Chapter 179 The Farm
Valentina
Morning in New York City always feels artificial to me.
Light reflects differently here — off glass, off steel, off ambition. It does not rise slowly over fields. It does not warm soil before it warms faces. It arrives all at once, filtered and curated.
The girls were quiet at breakfast.
Eden stayed close to Liana, her small fingers wrapped around the sleeve of her mother’s sweater as if testing whether fabric could dissolve overnight. Maris sat straight-backed, observant as ever. Anya watched everything — exits, windows, the distance between chairs.
Tess, for her part, seemed unusually attentive. Not distracted. Not calculating. Just absorbing.
Matteo stood near the window with his phone pressed to his ear, already moving pieces on a board only he could see.
When he ended the call, he crossed the room toward me.
“I’ll stay,” he said quietly. “There are records to pull. I want background checks on every adult who had proximity to those girls before Bexley. If there’s family involved, I need to know whether they were complicit.”
“You think there’s a chance?” I asked.
“There’s always a chance.”
That was not pessimism. That was structure.
“Do you mind taking them without me?” he continued. “The driver’s already waiting.”
“I can handle it,” I replied. “Tess and I will take them. It will be good for her to see the full scope.”
His gaze flicked briefly toward Tess across the table.
“Good,” he said simply.
He trusted me to assess.
I turned to Liana. “You’re welcome to come with us. It might help to see where the girls will be staying.”
Liana looked down at Eden, who was tracing her spoon along the edge of her bowl with careful concentration.
“I think,” she said softly, “I just want to stay here today. I want to sit on the couch and watch cartoons and pretend none of this exists for a few hours.”
I nodded.
“That’s more than reasonable.”
Rosco didn’t hesitate.
“I’ll stay,” he said.
It was automatic. Protective without announcement.
I saw Tess stiffen across the table. It was subtle — a tightening around her mouth, a pause in the way she lifted her coffee.
“I’ll be with them,” Rosco added, as if clarifying for no one in particular.
Liana didn’t look up when she said, “Thank you.”
The driver was waiting outside.
The ride out of the city took just under an hour. The city thinned into suburban grids, then into something more open. The farm wasn’t advertised. It wasn’t marked. It looked like any other small equestrian property from the outside — a wide barn painted white, two fenced pastures, a modest farmhouse set back beneath a row of aging maple trees.
Estella met us at the porch.
She wore jeans and boots, her dark hair braided over one shoulder. Sheryl followed behind her with the kind of easy warmth that unsettles suspicious children at first and comforts them later.
“We’ve got rooms ready,” Estella said, nodding once toward me.
Maris stepped forward first. She always does.
Anya hovered half a step behind.
I knelt so that I was eye-level with them.
“This is your new home for now,” I said gently. “While we locate your parents — or determine what’s safest for you — you’ll stay here. There are chores. Schooling. Horses if you’re interested. It’s quiet. And it’s safe.”
Anya studied my face carefully.
“No locked rooms?” she asked.
“No locked rooms,” I answered evenly.
Maris glanced toward the pasture.
“Do we have to talk about what happened?” she asked.
“Only if you want to,” I said.
Sheryl stepped forward then, her voice soft but steady. “We start with breakfast and chores. The rest can wait.”
Anya hesitated only a second longer before stepping up onto the porch.
Tess watched the entire exchange in silence.
We walked through the barn, past the tack room and the small classroom space tucked into the far wing. Tess trailed slightly behind me.
“It’s not what I expected,” she said quietly.
“What did you expect?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Something more… secretive. Hidden.”
“It is hidden,” I replied. “Just not dramatic.”
She nodded slowly.
When the girls had been shown their rooms and given space to unpack the small bags we’d brought, Estella and Sheryl moved naturally into their rhythm — offering options, not commands.
We didn’t linger.
That’s part of the rule.
The ride back to the city felt different.
Lighter.
I waited until we were nearly halfway through the drive before I spoke.
“So,” I said casually, watching the highway unwind ahead of us, “that was your first real introduction to our world.”
She glanced at me.
“You got thrown into the deep end,” I continued. “No slow immersion. No gentle explanations. How do you feel about it?”
Tess leaned back slightly in her seat.
“It’s not what I pictured,” she admitted. “When you said it was dangerous, I was imagining something… chaotic. Like the movies. Random gunfights. Senseless violence.”
I said nothing.
“But it’s not like that,” she continued. “It’s calculated. Strategic. Matteo isn’t some villain just shooting at people for no reason. He’s…” She hesitated, searching. “He’s almost like an anti-hero. A vigilante. For all intents and purposes, he’s a good man. Just not in the eyes of the law.”
I studied her profile.
“It’s complicated,” I said.
“It’s pretty cool,” she added, almost sheepish. “And honestly? It was eye-opening.”
“That’s fortunate,” I replied. “It’s good that we had a major issue to deal with so soon after you arrived. It gives you clarity. You can decide whether this is truly something you want to be involved in.”
She smiled faintly.
“It didn’t scare me off,” she said. “So I guess that’s a good sign, right?”
“I suppose it is,” I answered.
Silence settled between us, but not uncomfortably.
Then I shifted the conversation.
“And Rosco?” I asked lightly.
The reaction was immediate.
Not dramatic.
Just a small tightening in her shoulders.
“I paid attention,” I continued. “Even when it seemed like my focus was elsewhere. I saw how you reacted when he pulled his attention toward Liana.”
Tess let out a short breath.
“You were right,” she admitted. “I was getting a little attached.”
“Attached?” I prompted.
She shrugged. “He’s… solid. It kind of hurt when he pulled away and started giving Liana all that attention. But I get it. It’s his job. He’s making her feel safe.”
“And you?” I asked.
She hesitated.
“I realized it’s not a big deal,” she said finally. “As soon as Liana leaves, things will go back to normal.”
I looked at her carefully.
“She’s not going to leave anytime soon,” I said evenly.
Tess turned her head slowly toward me.
“What?”
“Liana and Eden will be staying here for the foreseeable future,” I clarified. “They’re not temporary guests.”
Her expression shifted — confusion first, then something quieter.
“Oh,” she said.