Chapter 3

Elena POV

The dining room was stifling, the air thick and motionless. Above us, the crystal chandelier cast a sickly, yellow light over the feast, turning the roast beef grey and the wine to blood.

Dante sat at the head of the table, claiming Matteo's chair as if it had always been his. To his right sat Gina, draped in the diamonds that should have been mine-heirlooms that would have been around my neck if honor still meant anything in this family.

I sat at the far end, relegated to the shadows. Leo was beside me, small and silent.

"Pass the wine, Dante," Gina purred, sliding her hand casually up his forearm.

He smiled at her. My heart seized. It was a ghost of a smile I used to know-the exact crooked charm his brother, Matteo, had given me on our wedding day. The smile that had promised to love me until death parted us.

Now, worn by the wrong man, it felt like a violation.

Dante poured her glass to the brim. He didn't offer me a drop.

Beside me, Leo struggled. The meat was tough, and his hands were too small for the heavy silver cutlery. His knife slipped, screeching across the porcelain before clattering onto the table.

The sound was like a gunshot in the quiet room.

Dante sighed, a loud, impatient exhale that rattled the glassware.

"Watch what you are doing, boy," he snapped, his voice a lash.

Leo froze, his shoulders hunching instinctively. He looked at Dante, then turned his wide, confused eyes to me. I could see the heartbreak there-he couldn't understand why his Uncle looked exactly like his Papa but treated him like an unwanted stranger.

"Let me help you, Leo," I said, my voice soft but cutting through the tension.

I reached over, taking the knife and fork from his trembling hands. With steady, deliberate movements, I cut the meat into small, perfect squares.

Leo didn't eat. He turned back to look at Dante.

"Thank you, Uncle," Leo said.

But the warmth was gone. He didn't say it like a child seeking approval. He said it with a flat, dull tone, devoid of emotion. It was the way you speak to a creditor, or an enemy you are forced to tolerate.

Dante flinched, the wine glass pausing halfway to his mouth.

"What did you say?" Dante asked, his eyes narrowing.

Leo met his gaze, unflinching.

"I said thank you, Uncle."

The silence that followed was suffocating. The air grew heavier, pressing down on our chests.

Dante laughed, but it was a nervous, jagged sound that fooled no one.

"He is a funny kid, Elena. You should teach him better manners."

I set my fork down. The metallic clink echoed with finality.

"He has excellent manners," I said. My voice was steady; the tremor I had lived with for three years was gone. "He knows exactly who you are."

Dante's jaw tightened.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," I said, pushing my chair back and standing up, "that we are done."

Gina looked up, her mouth falling open in a grotesque display of surprise.

"Done with what? Dinner?"

"Done with the charity. Done with the lies. Done with you."

I swept my gaze over my in-laws. They couldn't meet my eyes. They stared at their plates, cowards wrapped in expensive silk and denial.

I looked at Dante.

"You aren't his father," I said, my voice rising. "A father would never choose another woman's comfort over his son's hunger."

Dante shot to his feet, his face flushing a deep, angry red.

"Sit down, Elena. You are being hysterical."

"No," I said, feeling lighter than I had in years. "I am finally awake."

I reached down and took Leo's hand.

"Come on, Leo."

We walked toward the heavy oak doors. My heels clicked rhythmically against the marble floor, a countdown to freedom.

"Elena!" Dante shouted, his voice booming off the walls. "You walk out that door, and you get nothing! No money. No protection. You will be on the street!"

I stopped. I turned back one last time, looking at the man who had stolen my husband's life.

"I would rather sleep on the street," I said, enunciating every word, "than spend one more night in a house built on a grave that is empty."

I pushed the door open.

The night air hit my face instantly. It was cold, biting, and smelled of rain.

But for the first time in three years, I could breathe.

Leo looked up at me, gripping my hand tight.

"Where are we going, Mama?"

I squeezed his hand back, looking out into the darkness that felt infinitely more welcoming than the light we had left behind.

"We are going home, Leo," I promised him. "And then, we are going shopping."