Rubies & Old Wounds
The room was still cloaked in silence, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.
Don Raffaele’s words still lingered like smoke, poisoning the air around them. None of the brothers spoke. Their gazes were distant, haunted. Grief had a way of surfacing all at once especially when it was tied to blood, to loss, and to something that never quite healed.
Diamond glanced between them—Adriano, Alessandro, and Gabriele. All three wore the same look: one of distant memory and restrained rage.
She turned toward Adriano, her voice soft.
“Babe?” she said gently, reaching for his hand.
Adriano didn’t look at her right away. His jaw clenched, his breathing steady but slow. Like he was grounding himself before speaking.
“I’m a little lost,” Diamond continued, her voice low. “Can you explain it to me? About the necklace. About… all of this?”
Adriano was silent for a long moment.
Then finally, his eyes dropped to their joined hands.
“That necklace,” he began quietly, “was the piece my father proposed to my mother with.”
Diamond’s breath caught.
“She used to wear it everywhere. To parties, to family dinners, even when she was just reading in the garden. It was…” he exhaled, a slow, tired breath. “Her pride and joy. Not because of the price tag. But because it was his gift. A symbol of their love for each other.”
His voice faltered.
Diamond watched him closely. She saw the shimmer of tears in his eyes before he blinked it away, refusing to let it fall.
He swallowed, then blinked a few more times and gave a short, bitter laugh—empty and cold. When he finally looked at her, there was that haunted fire again. The one that lived in his soul and only emerged when speaking of the past.
“Do you remember when I told you why we’re at war with La Rosa Nera?” he asked, his voice rough.
Diamond nodded, slowly. “Yes. They murdered your mother.”
Adriano nodded, the movement stiff, restrained.
“Seven years ago…” His voice grew quieter. “After she was kidnapped by Valentino Moretti’s men… her body was found a few days later. Dumped like trash.”
Diamond gasped, raising her hands to her mouth. “Oh my God…”
“And the necklace,” he continued bitterly, “was gone.”
Diamond’s heart ached for him. For the boy inside the man, who had lost something irreplaceable. Not just a mother. But the peace that came with her.
He looked at her then, his eyes green glistening with sadness and pain. “Now you see why that necklace means a lot?”
Diamond nodded. “Yes. Adriano… I’m so sorry.”
He didn’t speak, but his hand tightened around hers, grounding himself in her presence.
Across the room, Alessandro stood up abruptly.
“I need a fucking drink,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck like the pain was physical. “Where’s the bar in this fucking fortress?”
Adriano didn’t even look up. “Take the hallway down. Third door on the left. Behind the bookshelf.”
Alessandro was already walking.
“I’m going with him,” Gabriele said, standing as well.
The two older brothers left the room, their footsteps echoing down the hallway.
Once they were gone, Diamond looked around the now-quiet space, then turned back to Adriano. She looked stunned—not just by the story, but by their reactions.
He caught the expression on her face and offered a tired, almost apologetic shrug.
“That call…” he said, voice lower now. “It brought up a lot of stuff we don’t talk about. Not because we don’t care. But because it hurts.”
Diamond reached out and cupped the side of his face, guiding his gaze back to her.
“I understand,” she whispered. “And I’m here for you. Okay?”
He nodded slowly, then leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t hungry. It was grounding, an anchor in a sea of emotion.
When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers.
“Thank you,” he murmured.
Diamond exhaled softly, then rested her head against his chest. She listened to the slow, steady rhythm of his heartbeat, letting it settle her own nerves.
But her heart was racing. Not from the kiss. Not from the story.
But from suspicion.
Her mind, sharper than she often gave herself credit for, was working overtime.
La Rosa Nera… she thought.
How the hell did they know where the brothers were last night?
How did they know the perfect time and place to strike with such precision?
The ambush was an almost-too-well-timed attack. She remembered the way Alessandro and Gabriele looked at her just a few minutes ago. She recalled their thinly-veiled accusations. The moment they questioned her.
They almost thought I sold them out, she thought, her lips tightening. Well I did but fucking La Rosa Nera of all people? Like how?
Diamond hadn't told anyone anything. Not about her past. Not about who her people were. Not a single detail. But still—she didn’t know La Rosa Nera. She didn’t deal with them.
Right?
Then it hit her. A splinter in her mind. One that refused to go away.
She had leaked information to her people, yes. She had passed on details, only enough to keep her handlers satisfied. She knew they would execute whatever they had planned for the brothers.
So how the hell did La Rosa Nera end up with near pinpoint accuracy on the brothers’ location and route?
Her chest tightened. Her body didn’t move, but her mind was sprinting.
Something’s not right. Someone else is involved.
Someone is playing a deeper game… and I don’t like being a pawn.
She stayed still against Adriano’s chest, breathing in his scent, feeling his warmth.
But inside her mind? She was already turning over names. Places. Possibilities.
And one promise burned bright in her heart:
She would get to the bottom of it.
Even if it meant turning the entire world upside down.