"And you?" she asks. "What are you?"
"I'm in the mafia too," he replies.
She lets out a shaky exhale.
"Of all the things you could have done with your life," she says, shaking her head. Tears streak down her cheeks once more. "Why?"
"Ida, it was the only way I could think of to find you," he says. "I was an orphan without any family. I needed money and power if I was going to find you."
"Don't you dare blame this on our parents." Ida raises her voice now. "Don't you remember how cruel they were to us? They used to come by every Sunday demanding more and more money. They treated us like dog shit.”
"It's not like that anymore," Dante says.
"Oh, I knowexactlywhat it's like," Ida says. “They might not deal with racketeering or loan sharking anymore, but I know what goes on behind the scenes. They exploit young girls. They deal drugs and arms. They monopolize the dark web, selling videos of..."
"Ida, please listen to me," Dante says, grabbing her shoulders. “It’s not safe for us to be here. Let’s talk about it on the flight.”
"I don't want to go anywhere with you," she says, ripping herself away from him.
"Then you leave me no choice," he says.
He brandishes a syringe and sinks the needle into her arm. My eyes widen as he injects something into her.
"Oh fuck you," she says before she passes out in his arms.
"Why would you do that?" I ask, looking at the needle in his hands. I try not to freak out at the sight of it. I try not to connect my past with the present.
"It's a mild sedative," he says, lifting her into his arms. "She'll wake up by the time we're on the plane."
I follow him quietly as he walks up the rest of the staircase. Some of his men are waiting for us at the end of the exit. They escort us to a black SUV. I watch as Dante straps his sister into the back seat.
I can't stop thinking about the syringe.
My mind knows that he gave her that sedative because we couldn't risk staying here for too long. But potent fear spiked into my bloodstream when I saw how swiftly he did that.
My mother controlled me with pills and potions my entire life. And seeing him do it took me right back to that dark period of my life.
Even when I try to forget it, it's always right there.
"I know you're not comfortable with this," Dante says, getting into the driver's seat. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," I say, even though my own voice feels like it's coming from the other end of a tunnel.
He takes my hand in his and holds it in both of his.
"It's not fine," he says. "I wish you hadn't seen that."
"She's going to give you hell when she wakes up," I say, glancing back at his sister.
"I would expect nothing less," he says, following my gaze.
My heart calms down. There's so much love in his eyes as he looks at her. He's not the same as my mother. He's a good man.
"I'll try to talk to her," I say. "She doesn't know that you're not like them."
He purses his lips and starts the engine. I place my hand over his cheek and make him look at me.
"You'renot," I say. "You're nothing like the people who killed your parents. You know that, right?"
