Valentino laughs. Carmela swats his arm, but she's smiling too.
I stare at the box. At the ring inside. At everything I've wanted for two years, finally within reach.
Antonella squeezes my hand.
"Open it," she whispers.
I do.
The ring gleams in the candlelight. Heavy. Gold. Engraved with the Sartori crest. I remember watching my father wear it when I was a boy. Remember the weight of it on Riccardo's hand when he became Don.
Now it's mine.
I slide it onto my finger. It fits perfectly.
"Speech," Lorenzo calls out. Sophia elbows him, but he's grinning.
I stand. My legs hold. The pain is there, constant and familiar, but I don't reach for the cane.
I stand.
Everyone watches me. My brothers. My sister. My mother. The women who married into this family and made it stronger.The men who serve us. The child who climbs into my lap without fear.
And Antonella. Always Antonella.
"I'm not good at this," I say. "Speeches. Words. Feelings."
Valentino snorts. "We noticed."
"Shut up." But there's no heat in it. "I'm trying."
The room waits.
I look at Pietro first. My brother. The man who held this family together when I couldn't. When I wouldn't.
"Pietro." My voice comes out rougher than I intended. "I owe you an apology. You took a position you never wanted because I was too broken to hold it. You carried this family for two years while I sat in my room and hated everyone. Including you. Especially you."
Pietro's jaw tightens. He doesn't look away.
"I resented you for being Don," I continue. "For sitting in the chair I was supposed to sit in. For making decisions I was supposed to make. I told myself you stole something from me. But you didn't steal anything. You saved it. You kept it safe until I was ready to take it back."
I swallow. The words taste like ash and blood and something that might be gratitude.
"Thank you. For not giving up on me. For not letting me destroy everything our father built."
Pietro nods once. His eyes are bright. He doesn't speak.
I turn to Lorenzo. My brother who I betrayed. Who I lied to for years about Riccardo and Luna.
"Lorenzo. I kept secrets that weren't mine to keep. I told myself I was protecting the family. Protecting you. But I was protecting myself. I was a coward. You had every right to hate me," I say. "You still do. But you came to the restaurant that night. You helped plan the assault on the Castellanos. You stood with me when you could have walked away."
"You're my brother," Lorenzo says quietly. "That doesn't change."
"It should have." I shake my head. "But I'm grateful it didn't."
Nico is next. The brother who told me the truth when no one else would. Who called me out on my bullshit and didn't flinch when I threatened to kill him.
"Nico." I meet his eyes. "You were right. About everything. I didn't want to lead this family. I wanted to prove I wasn't broken. Those aren't the same thing. You saw that when I couldn't."
