"And what about me? Am I not family too?"
“The attack wouldn’t have happened if not for this.” Alessandro taps the letter.
I search their faces, Alessandro's stony expression, Adriano's averted gaze, even Cristian's careful neutrality.
The truth settles in my stomach.
I'm not family.
Not anymore.
I'm an asset.
All those family meetings where they let me speak, all those moments I thought I was being treated as an equal, were just an illusion.
A pretty fairy tale I told myself.
I straighten my spine. "Don Lorenzo would be proud. You're handling the family business exactly as he would have."
Alessandro flinches at the comparison to our father.
Good.
"You included me in decisions to make me feel important, but when it's my life on the line, I'm just another possession to be bartered away."
"Valentina—" Adriano starts.
I cut him off with a raised hand. "Don't. At least have the decency to stop pretending I have any real say in what happens to me."
“You agreed to this,” Alessandro reminds me yet again. His eyes slide from me to Cristian. "And you. Did you know about this letter?"
Cristian stands perfectly still behind me. "No, sir."
Alessandro studies him with calculating eyes. "Yet you didn't call immediately after the ambush. You waited until morning."
"I had to ensure Valentina's safety first?—"
"Don't lie to me." Alessandro's fist slams against the desk. "Your first duty was to report back. Instead, you disappeared with my sister for a night."
"It was my decision," I interrupt before Cristian can respond. "I begged him to wait until morning. I was terrified after the ambush. I needed time."
Alessandro's gaze returns to me, narrowed and suspicious.
"Cristian followed my orders throughout everything. If you want someone to blame, blame me."
The guilt is overwhelming.
Not for defying my brothers, but for pulling Cristian deeper into my mess.
His career, his life within this world, depends on my brother's trust.
And I've just put everything he is at risk.
Cristian steps forward, placing himself slightly between me and Alessandro's desk.
The protective gesture is subtle.
Maybe I’m reading more into it, but for a moment, I feel like he’s protecting me against my brothers.
