The vulnerability in her tone stops me cold.
This isn’t the DeLuca heiress or the dangerous woman who has made it through four deadly trials.
This is nineteen-year-old Bianca who’s terrified that she’s becoming something unnatural.
“I think you’re under more stress than any human being should have to handle,” I tell her honestly, gentling my voice and switching tactics. “I think you’ve been pushed past your breaking point and you’re struggling to cope.”
She sinks back into her chair, her body folding in on itself as if she’s trying to make herself smaller.
Her hands twist together in her lap, and I can see tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
“They won’t stop talking,” she admits, her voice barely above a whisper. “Ever since that night in Montreal when I learned the truth about Giuseppe, there have been voices in my head. Three of them. And they never shut the fuck up.”
Well, shit.
That wasn’t what I was expecting. Relief and concern course through me.
Relief because now I understand what’s been happening. Concern because the implications are staggering.
“Whose voices?” I ask, settling into the chair beside her instead of looming over her.
She’s quiet for so long I think she might not answer. When she finally speaks, her voice is thick with unshed tears and something that sounds like shame.
“Giuseppe’s,” she admits, not looking at me. “Sophia’s. And…” She pauses, swallowing hard. “Matteo’s.”
I lean back in my chair, unable to speak for several moments as I process what she just said.
Holy shit.
The three people who have shaped her the most are all talking to her simultaneously like goddamn angels and devils on her shoulder.
“What do they tell you?” I ask carefully.
Her hands are shaking more visibly now, and she wraps her arms around herself as if trying to provide comfort. “Giuseppe wants blood. Complete annihilation. He tells me to hunt down every Calabrese and paint the streets red.” Her voice takes on a harsh quality as she mimics his tone. “‘Show no mercy. Take what’s yours.’”
She pauses, her breathing becoming more labored as she continues. “Sophia whispers about manipulation and psychological warfare. She wants me to use this situation toconsolidate power, to turn the other families against each other while we benefit from the chaos.”
“And Matteo?” I prompt gently.
She looks away. “He provides guidance and advice. He’s always telling me to protect what matters and to not let emotion make me reckless.”
I study her face as she describes this internal chorus, noting the way her expression shifts subtly with each voice—harder and more ruthless when channeling Giuseppe, calculating and cold when echoing Sophia, measured and strategic when reflecting Matteo’s influence.
“They’re all talking at once,” she continues, her voice gaining a note of desperation. “During the planning sessions, during meals, when I’m trying to sleep. Three different approaches to every decision, three different sets of priorities, three different definitions of success.”
“And it’s tearing you apart,” I observe. So many things are making sense now.
She nods miserably, tears finally spilling over to track down her cheeks. “I—I can’t think clearly anymore. I start planning something using Giuseppe’s approach, then Sophia suggests something completely different, then Matteo’s voice warns me about the long-term consequences. B-by the time I’ve heard all three perspectives, I’ve forgotten what I was originally trying to accomplish.”
Her breathing is becoming more erratic, and I can see the edge of panic beginning to creep in.
Her chest rises and falls rapidly and her leg jiggles up and down nervously.
“You think I’m losing my mind,” she whispers, her voice thick with terror. “You think I’m having some kind of psychotic break.”
The fear in her voice is heartbreaking, but as I study her face—noting the way her eyes track movement with perfect clarity, the coherent way she’s describing her experiences, and the rational concern she’s showing about her own mental state—I realize she’s probably not losing her grip on reality.
No, she’s gaining access to somethingextraordinary.
