"Oh?But in five days,no,four now,I'll be handed over to the Morettis to settle the Family's debt in blood.Will you drag me back from there just to cook your breakfast?"Adriana said,her voice flat as the underworld's coldest pact.
At that instant,the dining hall fell into a sudden,oppressive silence.Even the help froze near the sideboard,eyes lowered,hands folding into aprons as if to bury what they'd heard.
After a moment,it was Gianna who broke the quiet,her voice trembling as she sniffled."Sis,you're not skipping breakfast because of the Moretti thing,are you?If that's the case,then I'll go and take the punishment instead!"Her fingers fluttered to her collarbone,a touch of wounded innocence delivered a beat too soon,before the room had even decided to blame anyone.
With that,she turned to run for the door.
Salvatore caught her,pulling her into a comforting embrace."If someone has to die under the Moretti roof,it should be Adriana.How could it ever be you?"
The moment the words left his mouth,Salvatore froze,stunned at his own cruelty.His thumb worried at his right knuckle,the hand that had once shaken on a promise to his sister.
She's my blood too,he muttered inwardly.
Instantly,Adriana's eyes turned ice-cold,as if looking at a sworn enemy."Salvatore,I will never waste another ounce of emotion on someone as vile as you for the rest of my life."
Her words shattered the fleeting guilt in Salvatore's heart.His face twisted in anger."Fine.Adriana,you're really something."
He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into the storage room off the kitchen,slamming the heavy door shut.
Before locking it,Salvatore spat out his final words,his voice trembling with rage."Adriana,you can stay there until you come to your senses and agree to make breakfast.If not,then rot in there for all I care."
With that,he turned and left,taking Gianna with him.Before going,he gave the household staff their orders in the clipped tone of a made man who expected obedience."Don't let her out until she admits she was wrong and cooks breakfast."
What Salvatore didn't know was that Adriana was already running a high fever.
Her sprained ankle,untreated from the night before,had swollen grotesquely.On top of that,her skin had scraped against the rough floor as she was dragged,leaving raw,bleeding wounds.
The searing pain on her scalp from having her hair yanked was now the least of her worries.
At first,Adriana banged on the door and screamed for help.But before long,her strength gave out,and she collapsed unconscious.
The household staff,following orders,ignored her silence.The door stayed shut.In a house ruled by omertà,even the help knew that hearing nothing was the safest thing to hear.
It wasn't until the Donna casually asked after her that the truth came to light.
Since losing her youngest heir,the Donna had suffered from chronic headaches,which had only worsened over the years.But things had slightly improved after Adriana returned from her ten years of exile in the remote outpost.
Although Adriana stayed cautious and distant within the Castellano estate,the Donna had noticed her daughter often stealing glances at her.
When Adriana discovered her mother's headaches,she began secretly learning massage techniques during her spare hours.Without anyone to teach her,she studied what tutorials she could find on her own.
She filled four or five notebooks with detailed notes and practiced late into the night for two months straight.
To make certain her skills would work,she tested the techniques on herself again and again before shyly offering that she might ease her mother's pain.
Looking at the daughter she had barely raised,the Donna couldn't bring herself to refuse,and reluctantly agreed.
By sheer luck,Adriana's massages actually eased her mother's headaches.
When she saw her mother's furrowed brow relax,Adriana's joy was beyond words.
From that day on,she faithfully tended to her mother every evening.
But two days had passed without Adriana appearing.
Suspicious,the Donna turned the heavy mourning ring slowly on her finger,then sent someone to find her.
They found Adriana locked in the storage room,her entire body burning with fever.By the time they carried her out,her breathing was faint and uneven,as if she were clinging to life by a thread.
