Chapter 13

Chapter 13
Chapter 13

“I know it was you. You never hid it well—always whispering about how Famiglia Nera was getting too bold, too dangerous. How could you do this?” My voice trembles, but the words spill out like venom.

My heart’s pounding, hands clenched at my sides as I face them all—my blood. My family. My tormentors.

“How long, Lina?” Matteo Rosetti’s voice cuts through the tension like a jagged blade. His glare doesn’t waver, and there’s something so much worse in his eyes than anger—disgust.

Please. Not here. Not in front of them.

I meet his eyes, silently pleading with him not to expose me, not like this. But Matteo never did have mercy in his bones.

“How long were you sleeping with Santino Romano?” he growls through clenched teeth, his voice filled with betrayal.

Tears well up without permission, blurring my vision as my parents sit frozen, watching me like I’m a stranger who’s defiled their perfect world.

“Answer him, Colina!” Don Antonio’s voice thunders across the room.

I can’t hold it in. My voice cracks under the weight of guilt. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen this way.”

Matteo’s glare shifts. The hatred fades, but the ache in his stare makes it worse. He looks like I’ve carved the heart out of him with my bare hands.

“Santino and I—”

“She’s been with him,” Matteo cuts me off before I can finish. “She chose him—the same man whose family she’s accusing us of killing.”

Maria Rosetti rises to her feet, her eyes ablaze with fury. “How dare you, Colina?”

But I don’t look at her. I look at Matteo. “Tell me the truth. Please. Tell me you didn’t kill them.”

His face twitches, a sharp breath leaving his chest. Blood trickles from a cut on his lip. He doesn’t answer.

He doesn’t deny it.

“Say something!” I turn toward Don Antonio, my voice breaking. “Is it true? Did you do this to Santino’s family?”

“You dare question your father?” Maria’s voice is venomous. She steps forward and before I can react, her hand lashes across my cheek.

The slap echoes like a gunshot.

Pain blossoms across my face, hot and humiliating. I raise my hand to defend myself, but Matteo grabs my wrist before it reaches her. His grip is firm, not gentle.

Maria’s mouth falls open, startled that I even dared to fight back.

That’s when the fury explodes out of me.

I beat against Matteo’s chest with both fists, sobbing uncontrollably. “You ruined everything! You’re all monsters! Monsters!”

Matteo stands motionless, letting me hit him, my tears soaking through his shirt. The snot, the heartbreak, the betrayal—I let it all pour out.

“I loved him!” I scream. “And you’ve destroyed that. You’ve destroyed me!”

My fists grow weak. I collapse against him, clutching the fabric of his shirt as my knees buckle.

“Why, Lina?” His voice is raw in my ear. “You could’ve chosen anyone. Anyone but him.”

I don’t move. I can’t.

“You let him take your innocence,” he whispers harshly. “My own best friend.”

He doesn’t say more. He doesn’t have to. The shame buries itself in my skin like splinters.

Matteo lets go. Just walks away, shoulders tight, his back a wall I can’t climb anymore.

I’m left standing alone, surrounded by cold silence and colder eyes.

I run upstairs, tears blinding me, my body shaking so violently I can barely breathe. I drop to the floor just past my bedroom door and fold in on myself like a child.

The pain sits on my chest like stone. How did I ever believe they were innocent?

My knees throb against the hardwood. Still, I don’t move. There’s nowhere I can go. No one I can trust.

Eventually, I drag myself up. My legs are numb, my body aching. I stumble into the bathroom and wash my face, barely recognizing the reflection that stares back. My eyes are red-rimmed and swollen, my lips chapped from sobbing.

I slip into fresh clothes and lie in bed, the softness of the blanket offering no comfort. My thoughts won’t let me rest.

I’ve lost him. I’ve really lost him.

⸻

A soft voice pulls me out of a dreamless sleep. “Miss Colina,” it calls, barely above a whisper.

I turn away, covering my ears with my palms. I want nothing to do with the world.

A gentle tap against my shoulder forces me to look.

It’s Silver, one of the housemaids. Her uniform is slightly wrinkled, and her face looks aged more by pain than by time.

“Miss Colina,” she says softly, “your mother requests your presence.”

I turn my head toward the wall. “Tell her I want nothing to do with her.”

Silver sighs deeply. She’s always been the kind one. Always looked at me like I was more than a pawn in their family game.

“Please, Miss Colina… your mother will be furious if you don’t come.”

I let out a broken laugh. “Let her be.”

She doesn’t leave. She never does, not until I truly dismiss her.

Then she leans closer and whispers, “There’s someone here to see you. A man.”

My chest tightens. The breath catches in my throat.

Could it be—no, it couldn’t be. But part of me still hopes.

I sit up, slowly. “Who is it?”

Silver shakes her head gently. “Your mother didn’t tell me. But… I think you should come downstairs.”

I force myself out of bed. Every step down the stairs feels like walking through water.

In the living room, Maria stands poised like a queen. Her smile is thin. Calculated. She gestures toward a man seated on the couch.

He hasn’t turned around. But I see the fine cut of his suit, the ink-dark hair cascading down his back, the way he sits like he owns the room.

It isn’t Santino.

My heart sinks.

“Ah, here she is,” Maria says with that feigned warmth I’ve always hated. “Colina, meet Alejandro. Alejandro, this is my daughter.”

Another stranger.

Another chain.

And not one step closer to the man I love.