Chapter 7 - The Woman Who Told Luca Santoro No
By sunrise, twenty-three people had been questioned.
Three security officers were removed from duty.
Every camera system in the villa was inspected.
The window outside Matteo's bedroom showed no damage.
That was the worst detail.
Whoever had left the photograph had not broken in.
They had been allowed inside.
Luca became colder with every hour.
Elena watched him transform.
The man who had eaten breakfast with Matteo disappeared.
Don Luca Santoro took his place.
Orders.
Phone calls.
Whispered meetings.
Men entering the library and leaving pale.
At noon Elena found Matteo sitting beneath the kitchen table.
She crouched.
"You hiding?"
He nodded.
"From who?"
"Everybody."
She crawled under.
His eyes widened.
"What are you doing?"
"Hiding too."
"You can't."
"Why not?"
"You're a grown-up."
"Grown-ups hide all the time."
"Really?"
"Mostly behind work."
Matteo considered this.
Then shifted closer.
"Is Papa angry at me?"
"No."
"He's angry."
"Yes."
"So he's angry at me."
Elena shook her head.
"Those aren't the same thing."
"But he doesn't talk."
Elena sighed.
"That part he needs to work on."
Matteo rested his head against her shoulder.
"Will you leave?"
The question was becoming familiar.
"No."
She answered before thinking.
This time she meant it differently.
Not forever.
But not while he was frightened.
Later, Elena found Luca in his office.
"Matteo thinks you're angry with him."
"I'm busy."
"He doesn't understand that."
"Then explain it."
Elena stared.
"No."
Luca looked up.
"No?"
"You explain it."
"I don't have time."
"You have exactly as much time as every other parent."
"Someone entered his bedroom."
"Exactly."
Luca stood.
"I'm trying to make sure it never happens again."
"And while you do, he's hiding under a kitchen table."
That stopped him.
Elena stepped closer.
"Go sit with your son."
"I have people waiting."
"They can wait."
"Elena."
"No."
His expression sharpened.
Nobody told Luca Santoro no.
Elena had discovered she enjoyed it more than she should.
"He needs you more than they do."
Luca stared at her.
Then unexpectedly walked past.
"Where are you going?"
"To sit under a kitchen table."
Elena smiled.
An hour later, Matteo was helping Luca make sandwiches.
Poorly.
Signora Russo stood nearby watching pieces of tomato fall to the floor.
"This is an insult to Sicily," she muttered.
Elena laughed.
For half an hour, the villa felt alive again.
Then Luca's cousin arrived.
Stefano Santoro was younger than Luca by perhaps five years.
Handsome.
Polished.
Charming.
Too charming, Elena decided immediately.
He kissed Matteo's forehead.
Embraced Luca.
Then turned toward Elena.
"So this is the famous nurse."
"I'm famous?"
"In this family? Very."
Luca's expression cooled.
"Why are you here?"
Stefano lifted his hands.
"To see my cousin."
"You saw him."
"Luca."
"Office."
They left.
Elena continued helping Matteo.
But ten minutes later raised voices reached the kitchen.
She tried not to listen.
Then heard her name.
"...the woman is making you careless."
Stefano.
Luca replied too quietly to hear.
"She should never have been brought here."
Elena went still.
Matteo looked up.
"You okay?"
"Fine."
"I'm going to wash my hands."
She stepped into the corridor.
The office door was partly open.
Stefano continued.
"Bellini sees weakness."
"Elena is not weakness."
"Then what is she?"
Silence.
Elena's heart beat harder.
Stefano laughed softly.
"Exactly."
She moved away before they discovered her.
That evening Stefano found her alone near the garden.
"You dislike me."
Elena looked at him.
"I've known you three hours."
"That's plenty."
"What do you want?"
"To understand."
"Understand what?"
"Why Luca trusts you."
"He doesn't."
Stefano smiled.
"You really don't know him."
