A bright lightsuddenly jolts me awake. I sit up, immediately alert, to find Gianni hovering in the doorway of the living room.
"How is he?" I demand as I get to my feet.
"Resting upstairs. He may be out of it for a day or two, but his injury was not as severe as I feared." He doesn't elaborate. "I will monitor him closely, but he should be fine."
"Good." I walk past Gianni. "Get a little rest while you can."
I climb the stairs two at a time and hurry along the corridor to Lorenzo's room. Olivia is already there, standing by his bedside, stroking his hair back from his face. It's an uncharacteristically tender gesture from my belligerent cousin.
Untroubled by the burdens we carry each day, he looks younger, reminding me of the little brother I played soccer with in our garden back in Rome. It was a lifetime ago. The thought of losing him ignites something ugly inside me. I want to punish everyone responsible for him lying there.
Eventually, I'll get to them all, but right now there is one person I can bring to their knees.
Ignoring Olivia as she calls out after me, I storm from the room and head straight for the room I had Lina install Violetta in. At her door, I pause for only a moment. I should let this go, but I can't. I won't.
When I fling open the door, she's lying on the bed in short pink pajamas. Her long, wavy hair, now returned to a more pleasing chestnut brown, tumbles over her shoulders. She glances up at me and a soft smile touches her pale pink lips. Fora moment I can only stare at her. The sight of Violetta so relaxed in my house, so unaware of the trouble she's caused, makes my blood boil.
"Get up."
She hesitates so I march over, grab her arm, and drag her off the bed.
"Damiano? What are you doing?"
I don't answer. Instead, I lead her to Lorenzo's room.
"What the fuck!" Olivia protests as I shove her aside and stand Violetta next to the bed.
"This," I say coldly. "This is what happens when you interfere."
Violetta looks over her shoulder at me, wide-eyed and oh-so-innocent. "I don't understand."
"The boy you allowed to escape attacked my cousin's wedding."
Her face pales. "He did this?"
"He was among the perpetrators."
Violetta turns back to Lorenzo and shakes her head. "I didn't…."
"What?" I spin her around so she's facing me, then put a finger beneath her chin, tilting her head so she can't look away. "You didn't know what would happen?"
"How could I?"
While it's true she couldn't have foreseen Lorenzo being injured, she should have been smart enough to realize that if I had someone locked in a room, it was because they were trouble.
"You could have thought before acting."
"I was only trying to help him."
My lip curls into a snarl. "Your help got him killed."
Violetta's jaw clenches. "He's dead?"
"He is."
Her knees buckle, but I grab her upper arms to hold her up. I won't let her fall.
"Is this more pity for a man you claim you don't know?"
