Page 56 of The Scars We Keep
When I finish, I rinse my bowl in the sink despite Carlo’s protests that he will handle it, then I head down the hall toward Lorenzo’s office.
The door is locked.But he gave me the code when things changed between us, telling me to punch it into the keypad and then making me memorize it.
I push the door wide open and step inside, closing it behind me.
Lorenzo’s office is exactly as he always leaves it.Files stacked in neat piles.His framed family photograph looking back.The board on the wall, covered in photographs, maps, and notes in his messy handwriting.
I sit at his desk, staring at the wall.Matteo and Emery’s faces stare back at me from the center of the board.
Below their photos is a map with a location circled in red, presumably where Matteo and Emery are reportedly hiding.
And then there is the new circle on a different map.The one Lorenzo added yesterday after receiving the call that changed everything.
Where Alessandro De Luca was spotted three days ago.
Alessandro.Matteo’s father.The original Don who ruled the De Luca empire with blood, fear, and ruthless ambition.The man who ran when his son burned it all down around him.
And now, apparently, he is back.
Lorenzo told me about it last night as we lay in bed, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my bare skin.He said Alessandro’s return complicates everything.That the old Don still has loyalists who might rally behind him if they think he is making a play to reclaim what’s his.That killing Matteo is no longer just about succession.It is about preventing a war.
“I have to be strategic about this,” Lorenzo said.“If I move too fast, I risk pushing Alessandro into action before I am ready.If I wait too long, I give him time to rebuild his network.I need to find the right moment and the right approach.”
What are you contemplating?”I asked.
“I’m thinking I need to isolate Matteo first.Make sure he’s alone.No backup.No escape route.Then I need to make it clean.Quick.Something that sends a message without starting a war.”
“And Alessandro?”
“He is a different problem.”Lorenzo’s hand stilled on my hip.“He’s a coward.He won’t come at me directly.He’ll send others to do his dirty work and that means I need to find out who his allies are.”
“How do you do that?”
“Carefully.”He pulled me closer, his lips brushing my temple.“Very carefully, while keeping you safe.”
I stare at the board now, trying to see what Lorenzo sees and understand the chess game he’s playing.But this is his world, not mine.I can navigate it.I can survive it.But I will never see the angles the way he does.
My phone buzzes in my pocket.I pull it out to see a message from my father.
The Devil:We need to talk.Call me when you are alone.
My stomach drops.The words are simple, but I understand how my father phrases things when he wants something.When he expects obedience without question.
I have not heard from him since he called me to his house.When I sat across from him in that cold office and he told me exactly what my role in this marriage to Lorenzo was.
I stare at the message for a long moment, my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat.
The fear comes first.It’s automatic.Instinctive.The same fear that has lived in my bones since I was old enough to understand what my father was capable of.
I notice myself slipping back into that old routine.The one where he dominates and I submit, where his voice in my head is louder than my own.
But then I remember where I am.I am not just my father’s daughter anymore.I am Lorenzo’s wife.
I take a deep breath followed by another.The fear is still there, years of conditioning that tell me I have no choice but to obey.
But I have a choice now.I will ignore his demands.
I set the phone facedown on Lorenzo’s desk and stare at it.