Elena folded her arms.
"Apparently nobody tells me anything."
"That's how Luca protects people."
"By keeping them uninformed."
"By keeping them alive."
"That strategy isn't doing particularly well lately."
Stefano's smile faded.
"You're brave."
"Everyone keeps saying that like it's a diagnosis."
"It might be."
He moved closer.
"If I were you, I would leave."
"Is that advice or a threat?"
"Advice."
"Why?"
"Because Luca destroys whatever he loves."
Elena felt something cold move through her.
"Sofia?"
Stefano's eyes changed.
Too late.
Elena saw it.
"What do you know about Sofia?"
"Nothing you should."
"Everyone here loves that sentence."
Stefano smiled again, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Ask Luca why Sofia was driving alone the night she died."
Then he walked away.
The same pattern.
Hints.
Secrets.
Always Sofia.
That night Elena confronted Luca.
"Why was Sofia driving alone?"
He looked up sharply.
"Who told you to ask?"
"Answer."
"Stefano."
"So you know."
Luca stood.
"What did he say?"
"That you destroy whatever you love."
Something dark flashed across Luca's face.
"Stay away from him."
"Why?"
"Because I said so."
Elena laughed bitterly.
"There you go again."
"Elena."
"Stop protecting me with silence."
"I'm not protecting you."
"No?"
His voice rose.
"I'm protecting Matteo!"
She stopped.
Luca breathed hard.
Then lowered his voice.
"Sofia left because of me."
Elena waited.
"We argued that night."
"What about?"
"Matteo."
Her chest tightened.
"She wanted to take him away from Sicily."
"Why?"
"Because she believed Bellini was dangerous."
"And you didn't?"
"I thought she was afraid."
Luca looked away.
"I told her she was overreacting."
Elena said nothing.
"She left without Matteo because I refused to let her take him."
"And then?"
"Her car went over a coastal barrier."
The room became silent.
Luca's voice changed.
"She called me six minutes before it happened."
Elena swallowed.
"Did you answer?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I was angry."
His eyes were full of something Elena had never seen before.
Shame.
"I let it ring."
Elena's anger disappeared.
"Luca."
"If I had answered—"
"You don't know what would have happened."
"I know what did happen."
He looked at her.
"That is why Stefano said I destroy what I love."
Elena understood.
Stefano hadn't merely been warning her.
He had been pressing directly into Luca's deepest guilt.
"That isn't what happened."
"You weren't there."
"No. But people argue. People miss calls. That doesn't make you responsible for a crash."
"You don't know that it was a crash."
"Neither do you."
Their eyes held.
Then Elena did something neither expected.
She reached for his hand.
Luca looked down.
Her fingers rested against tattooed knuckles.
He did not move.
"You made mistakes," Elena said.
"So did Sofia."
His eyes snapped toward hers.
"She left because she was scared and angry. You stayed because you were scared and proud. Neither of you knew what was coming."
Luca's voice became quiet.
"Why are you defending me?"
"I'm not."
"Then what are you doing?"
"Telling you guilt isn't the same as truth."
He stared at her.
The room seemed suddenly smaller.
Elena realized how close they stood.
Then Luca slowly turned his hand beneath hers.
Their palms touched.
His fingers almost closed around hers.
Almost.
A knock interrupted them.
One of Luca's men entered.
"Boss."
Luca stepped away.
"What?"
"We checked the old security records from the night Signora Sofia died."
"And?"
The man looked uncertain.
"There was another vehicle following her."
Luca became still.
"We recovered part of the plate."
"Whose?"
The guard swallowed.
"The registration belonged to Stefano Santoro."
Elena turned toward Luca.
For several seconds, he did not breathe.
His own cousin.
The man who had spent years standing beside him.
The man who had just warned Elena that Luca destroyed everyone he loved.
And for the first time, Elena wondered if those words weren't a warning at all.
May you like
Maybe they were a confession.
---
