Page 33 of Mafia Heir's Broken Vows

"It's not like that?—"

"Then explain it to me!" Her voice cracks, the pain in her words impossible to ignore. "Explain how you don't have a choice." She rolls her eyes, shaking her head like she's already heard every excuse I could offer.

I swallow hard, my throat tight. I can't even look at her when I answer. "You said you wanted to leave, Serafina. Because if you stay, Marco will find a way to use you against me. And I can't let that happen. I'm not abandoning you. I'm letting you go. I'm giving you and Leo the freedom you deserve." I try to sound resolute, but my voice wavers. It feels like I'm bleeding out with every word.

Tears well in her eyes, glistening like shards of glass, but she blinks them away before they can fall. "Fine," she snaps, the word laced with bitterness.

I reach for her, desperate to close the chasm between us, but she pulls back sharply like my touch burns her.

"I'm doing this for you. For Leo," I say, my voice breaking on his name.I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.

She stares at me, her expression unreadable for a moment before she whispers, "No." Her voice is soft, but the weight of the word crushes me. "You're doing this because it's easier than fighting for us."

The car is waiting outside,its engine idling in the rain, the low hum a relentless reminder of what's about to happen. The air feels heavy, and thick with the kind of tension that makes it hard to draw a full breath. The house behind me already feels emptier, and quieter, like it knows what's being taken from it.

Serafina stands by the front door, holding Leo close. Her arms wrap protectively around him, her face turned slightly away, but I can see it—her eyes are distant, cold, yet brimming with unshed tears. Tears she's fighting to keep hidden.

"Please don't do this," she says quietly, her voice barely audible over the rain.

My chest tightens painfully. Every fiber of me is screaming to stop this, to pull them back inside where I know they'll be safe—but I can't. "You have to go. I need you to go," I say, my voice rough, catching on the words. This lie tastes bitter in my mouth. Why is she making this harder now? When I wanted her to stay, she said she wanted to go—that she couldn't raise her son with me.

Leo shifts in her arms, tugging at her sleeve. She presses a kiss to his head, murmuring something too soft for me to hear. The sight makes my gut twist like someone's driving a blade deeper with every second.

"Say goodbye to him, Alessandro." Her voice is steady, but the way her arms tighten around Leo tells me she's barely holding it together. She's doing this for him—shielding him from the weight of this moment, even as it breaks her.

My heart cracks in two as I crouch down, my hand trembling as I brush a curl from Leo's forehead. His small, sleepy face tilts toward me, innocent and oblivious to the storm tearing meapart inside. He doesn't know the truth. He doesn't know I'm his father, or how much I love him, or that letting him go feels like I’m being gutted alive.

"Be brave for Mommy, okay?" My voice breaks, the words catching in my throat. "I'll see you soon."It's a lie.A desperate, selfish lie that tastes like ash. I don't know if I'll ever see them again, and maybe it's better if I don't. But I can't stop myself from saying it.

Leo blinks up at me sleepily, his tiny hand clutching Serafina's shirt as he snuggles closer to her. The ache in my chest deepens, raw and unrelenting as if my ribs are being crushed. Serafina watches me, her eyes shimmering, her lips trembling as she fights to hold herself together.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she murmurs, her voice sharp enough to draw blood. "He will hate you for it one day." Her words hit their mark, but I deserve every one of them. And I hate myself more than anyone else ever could.

The driver steps forward, opening the car door. Serafina hesitates— her feet rooted to the ground for a moment too long. Then, without looking at me, she whispers, "Goodbye, Alessandro." Her voice is hollow, barely more than a breath. But it lands like the final nail in a coffin.

She helps Leo into the car, her movements mechanical, and deliberate. Then she ducks inside, shutting the door behind her. The dark, blacked-out windows swallow them from my view, leaving nothing but their absence behind.

I stand frozen in the rain as the car disappears into the night, its taillights vanishing like embers fading into darkness. The rain soaks through my clothes, chilling me to the bone, but the cold outside is nothing compared to the emptiness spreading inside me. My whole body shakes, the weight of this decision pressing down on me until I can barely stand.

I don't go back inside until the rain feels like it's washing me away. But even when I do, the house feels like a tomb—silent and lifeless, filled with memories that haunt me. I've done what I thought was right, but it feels like the worst mistake of my life.

The house is silent.

A hollow, suffocating silence. Empty, like a tomb holding nothing but memories. The kind of silence that doesn't just fill a space—it eats it alive.

I lean against the doorframe, the cold seeping into my bones, spreading through my chest like poison. Every creak of the floorboards beneath my feet feels like a ghost—echoes of what this house once held.Laughter. Life. Them.This is the price of keeping them safe. The silence, the emptiness, the way my footsteps echo through rooms that once held joy. It feels like a punishment, self-imposed but still cruel. Like I've paid too much, sacrificed more than any man should bear—and yet, it's never enough.

I can't shake the echo of Serafina's words, each syllable a knife twisting deeper.

You're doing this because it's easier than fighting for us.

My fists clench at my sides until my knuckles turn white, nails biting into my palms. The pain is grounding, but it doesn't numb the deeper ache. I should have fought—at least tried. Should have shown her that some things are worth bleeding for. That she and Leo were worth everything.

But instead, I let them walk away.

Marco will think he's won, probably toasting his victory in some dim-lit room, his smirk dripping with the satisfaction of knowing he's unraveled me. He doesn't know what he's started.But this isn't over. Not while I still draw breath. Not while I have the strength to destroy him.

I push off the doorframe, my jaw tight and my resolve sharper than ever. If Marco wants a war, I'll give him one. And I'll turn his world into ash. He may have stolen them from me, but I'll make sure he doesn't live long enough to enjoy the fruits of his victory.

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