Chapter 5 - THE NIGHT ALESSANDRO CHOSE US
When we returned to the estate, Sophia ran into my arms so hard I nearly fell.
“Mama!”
I dropped to my knees.
Checked her face.
Arms.
Hair.
Everything.
She was unharmed.
Confused more than frightened.
“Mr. Matteo said we were going on a trip.”
My blood turned cold.
“What trip?”
“He said surprise.”
Alessandro stood behind me.
I felt his anger without looking.
Sophia noticed him.
“Mr. Moretti?”
His face softened.
“Yes, little bird?”
That was new.
“Why everybody mad?”
He crouched.
“Because someone forgot the rules.”
“What rules?”
Alessandro glanced at me.
“Never scare Sophia’s mama.”
She nodded seriously.
“That’s bad.”
“Yes.”
“Very bad?”
“The worst.”
She accepted that answer.
I carried her upstairs.
Alessandro stayed below.
I did not ask what happened with Matteo that night.
Later, I learned he had not been hurt.
Alessandro had changed more than I realized.
Instead of private punishment, he turned Matteo over to federal investigators through an attorney who had quietly been helping unravel Caruso’s criminal network.
Evidence mattered more than revenge now.
Because Alessandro wanted Vincent exposed.
Not merely gone.
At midnight, I found Alessandro in Lucia’s room.
He stood before the mural.
Sophia’s new flowers now surrounded Lucia’s original butterflies.
I remained in the doorway.
“Gabriel told me Matteo confessed enough to connect Vincent to the crash.”
Alessandro did not turn.
“He claims he only gave Lucia’s schedule. Says he believed Vincent wanted to confront me through Francesca.”
“Your wife.”
“Yes.”
His voice hardened.
“He says he didn’t know Vincent intended to cause the crash.”
“Do you believe him?”
“No.”
“Does it matter?”
That made him turn.
I stepped inside.
“Whether he knew the exact plan or not, he betrayed you.”
Alessandro looked toward the little red shoes beneath the chair.
“I built my life around punishing everyone who betrayed me.”
“And did it bring them back?”
His eyes lifted.
Dangerous.
I almost apologized.
Then I decided not to.
“No.”
The answer barely came.
I moved closer.
“My husband found evidence about Lucia. Someone killed him because of it.”
“Yes.”
“My daughter was brought into this house because Vincent believed Daniel had hidden something with me.”
“Probably.”
“So none of this was accidental.”
“No.”
I folded my arms.
“Then I need to leave.”
His face changed instantly.
“Elena.”
“I need somewhere Sophia can breathe without armed men checking her toys.”
“No.”
“You promised.”
His jaw tightened.
“If I decided the house was more dangerous than leaving, you said you wouldn’t stop me.”
“That was before we knew Vincent had been following you for years.”
“Exactly.”
“Outside this estate, you are exposed.”
“Inside it, Matteo almost walked away with my daughter.”
His face hardened.
“That will never happen again.”
“You cannot promise that.”
“I can.”
“You couldn’t protect Lucia.”
The second the words left my mouth, I wished I could pull them back.
Alessandro went completely still.
Pain crossed his face.
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
He looked away.
“You’re right.”
I swallowed.
“I didn’t mean—”
“You did.”
His voice was quiet.
“And you’re right.”
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Alessandro sat on the edge of Lucia’s bed.
“I believed control could prevent loss.”
He gave a bitter laugh.
“So I controlled everything.”
His businesses.
His house.
His men.
His emotions.
“Lucia used to hate security.”
He smiled faintly.
“She would hide from Gabriel because she knew he panicked when he couldn’t find her.”
I sat beside him.
“What was she like?”
The question seemed to surprise him.
“Loud.”
I smiled.
“Sophia loud?”
“Worse.”
“Impossible.”
“She asked questions about everything.”
His expression softened.
“She once interrupted a meeting with six men because she wanted to know why flamingos were pink.”
I laughed.
“What did you tell her?”
“I didn’t know.”
“So?”
“I made Gabriel research it.”
From the hallway came a dry voice.
“Shrimp.”
We turned.
Gabriel stood at the door.
Alessandro stared.
Gabriel shrugged.
“They eat organisms containing carotenoids.”
A laugh escaped me.
Then Alessandro laughed too.
Gabriel left immediately, probably to protect his reputation.
The moment became quiet.
Alessandro looked at me.
“You can leave.”
I had not expected that.
“What?”
“Tomorrow. I’ll arrange a secure apartment. Guards you choose. New identities if necessary.”
His voice became strained.
“I made you a promise.”
Something inside my chest shifted.
He was letting us go even though every instinct told him to lock the gates.
“Thank you.”
He nodded.
I should have left the room.
Instead, I asked:
“What will you do?”
“Finish this.”
“With Vincent.”
“Yes.”
“And afterward?”
He looked genuinely confused.
“Afterward?”
“What happens when you no longer have revenge to wake up for?”
His eyes held mine.
No answer.
The next afternoon, we moved into a secure apartment overlooking the Hudson.
Sophia hated it.
“Where garden?”
“There’s a park nearby.”
“Where Mr. Moretti?”
“At his house.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s where he lives.”
She frowned.
“He sad again?”
Children saw the thing adults spent fortunes hiding.
Three days passed.
Alessandro called every evening.
Technically to discuss security.
Actually to speak to Sophia.
“Did you paint today?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“You.”
A pause.
“How bad?”
“Very.”
I laughed before I could stop myself.
By the fifth day, I missed him.
That irritated me.
On the sixth, the news broke.
Vincent Caruso had returned to New York.
Not secretly.
Publicly.
He attended a charity event at a Midtown hotel and told reporters allegations connecting him to old crimes were “the desperate fiction of a grieving criminal.”
Then someone leaked my name.
ELENA HARPER, MAID CONNECTED TO MORETTI FAMILY EVIDENCE.
My photograph appeared online.
So did Daniel’s.
By evening, reporters surrounded the building.
And a package arrived downstairs.
No return address.
Inside was a yellow paintbrush.
Sophia’s favorite color.
And a note.
LUCIA COULDN’T FINISH HER GARDEN.
SOPHIA WON’T EITHER.
I called Alessandro.
He answered before the first ring finished.
“What happened?”
I could barely speak.
“Come get us.”
Twenty minutes later, the street filled with black vehicles.
Alessandro entered the apartment personally.
Sophia ran to him.
He lifted her into his arms.
Then he looked at the note.
Something cold passed through his eyes.
But when he looked at me again, there was something else.
Decision.
“No more separate apartment.”
“I know.”
“No more pretending Vincent only wants evidence.”
“I know.”
He stepped closer.
“You and Sophia stay with me.”
“Until this is over.”
His eyes held mine.
“That isn’t what I meant.”
My heart stumbled.
Before I could respond, Sophia touched his face.
“Mr. Moretti?”
“Yes?”
“You can sleep at our house.”
He looked at me.
Then smiled faintly.
“Your mother hasn’t invited me.”
Sophia sighed dramatically.
“Mama.”
I closed my eyes.
“Not helping.”
But later, as Alessandro stood beside the window while his men secured the apartment, I understood something I had been afraid to admit.
Sophia had brought laughter back into his house.
But Alessandro had done something equally dangerous to me.
May you like
He had made me believe I did not have to survive everything alone.
And Vincent Caruso was about to discover exactly how far Alessandro would go to protect the family he had never expected to have again.
