So I stay silent, my hand finding Lorenzo's under the table.
Pietro clears his throat, his dark eyes scanning the room. "We need to change the subject." His voice carries that commanding tone that makes everyone straighten. "This conversation isn't finished, but we have more immediate concerns."
He turns to Lorenzo and me. "You two need to go public. Really public. Not just leaked photos and speculation."
My stomach drops.
"With everything that's happened you look like you're hiding." Pietro's jaw tightens. "Francesco's already spinning stories. Says you're keeping Sophia prisoner, that the engagement is fake."
"It is fake," Bruno mutters from his wheelchair.
Pietro ignores him. "We need an engagement party. Something big, visible. Show Chicago that Sophia chose this, chose us."
Lorenzo's hand tightens around mine. "When?"
"This weekend. Three days." Pietro's tone leaves no room for argument. "Vittoria will handle the guest list. Every family that matters needs to see you two together, happy, in love."
In love. The words make my chest ache.
"After the party, we accelerate the wedding timeline." Pietro's eyes find mine, cold and calculating. "Once you're officially a Sartori, you'll have more freedom of movement. Francesco won't be able to claim you're being held against your will."
I nod, understanding what he's not saying. Once I'm married, I become useful. Once I'm married, I can get close to Francesco again.
"And after the wedding," Pietro continues, his voice dropping, "you retrieve that ledger from Francesco's office. The one you promised us."
There it is. The real reason I'm sitting at this table instead of locked in a room. The only currency I have in this world of violence and blood.
"I understand," I say quietly.
"Do you?" Pietro leans forward. "Because once you're married to Lorenzo, there's no backing out. You become one of us permanently. You betray us, and family or not, you'll be handled like any other traitor."
The threat hangs in the air like smoke.
Lorenzo's chair scrapes against the floor as he stands. "That's enough, Pietro."
"Is it?" Pietro rises too, matching his brother's stance. "She needs to understand what she's agreeing to. This isn't some romance novel where love conquers all. This is business."
"She understands." Lorenzo's voice drops to that dangerous register that makes my skin prickle.
Pietro's eyes never leave mine. "Tell me, Sophia. Do you really understand what it means to retrieve that ledger? Youruncle won't just hand it over. You might have to lie to him. Manipulate him. Maybe worse."
My chin lifts. "I know what needs to be done."
"Knowing and doing are different things." Bruno wheels himself closer.
I force myself to meet Bruno's dead eyes. "I'll do whatever it takes."
"Whatever it takes," Pietro repeats slowly. "Remember those words when you're standing in Francesco's office, when he trusts you enough to turn his back."
Nora places her hand on Pietro's arm. "She gets it."
"She better." Pietro sits back down, his expression softening slightly.
Fake engagement or real feelings, it doesn't matter. To them, I'll always be the Torrino girl who showed up at their door. The outsider. The stranger who knows too many secrets.
"I need a word." Lorenzo's voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts. He stands, pulling me up with him.
Lorenzo leads me through the hallways, his hand warm against my lower back. We pass the living room, the stairs to my room, continuing deeper into the house. He opens his bedroom door.
