"Vitale, how dare you?!"
My voice trembled uncontrollably as I called out, "Gia?"
My daughter froze, then slowly lifted her head to look at me. She stared for a long moment, dazed, until her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Mama? You're back?"
The next second, her small figure broke down into tears. She cried out like she'd finally found someone to cling to after holding on for far too long.
"Mama, Aunt Serafina locked me in the dog cage. She didn't give me any food. Papa didn't do anything about it! I was so scared. The big dog bites real hard, it hurts so bad. Mama, please get me out…"
The word "Mama," spoken with such raw pain and trust, shattered me from the inside. But I didn't have time to cry, not with that hunting dog now awake, glaring at Gia like she was prey.
I grabbed an axe from the corner of the shed, ignoring the old steward's frantic protests, and brought it down hard on the lock of the cage.
Once the chain snapped, I rushed in, scooped Gia into my arms, and held her tight.
Then I turned back. I wasn't done. Raising the axe once more, I aimed it at the snarling dog.
"Signora, please! Don't be reckless!" Don Ricci begged, his hands smoothing the front of his waistcoat before he dared to step nearer. "That's the madam's favorite dog. Don Moretti gave it to her himself! If you hurt it, she'll be furious, and the master too."
Oh? So Vitale gave Serafina a dog... to mangle his own blood daughter?
I didn't even spare it a glance. As the beast lunged, I met it head-on, and with one clean, furious swing, I severed its head.
Still not satisfied, I turned to the cage that had imprisoned my child, and hacked it to splinters.
Vitale came in at the sound of the chaos, the noise cutting through the celebration in the main house. He started scolding me the second he opened his mouth.
"Adriana, you just got back and you're already making a scene? Do you want the men outside to start asking questions? Half the Family is here tonight."
"You scared Matteo half to death. He's crying his eyes out, and Serafina's been running herself ragged all day. Now she has to calm him down too? Can't you just stop causing trouble?"
"I know this past year hasn't been easy for you, and I will explain everything when I get a moment. But I won't let you ruin Serafina's name in front of every capo under this roof."
I let out a bitter laugh. Matteo, huh? Of course. His precious little heir.
And what were Gia and I to him, then? Disposable trophies, pawns spent and forgotten?
"So your heart breaks when her son cries, but not when your own daughter is locked in a dog cage? When she's bitten by some animal? Forced to eat slop like a stray? Tell me, Vitale. How twisted is your love?"
Vitale finally looked at Gia. When he saw the raw, bleeding wounds on her tiny arms and legs, confusion twisted across his face.
"What are you talking about? Gia's my daughter. I would never let something like that happen to her."
I froze for a beat. He… didn't know?
Vitale frowned and turned to the steward. "Bring Serafina here."
Serafina walked in moments later, already crying. The corner of her mouth tightened a half-second before the tears came, but no one in that shed was watching her the way I was.
"Vitale, you've got it all wrong… Adriana misunderstood me. Gia's such a sweet little thing. How could I ever hurt her?"
"You know how much she loves playing hide and seek. Just now, she begged me to play with her. I was busy seeing to the guests and couldn't find her in time. Who could've guessed she'd go and lock herself in a dog cage? That child has such an imagination…"
Vitale staggered back a step, more stunned by my rage than anything else in that room. He didn't apologize. He didn't even look at Gia. Instead, he turned to Serafina, like she was the one who needed comforting.
Serafina dabbed fake tears with a silk handkerchief, her voice trembling just enough to sound fragile. "Vitale… she's just making a scene. I know Gia's upset, but blaming me for something like this? You really think I'd hurt a little girl?"
Vitale looked torn for half a second. Just half. Then his jaw set, and his thumb went still on the signet ring.
"This isn't the time or the place for this," he snapped. "Adriana, if you want to talk, we'll talk later. But right now, Serafina and I are celebrating the birth of our son, in front of everyone who matters to this Family. Don't ruin that for us."
I stared at him, dumbfounded. He just watched as Gia stood there, shaking, her cheek already red and swelling. His daughter. His own blood. And he chose Serafina. Again.
Serafina slipped her arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder like the doting saint she pretended to be.
"I'm not asking for much," she whispered, loud enough for the men in the doorway to hear. "I just want a peaceful home for our baby…"
Peaceful? She had locked my daughter in a cage.
I wrapped my arms around Gia and whispered into her hair, "It's okay, baby. Mama's here now. I won't let them hurt you again."
Inside, though, I was on fire. I pressed my thumb against the smooth stump where three fingers used to be, and let the softness bleed out of me. If they wanted peace, they should have thought of that before crossing a mother with nothing left to lose.
