I scream it, raw and shaking. “Or maybe I was fucking terrified! I wasn’t ready to die. You were a monster. My father sold me to you. For two years I was just a goddamn decoration in your house. You ignored me. You never protected me. And now you want to make my daughter an orphan?” My voice cracks. “Fuck you, Carlo. I hope you rot in hell, the only place you belong.”
Antonia bursts into tears, startled by my shouting. As my own sobs break free, I drop to my knees and clutch her against my chest.
Maxim chuckles low. “Damn. Even the blonde Barbie’s got a sharp tongue when you push the right buttons.”
I shift my gaze back to the gate. The car has stopped a short distance away, and ten men are approaching. Even from here, I recognize Tony and Fabiano instantly.
Tony’s eyes lock on us and his hands curl into fists. The same suit from two days ago hangs wrinkled on him. His face is pale, unshaven, hollow. The dark circles under his eyes are deeper than I’ve ever seen. He looks wrecked, but to me he’s still the same proud, beautiful man I met that spring afternoon in the garden full of blossoms.
The gate swings open. Tony calls her name. Antonia tears toward him like she’s been shot from a cannon. I move to follow, but Carlo’s iron grip clamps around my wrist, holding me back.
Tony drops to his knees and crushes her to his chest. She sobs into his neck. “Daddy, I don’t like this game anymore. Take me home.”
Tony buries his face in her neck and says nothing. The veins on his forehead stand out as he fights to keep it together.
A few steps away, I spot my brother Fabiano, looking like he’s aged ten years in just two nights. His shoulders are slumped, his eyes dull and shadowed..
I blink the tears away, barely managing to force the words out. “Fabi…take care of my daughter.”
His hands ball into fists at his sides. He throws a glare full of hatred at Carlo and moves toward him, but Carlo’s men grab him from behind.
Carlo smirks. “Easy, doc-to-be. I wouldn’t mind adding you to the body count and handing the kid over to her loving grandfather.”
I turn to Fabiano, my tone urgent. “Go back, Fabi.”
Carlo’s attention shifts to me. “Hand over the kid.”
I spin to face him. “I haven’t even said goodbye yet.”
“Maybe you should’ve used those last words on your daughter instead of barking at me.”
A fresh wave of tears floods my eyes as I turn back to Antonia, desperate for one final look.
Tony kisses her face again and again like he’s trying to brand the moment into her skin. “Daddy loves you so much, baby. Never forget that,” he whispers through her sobs.
And then, in a flash, he separates himself from her and puts her in Fabiano’s arms.
Antonia screams for him, but Tony strides toward me with determined steps. Ignoring Carlo entirely, he pulls me hard against him.
Carlo’s grip finally releases. I cling to Tony and sob into his chest.
Fabiano still stands behind the gate, his chest rising and falling with the weight of everything. Antonia wails my name, her voice raw with desperation.
I can’t bear it. I scream through my tears, “Fabi, go! Please, just go!”
I bury my face in Tony’s chest so I don’t have to watch them leave. He holds me tighter, voice cracking. “Let Lucia go, Carlo. I’m fucking begging you.”
Carlo’s silence is answer enough. Tony exhales shakily, burying his face in the crook of my neck. “I’m so sorry, princess. I’m so fucking sorry.”
Antonia’s cries fade into the distance, but they never truly disappear. Time stretches painfully. When I finally look, my stomach drops. Fabiano’s car is still there, surrounded by Carlo’s men. They’re not letting it leave.
Panic chills me to the bone. I whirl on Carlo, rage twisting my voice. “You promised you wouldn’t touch my daughter.”
He stands tall, his legs spread shoulder-width apart, hands clasped behind his back. The smug satisfaction in his gaze ignites my rage even further.
Tony growls back, his fury barely restrained. “Carlo, if you lay a finger on my daughter, I swear, even from the grave, I’ll make sure you pay for it. I have men just as dangerous as yours, men who’ll stay loyal even after I’m dead.”
Carlo chuckles, utterly amused. “I highly doubt that. A dead boss is as useful to a soldier as a pretty whore who shows up after he’s already finished. Nice to look at, but pointless.”
