn't want to rage at Giuseppe every time he preached about loyalty? Every fucking Sunday dinner when he'd talk about family honor while knowing he had another wife across town?"
My control cracks slightly. "But what would telling you have accomplished? Giuseppe was already dead when Rafaella showed up. The damage was done. All I could do was try to minimize the casualties."
"You can hate me. You can shut me out until I leave the family if that's what you want." I look at each of them. "But everything I've done, every secret I've kept, every lie I've told. It'sall been to keep this family whole. Even if it means I'm the one who breaks."
Sophia
I want to speak. Want to tell them Lorenzo protected them from pain, that maybe carrying secrets alone is its own kind of love. But I'm not family. Not really. One word from Pietro and I'd be back in that locked room upstairs, or worse.
