Chapter 3

“I was too forward about it.”

She took every bit of the blame onto herself.

That day, I took her out to a quiet trattoria on neutral ground, then bought a cake and went with her to the Clinic.

Papa still hadn't woken up.

But it didn't matter. Mama and I gathered around him, lit the candles together, and ate the cake.

Lately, Mama had been getting dizzy spells and tightness in her chest.

I couldn't stop worrying, and after I pressed her again and again, she finally agreed to let the Family's own physician look her over.

I'd sent word to Lorenzo ahead of time, asking him to see that she was cared for.

“I have honest work this afternoon and can't get away. Mama's coming to the Clinic to be seen. Keep an eye on her for me.”

“She's getting older and doesn't know her way around a place like that.”

His reply came fast. One word. “Fine.”

That evening, when the work was done, I drove to the Clinic as fast as I could.

The sky had already gone completely dark.

At the far end of the corridor, past the men who stood watch and didn't so much as glance my way, I saw my mother curled up alone on a bench.

She sat there by herself, her back slightly hunched, the physician's report clutched tight in her hands, with no one beside her.

I woke her. “Mama, why are you here all alone?”

She came to and said, “Lorenzo said something came up. He told me to wait here for him.”

“I don't know my way around here, and it isn't my place to wander, so I didn't dare……”

And she'd have been even less willing to press him, afraid of holding up a made man's business, of being a bother to the Family that sheltered us.

My voice wouldn't stop shaking. “Mama, why didn't you call me? You just sat here waiting this whole time?”

She looked up at me and forced out a small smile. “I figured he's busy. Family matters, the important men to answer to, those are the things that matter. A little something like mine isn't worth troubling him over.”

Her words pressed down on my chest like a boulder, until it hurt so much I could barely breathe.

I took out my phone and called Lorenzo, but he never picked up.

I turned and found one of the Clinic's own to ask what had happened.

The woman looked helpless and lowered her voice, the way people do inside these walls. “Mr. Falcone had nothing to attend to here today. No business, no one to meet.”

“But Mr. Falcone spent the whole day with another lady, giving her the Family's favor. He arranged the best of everything himself, opened every door for her.”

No need to guess. It had to be Gloria again.

When I found Lorenzo, he was standing in the garden below the Clinic, out where the light from the windows didn't reach.

He was politely carrying Gloria Ricci's gift bags, quietly and carefully reminding her of all the things to watch out for, the perfect picture of a man who knew whose favor was worth keeping.

Only after Gloria and her daughter had driven off did I walk, step by step, up to Lorenzo.

The bitter night wind hit my face and left me cold all over.

“My mother's been at this Clinic. She waited five hours for you.”

Lorenzo's expression stalled for a moment, then his brows drew together. One hand rose to smooth the lapel of his jacket. “Something came up on my end. I couldn't get away.”

I lifted my eyes and looked straight at him, cold surging up from deep inside me. “Keeping Valentina's mother company for the Family's favor, that's your urgent business?”

“Lorenzo, you gave me your word today. You did!”

The mask came off, and his face darkened.

“Adriana, can't you be a little more mature, a little more reasonable?”

“Gloria Ricci carries herself well, she's gracious and sensible, she understands how people work, how respect flows. She's worth spending my time and my name on.”

“Your mother, on the other hand, is crude in how she talks and acts, doesn't know the rules, can't even figure out how to get through the Clinic on her own. If she can't understand it herself, is that somehow my fault?”

“I'm a made man of this Family. My time, my energy, and my connections are all worth something. There's no reason to waste them on people and things that count for nothing.”

I clenched my fists hard, every word carrying my grief and fury.

“Lorenzo, what gives you the right to judge people from up on your high horse?”

“My mother has spent years washing your clothes, cooking your meals, keeping your house in order! She's careful about everything, always thinking of protecting your hands. How can you talk about her like this?”

“Back when your Family stepped in and kept my father breathing, we have never once forgotten that debt. We've bent over backwards to repay it at every turn. Does that mean you get to trample all over my mama whenever you please?”