"I did something my family didn't agree with." I choose my words carefully, aware of Katerina hovering in the doorway. "Sometimes, families have rules. I broke one."
"Like when I go into Mom's office when she says not to?"
"Something like that." I smile despite myself. "But bigger."
He considers this, then shrugs with the easy forgiveness of childhood. "Want to see how fast this car can go?" He doesn't wait for an answer, just starts pushing the car across the room.
I watch him with a mixture of pride at the miracle I helped create and regret that I missed so much.
I'm overcome with a fierce, primal desire to protect him, to know him, to be the father he deserves.
I want to teach him to fish.
I want to show him Chicago from the top of the tallest building. I want to see him grow, graduate, become a man.
I want to give him everything my father gave me and none of the burdens.
For the first time in years, I want something beyond power, beyond revenge, beyond violence and control.
I want Enzo's laughter, Katerina's smile, the simple miracle of family.
And I'm terrified it's already too late.
After Enzo's eyelids finally droop closed, I quietly slip from his bedroom, pulling the door until it clicks shut.
The house feels different now, no longer just Katerina's sanctuary but a place where part of me lives too.
My son sleeps here.
I’ve stayed through lunch and dinner, ending the evening building a city of blocks in Enzo’s room before tucking him into bed.
Katerina stands in the kitchen, back to me, wiping down counters, her shoulders tense, defensive.
"He's asleep." I keep my voice low, stepping into the small space. "Kid fights it hard."
"Gets that from you." Her words come out clipped, but there's no bite. "You never knew when to quit either."
I move closer, close enough to catch her scent. "We need to talk about where we go from here."
She turns, folding her arms over her chest, blue eyes cool. "There is no 'we', Luca. There's me and Enzo, and there's you. You can be his father without anything else between us."
The rejection stings and it pisses me off. "That simple, huh? Just pretend there's nothing between us?"
"Nothing worth saving." She steps back when I move forward. "What happened at the funeral was a mistake. Old habits."
My patience splinters. I'm not built for begging. "Bullshit. That wasn't just habit and you know it."
"It doesn't matter what it was." Her voice rises then drops. "You're leaving again eventually. Back to your empire in Chicago."
"You don't know what I'm planning."
"I know you, Luca. You don't stay. You don't commit."
Something inside me snaps. I slam my palm against the counter, making her jump. "You don't know a goddamn thing about what I've done or why. You know this works two ways, right? You never once tried to find me. You never fucking planned to tell me I had a son."
"Find you?" Her laugh is bitter. "Your family said you wanted out. That you chose to leave."
"And you believed them. After everything we were to each other, you just accepted their version."
