"You two look like you've been at this for hours. When's the last time either of you ate?"
I checked the time. 2 PM. We'd worked through lunch.
"We'll eat later—" Elio started.
"You'll eat now," Matteo cut him off. "Both of you. I'm not letting you turn into the obsessive version of yourself again. Come on. Kitchen. Food. Now."
We followed him to Inferno's kitchen. The lunch service was winding down but the chef made us plates anyway. Pasta with chicken. Salad. Bread.
Matteo sat with us while we ate.
"So," he said casually. "How're you settling in, Julian? To life in our world?"
"Better than I expected. It's different from what I grew up with."
"How so?"
"My father's organization was all about appearances. Looking legitimate while doing illegal things. Pretending everything was fine while people got hurt behind closed doors." I took a bite of pasta. "Here, nobody pretends. The danger is acknowledged. The violence is managed. There's no pretense of being something we're not."
"And that appeals to you? The honesty of it?"
"More than the alternative. I'd rather know the truth and deal with it than live behind pretty lies."
Matteo nodded. "Stefan said something similar when he first got here. He grew up in a world where image was everything. Where vulnerability was weakness. Where showing real emotion was dangerous. This world isn't safer but it's more honest. But, still, do you ever miss your old life?"
The question caught me off guard. "No. Never. My old life was suffocating. Every choice made for me. Every relationship transactional. Every moment about maintaining the family image. This life is dangerous but it's mine. I get to choose. That's worth the danger."
"I understand that." Matteo's expression was knowing. "Stefan did the same thing. Chose danger and honesty over safety and lies. Chose building something real over maintaining something false. It takes courage to walk away from safety even when that safety is a cage."
"Did it scare you? When Stefan chose this?"
"Terrified me. Still terrifies me sometimes. But I wouldn't change it. He makes me better. Makes me want to be better. That's worth the fear."
After Matteo left, Elio and I went back to work. But his words stayed with me.
I was part of this world now. Not despite being an outsider. Because of it. Because my perspective was different. Because I challenged assumptions. Because I saw them as humans first.
That mattered. That was my value beyond financial analysis or information about my father.
I was helping them stay human in a world that rewarded becoming monsters.
Late afternoon I took a break to find Stefan. He was in the financial office reviewing quarterly reports.
"Hey," I said from the doorway. "Got a minute?"
"Always. Come in." He gestured to a chair. "What's up?"
"Nothing specific. Just wanted to talk." I sat down.
"What do you want to know?"
"Are you happy? Really happy? Not just surviving but actually happy?"
Stefan set down his pen. Looked at me directly. "Yes. Extremely happy. Happier than I've ever been. Happier than I thought I could be."
"Even with the danger? The FBI investigations? The constant threat?"
"Even with all of that. Because I'm with Matteo. Because I'm building something real. Because I matter here beyond just what I can provide or what I represent." Stefan's expression softened. "In my old life, I was always performing. Always being what my family needed me to be. Here, I get to just be Stefan. Matteo loves me for who I am, not what I can do for him."
