I bite my tongue, resisting the urge to ask him how he knows it’s me. It doesn’t really matter at this point. “I’ve made a decision about your, um… offer. I’d like to take you up on it.”
“Excellent. We’ll get started, then.” The sound of rustling on the other end catches my attention. When he speaks again, what little bit of friendliness he had in his voice is gone, a far more serious tone replacing it. “When you go for your check-up on Friday, there will be a car waiting at the loading dock behind the ER. I’ll have a distraction set up for Dante, giving you an opening to leave through the east corridor. You’ll have papers, passports, cash, along with two carry-on bags for the flight sitting on the back seat. You’ll be on a plane within the hour.”
I chew on my lip. “Okay.”
“I’ll be there to see you off, so don’t worry. You won’t be doing this alone. I’ll be with you throughout the process until we get you settled into your new life.”
I swallow thickly.
Am I really doing this? Am I really going to disappear myself from everyone’s, even Dante’s, life completely?
My gaze drifts toward the terrace doors. Beyond them, the sea stretches, wide and endless. The waves crash soundlessly against the cliffside.
Never seeing that view again hurts more than I expected. Luca never growing up here hurts too. But what’s the alternative? Waiting around like targets, hoping the Bellantis grow bored and move on to someone else? Hoping Dante can extinguish every threat before one slips through the cracks again?
A headache blooms behind my left eye.
God, I hate this.
I hate having to uproot Luca’s life again for the same reason I did before. The only difference now is I’m doing it without my father.
The sudden realization nearly steals the air from my lungs.
My father.
If I disappear… he’ll never find me.
Well, if he ever comes out of hiding. With Enzo officially gone, word of it will eventually reach him at some point. Weeks, if not months from now. But is my son’s safety worth waiting around for that? Is his safety worth trusting Dante’s ability to take down the Bellantis?
I don’t know. I really, really don’t know anymore.
“Elena?” Nicolo prompts.
I press the heel of my hand into my temple, trying to ease the ache. “Yes, sorry. I’m here. That sounds like a plan.”
“Good. I’ll see you Friday.” The line goes dead.
I stare at the blank screen as I pull it away from my face. My reflection looks back at me—pale, hollow-eyed, more worn than I remember. The woman who arrived in Sicily weeks ago is so different from the one I am now.
But what versionisthe real me? The woman who runs to keep her child safe? Or the one who stays and fights beside the man she loves?
I slowly move toward the terrace doors, stopping just before touching the handle. Tears burn in my eyes.
I wish more than anything that I had the right answers.
And more than that, I wish my father were here to guide me.
25
ELENA
Friday comes too fast.
Dante has been doing everything short of physically waiting on me hand and foot. From bringing me tea, to reading to Luca whenever he asks, to sitting beside me while I nap with his hand always wrapped around mine. I find it hard to let go.
In the back of my mind, I wonder if this is his way of proving things could be different if I stayed. If this is his way of showing me he’s trying to present me with a life where we both could be happy.
I’m tempted.
